If it seems too cheap avoid it like the plague as it is most probably a counterfeit. There are a lot of counterfeit clubs circulating at present. It is impossible to know until you hit a ball.

The shaft of the club is the most important element, consider – a regular shaft is for an average swing speed (7 iron up to 140 yards), stiff shaft for fast swing speeds (7 iron up to 170 yards) and extra stiff for very fast swing speeds (7 iron 170 yards +). Cheap graphite shafts have an excessive amount of torque (twist) if the ball is miss struck the club face twists at impact affecting the shot. This is a hard thing to know but remember that all top manufacturers will use quality shafts. With metal shafts – any sign of rust on the shaft or if the previous owner has put a tee peg in the grip for storage – AVOID, as golf clubs have a chrome finish on the outside, but not within. So any signs of rust show that it has rusted through and will snap.

The lie of the club (the angle at which it sits on the floor) should match your swing; on most clubs this angle can be changed to fit the golfer by any PGA professional for a small fee. There is a slight danger with cast clubs – the head can snap when altering the angle of the club which should be considered if buying blind.

Golf grip costs vary – from ÂŁ5 – ÂŁ15 per club. This is not excessive on a driver or fairway wood but with a full set of irons can add up

When purchasing a driver a standard head is draw enhancing (2 degrees closed) a tour head is fade enhancing (1 degree open).

When purchasing a set of irons try and buy them too long rather than too short as shortening a club is relatively cheap but lengthening a club can be costly. A rough rule of thumb 5”9 to 6” is standard length clubs, shorter players will need shorter clubs and taller players will require longer clubs.

1 – On a seaside or links golf course, invariably the grass grows towards the sea (i.e. the nap) if the grass looks darker from one side and lighter from the other, putting into the dark will be slower (against the nap) whereas putting into the lighter grass will be quicker.

2 – Stroke the putt, don’t hit the ball – distance is gauged by a pendulum movement where the back swings length and speed dictates the follow through speed. With longer putts have a longer, faster backswing and shorter putts, a shorter slower backswing. The distance is controlled by the pendulum movement – not by a physical hit. Imagine rolling a ball to the desired distance, to achieve this it is a relaxed swing of the arm where distance is judged through feel.

Practice steps to help -

With six golf balls vary the length of the backswing, starting with a 2 inch backswing and a 2 inch follow-through moving up to a 10 inch backswing and follow-through and note the distance the ball travels depending on the backswing distance used. This does vary depending on the speed of the green but especially important if you’re putting on unknown greens.

3 – Take time to look at the lie of the land

For the beginner – If you tipped a glass of water on the green, where would the water flow and how quickly, the water will help determine the balls journey to the hole.

For the better player – Look for the high and low spots on the green to give a visual map of the slight undulations you will need to consider.

4 – If you are unsure that your eyes are over the ball at address, drop another ball from your eye position and see where it hits the ground

5 – Having difficulty with your short putts? – For a right handed golfer after addressing the ball close your left eye so you can no longer see the hole, this will enable you to concentrate on the putting stroke not the direction the needs to go in.

6 – Never try and hole a putt, just try and get the ball to stop 12 inches behind the hole. This is the optimum speed as the ball has a chance to lip-in and if it does miss it will not leave you with a daunting return putt.

Winter is now upon us. Mitts are in the bag for the cold frosty mornings, umbrella is ready for the heavy downpours and you are trudging around the course in 6 items of clothing to keep you warm. Also we are out of the qualifying competition season. The period now where your handicap is not going to change. As a result of this, the winter is the best time for you to set new goals and get your game in the best possible shape for the new season next year.

Golf swing changes
Attending an intensive golfschool during this period will allow you the time to learn any swing changes. It will also allow you to put that new swing on the course without the worry of your handicap being effected. One of the problems with lessons being taken during the competition season is the issue of trust. Trusting what you have been taught on the range or course with a professional can actually work in a pressured environment like competition golf. The tendancy is always to fall back into what you know or what feels comfortable believing it will lead to a better score than the new technique. Use the winter as your ‘no fear’ season. Try new shots, experiment with your short game and take on new swing changes so you can push forwards as soon as next season begins.

Competition practice
Use winter golf competitions as your practice ground. For long term development this would work in a similar way to that of a tour professional, setting a periodised timetable resulting in peak performance for a certain time of year, major championships. Use your winter competitions like a dress rehearsal for the coming season. It is the time of year where you can make try various shots and push yourself forwards with your swing without any concern or repercussions on your handicap.

Goal setting
Goal setting at this time is also very important. You need to have specific goals to work to. The main reason for this is that it maintains your focus through practice and tournament play. Being too short sighted with how things have gone on one particular day, or too expectant too soon is damaging to your long term development.
Set long, medium and short term goals to work towards. Your drive and determination will be greater working towards something you want to achieve. Talking to your professional about your short term goals is great so you can work as a partnership. Setting achievable and timed goals together will assist your progress.

Using the next few months wisely will have a huge benefit on your golf game when the season restarts. Make sure you are giving yourself the best platfrom to push your golf forwards for 2011!!

Good luck, and enjoy your golf.

Daniel Gale
PGA Professional

As a beginner playing golf it can sometimes feel very frustrating that your successful practice doesn’t always transfer straight into better shots on the golf course. This can be infuriating at times having seen practice sessions result in consistently straight, well struck shots on the range yet a wide variety of wild, badly struck shots on the golf course.

Try not to get too frustrated on the course. It will not help.

This inconsistency is down to many things, mainly the fact that when you are practicing you are in a completely different environment. You have an almost unlimited supply of golf balls for one. This takes all of the pressure off of the shot. You will be more relaxed and as the end result doesn’t really matter, you will also be more likely to try and execute the correct swing technique that you are carrying out in your lessons.

It is this relaxed feeling you need to try to take onto the golf course. Remember that everyone hits bad shots, look at Tiger Woods, he misses a fairway by 40 yards at times, if this is happening to the greatest player ever then you shouldn’t expect to have a round with no errors involved.

Here are some ideas to maintain your calm and patience on the golf course:

1. Take one shot at a time – do not look too far ahead or have too high expectations on upcoming shots or holes. Do your best to execute the shot you are about to play

2. Have practice swings – use these to rehearse the swing you wish to carry out. This will relax you and get your muscles ready for the upcoming jobs they need to carry out

3. Keep it simple – if you go onto the golf course with a head full of swing thoughts then you will probably crumble. Have one clear objective for your swing. A two second swing cannot handle 5/6 thoughts

4. Let it out – for the volatile player give yourself a 10 metre walk after a bad shot to get any frustrations out of your system. Say what you like (to yourself) but after those 10 metres your sole concentration should be on the next shot. Do not let one bad shot drag you down for the next 2/3 holes

5. Mix it up – mix between course and range practice. Use the range and practice areas to master the technique and the golf course to learn how to play golf. Playing golf is an art so get out there and play.

The more you play on the course the more comfortable you will start to feel out there. This will lead to a more relaxed approach to each stroke. Trust me, one day it will click and the scores will tumble. Just be patient and enjoy your golf.

Daniel Gale

PGA Professional

If you have been a visitor to the Golfschool, or you are coming to visit us soon, make sure that your time with us is put to the best possible use once you leave.

I am constantly working on my own game, and i know that at times i can find i have fallen into a trap of just hitting balls on the range or short game area. I am not standing there doing drills or setting myself targets in order to improve my performance. It shouldn’t come with any surprise therefore that this isn’t improving my game. I find this can often be the case with some of the lessons we carry out at the Golfschool. Poor practice is basically compounding a bad technique. We need to make sure you use your practice time to improve technique and ultimately your performance on the golf course.

Make sure you are working on the drills and exercises that your professional gave you on your visit. Whether it be hip drive exercises or trying to create a wider take away, it is important that you work with the routines to change the natural movements of your swing. The drills you are given are designed to isolate the particular area in your swing that needs the most work. This allows you to feel the movements and change the muscle memory you have developed.

When i am teaching i try to get my pupils to have 3 practice swings prior to each ball they hit. The practice swing delivers a more relaxed, and technically better movement prior to hitting the ball. You will always swing a lot more relaxed when there is no outcome to the hit. Therefore your practice swings are a great place try and exagerate the exercise or fix which you are attempting. Use mirrors on the range to watch the swings you are attempting. It is a good way for you to understand what your body and club are doing, making it much easier for you to paint a picture in your brain of what you are trying to achieve.

Also i would recommend you visualise shots you want to hit and hit to certain areas. The range at the Golfschool is about 150 yards wide, making it hard to maintain a narrow focus on where your are aiming. Knowing where you are aiming is important in order to avoid the tendancy to just smash balls into a field and obviously to gauge whether you are hitting the ball to your chosen target. Set yourself fairways and target areas and count how many balls finish within the areas your are aiming at. Making your practice as real as possible will make it a lot easier to take your new swing onto the course.

As a coach it is always satisfying when past pupils return having worked on the drills i have given them. Seeing the changes to the ball flight and also the swing on the video analysis system is always great for the pupil, and ultimately means we can move on to work at pushing your game forwards even more with your next visit.

Keep practicing.

Daniel Gale

PGA Professional

What a great morning. The weather was spot on for the third day in a row and my Golfschool group are progressing really well. I have just finished day two of a 3 1/2 day beginner school with a really nice couple, Rob and Karen, who are completely new to the game.
It is really refreshing teaching players who are new to the sport. Their golfing background was a little knock around a local pitch and putt in London, so to get them onto the ‘proper’ golf course on day 2 was a great experience for them.

Having covered the set – up, half swing and putting yesterday afternoon, today we worked on extending the follow through and introduced chipping around the green.We also played with a wider variety of clubs, having learnt the basics with a 7 iron. This allowed Rob and Karen to learn how ball flight and distance changes as you work through the set.
Seeing as we had covered quite a lot of ground through the afternoon session yesterday and this morning we made the decision to head out onto the golf course. We opted for the 9 hole par 3 course. It is a great test of golf out there. There is a variety of yardages on this short course, hitting to undulating greens with thick rough lining either side of the holes. My main tips to Rob and Karen were to keep the ball in play. Explaining that three 50 yard shots could set you up nicely for a score of 5 on most par 3′s, which is a very good starting point.

We managed to play 3 holes in the time we were out there and i think they both found it fun and also enlightening. It is always good to see how the lesson time and practice they have carried out with me would be converted into a ‘playing golf’. It was also a great opportunity to explain some of the basic rules and ettiquette that is expected of a golfer. Simple things that would speed up their rounds of golf, and also allow them to know they are doing everything correctly around the more seasoned club golfer.

We finished the session at 1 o clock. Looking forward to their 2.32 tee time this afternoon, Rob and Karen headed off to lunch. I will be looking forward to hearing how they got on with their first 9 hole round when i return to the Golfschool to teach them in the morning when we will also move onto using some nice big Callaway drivers once we have finished working on the swing and some more short game.

Novices on Monday, golfers by Wednesday.

Daniel Gale
PGA Professional

Colin Montgomerie has given what looked to be huge clue as to his Friday morning pairings when he sent out his players for their first practice round at Celtic Manor.

Northern Ireland’s Graeme McDowell and Rory McIlroy paired up for Europe’s first official practice session of the Ryder Cup.

Italian brothers Edoardo and Francesco Molinari formed another pair, while world number four Lee Westwood teamed up with Germany’s new major champion Martin Kaymer.

English trio Luke Donald, Ian Poulter and Ross Fisher also went out together, along with three-time major winner Padraig Harrington.

For the US, Corey Pavin sent Tiger Woods out in his first practice group alongside Steve Stricker, who he played with at the Presidents Cup, and Zach Johnson and Hunter Mahan.

Experienced duo Stewart Cink and Jim Furyk accompany rookies Matt Kuchar and Jeff Overton, while Phil Mickelson’s practice group contains 3 rookies Rickie Fowler, Bubba Watson and Dustin Johnson.

Beginning on friday, the contest against the United States starts with the fourballs matches before the afternoon foursomes.

The European Ryder Cup star Lee Westwood says he is feeling “pretty strong” as he prepares to play his first round after pulling out of the WGC-Bridgestone Invitational due to injury seven weeks ago.

Paul McGinley stated that Lee Westwood’s fitness issues are a “disappointment for Europe” ahead of this year’s Ryder Cup.

Concerns over the European’s team have boosted America’s hopes of retaining the Ryder Cup according to Paul McGinley, one of Europe’s vice-captains.

But Westwood is pleased with the progress of his recovery, adding: “I’ve been working with my coach, Pete Cowen, and he says I’m swinging it better than I was before.”

He had already automatically qualified for Colin Montgomerie’s team but it is still not known if the world number three will be fit to play at Celtic Manor.

Westwood had been in impressive form before his injury setback, finishing second in the Masters and the Open as well as winning the St Jude Classic after beating American Robert Garrigus and Swede Robert Karlsson in a play-off.

After playing a few rounds this week Westwood is set to head to Scotland to play in a charity event on Monday and Tuesday, and then plans to play two rounds a week from Friday onwards.

“I just want to replicate the Ryder Cup with two matches in one day,” he said

In the Ryder Cup, Westwood has been part of four victorious European sides – winning 14, losing 10 and halving five of his 29 matches.

However, Westwood struggled to make an impact in the last Ryder Cup in Valhalla in 2008, earning only two halves out of four matches as the United States regained the trophy.

Tiger Woods will be spending the next 2 weeks practicing for the Ryder Cup after failing to qualify for the tour championship.

The world number one finished 15th in the BMW Championship on Sunday, leaving him 42nd in the FedEx Cup play-off standings with the top 30 qualifying to play in the USPGA Tour’s finale in Atlanta.

“Obviously I would rather be there (at East Lake), but it is what it is – I didn’t qualify,” he said.

This leaves Woods with an extra week ahead of the Ryder Cup at Celtic Manor.

“I was looking forward to a one-week break. I’ve got two but it’ll be nice to concentrate on my game.”

Woods has struggled in the US Ryder Cup rankings and with only the top 9 gaining automatic qualification for the Ryder Cup he’s earned his position as a wildcard pick by captain Corey Pavin.

After a string of summer disappointments, Dustin Johnson emerges victorious in the BMW Championship at Lemont, Illinois.

After leading the US open and scoring an 82 on the final day to the blunder at the PGA championship when he was denied a spot in the playoff for not realizing he was in a bunker and touching the sand with his club on the final hole.

This did not deter Johnson who kept coming back for more, and finally at the BMW Championship the 26 year old finished on nine under beating Paul Casey by one shot.

Left out of Europe’s Ryder Cup team, Casey was three clear after the first 12 holes before losing his grip on the title and finally slipping behind Johnson when he birdied the 17th.

The 26-year-old Johnson, who will make his Ryder Cup debut next month, is now second in the FedEx points race.