Stage 2 - The London Club
The second stage of the Tour Fit For Golf programme in association with The European Tour Performance Institute and Golfbreaks.com took place at The London Club this weekend, with competition winners Nick Blunt and Chris Hughman continuing their progress under the expert tutelage of world renowned swing coach Simon Holmes and biomechanics guru Jean-Jacques Rivet.
The day began with an informal catch up to find out how they had been progressing with the personal exercise programmes given to them following their assessment at Celtic Manor last month. Both Chris and Nick have jumped head first into the plan with admirable enthusiasm and commitment, both citing that they could not afford to give anything less than 100% when presented with an opportunity to work with experts who’s day to day work is with the best golfers and sports teams in the world.
This attitude will stand them in good stead to reap the benefits of the Tour Fit For Golf journey, as Simon Holmes says ‘the biggest challenge to amateurs is that they do not have the luxury afforded to the pro’s of being able to practice every day’.
Some golfers may be skeptical of the real benefits amateur golfers can achieve from a fitness plan designed to improve their golf swing. The explanation is quite simple; the mechanics of the perfect swing rely on a golfer being able to achieve certain positions throughout the swing; without the flexibility, strength and conditioning of an athlete, a golfer simply cannot get his body into these positions.
At this stage of the process, Simon and Jean-Jacques are working with Nick and Chris to analyse their swings using a combination of the incredible AboutGolf system, which was used at The London Club to show the transfer of balance throughout the swing, and Jean-Jaques’ incredible camera that shoots video at 30,000 frames per second. This technology, allied with Simon and JJ’s easy to digest explanation of each part of the swing, allowed Nick and Chris to understand what was happening in the swing and how the exercises they had been given would help aid their improvement.
The importance of understanding is key to their improvements, not simply to ensure both Nick and Chris buy into the process, but to ensure that they are able to feel the changes they are making in the correct way. The point was emphasized at the end of the day’s work; Simon and Jean-Jacque asked both men to write down everything they had worked on during the day from memory, ensuring that the understanding had been transferred. Nick and Chris had clearly been listening, with only a few minor additions to each of their notes at the end of a thoroughly enjoyable day on the range.
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