BELEK, Turkey, February 2010

As we left the UK in snow I really was so excited to be going off to Turkey to do my first golf school. I was taking a nice small group to the 5 Star Cornelia Diamond Spa hotel and playing the Faldo courses plus the Carya and the Sueno Dunes. The hotel and all that goes with that is just fabulous with everything you would ever need. There are 4 a la carte restaurants plus a great buffet, a nice gym, a big indoor and huge out door swimming pool, plus a great spa with everything in it from jacouzi baths to steam rooms. If that isn’t enough there is also a big games room with 10 pin bowling and tons of other stuff. I would doubt very much if you were not impressed with the standard of service and quality of this great hotel.

We arrived in a storm which we were all surprised with, so our 1st day was not as we wanted, as the Faldo courses were closed. However that did not put us off as we started with a putting lesson in the corridors! We covered a lot in the warmth of our hotel, with the odd on-looker watching the group go through their drills. After lunch we hit the range, under cover, so we had great session working on set up and aiming, and making good contact. It was great as we were there for over 3 hours working on the swing plus contact and balance.

Day 2, the rain had stopped, and it was warm so we got to work on some short game. Chipping and short pitching. We once again worked on good consistant contact and distance control. There is a great short game area here, as you would expect from a Faldo site. We then went to the range where we worked on creating a good pre shot routine and a bit of trained brain. I gave the group some ideas on the importance of placing your golf bag in the optimum spot and how this can relate to a miss-aligned shot. I also took the chance to video everyone.

After a bite of lunch we played the Faldo Queen course, but it then started to rain. We did some course management and thought through the importance of alignment on this tight course. Considering how much rain there had been, most of the course was surprisingly dry, thanks to the pumps.

Day 3 our rest day, well some of the group took the chance to get out and play and practice the others went shopping and of course hit the fab spa. Me well I went to the gym and the spa and also had time to catch up on some laptop work. Just before dinner I showed the group their videos. It was Helen’s birthday so we got her a cake and some of the bubbly stuff, and she had a nice day in the spa.

Day 4 we hit the road to the Sueno Dunes golf club where we started with some pitching and bunkers. I always like this lesson as I know most people do not practice bunkers enough. Followed by some long game once again working on good basic set up and balance plus the things they saw on their video. A great day in nice weather around +17, still overcast but great to get out onto this good resort course, where all the group enjoyed the experience.

For dinner we went to the Chinese, one of the a la carte restaurants here, and it was fab.

Day 5 we once again hit the road to another course, one of the newest here at Belek. It was the Carya. We started with putting. Going over what we did on our first day, and working on the right set up plus distance control with those tricky long putts. Then we did a bit of chipping as their greens are fast. We then worked on driving, making sure we got the right set up and ball position.

The on-course management was again focussed on watching your alignment and considering where you want to hit your next shot from. The group also had to keep there putting stats, and I hope from now will do that every round they play, it’s so good to know this.

For dinner once again I was able to book one of the a la carte restaurants, the Mexican... nice one!!

As we came to the last day, the sun came, even for a short time, it was great weather for golf around +19, the course was good and so was the pace of play. Everyone had a good time on the Faldo course, a good way to end our week here in Turkey, and I must say it was good, The Diamond Hotel ticks all the boxes from food to the spa and of course the good golf courses here, and I must say I cannot wait to go back, it’s a great place to do a school, so come on, book in on the next one at the Cornellia Diamond Hotel and Spa.

A big thank you to all on the school, it was good fun and I look forward to seeing you all soon!!