Golf Lessons and Coaching. Explanar Academy. Collingtree Park GC, Northampton shire

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I come from a playing background, rather than the more modern 'teach the swing' route. One thing I try to help my students understand is that playing the game and swinging the golf club are two completely different things.  Swinging the club well is something that can be experienced in a few weeks with good instruction and a bit of practice.  But it is only part of the game of golf.  Learning to play really well takes a lifetime, and many people would say the game is impossible to master.  But to me,that is part of the magic.  Every day the challenge is slightly different.

Once you can make reasonably solid contact with the ball, the game becomes as much a mental exercise as a technical or physical one. Learning to swing the club is a simple exercise compared with learning to play the game.  The good news is that playing the game is the fun bit, and you have the rest of your golfing life to perfect what you learn.

I give golf lessons at The Explanar Golf Academy at Collingtree Park Golf Club in Northampton.  I offer both swing lessons, and broader coaching, helping people learn to play the game of golf.  I use Explanar for much of my golf swing coaching as it allows the golfer to move away from swing thoughts, and simply feel the movement. It is very easy to think too much when learning the golf swing, and with Explanar we can keep things very straightforward and simple.  My coaching philosophy is to keep the golf swing as simple as possible, and to let the body work naturally, rather than fighting it.

I focus my swing lessons on the basics of grip, posture, alignment and rotation. These are the fundamentals. It is interesting to note that the best players in the world spend most of their practice time working on their swing basics and the short game, while the average player seems to neglect both of these areas, preferring to spend time searching for that 'magic move' that will miraculously transform their game.

Please have a look at the Testimonials page if you would like to hear from some of my students who have improved their golf after a lesson with me at the Academy.

  • Coaching Philosophy   ( 3 Articles )

    I wish I could claim the credit for these words, but I can't  They come from Jeffrey Gitomer, www.gitomer.com.  His website is well worth a look, especially if you are involved in sales, (and let's face it, most of us are in some way).  His philosophy pretty much sums up why I do what I do.

    I try to give value first. Evidence of the value I give can be found everywhere. My free introductory lesson, my regular emails, and my Web site are all examples of free things you can use to learn more about your golf. The value generates interest from others (you included). That interest results in more lessons.

    I help other people. To the ability that I am able, I provide help for other people. I provide help for people the same way others have provided it for me. I can't help everyone, but I help as many as I can.

    I strive to be the best at what I love to do. This statement is as much an affirmation as it is a philosophical expression. Striving to be my best means I never quite achieve it, and I am always trying to do better. In essence, it says that so long as I am alive, I will be a student.

    I establish long-term relationships with everyone. This means in every decision that I make, I am thinking long term. When you think long term, it's more likely that you will make better decisions, especially as relates to fairness and ethics.

    I have fun and I do that every day. The daily dose of fun is as important a dose as you could ever find, or ever find time to do. By having fun every day, it means you're smiling every day. And if you need a deeper definition of this, it probably means you're not having enough fun.

    I found out a secret. If you love what you do, all of your days are the same -- they're holidays -- and I hope you feel the same way about what you do.

  • Skills Tests   ( 2 Articles )

    Knowing where your game is now, is the key to effective practice.

    One of the big problems with golf is that there is such a lot to practice. There are so many areas of the game to work on, and most of us have limited practice time available to us.  The pro's typically use a stats programme such as strokeaverage.com to analyse their games.  The problem with this for most amateurs is that the amount of golf they play doesn't give them enough data to make a stats programme effective in the short term.  Over a season they might build up enough information to give them a good idea about where their strengths and weaknesses are, but how does the guy who plays once a week decide which area needs the most practice now?

    It is important to understand what you are doing when you go to practice.  Are you working to improve your capability in the long term, by developing your swing or fitness or short game technique?  Or are you practicing the implementation and execution of what you already have, to make sure you play to your potential the next time you head out on the course.  In my experience, most golfers spend far too much time on the former, and hardly any time practicing taking what they have to the course.

    So, you have 2 hours this evening to go and practice?  How do you decide what to work on?  The first thing is to plan what you are going to do.  If you have time, split your practice between technique, and performance.  Spend the first part of the session working on whatever it is you are develpoing in your technique.  In the second part of the session switch to hitting shots as you would hit them on the golf course, using your routine and focusing on a small target. 

    Statistically, the areas of the game that make most difference to our scores are short putting (6 feet and in) and the short game.  If you miss a green by 20 yards but then chip it to 4 feet and hole the putt, your score is exactly the same as if you hit a fantastic shot to ten feet and then lipped the putt.  I know with my own game, if I'm holing out well and my short game is sharp, then I'm usually going to shoot par or better, unless the golf course is very hard or the weather is awful.

    I try to keep my stats after every round I play, which gives me a decent idea about what is happening on the course  But I also like to have little tests which I can do in practice, to assess where I am, and to make sure I'm putting myself under a little bit of pressure when I'm practicing.  I have different tests for different areas of the game.  In this section there are a number of those tests which you can use to assess where you game is now and which areas you need to work on.
  • Improve Your Golf   ( 8 Articles )
    The first thing to do is assess the strengths and weaknesses of your golf, and to know what you really want from the game.  If you haven't done so already, please read this article "Why do you Play?
  • Game Improvement Strategy   ( 2 Articles )

    The Game Improvement Strategy is a simple and proven way of giving you the best possible chance of reaching your potential as a golfer.

    It has 4 stages.

    1. You decide what you would like to achieve as a golfer.
    2. We assess the current state of your golf game.
    3. We devise a plan to get you to your goals.
    4. We work the plan for a set period of time.

    Then we repeat it making any necessary adjustments, setting new goals, revising the plan.

    To see my own Game Improvement Strategy follow this link. 

     
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