“I`m Feeling Really Confident & Every Part of My Game Has Improved…”
By Tony | September 14, 2008
Staurt trained with us here at Australian High Performance Golf Academy AHPGA for six weeks earlier this year. Since returning to his home country USA, Stuart has been competing on the major amateur circuit in United States and has posted a number of good results. This is what Stuart had to say when he recently contacted me;
“I’m back in Upstate New York after a summer of tournaments out in Colorado. I had a great summer including 5 rounds in the 60’s this summer, all under pressure (men’s day events) or in tournaments. Here are my tournament results from the summer”.
US Open local qualifying stage- 76 5th (2nd alternate)
Greeley - 72-70 3rd
FC city championship- 75-72-75 6th
Hyland hills am- 75-74 3rd
US amateur qualifier - 71-74 5th (2nd alternate) (2nd qual co stroke play)
CO stroke play- 73-74-74 31st
FCCC club championship- 76-69- 2nd (playoff)
“It was a great summer of golf, I played really consistently. My highest rounds of the summer were 76. My handicap went from a 0 to a +2. I am feeling really confident and every part of my game has improved this year”.
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“The Constant Focus on My Short Game and Wedge Game Has Improved My Golf”
By Tony | September 3, 2008
This is the testimonial received from a student who spent 4 weeks training with us at the Australian High Performance Golf Academy AHPGA in August of this year.
Mark joined our Advanced Training Program already an accomplished single figure handicap golfer from Victoria. After spending 4 weeks of high performance golf training at AHPGA this is what Mark had to say;
“Over my 4 week stay at the Australian High Performance Golf Academy I not only learnt a lot about my golf swing and what needed to be improved, but also about the other important areas of the game. Tony and I worked a lot on mental strength, an area which I never thought about but actually was holding me back. Our daily training both on the range and on course was very beneficial, and the constant foucs on my short game and wedge game has improved my golf a lot. I knew I could never drop 5 shots off my score in only 4 weeks, but Tony gave me the training to work on these things over time, and since then I have dropped my handicap”.
For information on the AHPGA Advanced Golfer High Performance Golf Training Program contact us via the home page details.
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Philip Shoots Under Par for the First Time Ever!
By Tony | August 17, 2008
Australian High Performance Golf Academy AHPGA student Philip Tan has shot under par for the first time ever after just 17 weeks of Intensive High Performance Golf Training at AHPGA
When Philip first arrived at AHPGA some 17 weeks ago he was playing on a domestic handicap of 13 in his home country of Malaysia with an average score of 85 strokes for 18 holes. After just 17 weeks of intensive high performance golf training with us here at AHPGA Philip is now on an official Australian Golf Handicap of 4.0 with an average score of 76 for 18 holes….that`s a nine shot reduction in his scoring average!
All of Philip`s dedication and training over the past 17 weeks resulted in a one under par score of 71 around Palm Meadows GC last weekend. Playing in the local club tournament here at the Palm Meadows GC Philip scored even par 36 on the front nine and came home in a one under 35 for a 71 total…to shoot under par for the very first time ever! And what a way to do it! The tee`s were set back and with the recent dry windy conditions the fairways and greens were hard and fast.
Congratulations on your performance Philip….the hard work has just begun!
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Train That Way, Play That Way!
By Tony | August 17, 2008
I cannot help but marvel at how Padraig Harrington closed out the USPGA Golf Championship with three clutch putts on the 70th, 71st and 72nd holes at Oakland Hills CC.
With nine holes to play there were four players with a chance. Ben Curtis of the United States and Henrik Stensen of Sweden were both at 2 under, two ahead of Harrington and one behind Spain`s Sergio Garcia.
Stensen bogied the par five 12th hole, so that all but ended his chances of victory. Curtis hung in there until the difficult par 3 17th hole making a bogie after his tee shot went long and nestled down in the thick fringe rough.
Harrington birdied the 10th, got it up and down from over the green on the par five 11th for another birdie and then birdied the par three 13th. A bogie on the 14th hole by Harrington and now Garcia had the lead by one with some of the most difficult holes in Championship golf to come.
Garcia hit the hole on his mid iron approach shot on the 15th but failed to hole his putt from around 15 feet. Garcia had 165 metres for his approach to the tough 16th hole and lost the shot to the right into the water fronting the green. Harrington after a beautiful tee shot on the 16th hole had only an eight iron into the green. Harrington pulled his approach shot badly and found the greenside bunker on the left. Garcia played a beautifully controlled pitch into the green after taking his penalty drop to 4 feet. Harrington now faced with a long bunker shot accepted the challenge before him and hit his bunker shot to 15 feet.
Harrington stepped up and holed his par putt. Garcia holed on top of Harrington and both players moved to the difficult long par 3 17th hole. Harrington hit first and struck the most beautiful five iron to ten feet. Garcia stepped up and replied with a quality shot of his own with a five iron to 4 feet!
Both players now faced putts with the potential to define their careers ( Harrington winning back to back major championships and Garcia attempting to win his first major) and Harrington rolled his ten footer into the middle of the hole. Garcia pulled his putt just enough for it too catch the left side of the hole and spin out.
With the tough 18th hole left to play it was still either players Championship. Harrington who only two hole ago was one shot behind now found himself one shot ahead of Garcia standing on the 18th tee. Harrington pushed his tee shot out to the right and caught the fairway bunker. Garcia hit his tee shot even further right and missed the fairway bunkers. Garcia hit a fairway wood into the greenside bunker.
Harrington then surprisingly made a mental error and caught his fairway bunker shot fat and left his ball in the thick rough up the right side. Left with a seven iron into this long par four finishing hole, and with a reasonably good lie in the rough, he hit his approach to 15 feet.
Garcia now needed to apply the pressure once more on Harrington with a good bunker shot, but unfortunatley he caught the shot heavy and left himself with an 8 foot putt for par. It was now in Harringtons hands, if he could hole his putt he would be the 2008 USPGA Champion. Harrington went through his usual pre-shot preparation and rolled the ball down the slope into the middle of the hole!
Harrington holed three clutch putts over the last three holes to claim the title. At the Australian High Performance Golf Academy AHPGA our students are constantly training under on course tournament intensity through a number of daily performance assessments and skills tests. One such test is where we have our players attempt to hole three putts in a row. Firstly from 6 feet and then 12 feet and finally 18 feet. This training just might give them the edge when they have the opportunity to win a tournament (or maybe even a major championship) just the way Padraig did at this year`s USPGA Championship.
Always train the way you intend to play….train that way, play that way!
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AHPGA Student Selected in the South Australian State Team!
By Tony | July 30, 2008
Australian High Performance Golf Academy AHPGA Student Alex Hendrick has been selected in the South Australian State Team to contest the annual Interstate Series in Sydney later this year. Alex spent 6 weeks with us here on the Gold Coast enrolled in the AHPGA Advanced and Professional Golfer Program in 2007.
Congratulations Alex on your persistence and determination to make the South Australian State Team from all the team at AHPGA.
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AHPGA Junior Wins Queensland Ladies Amateur Championship!
By Tony | July 28, 2008
14 year old Australian High Performance Golf Academy AHPGA Junior Ellie Na has won the 2008 Queensland Ladies Amateur Championship last weekend with a hard fought 2 and 1 victory over her much more experienced opponent Ashley Dewhurst from Tasmania.
“It feels good to win such a big tournament,”.
“She made me play well, some holes I had to birdie to win.”
Ellie displayed maturity and game well beyond her years and with her superb touch on and around the greens all week reached the final after an impressive semi- final 4 & 3 victory over current NSW Amateur Champion, Brookwater’s Bree Arthur yesterday.
“I putted well from about one and two metres,” Ellie said.
This win caps off a wonderful season of golf so far from Ellie. A season where she has won many junior and open events and earlier in the year was the youngest player (male or female) to qualify for an Australian Open at just 13 years of age! This wonderful achievement saw Ellie earn a sponsors invite to compete in the ANZ Australian Ladies Masters.
Ellie is in South Australia this week playing in the 72 hole South Australian Stroke Play Championships. After opening rounds of 71, 74 (145) she is currently in second place just two shots behind the leader Ashley Dewhurst 69, 74 (143) with the final two rounds to be played tomorrow and Wednesday. In her current form she could well make it major back to back victories this week.
Congratulations on your great play Ellie. You deserve all the accolades and success. From all the AHPGA Team.
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Exciting Times Ahead for the Australian High Performance Golf Academy!
By Tony | July 22, 2008
Last week I was in Korea visiting an exciting new 36 hole golf course resort development project.The goal is to set up an holistic academy that encompasses all the professionalism and qualities that we have created and deliver at the Australian High Performance Golf Academy headquarters here on the Gold Coast Australia. The Korean training facility will include the latest in high tech state of the art technique training equipment, world class physical conditioning facility and the very latest in training equipment, mental skill`s development training programs and strategy training. With our input the training facility that they will design is going to be the most totally complete high performance golf training facilty, where every shot in the game can be learned and practiced. Our Korean partners intend on going out of their way to create what I think will be one of the very best golf training facilties in the world.
More to come………….
After a 2 week winter break the students have returned to AHPGA this week and are raring to get back into their intensive high performance golf training programs.
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“I Reduced MY Handicap by 7 Strokes After Just 11 Weeks of High Performance Golf Training at AHPGA”
By Tony | June 30, 2008
Philip Tan from Malaysia has now been training with us at Australian High Performance Golf Academy for 11 weeks, so I thought it was time to review Philip’s progress to date.
When Philip first arrived at AHPGA back in April of this year he was playing on a 13 handicap in Malaysia (with an average 18 hole stroke score of approximately 85). After just 11 weeks of high performance golf training here at AHPGA Philip is now on an official Australian Golf handicap of 6 here at the Palm Meadows Golf Course (scoring consistently in the mid to high 70’s with a personal best score to date of two over par 74 off the Championship tee`s!).
Later this week I will take you through Philip’s weekly high performance golf training program so make sure to log in.
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Putt to the Beat of a Drum to Improve Your Speed Control on the Greens
By Tony | June 19, 2008
Australian High Peformance Golf Academy AHPGA student Philip Tan has been training with us here at the Australian High Performance Golf Academy for the past 9 weeks.
Philip is an excellent putter from short distances (inside 6 feet) and mid length putts, but struggles some what with judging the speed control on his longer putts, say outside 35 feet.
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SPEED IS KING ON THE GREENS
We have been working with various drills to improve Philip`s speed control on the greens, and whilst he was improving, he was still three putting a little too often. Back home in Malaysia Philips `day job` is a musician, more precisely he plays the drums. So I suggested to him the other day to try to putt to the beat of a drum. What does this mean?
The putting stroke can be either fast or slow, but it must be rhythmical, and work to a one, two musical type beat. So that`s where the link with the drums come into play! I suggested Philip experiment on a one, two beat and discover what rhythm worked best for him. One beat on the takeaway and one at the point of impact. One, two, one, two…. So with some more experimentation and training Philip will start mastering the speed on the greens, and being a professional musician he was able to relate to this almost immediately.
So if you are struggling with speed control on your putts, give this a go… I recommend the use of a metronome as used by most musicians to improve your rhythm on not only putts but all shots that require less than a full swing.
NOTE: I find that short game shots work best with a one second beat between takaway and impact. So set that metronome to 60 beats per minute rhythm. One, two, one two………
Good golfing and let me know how you go with this one.
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Improve Your Ball Striking With The 9 Shot Training Drill
By Tony | June 15, 2008
After 8 weeks of intensive training with us here at the Australian High Performance Golf Academy Philip is consistently breaking 80 strokes and his skill levels in all areas of his game continue to improve.
Philip had his best score to date this week when he scored 74 (+2) around the Palm Meadows Golf Club layout. Take a look at his statistics of the round and you can see through the full swing technique training and daily skills training how his ball striking is improving rapidly.
Fairways hit- 64.2%
Greens in Regulation- 66.6%
Total putts- 29
Philip is currently working on improving his speed control with his putting, higher softer bunker shots, shaping his tee shots (fades and draws), shaping his approach shots and shot selection and strategies on recovery shots. A staple full swing training drill that Philip works on daily is the 9 shot drill where he hits low fades, low draws, low straight shots, standard height draw, fade and straight and high draw, fade and straight ball flight with his irons, fairway woods and driver.
By doing this daily exercise Philip is able to keep his swing path more neutral and therfore is learning how to shape and control his ball flight.
Next time you go down to the range to hit some shots give the 9 shot drill a go, I think you will learn more about your full swing tendencies and also identify which shots you can already play and which shots you need to spend more time developing.
NOTE: This morning I was watching the television coverage of the US Open at Torrey Pines where Tiger Woods was on the driving range preparing for the start of his third round, when Johnny Miller made mention of the fact that Tiger himself works on the 9 shot drill daily!
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