As I left the UK Gatwick airport at silly o’clock, it was nice for me to sleep almost all of the flight to Spain….so nice, and then arrived to nice sunshine, even better! My school group came from all over the UK, Scotland, Northumberland the Isle of Arran, London, Norwich, Northampton, Devon, Liverpool…what a nice mix of people all so keen to improve their golf in the warm Spanish sun. Our first day started off really well with a long game session along with me taking a video of everyone’s swing.  This is a very important part of my school... I know it takes up a fair bit of time but it is so worth it as it’s great to see the student’s faces when I get to show them just how they move.  As they say a picture is worth a 1,000 words and in golf teaching it is by far one of the best tools!

After a bite of lunch I put the group into groups of 4 and played a Texas Scramble.  This is a great way to get everyone to mix up and to get people going with their golf as many have not played very much this winter.

The winners were Pat, Claire, Rachel & Trudy with a great score of 63!

A great 1^st day with happy people.

Day 2 I split the group into two with group A going onto the course and group B with me for bunkers and long game tuition. I love doing the bunker session as I know lots of people do not have a bunker at their home course and only practice their bunker play on the course. We talked about the 3 different face angles due to the lie of the ball ie. buried lie using a toe’d-in club angle, slightly plugged lie using a square face and a good sitting-up lie using a slightly open face. So it was great to see them all cope with that and practice well. We then did some long game work, covering set-up grip and alignment and of course we talked about their video and how we were going to take it on from there. After lunch group B went onto the course and group A came to me for tuition. We did chipping and pitching from just off the green side and talked about technique and distance control. We then did 50 to 70 yard pitch shots followed by some long game. Working to what we saw on the video. A great day was had by all, in lovely sunshine; I guess it was around +17!!

Day 3 started with group B going on the course and group A staying with me to do bunkers, as the other group did on day 2. It was again another great session, having plenty of time to put some good practice in on sand shots, its great to see some people’s faces when a new idea for them really does work! We then worked on some long game, I talked about the importance of practicing with a purpose and trying to hit every practice shot to a different target, making their practice more game-like.

After a bite of lunch group A hit the course and group B came to me, where we worked on short chip and run shots and pitching. Such an important part of the game, so we worked on good contact then distance control. Using training aids to help them with vision. I really like lining-up poles, they have so many uses and I would like to see everyone carry them in their golf bags. A great day where they all had lots to put in their note books and started keeping stats. We then did long game work where I talked about hitting their balls between two points and then making the 2 points narrower while keeping a record of how many they keep in play.

The day of rest came, and 7 of my group played golf again and practiced... I was impressed, but I have to say I would always encourage them all to have a day off.  As for me, well I caught up with paperwork, sat by the pool in +22 of super sunshine, had a bite of lunch with the girls, did a bit of shopping and then went for a run with Alison... all in all a great day!

Day 4 of the school, started with putting, 43% of the game, so very important. I talked about technique and distance control, I then set up some drills and games for them to practice. A par 18 putting game, a 5 ball tap in drill and the ladder distance control game, plus how to hold more 4 footers... a great morning and then I talked about better contact with their iron play.

As the last day came around all too fast, it was time for me to go over all the things we had covered.  We started with pitching, a mix of long and short shots over bunkers and then we warmed up for the last day competition. I talked about how to practice properly with a purpose and to make sure they warm up properly too. A quick bite of lunch and they were off. We played a singles stableford and secret pairs. The best player on the day was Trudy, and the secret pair’s winners were Gill and Sue M. Our first day Texas Scramble winners were Claire, Rachel, Pat and Trudy.

I have to thank them all for a great week, they all worked so hard and went off with their note books full of things for them to work on... so I look forward to hearing how they all get on this year, so thanks again, and all the best!!