brunston castle members' site

Keeping the Head.......... in more ways than one!

22 youngsters turned up on Friday evening to Brunston’s clubgolf and what a delight to see the enthusiasm to play. I had 7 newcomers fresh from the SAC schools taster or the PGA tent at the Open. Quelling a rebellion about hitting drivers all the way to the bottom of the range [dream on!] we did our warmup, GASP, little poem and swing drill and it was off to the range. Louisa, Adam, Lee, Jack, Jamie, Ryan and Scott all lined up, swung their 7 irons, and hit 3, then 4 balls at a time, re-checked their routine and wow! did they do well. Great shots - the odd duff - and they were so keen, and for me, best of all, hearing their banter, seeing them have fun and being thanked both by the kids and their parents was the icing on the cake.

It was proof indeed that if a youngster gets the basics right from the start, a good grip/swing sets you up for the rest of your life - whether you play competitively, socially, stop and start again for whatever reason, grow tall [or not!] , develop muscles [or not!], get older - it is always there.

All the other youngsters were chipping, putting, trying bunker shots, hitting the fairway - just getting things back on track. Grips were checked, ball position and posture corrected - all very unglamorous in comparison with mighty drives, but everyone seemed pleased with themselves, and competition for the Mars bars fierce! Again I would encourage the adults to come closer, watch and learn how to help your future champion go through the basics. [Helpers too needed especially if the numbers grow]

Our next phase will be the longer clubs. While fairway woods are pretty easy to hit, controlling the desire to hit the skin off the ball is not! Flexing muscles, dreaming of distance, the temptation is to snatch the club back, lift the head up - and ‘top’ the ball; or have a big swing round yourself, and down comes the head in a dip, and a divot will go further than the ball. Not good. Phone Tiger and ask him about that big dip on the 10th tee!

Keeping the head level.

Jack Nicklaus’s father held his head steady by holding on to his hair; our father plonked our heads over the washing line, and made us swing and we certainly knew when we dipped! Nowadays Social Services would be called in to both dads, but one way or another, you have to keep that head from doing a nodding dog impression! A more humane way is probably just to take that trusty club and hold the butt above the player’s head. Better, if you see a lot of head movement is to do what pro Gary is doing: lightly steadying the head. You obviously need to be a good bit taller that the player to stand in front of them and escape death by golf club! A little sideways movement is ok for almost every one. Total stillness is for the pros. They are honed. One look at the hands, forearms and shoulders of a top golfer tell you they are very different from your average golfer, far less a youngster. A pro shook my hand once after a pro-am, and it took a few minutes before I could sign the card!

Unless you are a trainee saint, golf will make you cross and frustrated at times. Tossing a club is not on. Losing your temper is not clever. But getting upset and tearful when you are young is normal; you want to do well and if it is not happening, or you get rotten luck - it is hard to keep calm. If you are ready to throw yourself and clubs into the river, go home and live to fight another day. If you have had some really bad luck and you are playing a game, don’t ever take great chunks out of the green or fairway. Take a rest at the next tee and have a dozen swings in the heavy rough behind or across from the tee; get it out your system without damaging the course, a few deep breaths ..... and as they say in the States, move on. Keep the head....... however hard it can be.. As a parent recognise the 'enough, stop' point, but encourage a return!

the head is steady

coming in to hit the ball, the head is still steady

For all youngsters, and those like myself who stayed a puny lightweight, getting the ‘feel’ of shots is much easier than for the power brigade. Without going into the mechanics of chipping - we’ll go over that properly at the clubgolf on Friday - just take a wedge, 7, or a 9 iron. Yes, I know ‘flop shots’ are much more glamorous and we’ll do that later too - but it is good to know the ball is going straight, and how far you can make it go - with the same club. You need 6 balls, [3 white, 3 yellow or heavily marked], and a bit of garden, practice area or beach [remember mat!] Put a little target about 12 steps away; try and hit your first ball to it; just a little swing; then take a yellow ball and try and hit it to land at the first ball; then hit a white one to where the yellow one rolled to, and so on. You have had to think about ‘where’ and ‘’how hard’ quite seriously.

Practice tip [advanced]

Now try and hit all 6 balls back as close as you can to your starting point. it is not easy! Now you are really ‘aiming’ and now you will know why a good aim is so important! It is not all bashing and crashing. This is called 'working the club' and is the secret to top golf. If you have got well on with your chip and run shots, the above is the best chipping practice tip Ken Stevely ever gave the Ayrshire Ladies squad. Some of you will have seen me demonstrate it; stick with this a couple of times a week - it only takes about 10/15 minutes tops and you will be looking to sink a chip almost every round later on.