Novo Sancti Petri (NSP) 1–8 November 2010

I landed in Spain at Malaga airport around 10.50 and headed outside following the sound of laughter and as I expected the laughter was coming from my group of happy Norwegian girls - all to a woman, so excited about the week ahead. We arrived at the hotel, l sorted out the rooms and headed down to the golf club where I showed the girls around where we would be doing the tuition before heading back to the hotel for a beer.

Day 1 we did a long-game session. I talked to them about the importance of setup and alignment plus how the club face played such an important part in creating the shape of the shot and saying that 'the club face is king'. The group's handicaps ranged from 7 to 36 and as there was a great mix of skills with lots of things to cover, I split them into two groups for the tuition which made it easier to cover all the points in ways which were more relevant to the particular group. With the sun shine around +24 by the time we hit the course, we played the Campano course and as they had left Oslo in rain and only about +2, they were naturally very happy. We played a Texas Scramble and 2 teams came in with the same score, so a great day was had by everyone.

Day 2 we did pitching, chipping and bunkers. It was a great session, and it was interesting for me the day before watching their choice of club, as most wanted to use a pitching wedge or sand iron from just about anywhere. So it was new for them to play a chip and run with a 7 iron. We covered the chip and run and short pitch, working first on making good contact and then distance control. We discussed where and when the different clubs should be used and I talked to them about the importance- whenever possible that is ñ to land the ball on to the green. The green surface is much more consistent and firmer than the fringe or apron and so the bounce and roll should be more consistent too. This was a great session and the group discovered that they now had a range of options.

We then went to the beach. A good session in the sand where I talked about the 3 different positions of club face depending on the lie of the ball. A square face for the normal sort of lie, a slightly open face if the ball is sitting well and the closed face if the ball is buried. It was great to see them all grow in confidence with a choice of club face as so many of them had previously been told to open the face no matter what their lie and target were.

After a bit of lunch we played the NSP B course, what a great day, I was able to video them all on the course, now that was interesting! Again the sky was so blue and around +24, the on course tuition was a great hit with all the girls, and I enjoyed helping them with understanding the importance of choosing the right club!

Then came the day of rest, and for some a chance to rest up by the pool, others got the chance to play some more golf and others a trip to town.

Day 3 of the school started with a putting clinic, we talked about the importance of the set up and how still they had to be. I talked to the girls and gave them some great drills to do with lots of check points. We discussed how to make their practice more game/playing like, the importance of practicing with only 1 golf ball and we also did the Par 18 game with putting. That is with 1 ball to 9 different holes and to see if they can do it in 18 putts. It's a great way to improve all different lengths of putts and keeping score introduces the competitive edge needed to get them going!

We then hit the B course in great weather, The on course tuition is great, as I kept asking them Is this the right shot in these circumstances? And where do you want to hit your next shot from? And is this the right club? So another great day in the Spanish sunshine!!

Day 4 we hit the range again, we did some long pitching, around 20 to 40 yards and them driving. We looked at balance, as some times they had thrown themselves off their feet trying to hit the ball so far (and believe me these girls really gave it a rip!)

I got them to feel as if there was a bit more weight on the back foot at the address to help with the take-away, and to feel at the top as if their left shoulder is over the right foot. I also talked about the club face again and got them to pre-set what they thought impact should feel and look like! We then played the A course, it was such a pleasure to play golf in shorts and short sleeved shirt. The winner of the day was Line with 31 points and then Kristin B and Ci ci with 30 points.

The last day came around all too soon and it was Mona's Birthday so they all sang to her at breakfast!

I did a round up clinic and talked about the importance of warming up and how I prepared when I was on tour. We did a reminder of long and short game technique and then after a quick coffee we were off for the last day competition over the A course. We played secret partners stableford which is great fun but they were all so keen to know who their partner was... but I was not about to tell! What a great rewarding and successful week where all the girls got stuck in and worked hard and all came on leaps and bounds. All I can say is these Norwegian girls rock!!

The winners of the day were Kristin B and birthday girl Mona with 60 points and Ingivd and Henriette G with 51 points. Top individual score was Line with 35 points and then Mona with 34.

A great big thank you to them all for making my job so easy and I look forward to the same time next year, because it's a date!!

And here are some photos of the fab week:

Novo Sancti Petri, 13–20 April, Spain, 2010

I arrived at Malaga airport around 9.30 Spanish time, in warm but overcast conditions and hit the road down to Novo Sancti Petri. The journey takes around 2 hours and is a nice trip for everyone, some even took the coast road!

Day 1 started on the driving range where I talked to the group about the importance of set up and grip, and then making sure you always hit to a target. I then videoed every one which I think is a very important part of my schools. After all, a picture is worth a 1,000 words, and being talked through the different elements of their swing seems to benefit everyone. I always wonder when I see people videoing them selves just what they will see?... know they will miss the important things perhaps seeing a problem but not knowing exactly what has caused it or trying to fix something without really knowing why. My advice would always be to get a pro to video you and explain what is wrong, it is worth the money!!

the group at work

I got everyone to finish off their swing whilst maintaining good balance. This is always easy on the range, but trying to do the same on the course can be more difficult.

We then moved over to one of the short game areas here at Novo Sancti Petri. It is one of the best places to do a school, as the short game areas are great and there are 5 of them. We worked on chipping and short pitching. We talked about the importance of choosing the right club for the shot, and then making sure you get the right landing spot... so that the ball rolls the right distance beyond that to the target.  For example a 7 iron chip and run shot would generally travel about 25% in the air and 75% run, and a 9 iron would be around 50/50... this of course is not set in stone! A great session was had by all.

After a bite of lunch we hit the 'A' course of the three at this resort, in warm wind.  The group would be keeping their putting stats throughout the week to help identify what they needed to work on.

Day 2 started on the range were we went over set up and alignment... important, and then worked on how to achieve better balance in the follow through. I also gave the group some things to think about in between their shots. It's important to think about  anything but the last shot and not to think about the next shot until you get there... something new for them all, I think.

We then went over to the putting green. The greens here are fab, they are some of the best greens I have ever putted on, and I believe if you lived here, your short game would be great... if you practiced that is!

We worked on set up and alignment again and I gave the group some drills to do... as I know some people can get a bit bored with putting... so games and drill do it for most people.  Just putting with 1 ball makes a difference, as you only have 1 on the course, don't you?

Day 3 again we started on the range and we worked mainly on woods and driving, but before that I gave the group some ideas on drills to help them get better release of the club. One drill is to stand with your feet together and do half swings with some check points.  One is if you stop half way back you should see the back of your left hand (for the right handers) and when you swing through and swish the club head through, so at the end of the swing, you should now see the back of your right hand. I use this drill a lot and it works for just about everyone, it really helps with contact and releasing the club head.

I then got the group to make sure they have the right height of the ball when teed up. I say as a rule, half of the ball over half of the head, and making sure the ball is in the right place in the set up and stance. We then headed off to the beach... well the bunker, I really like doing this clinic, as I know most people do not practice this shot, so I gave the group some ideas on what club face angle for when the ball has a good lie, slightly burried, and completely buried... it's great to see everyone get the ball out of a bad lie in a hole!

After a bite of lunch we played the A course, where I got to play 6 holes with everyone, it's nice for me to play, but even better for the group to play with a pro, as I am sure not too many people get to play with a professional, and of course it was good fun!

We then got to our day of rest, most of the group took time to go and see Cadiz, me, I did a bit of putting practice with my new Rife putter, and sat by the pool in the sun, then went to the gym, for the 2nd time this week, and I managed a 5k run too, so a nice day off.

Day 4 we hit the range again working on crisper iron shots, and again the old area of alignment, something we need to work on all the time. Changing your target for every shot gets you used to different shots on the golf course, most people hit a shot and just scrape another ball towards them, hit it then scrape another without any target in mind. This is not good so we worked on that, then we went to do pitching and lob shots over a bunker, this is a great clinic too, being brave enough to get the ball up and over a bunker or bush.

We then went off to the new course at Novo Sancti Petri which was a new challenge for the group and one which they all enjoyed!

As we came to the last day it would have been easy for the group to be distracted by all the trouble with the flights and volcanic ash, but they just got on with enjoying their last day of the school in the best weather of the week.  It just seemed to have got better and better, with around +26, very nice indeed!

We started with a clinic on pre-tournament practice. I talked to them on how I used to prepare for a tournament, starting short pitch shots, ten half shots, leading to full iron shots with 7 iron, going on to long irons then fairway woods and driving, just finishing off with some short pitching, then off to the chipping and putting green.  Then we were off to play the B course, in just great conditions, and the group enjoyed their last day. Winner of the week was Shelagh, and the top putter was Richard!

the Novo Sancti Petri team, 2010

A great week was had by all, they all have plenty to work on when they get home, and I wish them all the best of luck, and a big thank you to them all for a great week with fab people!!