The Dubai desert classic is always a fantastic event to attend. Usually great weather, a great golf course and a great atmosphere always make for an enjoyable week.
I arrived on the Saturday night to be ready to meet a few of the guys on the Sunday that had missed the cut in Qatar, specifically Chris Wood, Henrik Stenson and Danny Willet. With the venue being quiet it was a good opportunity to get some peaceful, quality work done.
On the Monday the rest of the guys turned up including Thomas Bjorn fresh from a great performance and victory in Qatar. Chatting with Thomas he told me at times in Qatar he felt his putting was back to the feelings he had when he putted his best. It's a satisfying feeling as a coach to feel in someway you may have helped somebody achieve their goal or claim something they had strived hard to achieve. Thomas has worked hard over these last 12 month in an effort to get his game back to where he was, not only with his putting but also with his full swing. A lot of credit is due to his full swing coach Mike Walker who has done a fantastic job with Thomas.
On the Monday I also met up with Joost Luiten and we did some work on his pace control as he said he had struggled with that in Qatar. The green at the Emirates Golf Club are in fantastic condition and roll particularly well, although the combination of grain and subtle slopes make them difficult to read.
On the Tuesday I met up with Simon Khan, Darren Clarke, Richard Finch and Michael Hoey at separate points during the day.
We did some green reading and alignment work with Michael and we've been working on his routine so he can align as accurately as possible on breaking putts. Michael as always responded well to the work and looked like he was stroking it well.
Darren Clarke has also been working hard on his putting. I spent some time with him in Abu Dhabi and made a few suggestions with regards to his set up and stroke which he had taken on board. In Bahrain Darren also had Jose Maria Olazabal give him feedback, essentially backing up what we had worked on. Darren Putted well in Bahrain and was up in contention. His stroke is looking more consistent and his application more consistent also. Hopefully he can have another good week this week too.
On Wed I spent some time with Ollie Fisher. Ollie's stroke is in really good nick at the moment, he's just struggling a little with the long game so we just worked on some holing out and pace drills to keep his practice focused and fine tune him for competitive play. Once Ollie's works things out with his swing I figure he will factor at some point soon.
On the Thurs and Friday I spent most of the time walking the course making sure I watched the guys as much as I could. My primary focus on the course is to ensure what they do on the practice green is replicated out on the course, not just in technique but in terms of green reading and routine. I'm also observing patterns of misses to help establish whether missed putts could be down to technique, green reading or pace control. To be able to do this every so often I believe is important.
As I left them on the Friday the best of the players was Michael Hoey with 7 under 4 4 behind the leader and fellow Irishman Rory McIlroy.
