A very big thank-you for a wonderful 17 days golf break. My first three rounds back in France have produced fantastic results 13, 14 and 12 over par. All due to your superb instruction. I have taken it all away and practiced, it works. The warm up on the driving range is invaluable. The Golf break was superb, well balanced, professional and above all enjoyable. I am already looking forward to the next holiday with you. Good luck and best wishes to you and all the guys I met on the course.

My husband and I met Denise for the first time at Islantilla, Spain in May of this year. We have both been playing golf for about 8 months and had been improving albeit it slowly - both of us had just broken the magical 100 barrier but only just. After spending a week with Denise our games have moved to a new level and more importantly we really understand what we need to do and what we need to not do!!! One of the first things Denise did was change our grip - it was very strange for the first day or two but it quickly became normal and has clearly helped our games. Since we have got back about a month ago we have both lost about 10 stokes from our rounds. I have regularly scored between 90 - 93 on most rounds; I have just won my first boarded competition at the club and expect to get my handicap cut from 30 to about 22 - just waiting for the formal confirmation!!! Keith has managed to break 90 for the first time with a great round of 87!!

We cannot believe the step change in our games and how easy its been to take on board Denise's instruction. We are lucky that our golf club is where Denise is based so we will be getting monthly lessons to ensure our games continue to progress and our next targets are hit.

Thank you Denise!!

Have just tried on my shirt and it fits like a glove, thankyou very much. You really gave us 200% last week everyone was so impressed, you put so much effort into everything, you must be the best coach in England !!!

Hope you have a good week and everyone gets home on time!!

Take care

Many, many thanks for your patience and encouragement over the last two days. I have learnt a great deal and thoroughly enjoyed the tuition. I'm not sure I will remember everything, but will do my best!

The DVD is excellent & you really put a lot of work into the commentary. My faults look  obvious, but your comments are so helpful. How you maintain your enthusiasm teaching is remarkable to me.

I feel absolutely exhausted, but so eager to go out tomorrow to start working on my swing.

Hope Spain is a little warmer for you next week and there is no cold soup on the menu.

Thanks to Denise for another great week's teaching at Almerimar with the "usual end of February lot". It's always good to see "old friends" and collect some new ones. This particular week is a fine way to start the golf season and is just before the Tarleton Pro Ams in March and April. I came 6th out of 28 men and women in the Pro Am at El Rompido last week and had a nearest the pin too... but "I'm not competitive"... isn't that right Denise????

Well you have truly inspired me — more than you will ever know. I have recorded all the statistics you suggested for every round I have played since our holiday — working hard on the putting. I have had 2 rounds of 34 putts in total now!  Even the new grip felt comfortable the other day! Just need to improve upon the numbers of fairways hit and getting to the greens in regulation (according to my handicap!) Wow, those statistics really motivate you and show me where I need to improve.  How sad is it that I even record all the details on my card as I go around the courses now?!  I have even increased my exercises for more upper body strength... I would love to hit further than Trudy on a regular basis!

Thankyou so much for giving me such a lovely holiday, despite the little problems. I have never seen a teacher give so much help to everyone, we deserve to all be in single figures!

Went to play a few holes and the swing was much improved even going straight! Will let you know if I win a turkey tomorrow!!!

I really appreciate all your help, and will see you soon.
Luv Vivien

Thought you might like to know that your tuition on Mon 17th really seems to have sunk in and yesterday on our Ladies day s/ford I came in with 43 points.  It was just one of those days when everything (nearly) just flowed.  So I am on "cloud 9" that my handicap has been cut to from 23.1 to 20.3. 

I know I need to concentrate on my short game - an another aspect going on "between the ears" - being able to cut-off from sounds and movements when taking shots.  The slightest thing seems to infiltrate so easily. 

Many thanks again, and hope to see you soon.
Best wishes,
Helen

It was good to see you on Sat: ... you worked your magic as I played the most consistenet golf I have played for ages at Hunstanton... and we nearly won!

Thanks v much

Ann

My handicap has been dropped to 30! Can you believe it?

Many thanks for your help it’s all down to you

Regards

Debbie Le Quesne

Many thanks for the notes, they are really useful to remind/reinforce the old memory banks!   And many thanks Linda for arranging the day.

The one aspect that I've assimilated straight away is the left-to-right knee weight-shift - this has really helped and I feel much more confident especially with fairway woods and has given me more distance.  Combined with more confident sand shots and putting I came out with 37 points and a slight reduction in handicap in today's stableford, so I'm well pleased.

Lots more practice on the short game required - but I'll keep at it.

Hope you enjoyed your curry or pizza with Linda, sorry I couldn't stay to join you.

Many thanks again for the day and to the point and understandable tuition.

Best wishes,
Helen

Dear Denise

Thank you so much for the super week that we had in Isantilla – it was great  fun and we do feel that we have benefited enormously for your lessons.  We went out to play on Friday and felt very encouraged – good chipping and the long game was much improved. Our pro, who was starting us, did actually say that my swing was excellent!  Well done you!

Take care of yourself.

Love Hilary

Hi Brian and Denise

Just wanted to drop you a line to say how much we enjoyed our week in Islantilla. We have both learnt lots from Denise and are looking forward to putting it into practice – unfortunately it’s been raining in Manchester today so we have not felt like venturing out onto the course!! The group was fab and you were both great hosts and made the week a great success.

Helen’s prize top fits perfectly and she is very proud of winning her first ever comp – long may it continue! (Bandit!!)

We look forward to hearing about future trips and will certainly be seeing you, and hopefully the Norwegians, again.

Thanks again,

Sal

Thankyou so much for another lovely week, you put so much effort into the course and every one was so impressed, as they have not received such good tuition before.

I'm sure you must be exhausted, hope you have another good week, see you when you get back. take care.

Luv Vivien

Hello! Thank's so much. I am so happy for my short game, Me and Bjørg Anita played competition yesterday and been together number 2. You are so very good teatcher. I had a very good time in Spain.

We have talk with some more person who wants to be with us next year, maybe we are twelve persons. We shal have a meetings in August/September and you hear from us.

I'm not so good in english but i understand every word, so I hope you understand my english.

Best Whishes from Doris Vik
from north Paris

Hi Denise,

Couldn't let the holiday go into the scrapbook without a letter to say thanks for an amazing week. We arrived a totally disparate group and left part of a crowd who thanks to you had learned a lot and had loads of fun together.

When asked before travelling home what I would remember the most from the holiday, I replied ' the day I played so well features very high of course but more than that I'm overwhelmed by Denise's absolute dedication to us and the job she does'. You organised everything to maximise our progress; so our groans over the abandonment of the two shift morning system were completely ignored and on the day when the threatening weather finally interrupted play and we thought we just might get a morning off, silly idea, where else would we go but into the board room to putt along the carpet to strategically placed tee-pegs!! Well why not?? No time to be lost and yes, it was undoubtedly the best board meeting that room had ever seen!!

So, my main memory of the week? You - rooting for each and every one of us to make progress and perform well and of course with that sort of support, it was inevitable that we did. You're a star! But watch it! Don't let this go to your head. Make sure that the next group gets as good as we got!! I don't know where you'll find the energy from but I've no doubt at all that you will.

Many many thanks,

Jean

Dear Denise,

This is to say many thanks for ensuring we had such a brilliant time at Valle del Este. I feel that I've really benefitted from your tuition, help and encouragement. Can't wait for the weather to improve so that I can get out on the course to put it all into practice. Jenny and I had such a great week with you all and have missed not just the golf and sun but the company. Your ears must be burning as we've not stopped singing your praises!

Thanks again,

Gerry

Hi Denise,
Just wanted to say thankyou very much for giving us all such a lovely time, you put your heart and soul in to it, much appreciated.
Hope your mother is recovering, might see you Saturday.
Luv Vivien

This is to say many thanks for ensuring we had such a brilliant time at Valle del Este. I feel that I've really benefitted from your tuition, help and encouragement. Can't wait for the weather to improve so that I can get out on the course to put it all into practice. Jenny and I had such a great week with you all and have missed not just the golf and sun but the company. Your ears must be burning as we've not stopped singing your praises! Thanks again

Just wanted to let you know how much I enjoyed the week at Valle de Este in November, as with the previous year my golf improved by leaps and bounds (which was what the ball was doing sometimes), resulting in my winning the points competition, I'm still smiling!

The hotel was excellent as was the tuition, looking forward to December already.

Hey thanks so much for all the tuition, good laughs and a most enjoyable time at Abbotsley this week. It was great!! I was truly humbled by my winnings and the Rioja is very nice! Had to give the stableford a miss yesterday though due to achy muscles and lower back pain.

I will remember TTT and get my leg over. I am out of  practice on that front off the course sadly... Sorry that I can’t make the 8th Oct date as I will be in Texas from the 7th for two weeks visiting my Mom.  Keep Pat up-to-date on that as I think she and her friend Liz will probably come up.

Have a good trip to Norway and enjoy the break.

Hope you will come down here soon to visit and maybe give Pat and me a lesson on the course at Blue Mountain.

Just wanted to say thanks for a great 2 days golf last w/e. Since May I have more confidence in my game and I'm really enjoying playing now. I'm looking forward to getting out on the course again on Sat and see if I can remember all my options from around the green!!

I may get a touch of the distance greed syndrome now I am hitting the ball better but hopefully that little voice inside my head will remind me to think of  where I want to play my next shot from! Both Sheila and I were in the trees just before the green on the 8th on Sun pm and I thought about going for it but decided to chip out onto the fairway. Sheila went for it and consequently hit the trees again – lesson learned!

However in my greed for distance (my 3 wood was flying on Sun pm by the way!) I am thinking about getting a driver and wondered if you had any advice on what I should take into consideration. Currently my woods are : 3 wood (18 degree), 5 wood (21 degree), and 7 wood (24 degree). They are all Yonnex but quite old models. Would I be better off getting one fitted?

We did eventually catch up with Viv after we'd played on Sun which was good. It would have been a shame for us all to be at her home club and not see her. Anyway, I've now got her tel number so I can keep her in the loop of any more gatherings.

Just a brief note to express our thanks to you for an outstanding week of golf – Pirjo and I enjoyed the trip more than I could have imagined and that was chiefly down to you. I know for certain that I have never before held a golf club in my hands for 6 consecutive days and whilst I would not yet claim to have caught the 'golf bug' you have whetted my appetite to improve.

Yes, there is a lot to remember, think about and practice but your excellent instruction has given us both a good base to build upon. Pirjo has already won two matches since we returned (fourball/foursomes), so I must to try to get on the course much more frequently. I am looking for my confidence to build if I can develop a reliable swing. Then I might start to love the game!

The golf week in Spain was a new experience which was most enjoyable. It was nice to share it with a group of really friendly people and more than a few characters. Thank you again for being a great host and a motivational coach.

In time, we plan to be in touch about visiting you in Cambridge but it will be autumn before we can fit it in. In the meantime we both wish you a very pleasant summer and good golf business.

First of all, thank you very much for your visit and your contribution to our company.

Thank you for your email and nice remarks.

It was my plesure to meet you finally and last but not least to be able to learn from you. I´m practising as much as I can these days the swing and still have some trouble changing. But I will never give up!

All the women who attended your course praise you very greatly and with many nice words. And for next year, I'm very keen to organize new courses with you and with better methods and better results than this year.

I wish you all the best and hope you'll have nice "vacation" at home for some time.

Thank you very much for the excellent instructions on both courses.

I apologize for not having said goodbye and thank you at the end of the courses so I am glad I can do that now.

Please let me know or have Edda let me know when your next course is in Iceland.

Just love my video, I've watched it over and over again, I've shown it to my family and friends and can really see what I need to work on! wish you lived nearer Denise so that we could work on what the video shows, might be able to squeeze a lesson in on holiday, time allowing?

It was funny, I just thought about having a look at your homepage, then saw Your September letter... Always nice to get updates even if time has not allowed me to play much golf recently. I was reading through your summer roundups and it amazed me how hectic your travel tempo was and is, yet you always talk of all your trips, groups and individuals with such optimism and love. Have to complement You! Usually I have lived a life like that. Always with a bag packed but at the shy age of 25 I find myself, to my own surprise, have become a bit more lazy... So cheers to your good karma and energy!!! ;)

Good luck with all your projects!!

Well first of all thank you very much - we had a brilliant time and I am sure it will make a difference to our games.

You are the best coach I know - both technically and how you work with people and groups.

For me I got much more than golf out of it - even though I am a very positive and determined person I think I had lost some confidence about being physically able to play properly again - and now I know different !!

Solheim Cup - I was getting ahead of myself 2009 is in the US,  2011 is at Killeen Castle, County Meath, Ireland.

I will get in touch with some more friends about the SOS trip.

Thanks again.

Jenny

Just thought I should drop a line regarding last week in Almerimar.

The hotel – excellent

The golf course – as I expected, but more so (where did the mosquito’s come from?)

The company – old and new ‘victims’ of the week made me feel most welcome

Denise Hastings – has changed my outlook of the game, and my game itself and once everything settles down I think I will be most happy with the way I will play.

I have only one complaint – as do several of the others – and that is the fact that on the way back to the airport we were worried by the coach driver with his hand held mobile phone and hand gestures.

All in all I would happily recommend the week and will in fact be looking to book another in the near future.

When you have the details for the November 10th Islantilla trip finalised, please let me know.

Best regards

John