Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Dong Min Suh steered himself into the Bahrain final of the Volvo World Golf Challenge after winning the penultimate qualifying event at the Royal Golf Club with a Stableford score of 39 points. Matthew Deakin claimed the runners-up spot with a score of 37 on countback and Peter Thompson was third, also with 37 points.
Nearest the pin side contests on holes 2 and 16 were won by David Wales and Nils Berge, respectively, while a hole-in-one prize of a Volvo V40, sponsored by Kanoo Vehicle Leasing and AXA Insurance, went unclaimed on hole 16.
A full field took part in the event which was played on the Royal Golf Club’s challenging Mongomerie championship course.
There is now just one wild card qualification round left of the 2014 Bahrain Volvo World Golf Challenge, which will take place at the Royal Golf Club on November 22.
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In October 2011, Gulf Weekly’s editor Stan Szecowka visited professional Matt Chalmers for a series of lessons at Awali Golf Club. Iron play, driving, chipping, bunkers and putting were tackled followed by an on course lesson to put the new skills into practice.
Throughout the series, Szecowka worked hard to correct some of his ‘stubborn’ tendencies and apply some changes designed to improve his golf and facilitate more enjoyment. Three years on, marred by bad playing habits picked up along the way, he went back on Chalmers lesson tee to repeat the process
This series of articles written by Chalmers is designed to demonstrate how small changes can make a huge difference in your game.
Lesson 4 - Putting
On Friday, there is normally a club competition taking place at Awali Golf Club and when I am getting ready for my first lesson of the day, there are generally people warming up for their rounds.
As a professional, it is interesting for me to note how people go about getting ready for a competition. Most people grab a bucket of balls, head for the range and practice their full swing, smashing driver after driver into the distance.
Interestingly, based on my recent observations, I would suggest that most people do not practice their putting at all before they head out to compete. Considering that you are likely to use your putter twice as often as you use your driver in a round of golf, neglecting putting practice seems like a dangerous choice!
One’s putting style can be very individual and there is plenty of room for negotiation in terms of grip choice and ball position.
The non-negotiable elements of the set up are that your eyes need to be directly over the ball, and your forearms and shoulders should be parallel with the target line.
Finally, it is my personal preference to be able to see a ‘V’ shape created by the player’s arms, when they address the ball.
In Stan’s case, we can see that initially, his left arm was very bent at address. The problem with this is that it made it difficult for him to utilise the larger muscles in his shoulders to move the club. As a result, this encouraged him to have a ‘wristy’ putting action which produced inconsistent outcomes.
Once Stan set up to the ball correctly, he was able to move the club with his bigger muscles, which afforded him more control in terms of his distance and direction.
This stroke became less of a flick and he was then able to develop some real feel for his putts. Unsurprisingly, more putts began to run at the hole and a few more dropped in! Again, this was a case of an improved set up, making it easier for Stan to take advantage of the skills that he has.
For more information on golf instruction at Awali Golf Club, contact Matt Chalmers on 38890246 or email mwsc23@hotmail.com
