BENALUP, Spain, November 2009

We all left Luton airport in the cold, and arrived in Malaga to bright blue sky and +25, what a great way to start the week!

We got the cars and then headed down the road to beautiful Benalup.

We settled in and then went for lunch at the pool bar, good food and nice wine. For the girls who had not been here before there was a little trip round, looking at the shop, the course and the fab spa.

Our first night dinner was in the Bistro.  Here at Benalup Golf and Spa there are four restaurants plus the pool bar and the afternoon tea bar and over the week we sampled them all.

Our first day of the golf school was in great sunshine. We started with some short game, working on getting good contact and distance control, with the girls just seeing for themselves what the difference was between a 7 iron chip and run and a pitch shot. This I think is so important, seeing for yourself what happens to the ball when hit on to a good putting surface. We then did some long pitching followed by a long game clinic. I reminded the group on set up, posture, ball position and grip... all the usual suspects.

After a bite of lunch we hit the course. Working on lining up and completing the swing.

A great first day ended with dinner at the Asia restaurant, great food along a contemporary asian theme.

Day 2 started with pitching. Working on those short shots over a bunker, you know the one not many people like, as in fear of putting it in the bunker or thinning it over the back. The group then did the Par 18, a great drill to sharpen up the short game. 1 chip and 1 putt is the aim from 9 different places. Then more long game, both woods and irons. A bit of lunch then on to the course to work on stats... now this does really show up where the weakness is in the game. Dinner at La Table, and it was the girls white night!!

Day 3, a day off from golf, so we took a trip down to the coast, what a great sea side, with a wide sandy beach.

Then back to Benalup for a spot of lunch, and for me, a trip to the gym then the spa!! What a lovely day.

Dinner was back in the Bistro… nice.

Day 4 was a trip to the nice hotel and golf courses of Novo Sancti Petri, where we had a putting clinic then played 18 holes on this Seve designed course. A great day, in fab weather, on a great golf course and I must say some of the best greens that I have been on all year. The group worked on pressure stableford. It is similar to stableford, but you start with 6 points per hole and have to keep them by keeping on the fairway, making greens in regulation and putting well!!

Back to Benalup for a trip to the gym for me and the spa for the girls.

Cocktails in the bar then dinner at La Table.

Day 5 we started with short pitching and then bunker shots. Something I feel not too many people practice, so it’s always a good session. We then worked on long irons and woods, making sure we had the right ball position, and of course proper alignment so the ball had a chance of going where you intended… After a light lunch we hit the course, now trying to put into practice the pitching, bunker shots and improved aim that we had worked on.

The spa called to the girls once again, and then to our favourite bar man Vincenezo for the odd cosmopolitan then dinner at the Asia where we were treated to “Teppaniaky” where the chef cooked on a hot plate right in front of us.  It was just great, the best food of the week... I have to say the food at Benalup is good everywhere, but the Teppaniaky was special!!

We came to the last day all too soon, so it was a round up clinic, a time to go over all the topics we have covered, both long and most importantly the short game, then we were off, on the last day competition. Yve came out on top with 33 points on a windy day, Andy was the most improved player, what a fab week with a great bunch of girls... a big thank you to them all and of course to all the staff at the FABULOUS BENALUP!!!

What they had to say…

Beth..Golf course is good for both new players and challenging for mid handicap players, the rooms food and service was excellent, and great value for money!!

Yve… Golf course in good condition, the food and service were excellent with friendly staff.

Lin… Excellent value for money.

Andy... very relaxing!

Linda.. Great setting, good golf, service and quality excellent.

Jane... Superb value, and the rooms are top notch!

BENALUP, Spain, January 2009

It’s so nice for me to get the golf school season off with a good start and it doesn’t get much better than going to the great venue Fairplay Golf and Spa resort in Benalup. This 5 star all inclusive resort is set in the hillsides near Cadiz and we could not fail to have a good time. It is one of the top small hotels in the world... first class!!

The first day got off to a great start with a bright blue sky and warm winter sun which we enjoyed all day from 9.30 am till 7pm – what a change from the cold damp weather left behind us in the UK.

We began the week on the practice ground, and started with chipping. Working hard on making sure of good contact with the ball and then on how to control the distance. Lots of people have a good idea of what to do, but struggle with consistently getting the length of ball travel correct once the ball has hit the green as the landing point changes every time.  Good work was done by the group with many people chipping in at some point during the session on the practice green. After that we hit some long shots, remembering to warm up properly beforehand and planning the practice.  This meant that rather than just bashing away with their driver, they were thinking about where they wanted the ball to go, what club to use and what shot they needed to play.

After a bite of lunch and a drink we hit the course... in shorts!! It was a nice afternoon for on-course tuition, so we worked on making good ball contact and aligning ourselves to get the ball travelling in the right direction. It never ceases to amaze me just how hard it is for some people to line up correctly... so with some drills to practice and some specific advice I hope I made it a little more easy. After meeting in the bar we had a wonderful dinner in the La Table restaurant... lovely!!

Day 2 we again started with short game, this time short pitching. Again working on contact. With drills and routines to work on, I hope this part of the game is now is a little easier as is making the correct choice of club so that we know when to change from say a 7 iron to a pitching wedge. Then it was off for some long game tuition, working on set up, alignment and balance. After lunch we hit the course and played a Texas Scramble which is a good chance to get everyone to mix and play as a team so yet another great day was had by all. Dinner was at the Asia restaurant this time and again was fab!!

The day of rest was nice, a little foggy to start and the group did different things, some played more golf, some practiced, some played tennis, some went for a trip to a nearby village, then most hit the spa!! Me, well I spent time in the gym, had time to catch up with office things and then also hit the Spa…nice one! Dinner was in the Italian restaurant this time and just as good as the others!!

Day 3 We started with bunkers, something everyone sort of likes! All very interested in how to be able to get the ball out from a bad lie!! We talked about the 3 different club face angles all depending on the lie of the ball, so a good session for everyone to learn something new. We then did more long game work on balance and again alignment. After some lunch we hit the course, in great golfing weather, where Linda was best of the day with 36 points followed by John with 34. Again the group filled in their stats sheets to identify where they needed to put their attention and practice

Day 4 started with putting, working on drills to help them all hole more putts. We worked on keeping still, a lot of them were surprised how much body movement they had when they putted and worked hard to eliminate that from their stroke. We then did more long game before some lunch, on course tuition, and every one worked on better alignment.  Most were surprised when they thought they had taken dead aim at their target to find just how far they were pointing to the right of the target……..more work to be done!!

Top score was Guy with 33 points. As we came to the last day all to soon, the sun came out and so did most of the legs, it got up to around +18, just great for the group to finish their time with me at beautiful Benalup.

We started that last day doing half shots with the pitching wedge, seeing how far it went with a controlled swing and then we all did the Par 18 challenge which is great for the short game before finishing off with some work on the use of woods, so all in all a good session. Joint winners on the day were Linda and Guy with 35 points, and Guy coming out on top for the week with 100 points.  Secret partners were Alison and Hazel with 60 points, well done to every one for all their hard work, and keeping their sense of humour…..what a great group, thank you for making my job this week easy... and I can hardly wait to so see you all in 2010 again here at Benalup!!