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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've really got to feel like you're going to drive forward this way and then you have to find a way to get it.
02:41Okay Nick, so let's talk about Andy's golf game. So first time you've
02:45am. Long way so actually you really got to feel like you're gonna drive forward
02:51this way and then you have to find a way to get into. Okay Nick so let's talk
02:56about Andy's golf game so first time you've seen him play today we played
03:00three holes here on the west course what does Andy do well what does he need to
03:04work on do you think? Well he's diligent with how he goes about his game he's the
03:08club I can relate to Andy in terms of he's an overthinker with his game because
03:12he tries so hard right yeah and I think that's it's an admirable quality it's a
03:16noble pursuit but one that's thwarted unfortunately with this game because the
03:19more we get invested sometimes consciously with it the more we get in our own way
03:23and I think Andy had a little bit of that going on you could see there was to me
03:26that the nature of how he stood to the ball it was not over coached but
03:31overthought you know I mean he was it was just like he's ticking boxes in his mind
03:35and and I know what that feels like because that's what I've done and
03:38and ironically it took away a little bit of the flow of him just getting out of
03:43his way and playing golf right so I think for me a little bit with Andy is and it's
03:47a challenge I think sometimes with coaching is help someone get better
03:50without making them turn inwards you know in terms of their thoughts because the
03:54last thing I need to do is to give Andy 10 different things to go and think
03:57about and the problem for Andy was with what we talked about with his swing
04:01it wasn't one of them was a pre pre swing thing but the sensation I wanted to feel
04:06was in the swing they're always tougher because it's happening and as we're
04:10doing it you know so I think for him there's a very simple fix that was
04:16really important which was aim straight right okay you know this but for him
04:21that was shoulders so he sets up beautifully every time and then right
04:24before he pulls the trigger trigger he decides to make it more difficult for
04:27himself right and gives it one of these with the shoulders so closing the
04:30shoulders what does that do well it completely shifts the way that the club
04:33wants to move for starters so from that very moment then Andy swingers always
04:37working this way and ironically he we tend to build compensations in our swing to
04:43make whatever we've got going on work to him he's not shot though yeah in his head
04:47he's dead square he's not though he's way right with his shoulders because then
04:51when I went on when work with him on the range and squared him up of course he
04:55feels wide it was weird yeah even though he stood like that naturally and it was
04:59only right before he pulled the trigger he gives it the bump with the
05:02shoulders like that so he felt fine to do that first they thought no come on we
05:06need to get these shut off so again it's that classic feel versus real thing in
05:10the golf swing and and we all again have to deal with this where what we feel
05:14very often isn't what is real out there and so just him seeing of me going
05:20across his shoulders there with the alignment stick and saying right come and
05:23step away and see where it is we can immediately come and check on me you need
05:27that feedback because I'm asking him to buy into something that everything
05:31inside him intuitively saying that is not right man you got me stood like this
05:35now how the hell am I going to propel the ball down there when you've got me
05:37stood this way he needs to but you need the buy-in first of all like this is
05:42definitely what's happening mate can say then how do you then make those
05:45adjustments without becoming too technical talking about all those things
05:50that can get you quite confused I think you you first will explain that the
05:53journey is not one of pure joy and ecstasy in terms of and I think that's one
05:57thing so I can relate to Andy in terms of I've played four times this year so
06:01even when I go out there today there's a real mixed bag yeah making peace with the
06:05fact that there's going to be inconsistency is one of the greatest
06:09freedoms in our game that actually allows me to play way better golf because when I
06:13hit a bad shot I don't do what I used to when I was a tournament professional
06:16and delve in there why do you what oh this was oh this needs a bit and of course
06:20there's little things like this with no one notices it's very often we
06:24over complicating in that issue so one of the things obviously that happened
06:28with the movement was that his path was very much inside out and it was
06:31reflected in obviously you see some early extension in there club drifting from
06:36inside out as well and you see the release pattern as well sort of this way
06:39over his shoulder so what leading to pushes and hooks yeah so if the face
06:43matches up to that direction that he's swinging it it's a block to the right and
06:46of course if the face is actually square it's the hook which is going to make him
06:49want to swing even more to the right hand side which of course we know it's
06:52welcome to golf so in essence we have to get a feeling for let's be square
06:57that's going to feel rubbish make peace with that feels rubbish today not forever
07:01just today I know it takes huge discipline go on the range do the reps
07:06ignore where it's going you have no right to care where that's going because
07:10one you're not really focused on it because you're not playing golf you're
07:12playing pretty swings but we're practicing pretty swings that's what we're
07:15doing at the moment with this and you're just going to go drill it in that's
07:18what it feels like that's what it feels like that's what it feels like and you can
07:21break that up with then going right I'm going to hit a normal shot I'm going to
07:24play to this flag and go through my normal routine because what we want to do is
07:27do the stuff that requires us to step outside of the way because if I get used to
07:31practice a swing but then also say yeah but I need you to hit it close as well
07:35yeah not going to work so well whereas if I say to you all you have to do and we
07:39did this with him I 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 which
07:47again with something we talked about synchronization trying to feel so it's a
07:50nice simple drill as you take it halfway back you step forward which gets you
07:53using to feel and of course you don't get halfway back people tend to get up here
07:57when they actually do it which is like the golf swing because in essence with
08:00every good player it starts with a move as this is finishing off into that left side
08:05don't want him thinking about that and then from there from having that better
08:09feeling of being into that left side a little earlier rather than he was more back here
08:14and this way and was almost feeling like we're moving a little earlier into that
08:18left side you 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'll be like I'd be like that I'd just I'd hit it that way
08:29and 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 a you know I think that stuff
08:38makes it way too complicated so we hit some horror show shots which is good
08:42because it shows me he's really tapping into that so for me it's sort of let's get in amongst the
08:47weeds get really ugly spend a bit of time doing that on the range get really comfortable being
08:52uncomfortable and then we go right done we get in we do the work then we leave and we go and play the
08:57game so then Nick let me ask you somebody of Andy's level in the game what strategy advice would
09:03you offer having 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 of going and have
09:17one of those shocker days as well so I think making it nice and simple have a plan with your coach is
09:22really good so Andy's a great example of this have a plan for how you're going to make the
09:26improvements but when you go out go out to play well yeah there's so many things at 18 handicap
09:31you can dabble with and play with and try this and try that my experience is most the time we get
09:37worse too much going around our heads and then we end up going oh god I'm thinking about too much
09:41how many times you heard oh I'm thinking about too much well don't have your plan stick to your plan
09:46and strategy you 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 so that means like when you
09:56go in there with your three wood in this stuff is Rory going in there with his root
10:00because if he ain't you shouldn't you know and I think that's one of the things you can see is that
10:04you know you won't necessarily always be able to hit the shot you want to but we can make the right
10:08decision about it and knowing where your strengths are as well picking being more responsible in what
10:14we pick having a good strategy that takes some of the risk away and for an amateur golfer at 18
10:19handicap that could be like let's not hit the hero shot because that's screaming an eight if it doesn't
10:23come off let's play it smart let's make a nice five and it takes discipline that because of course we all
10:28want to hit the shot that allows us to you know the shot that makes feel a million dollars but if
10:32it's in a comp if you're having a mark with your mates whack away yeah if you're in a comp and you're
10:37serious about wanting to improve your handicap do that do the right thing and start making the right
10:41decision because it's what the top players yeah yeah so there you have it if you want to get better
10:45at golf and who doesn't then you've got to commit to it you don't have to be technical but you do have
10:50to commit to what you're trying to do hopefully that helps okay so there you have it that's our look at
10:54Andy's game and Nick's tips to help him improve obviously with Andy he needs to make some technical
11:01improvements but what's great about the advice that Nick is offering is that yes it's clear to
11:05see those technical improvements that need to be made but the advice needs to be as simple and
11:10practical and usable as possible hopefully that's what Andy got from it if you're in a similar category
11:15with your golf game then using some of that advice to help you as well should really make a big
11:20difference but that's it for now for Wentworth thanks very much for watching we'll see you next time
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