The Golf Team

Hello Golfers,

Fitting news

Does Your Putter Fit Your Stroke?

Putter fitting is an exact science. The better the putter fits your stroke the easier it is to hole putts. There are three basic categories of putters:

• Face balanced
• 45 degree toe hang
• 90 degree toe hang

If you hold your putter in the palm of your hand facing the sky the clubface will either face the sky, hang on a 45 degree angle or a 90 degree angle. The longer your stroke is the more toe hang you require.

How the Putter Sits

The next stage is to make sure you have the sole of the putter flat on the floor. If you have the toe up in the air, the centre of gravity moves nearer the heel and the putter face will close too early and you will pull the ball left or worse still you hold the putter too tight and the face stays open and you push the ball right.

Grip

Lastly the grip, your palms should be parallel to the putter face. It doesn’t matter if you are left below right or the opposite or even facing each other. If the palms are parallel you are less likely to dominate the stroke with a twitch of either hand.

To recap…

• Right style of putter for your length of stroke
• Sole flat on the floor
• Palms parallel
• Let the putter swing back and forward with your shoulders

If you would like to get more out of your putting or get your current putter checked, get in touch and book a lesson today.

Coaching news

Sign up for our brand new Couch to Course Starting 15th July…

Summer Holidays are just around the corner…
Join our junior camps this summer – open for bookings now on 01962 885254

Academy news

Free balls, lessons plus raffles and competitions this Sunday 30 June….

Our Open Day is nearly here and we hope to see many of you on the day to enjoy FREE golf, taster lessons plus competitions with all proceeds go towards Winchester Hospice.

FREE junior roll-ups 10am for 6-10 year olds, and 11am for 10-13 year olds

FREE balls – one basket of 30 balls for every visitor to use on the driving range

FREE adult taster sessions run by our PGA Pro James from 12 noon until 2pm

Plus, your chance to win a PING Sigma G Putter worth £175 by entering our Long Putt Challenge - Just 50p to enter or £1 for three attempts, the player scoring the highest number of consecutive holed putts wins! If the longer game is your thing, enter our Toptracer Closest to the Pin competition - £1 to enter, download the Toptracer app to record your shots on the leaderboard and closest to the pin wins a Privilege Card worth £100. Both competitions run from 2pm – 3pm and prizes will be presented at 3pm.

All or nothing

Playing a par-3 over water is as much a mental test as anything else. After all, if it was just light rough between you and the green, would you still hit panic mode? Of course not, so what can you do to keep the nerves at bay and ensure your ball sails safely over the drink?

Stay calm and don't panic!

The biggest obstacle to overcome when playing over water is not actually the H2O, but rather your own mental barrier. Here's our advice:

Focus on a point behind the green that is in line with the flag. This can be a tree, branch, it could even be a leaf – anything just so long as it pulls your eye-line away from the wet stuff and closer to the pin
Stay relaxed. You have hit the ball a million times before so there is no need to panic now
Stick to your pre-shot routine. This is the best way to stay in the moment and make your next shot seem like any other

These tips will have you relishing those watery par-3s but if you find yourself still struggling with some of the tougher shots in golf, then speak to a member of the team about a lesson so we can iron out any kinks in your game.

send us a message >

Lost your groove?

Much like the tyres on your car, there comes a time when the grooves on your wedges have worn away so much that they need replacing. This process occurs slowly over time and is something that you might not notice at first glance, but when the wear becomes apparent it can have serious consequences on your game.

Fresh vs worn grooves

It might seem a little extreme, but the graphic above illustrates the impact worn grooves can have on shots into greens - a lower ball flight that rolls out farther compared to a wedge with fresh grooves.

Yes, you might be able to adapt by pitching the ball shorter and letting it roll out, but when you don't have much green to work with or are playing a delicate shot worn grooves will be of no use.

What do we suggest?

If dirt, grit and water have visibly harmed your wedge face, it’s time to get your groove back with a new wedge set-up.

One model that we'd certainly recommend trying is TaylorMade's Milled Grind Hi-Toe wedge. Utilising advanced milling techniques, these wedges boast an improved groove configuration that extends all the way to the toe for high-spin performance.

TaylorMade wedges are trusted by some of the world's best golfers, including Rory and DJ, so you can guarantee they'll add performance to your game.

find out more >

Video of the Week

In the second of this three-part series, putting instructor Phil Kenyon explains how to read greens using more than just your eyes. Have you ever tried this?

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