Hope you’ve had a good week. This is the 9th Golf Traders Newsletter, enjoy the read…..
Golf News
Wow, its Masters week. Golfers everywhere are looking forward to watching another great contest. Lets hope the last few holes are as exciting as last year, when Aussies Geoff Ogilvy, Jason Day & Adam Scott did so well down the stretch. An Australian has not yet won the event. Lets take a look at the Aussies in the field this week and note how their form is coming into this week:
Adam Scott- Looking to go 1 better then his tie for 2nd last year. Scott played the last 71 holes of the tournament last year without a 3 putt, and will be looking to putt well again this year. A pure swinger of the golf club, if the putter behaves, look out! He is partnered with Bo Van Pelt and Martin Kaymer.
Jason Day- Currently Australia’s lowest world ranked player who also finished 2nd last year. Day played like a tour veteran coming down the stretch last year, and with that experience under his belt, this could be the year……He is partnered with Kyle Stanley and Bill Haas. I can’t help but feel the same feeling I had last year when he was also partnered with 2 young players the first 2 rounds. Stanley and Haas have both been in great form, and if this group gets a sniff……look out!
Aaron Baddeley – Renowned as one of the world’s best putters, Baddeley will be looking to get the short stick working this week. He’s been working on his swing again with childhood coach Dale Lynch for a few years now and this might be the time for him to do something as remarkable as his Aussie Open wins at such a young age. We’ve also seen how ice cool he can be, would be great to see him in contention. He is partnered with Kyung –Tae Kim and Lucas Glover.
Geoff Ogilvy – Former US Open winner who has proven he has what it takes to take out a major. Played great last year, and has been on the leaderboard at Augusta many times. Let’s hope his growing experience around the Georgia layout will payoff this year for an Aussie win. Ogilvy is a Melbournian, but even Sydneysiders will be cheering this guy on if he gets in the mix this year. Is partnered with Matt Kuchar & Y.E Yang.
John Sendon- Australian flusher who is regarded as one of the best ball strikers in the game. On a course where iron accuracy is paramount, Sendon has the goods to place the ball in the right spots. If he putts well, the green jacket tailor will be asking for his measurements. He is partnered with Jonathon Byrd & Paul Casey.
Bryden Macpherson- young Aussie amateur who gained entry by winning the 2011 British Amatuer Championship. Is partnered with previous winner Ben Crenshaw and Swede Robert Karlsson.
- Good luck also goes to South Korea’s KJ Choi who is coached by Aussie Steve Bann.
This Week's Golf Tip
The tip this week is from Mark Blackburn, the coach of US PGA Tour players Heath Slocum and Robert Karlsson. Here's a little of what Mark says about practicing......
'Never having the same shot twice in golf means the common practice of hitting two hundred seven irons towards the same flag to “grove it” does little but help your conditioning and endurance. In reality hitting numerous balls to the same target is the exact opposite to golf’s objective of playing 18 different holes with numerous targets (target off tee, aiming at left and right flags on green etc) in the least number of strokes. Knowing there are two types of practice necessary for mastering a golf game namely “blocked” and “random” is key to effecting change in your game.
Blocked practice refers to the drills typically prescribed by your instructor. Hopefully they are given in a specific order, with each drill building on the proceeding one. Once the drills have been ingrained the next step is usually making full swings to a target with the aid of alignment props. While this “block” practice is crucial to learning the skills required to hit or putt the ball it is only half of the puzzle and often the only piece golfers utilize. As previously mentioned each shot in golf poses a unique set of characteristics which will require an equally unique swing or stroke. So having hit at the same target, the same distance with the same club does little but improve a shot with that club distance and target of which you are unlikely to have when playing. Instead the golfer must add the second piece of the practice puzzle which is “random” practice.
Random practice requires practicing shots to different targets while using all of your clubs varying distances, trajectories, shapes and spin never practicing the same shot twice in a row. While it may be harder to hit all the shots well in this type of practice the brain is processing the shot as it would on the course. Thus this type of practice mirrors the vast array of shots required to play a round of golf. Research has shown that performance in practice when applying the random technique is less successful than when practice is drill based and blocked. However, those who practice in the random manner perform better in playing golf and tournament scoring conditions. In essence actually practicing hitting shots to a specific target going through a pre shot routine every time is vital to achieving peak performance on the course'.
For more information on Mark's coaching, go to www.blackburngolf.com.
How time fly's....Greg Norman & Nick Faldo after their 1996 battle
This Week's Top Buys at Golf Traders
Adams Insight XTD Driver 10.5 Degree Graphite Design YSQ 65 Gram Regular Flex. Only $50 Click here.
Callaway Razr X Black 10.5 Degree Driver Fujikura Motore F8 60 Gram Regular Graphite Multi Compound. Only $300 Click here.
Nike V Forged Irons 4 - PW BRAND NEW. Only $599 Click here.
Have a good week,
David Fearns (PGA)
Golf Traders
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