Screening

TPI Screening

Ever wondered why no matter how much your coach asks you to do, or feel something when you’re swinging, it’s nearly impossible to do? Well sometimes your body is not capable of achieving a movement and it is a fruitless task to even try.

David (1 handicap) will be put through a sequence of simple tests which are called a screen, to determine precisely a players range of movement.  This coupled with the video analysis of the swing and an injury history can give a coach a total overview of the player’s profile.  With correct structure the coach can send the player to either a fitness coach at a gym, or if the problem is medically serious to a doctor or sports physiotherapist. With focused information the physical condition is easily worked on with a far better chance of improvement.

In the test David did well but failed on one main area of the tests, the ankle dorsiflexion. Coupled with the information about an old football injury on the left ankle, it makes the video footage of the swing very easy to understand.

From the front view of Davids swing, the downswing towards the ball should start with the left hip pushing to the left, putting weight onto the left foot. David does not do this at all, due to the weakness in his left ankle, and instead of driving his weight onto his left foot, he spins without the sideways weight shift. Asking David if this is a common fault, he says yes and he has been trying to get rid of for a while (since spraining his ankle)

This is a problem where the pupil will go to a sports physiotherapist to give the pupil training and exercises to increase the strength and flexibility in his left ankle.

The Angry Bees!!

I had never heard the phrase "angry bees" before. But on holiday with my friend James it seemed a well used phrase by the time we came home. Standing over a shot and being very uncomfortable, due to feeling awkward, or mentally focusing solely on bad shots. James felt at times like the negative thoughts or feelings were like an angry swarm of bees getting louder and louder in his head before playing a shot. This was seemingly very debilitating and caused him to step away from shots on a number of occasions.

The main reason for a rock solid pre-shot routine, is to hopefully take the quality shots being hit in practice be taken onto the golf course. Poor golfers generally complain about practicing well but losing quality on the golf course. This will be fixed by practicing a pre-shot routine on the range, then repeating it on the course. A pre-shot routine can be a physical thing (picking an aiming point,practice swinging), a mental thing (visualising the shot, imagining what a good shot will feel like) or both.

The other reason for a pre-shot routine is to avoid thinking of negative things, previous poor shots played recently, imagining bad shots. A general feeling of dread when about to play a shot, can be paralysing. It can be a vicious circle, thinking bad will cause bad giving the player more ammunition for them to think about.

Build up the confidence slowly on the range, then take the pre-shot routine on the course, and slowly build up the confidence there too. Confidence is a fragile thing and solid practice on the range and golf course is the only way to build up it up. There are no short cuts. Try to build up your own routine, think positively and comit to the routine every time!

The joy of playing on your own!

It has been a long time, ten years to be exact. Only 9 holes but it felt like a totally new experience. Golf really is a solitary sport, and as I played this morning it became obvious that I had forgotten this over the last decade. Being on my own gave me the time to focus on my game, rather than participate in chit chat or coaching a pupil around the course. At first it felt a little selfish but as the holes went by I remembered more and more the joys of playing on my own.

In a team sport there is a sense of responsibility to your teamates, which is very different to golf. You only have yourself to blame for playing poorly, but in a more positive view, you can soley congratulate you yourself for excelling.

i am a firm believer that golfers play golf for many different reasons, wether it be for the exercise , challenge or the company. And I have rediscovered the joys I felt playing golf as a junior. So go back to a time you remember having fun and recreate the experiance!

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