- 2 days ago
In the third episode of Game Improved, Nick Dougherty offers a lesson to 18-handicapper Andy Edom
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00:00Hello everyone, Neil Tappin here from Golf Monthly and welcome to the final episode in our three-part
00:05series in which we're going to try to help some amateur golfers shoot lower scores. In this
00:10episode we have Andy Edom who plays off a handicap of 18 and he's going to get the chance to play
00:15some golf here at Wentworth with Nick Doherty and then head to the range for a one-on-one lesson.
00:21Hopefully there should be some advice both on how to play, how to build a strategy for the golf
00:25course, but also some tips on how to practice and how to swing it a little bit better that will help
00:30Andy but also might help you too. Right, let's get started.
00:47Okay, so Andy, thanks for joining us here at Wentworth. What's your handicap and just give us
00:52a sense of where your golf is at right now? My handicap's 18. It's a little bit variable because
00:57I don't get out that often and play that often so I tend to feel that I manage the ball around the
01:02course more than anything else. Okay, so then what are the strengths, what are the weaknesses in your
01:08golf game? Definitely strengths would be wedges and short irons. Generally speaking, the longer the
01:14club, the more wayward I can get. Right, and when we're talking wayward, are we talking right or left?
01:19A little bit of both, to be true. Right, okay, so what are you looking then? So you've got access to
01:24Nick, what are you looking for in terms of advice to help you play? Just to basically straighten me
01:29out a little bit, help me hit the ball a little bit straighter. I know I can feel there's certain
01:33parts of my swing that aren't right, it's just the order in which to correct that. Yeah, okay.
01:38Great. Well, I think you're with the right person today. Right, let's head out onto the golf course
01:42and meet Nick.
01:50So
01:52so
02:01so
02:03be in the balls of the feet, wouldn't it? Certainly in that more forward side, the top corner, I'd kick out that way, wouldn't I?
02:11I'd put the spin on the ball and if I was trying to bend it the other way, even as a right footer, I'd kick this side of the ball and then let me just see that.
02:21So now, now just feel that path of the other line. Make me work this way and see how much more turned through the ball I am.
02:29One way, so actually you really got to feel like you're going to drive forward this way and then you have to find a way to get into it.
02:50Okay Nick, so let's talk about Andy's golf game. So first time you've seen him play today, we played three holes here on the west course. What does Andy do well? What does he need to work on, do you think?
03:04Well, he's diligent with how he goes about his game. I can relate to Andy in terms of he's an overthinker with his game because he tries so hard.
03:12Right. Yeah, and I think it's an admirable quality. It's a noble pursuit but one that's thwarted unfortunately with this game because the more we get invested sometimes consciously with it, the more we get in our own way.
03:23I think Andy had a little bit of that going on. You could see there was, to me, the nature of how he stood to the ball, it was not overcoached but overthought.
03:32You know what I mean? It was just like he's ticking boxes in his mind and I know what that feels like because that's what I've done and ironically,
03:39it took away a little bit of the flow of him just getting out of his way and playing golf.
03:44Right. So I think for me a little bit with Andy is, and it's a challenge I think sometimes with coaching is, help someone get better without making them turn inwards, you know, in terms of their thoughts.
03:53Yeah, yeah, yeah.
03:54Because the last thing I need to do is to give Andy 10 different things to go and think about.
03:57Yeah, okay.
03:57And the problem for Andy was with what we talked about with his swing, it was, one of them was a pre-swing thing but the sensation I wanted to feel was in the swing.
04:07They're always tougher because it's happening as we're doing it, you know, so I think for him there's a very simple fix that was really important which was aim straight.
04:18Right, okay.
04:19You know, for him that was shoulders. So he sets up beautifully every time and then right before he pulls the trigger he decides to make it more difficult for himself and gives it one of these with the shoulders.
04:29So closing the shoulders, what does that do?
04:31Well, it completely shifts the way that the club wants to move for starters, so from that very moment then Andy's swing is always working this way and ironically, we tend to build compensations in our swing to make whatever we've got going on work.
04:45To him he's not shot though, in his head he's dead square. He's not though, he's way right with his shoulders.
04:51Because then when I went on and worked with him on the range and squared him up, of course he feels wide open.
04:55Feels weird.
04:56Yeah, even though he stood like that naturally and it was only right before he pulled the trigger he gives it the bump with the shoulders like that.
05:03So he felt fine to do that first and then he thought, no, come on, we need to get these shut off.
05:07So again, it's that classic feel versus real thing in the golf swing and we all again have to deal with this where what we feel very often isn't what is real out there.
05:17And so just him seeing of me going across his shoulders there with the alignment stick and saying, right, come and step away and see where it is.
05:24So you can immediately come and check on me. You need that feedback because I'm asking him to buy into something that everything inside him intuitively saying, that is not right, man.
05:33You got me stood like this now. How the hell am I going to propel the ball down there when you've got me stood this way?
05:39He needs to, you need the buy in first of all, like this is definitely what's happening mate.
05:43So then how do you then make those adjustments without becoming too technical, without talking about all of those things that can get you quite confused?
05:51I think you first of all explain that the journey is not one of pure joy and ecstasy in terms of, and I think that's one thing.
05:57So I can relate to Andy in terms of I've played four times this year. So even when I go out there today, there's a real mixed bag.
06:03Yeah. Making peace with the fact that there's going to be inconsistency is one of the greatest freedoms in our game.
06:10That actually allows me to play way better golf because when I hit a bad shot, I don't do what I used to when I was a tournament professional and delve in there.
06:17Why do you, what do you, oh, this was, oh, this needs a bit. And of course, it's little things like this, which no one notices.
06:23It's very often we overcomplicate in that issue. So one of the things obviously that happened with the movement was that his path was very much inside out.
06:31And it was reflected in, obviously, you see some early extension in there, club drifting from inside out as well.
06:37And you see the release pattern as well, sort of this way over his shoulder.
06:40So what leading to pushes and hooks.
06:42Yeah. So if the face matches up to that direction that he's swinging it, it's a block to the right.
06:46And of course, if the face is actually square, it's the hook, which is going to make him want to swing even more to the right hand side,
06:51which of course we know is welcome to golf.
06:53So in essence, we have to get a feeling for let's be square.
06:58That's going to feel rubbish. Make peace with that feels rubbish today.
07:01Not forever, just today. I know it takes huge discipline. Go on the range, do the reps, ignore where it's going.
07:08You have no right to care where that's going because one, you're not really focused on it because you're not playing golf.
07:12You're playing pretty swings, but we're practicing pretty swings.
07:14That's what we're doing at the moment with this.
07:16And you're just going to go drill it in. That's what it feels like.
07:18That's what it feels like. That's what it feels like.
07:20And you can break that up with then going, right, I'm going to hit a normal shot.
07:23I'm going to play to this flag and go through my normal routine.
07:25Because what we want to do is do the stuff that requires us to step outside of the way.
07:30Because if I get used to practice a swing, but then also say, yeah, but I need you to hit it close as well.
07:35It's not going to work so well.
07:37Whereas if I say to you, all you have to do, and we did this with him,
07:40I wanted to try and feel hitting these nice little low fades,
07:43because it was forcing him to want to have to move better with his lower half,
07:46which again was something we talked about synchronization, trying to feel.
07:50So it's a nice, simple drill as you take it halfway back, you step forward, which gets you using to feel.
07:55And of course, you don't get halfway back.
07:56People tend to get up here when they actually do it, which is like the golf swing.
07:59Because in essence, with every good player, it starts with a move as this is finishing off into that left side.
08:05Don't want him thinking about that.
08:08And then from there, from having that better feeling of being into that left side a little earlier,
08:12rather than he was more back here and this way,
08:15and was almost feeling like we're moving a little earlier into that left side,
08:18you wanted to try and feel that nice little feeling of hitting a low cut.
08:22And I like things like that, because if I say to you, how would you hit a low cut?
08:25We've all got a feeling of, I'd be like that, I'd hit it that way.
08:30And so it provides a feeling rather than a, right, so we need to get the club there.
08:34And then in this position, then you want to feel like, you know,
08:37I think that stuff makes it way too complicated.
08:39So we hit some horror show shots, which is good because it shows me he's really tapping into that.
08:44So for me, it's sort of, let's get in amongst the weeds, get really ugly.
08:49Spend a bit of time doing that on the range.
08:50Get really comfortable being uncomfortable.
08:53And then we go, right, done.
08:55We get in, we do the work, then we leave and we go and play the game.
08:57So then Nick, let me ask you, somebody of Andy's level in the game,
09:02what strategy advice would you offer?
09:03Having a plan for what you're going to be all about in the golf course is more important.
09:07I think for players of the handicap when you're at 18, you're in that beautiful zone where some days you can,
09:13it can be a game changer of a day, but you always have the chance to go and have one of those shocker days as well.
09:19So I think making it nice and simple, have a plan with your coach is really good.
09:23So Andy's a great example of this.
09:25Have a plan for how you're going to make the improvements.
09:27But when you go out, go out to play well.
09:29Yeah.
09:29There's so many things at 18 handicap you can dabble with and play with and try this and try that.
09:35My experience is most of the time we get worse.
09:37Too much going around our heads and then we end up going,
09:40Oh God, I'm thinking about too much.
09:41How many times have you heard?
09:42Oh, I'm thinking about too much.
09:43Well, don't have your plan, stick to your plan and strategy.
09:47You know, you save so many shots around, take a joy from thinking like a top level pro.
09:51You might not be able to hit Rory's shots, but you can think like, you know,
09:55so that means like when you go in there with your three wood in this stuff,
09:59is Rory going in there with his three wood?
10:00Because if he ain't, you shouldn't, you know?
10:02And I think that's one of the things we can see is that, you know,
10:04you won't necessarily always be able to hit the shot you want to,
10:07but we can make the right decision about it.
10:09Yeah.
10:10And knowing where your strengths are as well, picking,
10:12being more responsible in what we pick,
10:14having a good strategy that takes some of the risk away.
10:17And for an amateur golfer at 18 handicap, that could be like,
10:20let's not hit the hero shot because that's screaming an eight if it doesn't come off.
10:23Let's play it smart.
10:24Let's make a nice five.
10:25And it takes discipline that because of course we all want to hit the shot that allows us to,
10:30you know, the shot that makes us feel a million dollars.
10:32But if it's in a comp, if you have an amount of remakes, whack away.
10:35Yeah.
10:35If you're in a comp and you're serious about wanting to improve your handicap,
10:39do that, do the right thing and start making the right decision
10:41because it's what the top players would do.
10:42Yeah.
10:43Yeah.
10:43So there you have it.
10:44If you want to get better at golf and who doesn't,
10:47then you've got to commit to it.
10:48You don't have to be technical,
10:49but you do have to commit to what you're trying to do.
10:51Hopefully that helps.
10:52Okay.
10:53So there you have it.
10:53That's our look at Andy's game and Nick's tips to help him improve.
10:57Obviously with Andy, he needs to make some technical improvements,
11:01but what's great about the advice that Nick is offering is that yes,
11:05it's clear to see those technical improvements that need to be made,
11:07but the advice needs to be as simple and practical and usable as possible.
11:12Hopefully that's what Andy got from it.
11:14If you're in a similar category with your golf game,
11:16then using some of that advice to help you as well should really make a big difference.
11:20But that's it for now for Wentworth.
11:22Thanks very much for watching.
11:23We'll see you next time.
11:27We'll see you next time.
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