- 18 hours 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
01:59so
02:01so
02:03in 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
02:19and then let me just see that.
02:21So now just feel that path of the other line.
02:29If 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.
02:37So now just feel that path of the other line.
02:41Make me work this way and see how much more turned through the ball I am.
02:47One way, so actually you've really got to feel like you're going to drive forward this way and then you have to find a way to get.
02:55Okay Nick, so let's talk about Andy's golf game.
02:58So first time you've seen him play today, we played three holes here on the west course.
03:02What does Andy do well? What does he need to work on, do you think?
03:05Well, he's diligent with how he goes about his game.
03:08I can relate to Andy in terms of he's an over-thinker with his game because he tries so hard.
03:13Yeah, and I think it's an admirable quality.
03:16It'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.
03:25And you could see there was, to me, the nature of how he stood to the ball, it was not over-coached, but over-thought.
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.
03:38And ironically, it took away a little bit of the flow of him just getting out of his way and playing golf.
03:44So 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.
03:57And the problem for Andy was with what we talked about with his swing, 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.
04:10As you're doing it.
04:10You 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.
04:22So he sets up peacefully every time and then right before he pulls the trigger, he decides to make it more difficult for himself.
04:27Right.
04:28And 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.
04:34So from that very moment then, Andy's swing is always working this way.
04:38And ironically, we tend to build compensations in our swing to make whatever we've got going on work.
04:45To him, he's not shut though.
04:46Yeah.
04:46In his head, he's dead square.
04:48He's not though.
04:49He's way right with his shoulders.
04:51Because then when I went and worked with him on the range and squared him up, of course, he feels wide open.
04:55Feels weird.
04:56Yeah.
04:57Even 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.
05:04Then 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.
05:11And 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 me going across his shoulders there with the alignment stick and saying, right,
05:23come and step away and see where it is.
05:24He can immediately come and check on me.
05:26You need that feedback because I'm asking him to buy into something that everything inside him intuitively
05:32saying, that is not right, man.
05:34You got me stood like this now.
05:35How 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.
05:41Like, this is definitely what's happening, mate.
05:43So then how do you then make those adjustments without becoming too technical, without talking
05:48about all of those things that can get you quite confused?
05:51I think you first of all explained that the journey is not one of pure joy and ecstasy in terms of,
05:56like, and I think that's one thing.
05:57So I can relate to Anthony in terms of I've played four times this year.
06:01So even when I go out there today, there's a real mixed bag.
06:03Yeah.
06:04Making peace with the fact that there's going to be inconsistency is one of the greatest freedoms in
06:10our game that actually allows me to play way better golf because when I hit a bad shot,
06:14I don't do what I used to when I was a tournament professional and delve in there.
06:17Why do you, what do I, oh, this was, oh, this needs a bit, and of course, it's little things like this
06:21which no one notices.
06:23It's very often we overcomplicate in that issue.
06:26So one of the things obviously that happened with the movement was that his path was very
06:30much inside out and it was reflected in, obviously, you see some early extension in there,
06:35club drifting from inside out as well, and you see the release pattern as well,
06:38sort of this way over his shoulder.
06:40So what leading to pushes and hooks?
06:42Yeah.
06:42So 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
06:49swing even more to the right hand side, which of course we know is welcome to golf.
06:53So in essence, we had to get a feeling for let's be square.
06:58That's going to feel rubbish.
06:59Make peace with that feels rubbish today, not forever, just today.
07:02I know it takes huge discipline.
07:04Go 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
07:11because you're not playing golf, you're playing pretty swings, but we're practicing pretty swings.
07:14That's what we're doing at the moment with this.
07:16I'm just going to go drill it in.
07:17That's what it feels like.
07:18That's what it feels like.
07:19That'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 slide 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.
07:29Because if I get used to practice a swing, but then also say, yeah,
07:33but I need you to hit it close as well, it'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 because it was forcing him
07:44to want to have to move better with his lower half, which again was something we talked about
07:48synchronization, trying to feel.
07:50So it's a nice, simple drill as you take it halfway back, you step forward,
07:53which 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
08:04into 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
08:11earlier, rather than he was more back here and this way, and was almost feeling like we were
08:16moving a little earlier into that left side, you wanted to try and feel that nice little
08:20feeling 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, I'd be like that.
08:28I'd just, I'd hit it that way.
08:29And so it provides a feeling rather than a right.
08:32So we need to get the club there.
08:34And then in this position, then you want to feel like, you know, I think that stuff makes
08:38it way too complicated.
08:39So we hit some horror show shots, which is good, because it shows me he's really tapping
08:43into that.
08:44So for me, it's sort of, let's get in amongst the weeds, get really ugly.
08:48Spend a bit of time doing that on the range.
08:50Get really comfortable being uncomfortable.
08:53And then we go, right, done.
08:54We 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, what strategy advice would
09:03you 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
09:12days you can, it can be a game changer of a day, but you always have the chance to go and have one
09:17of 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
09:33and try that.
09:35My experience is most of the time we get worse too much going around the head.
09:39And then we end up going, Oh 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 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 a three?
10:00Because if he ain't, you shouldn't.
10:02You know, and I think that's one of the things we can see is that,
10:04you know, you 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, having 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,
10:27we all want to hit the shot that allows us to, you know,
10:30the shot that makes us feel a million dollars.
10:32But if it's in a comp, if you're having a mark with your mates, 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 will do.
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, but you do have to commit to what you're trying to do.
10:51Hopefully that helps.
10:52Okay. So 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.
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