Category Archives: Golf Tuition and Tips

The Golfing Season Is Never Over

The golfing season is coming to end but that doesn’t mean that mean that you have to stop practising!

Here at Dukes Meadows we have some wonderful facilities for you to use during the winter months, we have dedicated short game area for you to hone your skills on. We have  an academy course for complete beginners to use to get ready to out on the main course and we of course have the driving range for you to come and use until 10pm in the evening for those of you that have normal jobs!

So no excuses to be putting the clubs away over the winter, this is your chance to be getting ready for next season and get your handicap down even further.

If you have a particular part of your game that you want to work on then why not book a golf lesson with myself and get your game fixed!

You can contact me directly here

Putting Lessons In West London

It’s been a long day of coaching and most of it out on the putting green today. The practice putting area here at Dukes Meadows  is in great condition at the moment and it’s great to get the chance to take lessons on to the green and help them improve their  putting technique.

A lot of people ignore how important putting is in the game of golf, I see lots of golfers hitting balls on the range for hours with their video cameras and looking at their swing in the mirror, which is fine, but they then leave the golf range and walk straight past the putting green into the car park. These golfers aren’t single figure handicappers I can tell you.

If you’re a decent enough golfer and can get the ball around the course and feel like you should be scoring better than you are, it’s more than likely down to your putting. You need to get those 6 three putts a round down to 1 three putt, and need to be holing 4 out of 6 four foot putts to really see your scores improving!

If you want to book a putting lesson or want to enquire about taking golf lessons please contact me here.

Different Golf Lesson Options At Dukes Meadows

It’s coming to that time of year when people are looking to take golf lessons either as a beginner or as a golfer who wants to get their game into shape for the season ahead and work on getting their handicap down.

There are many different options when taking golf lessons. Some people like to just work on their swing on the driving range and sort out out a technical fault that they might have, while others like to work on different parts of their golf game.

Here at Dukes Meadows we have lots of different teaching areas to suit the needs of every golfer. We have a short game area where we can work on chipping, pitching and bunker play and also a separate putting green. These areas can be used by all standards of golfer to improve their game and is very much useful for beginners to get their game ready for the golf course.

We have a great par 3 course at Dukes Meadows which is a good test for any level of golfer, it’s great for beginners to get to know how to play on a course and learn about the rules and etiquette of golf.

It is also very challenging for the better golfer with it’s undulating greens and deep bunkers.

So if you’re interested in starting to play golf or just improve your game then please don’t hesitate to get in touch with here and I will be happy to answer any questions you may have.

James

Winter Practice Makes Perfect

The perfect time to start practising is right about now. It’s really difficult to get out on the golf course at the moment and to be honest isn’t always beneficial to your game as you can disheartened. The ball doesn’t travel as far and the greens aren’t as smooth as they could be which can also lead to frustration.

Putting all of this together will inevitably lead to higher scores and knock your confidence a bit.

So the best thing to do at this time of year  would to get on the driving range and try and put some purpose into your practice. Leave the driver in the bag for now and just work on your mid to short irons and really focus on getting your distance control right.

Make sure you know how far you’re hitting every club so when it comes to March/ April you can go out on the course and attack those pins with more confidence.

You will obviously start to hit the ball a bit further when the weather warms up and will have to make small adjustments to the practice that you are doing now, but you find that easy to do. More than likely you will just have to hit one club less than you were in the winter.

So make sure you get down that range and work out your yardages! 

Winter – Keep Your Clubs Out Of The Garage

It’s that time of year again where a lot of golfers put their golf clubs away in the garage and forget about them until spring next year. But for me personally this is the time of year that the clubs are kept at my golf club or in the boot of my car.

Winter is the perfect time to really hone and perfect your game. You have the chance to really work on specific areas of your game which you thought weren’t quite up to scratch in the summer. One thing that I try and work on in the winter is distance control, making sure I know exactly how far each club is going especially with my wedges. From 100 yards and in is the scoring part of the game of golf, if you can get the ball close to flag from 10- 100 yards, you will always have a chance of either a birdie or par putt to keep the momentum of your round going.

I will be giving some tips towards the end of the week on the best way to practice your wedge shots. Happy practising!

To book a lesson or ask any questions about how to improve your game please contact me here

James

 

How To Win Under Pressure

I just saw a really good interview with Darren Clarke on winning The Open. The main point that stood out for me was when he was asked by interviewer David Livingstone ‘what was the key to controlling your nerves under pressure?’

Darren answered ‘sticking to my routine, that’s something we all practice on and focus on, and it’s key to stick to your pre- shot routine when the pressure is on.’

So next time any of you are doing well in a tournament try and keep your routine consistent, it shouldn’t matter if you’re leading The Open or playing a round of golf with a friend, to hit a good shot you have to be focused whether you’re under pressure or not!

My Teaching Hours For The New Year

Just a quick reminder of my teaching hours and price list for the new year. I hope everyone had a great Christmas and is now ready for some serious golfing!

Monday: 8.00am -9.00pm
Tuesday: 4.00pm-9.00pm
Wednesday: 8.00am-9.00pm
Thursday: 2.00pm-8.00pm
Friday: Off
Saturday: 8.00am-4.00pm
Sunday: 8.00am-5.00pm

Price List:
1/2 Hour Golf Lesson On Driving Range:£23
1 Hour Golf Lesson On Driving Range:£46
Package Of 3 x 1 Hour Lessons: £120

2012 A Great Year Of Golf Ahead

Hello everyone, hope you all had a great New Year’s celebrations and are looking forward to the year ahead as much as me!

We’ve all got a lot to look forward to this year golf wise, it’s a Ryder Cup year again, can’t believe it was well over a year ago since our boys lifted the cup at Celtic Manor, let’s hope they can do it again in America this September.

We’ve got all the four majors to look forward to as well, which I think could be one of the most exciting years ever for majors as there are so many high quality players around now and it is wide open to all of them. Last year we saw four new major winners, and I think some of them names will repeat the same feat this year.

On a personal note I’m looking forward to getting back to teaching, and getting my lessons to improve even more. I saw some great results with my lessons last year and feel they can all take a massive step this year to becoming really good players and achieve their goals much quicker than they could have ever expected to.

So here’s to 2012, look forward to seeing you all practising and look forward to teaching you all!

James

 

Taking your golf lessons to the course

Golf lessons will typically take place on the driving range, where balls can be hit successively in order to practise and hone your game. This is ideal for perfecting the different types of shots, learning about distance, and being able to do this at your own pace.

The game itself is of course played on a course, and after the initial practise it’s here that the fun really starts!

Dukes Meadows Golf Club has a superb nine-hole course, with fantastic greens, great scenery and some challenging holes – it’s perfect for beginners and experienced players alike.

Many golfers are nervous when stepping out onto the first tee for the first time, so an on-course lesson can be great to calm those nerves, learn about the etiquette of the sport, and be guided on which clubs to use and when.

It’s the perfect way to make the transition from the driving range to the course, and it won’t be long before you’re knocking shots off your score with every round…

Please click here for my teaching hours and price list

Six FREE golf lessons to be won!

Tomorrow I will be offering a fantastic prize to end the year with. I will be giving away six free half hour golf lessons which you can use for yourself or you can give to someone as a Christmas present.

They can use the lessons as 6 x half hours or 3 x one hour lessons. The lessons can be on the driving range, on the course or at any of the Dukes Meadows wonderful practice facilities including our fantastic Video Analysis Studio.

All you will have to do is ‘like’ my facebook page and enter your email address. If you have already ‘liked’ my page then you will just be required to enter your email. Then a name will be chosen at random.

The competition will last for a week and will be drawn on the Dec 21st so I will have time to send out a nicely presented gift voucher to the winner.

So keep your eyes open for the start of the FREE lesson giveaway tomorrow!