I got to know Rory McIlroy at Blackwood Golf Centre where I worked as Teaching Professional. Rory, aged around 12, would come down to the range with his Dad, Gerry, in the winters to practice. Typically the weather was the usual for Northern Ireland with wind and rain whipping horizontally across the range; Gerry would stand patiently watching, not saying that much, letting the young man get on with his practice. It was on one of those evenings, down having a chat with Gerry when I realized just how good he was going to be. Rory was hitting a little lofted fairway wood out into the cold, blustery night air and as I chatted, I noticed that each and every shot was coming out of the clubface in the same way. Perfect strike, same trajectory and looking like the same distance until the floodlights failed to pick it up through the rain. Fast forward to 2009- me having to put my sunglasses on as Rory holed out from 3 feet to win the Dubai Desert Classic. The sight of a grown man standing with all his friends blubbering with tears running down his cheeks was one that I was keen to avoid but we were all in the same boat!!

As an instuctor, I would like to tell you of the two things that I like the most about what Rory does- one that you can teach and one that I am afraid is beyond the reaches of many of us-

If you look at the video of Rory, you will see how through the impact area, his pelvis unwinds with great speed (normal in an elite player) but Rory's actually brakes (decelerates) so hard that it stops and backs up a little. If you watch his belt buckle closely, you will see it. This powerful pattern transfers a huge amount of energy to Rory's chest (thorax) and then to the arms and so on to the club. Not many players have made this move but those who do have been unbelievabke players and extremely gifted ball-strikers.

Now for what we can all learn from. Next time you are watching Rory, take a look at his pre-shot routine. He gets up to the ball in a very no-nonsense way and then has a waggle or two whilst his eyes go back and forth to the target. Just before he starts, the club settles behind the ball. With the club set in position, Rory looks at the target one more time. His eyes go back to the ball and then he's away. This suggests to me that Rory has a wonderful connection to the target, to where he wants the ball to go, maybe more so than some of his fellow players but much more than for most of us. If you can connect with the target like this, then you are definitely going to play the game better- fact.

rorymcilroy5.MOV (4.85 mb)

We have devised a Short Game Skills Test here at BHSG to get to the root of any underlying deficiencies in student's short games. The basics of the test are that there are twenty shots to twenty different locations around the green. The students hits two balls from each of the twenty spots and we measure how far each one of the shots is from the hole in inches using a meter wheel. The longest shot is fifty-five yards and the shortest is around 5 yards and players can use whichever club they want. There are some sloping lies, rough and bunker shots to contend with and there are no practice shots or re-takes because your short game is your short game!! If a player misses the green, we add four hundred inches onto the total score and if a player holes a shot, we subtract four hundred inches from the total.

Now for the cool info. We have had around a thirty players take the test so far- Wallace Booth has had the best score with 2,685 points. When you take this total, divide by forty and by twelve you get the average distance which Wallace was from the hole on each of his shots- 5 feet and 6 inches. Wallace plays from a handicap of plus 4.

The average of the other players who’s handicaps range from 8-14 is 7,258 points. I make the same calculations and the average distance which these other players were away from the hole is 15 feet and 1 inch. The common sense about the skills test and how we then can help to make players better is glaringly obvious; in doing so, we can knock shots off their games.

Short Game Skills Test League Table and Average Distances from the hole.

1.       Wallace Booth                    2685 (5"5)

2.       Mads Vibe-Hastrup              3109 (6"4) 

3.       Johan Edfors                      4343 (9"0) 

4.       Stephen Reid                     4500 (9"3) 

5.       Khalid Yousuf                     4534 (9"4)     

6.       Ferdinand Mueck                4942 (10"2)

7.       Scott Kerrins                     5422 (11"2) 

8=      PeterBoland                      5996 (12"4)      

8=      David Sykes                      5996 (12"4)                                                                                                                                                                                                             

9.       Faruk Roked                      7138 (14"8)

10.      Irving Underwood                7148 (14"9)  

A lot has been said and written about the importance of maintaining a stable core and lower half when making a full swing. In my experience, one of the reasons why players fail to maintain stability is weakness in their core which is magnified when there is a large amount of nervous energy in their bodies.

 

As anyone who has had problems with their pitching and chipping can tell you, nerves can get in the way very quickly!! If you suffer from problems with your chipping and pitching, ensure that you have a stable and supported lower body from the beginning to the end of the swing and you will find that the precision with which you can strike the ball will go up resulting in the nervous energy going down.

 

Get this feeling by gripping the legs to the floor at address and engaging your abdominal muscles and glutes. Keep your forearms and hands soft and begin your practice with short chip and run shots. Build to more advanced chips with a sandwedge maintaining the same stability in the lower half. If you can build to 40-50 yard pitch shots with the feet a little wider but solid and on the floor throughout to your finish, your short game will be on the right track.

How good is your short game?  I can honestly tell you that no matter who you are, it's not good enough.  It needs to better.  A great short game can turn a bad round into a decent round.  But it can also turn a decent round into a great round.  Tiger Woods is the poster child for a great short game.  We have all watched him get out of jail by making putts he needs to and by getting up and down for pars over and over again.  So ask yourself, is your short game good enough to get you to the next level?  If you want to improve your scores, the easiest way is by improving you short game.  So unless you are already a short game wizard, come out and let the instructors here at the BHSG help you get better.  Here is a quick test to assess the current state of your short game.  And be honest!

Rate your ability for the following shots. 

Pitch Shots:

1              2               3             4              5              6              7              8               9             10

Poor                                                        Fair                                                         Excellent

Chip Shots:

1              2              3              4              5              6              7              8              9              10

Poor                                                        Fair                                                         Excellent

Sand Play:

1              2              3              4              5              6              7              8              9              10

Poor                                                        Fair                                                         Excellent

Long & Medium Range Putts:

1              2              3              4              5              6              7              8              9              10

Poor                                                        Fair                                                         Excellent

Short Putts:

1              2              3              4              5              6              7              8              9              10

Poor                                                        Fair                                                         Excellent

 

 

When was the last time you went out and just played golf?  What I mean is just went out to the course, didn't look at any yardage markers or course guides, and hit each shot as it comes.  Yardages are great, but I see far too many players get bogged down by too much information. It may sound crazy, but at least once a month go out and play 18 holes with half a set of club.  Choose either odd or even irons, one wedge ( pitching, sand, or lob ), and one wood ( driver or 3 wood ).  Once you have chosen your  club setup, try playing all your shots without looking at any yardages.  Just walk up to your ball, and ask yourself how far the shot looks, how far it feels.  I watch player all the time get the exact yardage, check the wind, and never come close to hitting the right shot.  Playing without yardages will free up your swing and force you to play golf.  Playing with half a set will also force you to hit shots.  Meaning if you need a 6 iron and all you have is a 7 iron or a 5 iron, you will either have to hit the 7 iron hard or swing the 5 iron easy.  And if you are really adventurous, try playing 9 holes with three clubs and your putter.  I have all my good junior players do this at least two to three times a month.  You chose the three clubs you think you will need to get around the course.  Last time I did this, I chose a 3 wood, 5 iron, and an 8 iron.  Again, the idea behind this is to force you to hit shots and not think about the mechanics of your golf swing.  Trust me, if you try this on a regular basis you will improve your ability to hit more shots on the course.

Here is some recent Trackman for Adam Scott during a recent visit to the BHSG.  The Trackman lauch monitor uses the same technology used to track missles on the battlefield.  It works by shooting a Doppler radar field out in front your where you are hitting your shots.  It allows us to track the flight of your golf ball.  From this, we can get data like launch angle, backspin rates, carry distances, stuff like that.  If you are looking for new golf equipment, this is the most advanced tool on the market to help you get the right clubs for your game. Check out this example of what Trackman can do for your game!

Adam.pdf