As I packed up the van and drove down the road from Islantilla to El Rompedo I was looking forward to seeing all the girls from Norway... but I had my fingers crossed as that volcanic ash had been causing trouble again. However thank God all was well and they got to the hotel at about 1am... such a long day for them travelling from Tromsco in the far north. When they left it had only been around +1degree so in the morning when they made their way to the practice ground they were all so happy to be in shorts and tee shirts and by around mid day it was +29.

We started off with chipping and short pitching. This was to help the girls from Norway get used to hitting from grass as it was last September the last time they were on the golf course. I also had 4 people from the UK, so it did not do them any harm to work on their short game. We worked on making good contact and then distance control. This is a real must to improve the handicap, as 43% of the game is made up of short shots, so getting it right is a must. We then did a long game clinic. I talked to the group about the set up, grip, stance, and most importantly on hitting to a target, some times forgotten when trying to change something on the swing. I also took time to video everyone as they say a picture is worth a 1000 words and some times in talking to people things can be lost in translation, so this helps everyone.

After a bite of lunch the group played a Texas Scramble, a nice way to ease every one in, so a great first day was had.

Day 2, I split the group in two and we worked on pitching, both long and short shots. I talked to the group about club choice, and when and were we would change the club due to the distance the ball had to fly and then run out. We then went over to the range were we worked once again on alignment, balance and what individual adjustments they had to make. We then hit the course, and oh boy how hot it was... +33!! But still a great day on the course, working on course management. Making the right decision, then playing the right club for the shot, a big change for some.

The day of rest, the boys played more golf, and Trudy and Deb hit the practice ground then the gym, and the girls from Norway hit the pool, and soaked up some rays, so a great day was had in the Spanish sunshine... me, well I went for a run before breakfast, then caught up with some jobs, emails etc, then took some time by the pool with the girls! Just before dinner I got to show the group their videos.

Day 3, started with putting. The putting green here at El Rompido is good so we could work on good set up, I gave the group some good drills to try on both short and long putts, and then we hit the range with driving... I have never met a person who did not want to hit the ball further, so the driving clinic was a good one.

We then took it all to the course, working on stats, how many fairways hit? How many putts? This is a great way to see where the weakness in your game is (and the strengths of course!!) so you know where to focus your practice.

Day 4 we did pitching and bunkers... what a day to do this clinic, it was so hot around +32, so the sand was warm, but a great day, it was good to see the group experiment with the different lies you could get in the bunkers. It was great to see the surprise on some of their faces as so many people are told you MUST open the club face in the bunker with every shot, well they now know different! Pitching was great too, the half shot is always hard, so it was great to get this practice from good lies with a big bunker to practice over. We then worked on making crisp iron shots before we hit the course.

Day 5, well it came around far too soon, it was great to see every one come on so well, the girls from Norway playing from grass for the first time this year, in lovely sunshine. I talked to the group about how to prepare for a tournament and just how to be ready to play. Far too many people just turn up and play and wonder why the score on their first few holes always lets them down. Now they all have some ideas to help them prepare properly and how to warm up there golfing muscles.

The El Rompido Team, 2010

We then hit the course for the last day competition. The best player of the week was Doris, the secret pairs were Trudy and Deede with 33 points and the top player of the day was Hege with 33 points. A great week at El Rompido with fab people, the girls from Norway have gone off back to some snow up in Tromsco, but are ready to play when the sun comes out there, and the rest are all ready to go now too... so thank you all for making my job great.

The girls from Tromso