July Calendar Gets Specific !!

The Benny project in July will get more intense and focus on the weakest areas of Benny’s game . After two on-course lessons I  will have a much clearer picture of his overall game and what areas need the most attention.

In the first 2 weeks of July we are going to do some more work on Benny's routine and his mental approach, getting him to understand the circle of influence and what he has control over.

 

The wedge game plays a critical part in lowering the scores and this month I am going to teach Benny a distant control wedge system where-by he can gain better distance control over his shots inside 80 metres. This is a key area where I can see Benny needs to improve.

The on-course lessons combined with the statistic reports showed a weakness in his bunker game. Firstly, leaving the ball in the bunker and secondly not getting the ball onto the green.  This month we are going to develop Benny's bunker technique and his goal when he gets in a bunker is to get on the green and then 2 putt.

A  pre-round warm up is an important factor and this month I am going to teach Benny how to best perform a pre-round warm up.

Eliminating 3 putting is another area in which he  needs to improve, although there has been a big improvement in the past 2 weeks, it's not yet at the level he needs to be. Benny will continue with his home stroke practice on his eye line dual plane putting system and I will have him practicing some putting drills on the practice putting green.

This month we will do two on-course lessons and two on the range lessons. On the range we will be working on his sand game and wedge game.

On the first course lesson I will take Benny through a pre-round warm up and  work intensively on his routine.

The second course lesson at the end of the month we will put it all into action at Royal Selangor and learn how Benny performs and how much he has absorbed of these tactics.

Stay in touch with the Benny Project  .

Benny Kwa's Statistics June 25,2011

The Statistics are starting to show early improvements, firstly the scrambling is up from 18 % to 33% and the 3 putts are reducing.

Good work Benny!!

                                                                

                                           www.mrgolf.com.my

On Course Lesson

June 24th was our second on-course lesson, when we played 9 holes at Benny’s home course Royal Selangor.

On the first two holes, I once again just observed Benny, his routine, body language and general arousal level. His routine, I'm afraid, was non existent and his body language had no clear focus. His arousal level was high, in which state Benny or any golfer cannot expect to perform to the best of their ability.

After a triple bogey 7 down the first and a bogey 6 down the second, at the 3^rd tee it was time for me to intervene and bring this problem to his attention. I then proceeded to work hard with Benny on his shot process.

Firstly, I wanted Benny to understand that it is impossible not to think about anything, but the mind needs to have a method to follow. If left untrained, the mind runs amok on the golf course and it's exhausting .The routine must have a start signal and an end signal.

Switch on, switch off.

During the next 6 holes Benny did some great work and he started to understand the state of mind he needs to be in, to play his best golf. What we are able to control and what he cannot control.

Observing the areas that needed the most attention are his sand game and pitching (30-80 metres). He was missing the green from 50 metres and leaving the ball in the bunkers. Not unlike most golfers, Benny is playing with a lot of fear and unpleasant memories around the greens with no clear intention of what shot he is attempting to play.

It was a good on-course lesson.  I now have a much clearer picture of Benny's game and what areas we need to concentrate on. At the completion of the round we had a drink and had a good discussion about the day’s events and what areas we need to focus on. Benny is now getting what they refer to in business as a 360 degree evaluation.  I recognise the enthusiasm he has for the next 11 months.  As an instructor, I can after 3 weeks design Benny's improvement plan to help him achieve his goals.

In conclusion:   The majority of golfers try one quick fix after another, never really understanding their game and what they need to do to play better golf.

Benny Kwa Golf Lesson on June 21 2011

Benny Takes The 8 Champion Traits Assessment !!

Benny Takes a Golf Mental Assessment Test.

Benny takes the 8 champion traits mental assessment to help improve his mental game over the coming 12 months.

The 8 champion traits golf psych test has been developed by an American based company Golf Psych.

Golf Psych:

The Golf Psych system is based on over 25 years of research and tour experience. They have helped over 360 PGA, Senior PGA and LPGA Tour Professionals.


Using these results and experiences they have refined there system of mental skills training techniques to get the best results, in the shortest time.

They have used these methods to help thousands of golfers, of all ages and abilities, to reach their personal goals!

·               Their professional clients have won 16 'Majors' and many other professional events on the PGA, Champions, LPGA, European, Australian, Nationwide, Canadian, Asian, Japanese, Hooters, Tight Lies, and other tours in the U.S. and around the world.

·               Mr Golf is the only Certified Golf Psych instructor in south East Asia and also has a diploma with the Train-Brain System based in the UK.

Benny's Results :

Assessing Benny's 8 champion Trait Report card, the first key area of relevance is Champion Trait number 3 (Emotionally reactive –Emotionally stable).

His score was 2. This shows us we need to work with Benny to improve on how he reacts to bad shots as his tendency is, as soon as he hits one bad shot, it's hard for him to regroup for the next shot and at times he is demoralized for the entire round .

Champion Trait number 6  (Self assured or Apprehensive).

Benny scores an 8 and this informs us we need to introduce a shot process into his routine.

1. Select the  shot. 2.Visualize the shot  3.Commit to the shot.

Champion Trait number 8 (Relaxed or High arousal).

Benny scores 9. Higher than ideal arousal level, so over the coming 12 months I will work with Benny on some techniques to lower this score. When benny finds himself in a pressure situation he will be better prepared and have the skills to turn the arousal level down.

In Summary:

The mental game is not unlike the swing. It needs to be taught and we need the awareness and the tools to preform to the best of our ability.

Benny Kwa's Statistics

13 June 11, 2011.

The Benny project goes more in depth with a statistical program.

Below are the statistics from www.mygolfgameplan.com

To achieve our goals over the coming year these statistics are important to track Benny's strengths and weaknesses and direct the practice to improve the weaknesses.

The first week has involved extensive putting practice. On the eye-line putting trainer at home and on the putting green.  This has resulted in an improvement in the putting but still too many 3 putts  (speed control needs to be improved).

The key stats that stand out to me are scrambling at 16 %. The goal needs to be 40% in the next 6 months. Greens in regulation at 0- this needs to get to 5 or 6 per round. Also, there were a high level of penalties. One out of bounds and 2 water hazards.

Benny needs to keep the ball in play!

These statistics are a great starting point and I am getting a much better picture of where Benny's game is and what areas we need to focus on.

Stay tuned and track the progress .

Home Work For Benny !! Practice Video

Benny Project Goes On Course !!

Monday the 6^th of June was our first venture onto the golf course. The main goal for me as the instructor was to see how Benny was playing. His thought process, course management and general awareness of his ability .

 

We played the first 5 holes at Kelab Darul Ehsan. Athough, not regarded as a championship golf course, it requires a great deal of course management and an errant shot will be punished.

 

  My first observation was that Benny was having difficulty with his thought process and routine. This then lead to bad decisions and shot making. I immediately took over the thought process for Benny and started talking him through the shot at hand and made decisions based on his abilities and then influenced him thru the shot process and playing the shot.

 

 Benny's score card went like this: the first hole is a par 4; Benny's score was a 5; the second hole is a short par three. It requires an accurate short iron; Benny hit a great 8 iron and made 3. The 3^rd hole is a testing par 4 -I had to take over the thinking for him. I had to tell him what to hit and where to hit it and at this point he realized that golf was a game of ball control and not a game of trying to overpower a golf course. Benny made a great 5.

 

  The 4^th hole is an impressive short par 3, with water and a severe drop off to the right hand side of the green. Benny made a 4 and it was evident to me he struggled with this shot, with the thought process and routine and this resulted in a defensive negative shot. The last hole we played is a dog leg right par 5. Benny made 8, he selected the wrong club and shot for him off the tee and got into trouble.

 

  The first on course game was beneficial for me to see how he was performing on course and also for Benny to assess his performance and to begin the journey of how to play and manage himself on a   golf course.

In conclusion- a great effort by Benny. I am confident we can achieve our goal.

 

 Stay tuned for the next update.       

Benny Kwa Golf Lesson on May 17 2011

The Benny Project (1/6/2011)

The Benny Project

The first month of the Benny Project will involve two on-course lessons.

Firstly, to assess how Benny is playing on the golf course, his course management skills and mental process will be closely observed.  

Off-course we will be embarking on an intensive putting improvement program.

Putting involves 40%  of the game and is the quickest way to improve our scoring.

Benny’s practice will involve home practice on his Eye Line training product and speed putting drills, to be practiced on the practice putting green. Benny will receive some personalized videos from Mr. Golf, with specific practice routines.

To help Benny achieve this goal Mr. Golf will have to work closely with him and be in constant contact with regular updates.

We will implement a detailed statistic program that links player and coach (Game Plan by Eye Line golf) .

The first month will also involve some swing checks to ensure that Benny's swing mechanics are in place, fortunately I have been teaching Benny for 2 years and we have built some good foundations . 

Stay tuned for the next update .....................