Message from Club Captain Warren Moore

This is our new feature so you don’t miss a thing! Each month Warren will share with you everything that’s happening from the club, both on and off the course.

This is our new feature and every month we’ll publish news from our captain Warren Moore. He’s already having a fantastic year with so much going on. Warren will report on everything that is happening from the club both on and off the course. Warren will provide a great platform to find out what’s going on, so you don’t miss a thing!!

Dear All,

Tim’s obviously gone mad and decided to give me the opportunity to write to you here on a regular basis. It must be married life that’s made our top man crack!

There’s been plenty to keep me busy over the last 2 months, on and off the course. A top priority is the Summer Ball.  Make sure you put Saturday June the 18th in your diary for a great night, a few tickets are still available.

There’s still time to sign up to our ‘Mixed Florida Scramble’ competition on June 2nd. Entry is £10 for members and 1st prize is a trip for 4 to play In Ireland with hotel. Any combination of team can enter. Shotgun start at 1pm, sign up online now! Incidentally, proceeds for the day will be going back into club projects, as the event sponsor ‘Club Choice Ireland’ have very kindly waived any fee.

Speaking of Mixed golf our ‘Mixed Social’ season is well underway. Organised by Di and Steve Martin the competitions are a fun way to meet and play with other members and try formats you perhaps aren’t so used to. Win, lose or draw there’s always a good meal and a few laughs to be had afterwards. Mostly played on a Friday afternoon, I look forward to seeing you out there.

Thanks to those of you who played in our ‘Masters Competition’ in April. I’m planning to put on a 9 hole event around the other 3 Majors, Olympics, Ryder Cup, so watch out for an email explaining the format. I’m currently in the planning stages for a very early morning Midsummer 18 holes on June 25th. Early as in 5am early! Don’t worry, Jo and Richard will feed and water us in style afterwards! More info to follow.

I’m looking forward to hosting a few away trips this year. The first of which will be during the next Bank Holiday at The Welcome Hotel Stratford upon Avon. We’re aiming to have a trip away for all members in August. We’ll aim to find a club with hotel facilities within about 90 mins of Ross for an overnight stay and 2 rounds of golf, we’re currently looking for the best offer and I’ll report back to you with a venue, price and dates ASAP!

Well, here’s to something like a good summer of golf out there.

Play well!

Warren

THSG’s Tip Of The Week – Lower your scores

This week we give you two areas to work on, both the long game and short game. Firstly we focus on helping you to improve your ball striking off the tee, to help find those extra yards. Then we share the secrets to controlling distance & direction in the short game.

Long Game – How To Strike It More Solidly Than Ever

This weeks long game focus is on helping you deliver a more solid strike at impact, helping you hit longer straighter drives.

We all want to hit our drives longer and straighter, seeking those extra few yards that makes the game a little easier!! Its very common that I get a pupil in that has read something in a golf magazine, been on YouTube or read something on a blog that is working on completely the wrong factors to gain those extra few yards. I find these types of quick fixes that are often published are the main reasons behind the breakdown in golfers technique. This week I want to focus on a drill that will help you strike it closer to the centre, where the ball speeds are at their fastest, i.e. longer drives!!

I call this The Gate Drill. Oli often uses this type of drill to help improve your strike location in putting, it also works the same in driving.

Tee the ball up on the driving range with two tees, three inches back either side of the driver.

Set up as normal in your athletic posture with a good strong foundation from the ground up.

Your aim is to practice hitting drives at a target fairway and make swings not striking any of the tees on the way through during impact. You will get instant feedback from the feel of the strike and the tees in the ground as to what is the problem.

Below are examples of a swing that is too far from the inside, hitting the inside tee.

And here is a more common issue of a swing that is striking the outside tee, this is caused from a swing that is commonly out to in.

This feedback is key to your successes in practice and in lessons. To understand more about your strike location use driver face tape which is available from the golf shop free of charge.

Controlling Distance & Direction In Pitching

Pitching and chipping represents a key area of the game and is crucial to lower scoring. It can be the difference between shooting under your handicap and not. This week we cover the actually swing movements in particular the lead wrist position during impact and beyond.

There’s nothing better in golf than seeing someone hit a crisp pitch shot that lands close. For me the technique starts all in set-up. The way I teach and get myself into the right positions start with ball position and then onto body position. Ball position is in the middle of the stance with the body naturally leaning a 60-40 split on the left side (right handed golfers, opposite for lefties).

Check out the below picture for what I believe is the perfect looking set-up.

This weeks tip is all about lead wrist angles and I am stickler for this as I see so many of the top players get into the same wrist positions through impact. The lead wrist for right handed golfers is the left wrist and vice versafor lefties.

First of all I will go through what I commonly see in poor pitchers and chippers. In the pictures below I illustrate a poor set up with the hands behind the ball, impact with excessive lead wrist hinge and a poor follow through with even more incorrect hinge in the left wrist. Why does this happen…I hear you say?? Well I have my own beliefs that it stems from trying to help/lift the ball through impact, this is commonly seen in higher handicappers. Scratch handicappers also suffer from this position normally from to much release/rotation in their wrists.

Set-up – Hands in a poor position behind the ball

Lead wrist hinges too early through impact

Tell tail sign that the lead wrist position has hinged very early on through impact

What we see in the best pitchers and chippers in the world are fantastic lead wrist positions through impact. I love the way players like Rickie Fowler and our very own Matt Fitzpatrick pitch the ball, with such passive hands through impact. Here are a couple visuals on the correct wrist angles by yours truly!

Good set-up showing the correct lean and ball position.

Impact, with hands slightly ahead of the ball and a nice straight line between the lead wrist and club shaft.

Follow through showing that the clubhead itself is behind the hands and the lead wrist angles have maintained

In the follow through you will notice that the body has rotated more and I finish facing the target in a fully rotated position. Please note the lead wrist at this position still hasn’t re-hinged.

Practice With Purpose….if you haven’t got any drill sticks I suggest you purchase them asap, they can be used in drills for all parts of the swing. Below is a great drill using these sticks to help give you instant feedback on whether or not your lead position is working for you.

When working on these crucial lead wrist positions hold a drill stick halfway down so it sits within your grip.

Make some swings focusing on the lead wrist position through impact and beyond, if you your lead wrist position hinges early on through impact the drill stick will hit your side.

These key positions also apply in the full swing, like all swing thoughts break the skill down and feel the movement patterns change. They may feel a little awkward to start of with, but believe it or not that’s a good sign that things are changing!!

Regular lessons bring success

THSG pupil Tim Kefalas reserves a place at the Lombard Trophy. An impressive victory for Tim Kefalas, who won the April medal and Lombard qualifier after a series of game improvement lessons.

A fantastic story emerged in the clubs first qualifying competition of the year with THSG pupil Tim Kefalas taking top spot. The April medal and Lombard qualifier was played in tough conditions, but that didn’t effect the scoring with some fantastic scores being returned.

THSG pupil Tim Kefalas who has been working on his game during the off season taking indoor lessons with both Oli and myself shot a 69nett to win by just one shot. What makes the feet more impressive is that he did this just after being fitted for a brand new set of clubs.

Tim has been working on various swing changes in all parts of his game including spending time with Oli on the SAM Putt Lab. Some of the notable changes that Oli made during his lessons were key set-up changes that made all the difference.

Tim didn’t finish his trophy hunting with the April medal either, two days after he used his new clubs to win a charity event held at Moseley Golf Club with the greek/Cypriot society.

Myself and Tim will now start our quest to win the Lombard trophy with a qualifier at Burnham & Berrow Golf Club on Thursday 9th June.  If we win there we will secure an all expenses paid trip to Gleneagles to represent the club in the grand finals.

Save £’S with the THSG shoe trade in

The THSG shoe trade in is back and is bigger than ever! You can receive £20 off a brand new pair of shoes from Footjoy, Nike or Ecco when you trade your old shoes in. Every year we offer this special trade in, but never before on all brands and all styles. Offer ends 30th May 2016.

All you have to do is bring in your old shoes and we will give you £20 off a brand new pair.

Also for the first time ever we are stocking 3 shoes brands with all the styles. We strongly believe that we have the top three in Footjoy, Nike and Ecco.

The offer is taken against the RRP and if we haven’t got your size, we will have them too you in 5 days!!

Get into Golf update

We're still looking to expand our golf participation at the ROWGC and offering incentives for anyone introducing friends or family to our Get Into Golf sessions. So if you know anyone looking to Get Into Golf they'll receive two free 30 minute lessons with one of the THSG team.

If you have any family, friends, colleagues, next-door neighbors, anyone who is interested in taking up a sport please pass on our details. We all know golf offers so much when it comes to socialising and keeping fit.

Get Into Golf Structured Sessions

Starts 5th April
Ends 19th July

Tuesday Nights – Get Into Golf Night

16 consecutive weeks
6.00pm–7.00pm
Pay in 4 week blocks £30
Or £9 per session

GIG Supervised Practice & Booster Session  

Every Saturday 12.30pm–1.30pm
£5 per person

If you can’t make a Tuesday night for whatever reason you can attend the booster session on Saturdays for £5 per person. This is a condensed session that is a general overview of what was worked on in previous sessions. A bit like a supervised practice session. This session is open to ALL Get Into Golfers and is a great way to practice your swing and ask questions on aspects your unsure of. A member of the THSG will be on hand in every session.

Get Into Golf free taster sessions

These are sessions that are completely free and will take you through the very basics.

• 30th April – 2.00pm
• 3rd May – 12noon
• 21st May – 2.00pm
• 31st May – 12noon
• 11th June – 2.00pm
• 21st June – 12noon
• 2nd July – 2.00pm

Junior Performance day announced

Calling all ROWGC Junior and Academy members... the THSG have been planning the next instalment of improving your performance! Performance Driven Improvement Day is Monday 30th May. Please book your place in the pro shop.

Calling All Junior Golfers,

We have one of our Performance days coming up very soon on Monday 30th May. Our last day was a great success with Ady Watts covering fitness/nutrition and our very own Oli Leett doing short game. These days are a fantastic way to learn about the game and further your knowledge with like minded juniors.

Performance Driven Improvement Day
Monday 30th May

This day will solely focus on getting you ‘Match Ready’ for the golf course. Our learning outcomes for the day will be as follows:

• Pre Round Focus
• Pre Shot Process
• Measurable Practice
• On Course Performance Management

Itinerary of the day

• 9am – Registration
   
• 9.30am – Pre Round Focus

Team THSG will take you through the preparation needed in the days and minutes leading up to competition.

• 10.30am – Pre Shot Process

The group will be split into two teams and be taken through pre shot process in long game and in putting.

• 11.30am – Drinks Break
   
• 11.45am – Measurable Practice

In your groups you will learn about what makes a great practice session, again you will be taken through long game and putting.

• 12.45pm – Lunch (provided)
   
• 1.45pm – 9 Hole THSG Scramble

This is your chance to play with the pro’s in a fun Texas scramble format.

Cost of the day

This day will be part funded by the THSG and members of ROWGC, there is a small cost of £15 per child to be paid upon booking.

Booking

Please book your space in the pro shop, pre-payment is appreciated.

Team THSG at Cornish Festival Pro Am

Last week Oli, Paul and Rob all entertained members teams from ROWGC at The Cornish Festival Pro Am. This years Festival was played over three stunning courses: St Enodoc, Trevose and Carlyon Bay GC. With the weather set fair, our teams set out or the long drive.

Oli’s team consisted of Ben Creese, Phil Taylor and Robin Ledbury. Rob’s team was Pete Lawrence, Richard Tromans and Phil Thompson. Paul’s team was Percy Bristow, Kevin Goff and James Berry.

The ROWGC teams had a tough draw playing Carlyon first, St Enodoc second in tough conditions, finishing off with Trevose GC on the final day. The format of the Pro Ams is best 2 scores from 4 players. All teams had flashes of brilliance with Oli’s team finishing one shot ahead of Paul’s team in 68th place out of 115 teams.

To register your interest in playing in any of our Pro Am’s please email Tim tim@timhallschoolofgolf.com

They’re a great day out and well worth it playing with your professionals.

THSG’s Top Tip Of The Week – The Tray Drill

This weeks subject is wrist positions in the backswing and in particular how to improve your positions very much at the top of the backswing. 

A very high percentage of the greatest players that have walked the planet all show similar left wrist positions in the backswing. Coincidence… I think not, getting this correct positions in your wrist can help you stabilise the club head through impact helping us hitting longer and straighter shots.

I have been studying left wrist positions over the last few years with many of my pupils and I agree with many of the articles written by the top teachers in the world suggesting there is a right and wrong position at the top of the swing.

Greats like Hogan, Trevino, Norman, Faldo, Woods, Speith and Mcilroy all show the same characteristics in the left wrist at the top of the swing.  I often use the terminology ‘flat left wrist’ when talking about the top of the backswing and in key movements in the downswing.

Below is an example of what I believe is correct and incorrect at the top of the swing.  In the left hand picture your can see that the left wrist has a lot of angle, which opens the clubface and gets the wrist into a weak position. The right hand picture displays no wrist angle (a flat left wrist).

The Tray Drill

This is one of the best drills I give to pupils because it teaches us so much good without technically trying to divulge too much information. We are ultimately focused on getting a better left wrist position with this drill but we actually use the right hand to get the perfect position as this helps guide the left wrist more easily.

As you can see you can do this drill with the club or without, but always setting up in your normal golf posture and using your bottom hand on the grip. Right hander’s, take your right hand upto to the top of the backswing, imagining at the very top your trying to balance a tray, not spilling any of the contents on the tray. To help focus the mind try to imagine something very important on that tray, I always like to ask my pupils what that important item would be, most common answer has to be a tray of wine with wine glasses on… funny how this can really zone in my pupils to get that perfect wrist position at the top.  All you simply do then using your club is try to feel the exact same wrist positions in both your left and right hand. Do this for 5 minutes a day at home and those patterns will change for the better!!

Improving these key wrist positions will help you gain more stable lines and clubface heading into impact. This in turn will help you hit longer, straighter shots and have an all around more repeatable technique.

My weekend at The US Masters

I was lucky enough to get a late invite to attend the awesome US Masters at Augusta National GC as guests of a member at the weekend. As you can imagine I couldn’t turn down this once in a lifetime opportunity.

The US Masters is always a sign of the unofficial start to the season and this year it didn’t disappoint with Danny Willett picking up the title in dramatic fashion. All my birthdays and Christmases came at once last week as I was invited through friends to attend the weekend as guests of an Augusta member.

I thought I knew what to expect of Augusta having watched many US Masters on TV, but really nothing could quite prepare me for the splendor of the club itself and tournament run by the members. From the moment I touched down in Augusta airport I knew it was going to be a special weekend.

Everything about my experience was mesmerising from the golf course itself in near perfect condition, to the hospitality and friendliness of the exclusive membership. I walked the course following Rory and Jordan on Saturday and managed to see all the play on Sunday from the likes of Danny, Lee, Jordan and many others. Had breakfast in the members lounge and lunch under the umbrella’s with all of the worlds best players in and around.

As you can imagine the experience was amazing and one that I will never forget. Photos of my trip were a bit sparse because of the no camera rule enforced by the members of Augusta!!

The THSG Golf Day 2016 – Everyone’s a winner

Over 120 THSG pupils attended the day which was action packed from start to finish. The technical team from Nike golf were also involved on the day running an experience day educating everyone on all things Nike.

We started the day off with educational clinics on the new Nike RZN golf ball talking through the awesome technological advances that they have made this year.  The representatives then took everyone through the ball fitting process to find what RZN they should be playing.

It was then down to TeamTHSG to deliver two teaching clinics on the putting green with Oli and with myself over on the driving range. Oli went through green reading and proper practice using new drills, while I spoke about how to create power and efficiency in your golf swing. Both clinics were well attended and as ever, lots was learnt.

Tim Hall at the Driving Range

We then trialed the new Nike Vapor range with product presentations from the Nike team, before it was then time to do battle on the course in the team format. That wasn’t the end of the fun and games, the competitors then were challenged to a beat the pro competition out on the 12th hole trying their luck against Oli and myself.

All in all it was a great fun day with certainly a competitive edge in the main competition out on the course. The scores were unbelievable in the Texas scramble format just showing what happens when lessons are taken and worked on.

ROWGC Teams get ready for a successful year ahead!

Both mens and ladies teams have been working hard on their games prior to the season openers. Our 4 team captains have all organized team sessions with the THSG and results are already showing!!

We always enjoy group coaching sessions and this year we are proud to announce we are now working with 4 teams at ROWGC.

Neil Lancett and his A Team, Pat Watkins and her ladies A Team, Katie Greenwood and her ladies B Team and Janet Hyndman and her ladies C Team have all enjoyed sessions taken by the THSG over the last few weeks.

All teams are already showing great promise both on and off the course, with a great team spirit and some great golf being played. The sessions are designed around giving the teams help in performance out on the course and technical work on the range.

Good luck to the teams ahead of this season, our teams at ROWGC have never been in better shape going into their first game!!

THSG Long Game Weekend

Last weekend we held our THSG Long Game weekend here at the THSG. Although slightly effect by staff shortages, the Long Game Weekend continued. Oli and the team where on hand to treat the members too a feast of long game clinics both on and off the course.

On Friday night Oli and Paul took the members out onto the course to talk about performance improvement through course management. They played holes covering all aspects of course management from club selection and strategy.

On Saturday, Oli then took a number of sessions on the long game including improving your power sequence and hitting it longer and straighter off the tee.  We would like to thank everyone who came to the sessions and apologies for any inconvenience caused by a few of the sessions that were cancelled because of the staff shortages.

The launch of our brand new e-newsletter

An exciting time here at the THSG with the launch of our new weekly e-newsletter. Behind the scenes we have been working closely with our new providers to modernise and generally improve our communications with you.

We are always keen to hear your feedback so if you have any stories you'd like to publish, or any suggestions of what you'd like us to feature, please send them to my new email address: tim@timhallschoolofgolf.com

The new format to the e-newletter will see four different e-newsletters sent out each month. We wanted to give the golfer a diverse mix of information that is informative in all areas of the game. This has been 6 months in the making and after many hours researching different platforms we think we have come up with something pretty special for our members and THSG Pupils. We are so excited to launch these new platforms and take our communications the next level.

Week 1 will be focused around our ROWGC and THSG Community News:

• Work within the community
• Captains news
• Junior news
• What's on this month with the THSG
• Shop promotions
• Prize draw results
• ROWGC Team Wins
• Rule of The Week
• Success Stories

Week 2 will be focused on the Leett Putting Hub (LPH):

Oli will be giving you an insight into his specialized subject, putting. You will gain valuable nuggets of information on the most important part of your game.

• Lesson Success Stories
• Video, Tip Of The Week
• Custom Fitting Your Putter
• Green Reading & Aimpoint Express
• The Hub Club
• Pro Am Dates

Week 3 will be focused around Performance, in particular around improving and developing your game:

We aim for continuous improvement here at the THSG in every pupil and reading this e-newsletter will help you take your game to the next level. 

• Lesson & custom fitting success stories
• Tip of the week / Video
• Lesson & Custom fitting promotions
• Whats on with the THSG
• Measureable practice tips

Week 4 will be focused on news from the Shop:

We will be updating on our latest product launches, offers and promotions.

• Offer of the month
• Seasonal offers
• New In store promotions
• Product Launches
• Monthly prize draws
• Product Testing Panel
• Sale News

Would you like to feature on our new website?

We will be launching our website in May and are looking for golfers to be photographed whilst being taught by the THSG team. The photos will be published on our website and e-newsletter. If you're interested in helping please email Tim tim@timhallschoolofgolf.com

Warren and Annette start off the year in style

Both the club and ladies captain, Warren and Annette teamed up with the THSG for the 2016 Ladies Fashion Show on 17th March. We love our ladies clothing in the golf shop and always look forward to the fashion show.

We love our ladies clothing in the golf shop and always look forward to the fashion show that we run with the ladies section. We were lucky again this year with our star of a club captian Warren once again helping us out comparing the event.

The ladies section did a fantastic job of modeling clothing and shoes from Rohnisch, Green Lamb, Nike Golf,  Ecco and Footjoy. As you can see from the pictures taken from the day, the ladies looked fantastic and so did the male models Warren and THSG lads.  

Thanks once again for everyone who helped out and attended the day. Special thanks to our wonderful models, Warren for his hilarious commentary and Annette for organizing the day.

Next Stop Milan!

Fashion Show 2016

Fashion Show 2016

Fashion Show 2016

The THSG go Masters crazy!

Don’t miss out with the goings on at the THSG, both on and off the course over the US Masters week. Some people say it’s the official start of the golf season, we say it’s a great excuse to put on some special THSG initiatives. The THSG Long Game Weekend starts Friday 8th April till Sunday 10th.

We have been busy organizing our Long game weekend designed to help you play better golf in 2016. While your waiting for the Masters coverage to start you can enjoy some expert group tuition for just £5 per session.

The THSG Long Game Weekend

Friday 8th April – Sunday 10th April

This special series of clinics held over Masters weekend is designed to help you gain the knowledge to hit further and straighter. The sessions are focused around the longer game in particular driving off the tee, mastering those hybrids, learning how to hit more consistent fairway woods and improving your approach play.

We will give you a valuable insight into improving your basic swing movements that will not only help improve your swing but keep you free from injury. 

Check out the table below to see which clinic you need help with. Booking is simple, just email tim@timhallschoolofgolf.com or pop along to the golf shop next time your at the club.

2016 Long Game Weekend schedule

The US Masters Sweepstake

We still have a few names left in the hat most notably Jordan Speith and Rory Mcilroy. Next time your at the club be sure to pop along to the shop and have a go at just £2 a pick. This year we have some great prizes on offer for both men and lady golfers. 

The GREAT BIG US Masters Shoe Promotion

We really have gone Masters mad with this offer. By any pair of shoes from the golf shop and receive a full refund on your golf shop account if you pick the 2016 US Masters Champion... It's that simple!

Ex Rental Motocaddy Trolleys… Reduced further!

We are now selling off our 3 ex rental trolleys for £299 each (RRP £499), they are just 1 year old and have had limited use, they all have 36 hole lithium batteries and have a 4 year limited warranty. For more information please reply to this email or pop along to the shop and ask one of the team. 

Motocaddy Trolleys

Grass roots golf at ROWGC

It's been a great Winter for Junior golf. With help from the THSG Performance Lab, we've managed to keep everyone going through the wintery weather! Find out what we have been doing with our Eagles, Tigers and Development groups over the Easter break.

We certainly do get a real buzz out of developing the game at grass roots and we are certainly very happy with our current group of junior golfers. We now hold 9 sessions a week both on and off the course for our juniors at different levels.

Below are just a few of the sessions that took place over the Easter break. If you would like any further information on our junior golf sessions please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us. We have sessions that will help all levels of golfers from hitting their first shots to our more advanced sessions.

Easter break with the Juniors