I have a very excited bunch of people getting ready to come to Portugal on my first Golf School of 2016. I am as excited as they are.
“Robinson Tivira” is one of the best venues we now use. It has two great golf courses, one of the largest practice grounds as well as very good short game areas. There is a 6 hole academy course, with greens and bunkers as good as the full courses. We do take the opportunity to use this facility to cover all aspects of the game and the group was able to put into practice what had been covered on the practice ground..
Overall, the conditions provide good challenges with windy days requiring skill in playing low shots learned on the practice ground and gaining experience in getting the club selections right for the conditions. This was particularly true with chipping and pitch shots because the wind affected the ball on the greens as well as in the air. It was a challenge to get the ball on the right side of the hole because the approach was not only affected by the wind but also by the somewhat slopping nature of the greens — get on the wrong side of the hole and face a down hill putt with a following wind! While they found it a bit daunting to start with, the group improved really well and got a very good understanding and execution of keeping their weight forward at contact with the ball and maintaining perfect balance.
I replicated what we all find on the course — leaving the ball short sided and in a difficult lie adding to the challenge. Understandably a number of the group struggled to start with but with application and persistence became were able to deal with the situations – it certainly made dealing with less challenging situations later seem that much easier! The group experimented trying to use a club better suited to the situation rather than always using the same club for, say, a pitch shot or a chip shot irrespective of conditions or lie. It was quite amusing to watch at times, but with concentration everyone began to made better club selection decisions. This is an important part of the game that needs frequent practice and application. The important learning point is not to always use the same club for shots around the green irrespective of the conditions or how the ball lies but to select the correct club for the job!
Not only does “Robinson Tivira” have great courses and golf facilities but also a first class restaurant with a wide selection of good tasty food along with good wines and beers. Everyone was more than impressed with this. The staff were just “fab” with different entertainments every evening. All in all it is a great place for a golf school. I love it here and I hope to to come back in the future.
The competition on the last day was fierce with everyone enjoying the challenge. A big thank you to everyone in the group for working so hard, being great to be with and for playing well.