Turin was the location this week for the next stop on the European Tour. The venue The Royal Park Golf Club has been host to the Italian Open for the last 3 years. This year, like last year, they have suffered from heavy rain in the weeks preceding the event, which has meant the course was very wet underfoot. The amount of surface water had led to concerns about the playability of the course. The greens however were in really good condition considering. So hopefully with no further rainfall they should have playable course for what is a well received and enjoyable tournament.
The Tuesday saw most of the players arrive quite late due to Open Qualifying on the Monday at Sunningdale. However Thomas Bjorn and Ollie Fisher had arrived earlier than most so I spent some time working with them both. Thomas had been up to the studio the week before so we essentially were checking over the points that had come from that session. I also walked a few holes with him in the Wednesday Pro Am and he was looking in very good form.
On the Wednesday I met up with Darren Clarke. Darren was disappointed with his results over the weekend at Celtic Manor particularly on the greens. The combination of tough greens to read and also poor surfaces weren't ideal. This week however the greens were a lot better and as I said to each of the players I work with, this week will give you a more realistic reflection of where you are with your putting game.
One of the faults I see with lots of players at all levels is not having an objective enough evaluation of their performance. What I try and do with all the players is to encourage them collect accurate performance data so that we can objectively pin point where performance can improve.
For those iphone/ipad/itouch users out there is a fantastic free app called 'Putting Master' which allows you to keep track of your putting performance and as a result analyse the areas where you can improve. Is it the 3-6 foot range where you don't hole enough? Or it 15-20 footers? Do our read s actually match what the ball did? Or was it the pace that was the issue?
Sometimes when we judge performance based on our feelings and emotions we often don't get the most accurate reflection. Giving up as little as 5 minutes after each round to complete a simple stats package such as putting master will enable a more accurate self-reflection from which a more accurate analysis can be made. As a result it will help you think more carefully about how you structure your practice, which in turn will only in return help your future performances.
Chris Wood was also playing this week after missing Celtic Manor last due to a back injury. We spent a little bit of time on the Wednesday before Chris had to pull out of the pro-am because of his back. Obviously it's not 100% right just yet which must be frustrating for Chris at this time of the season. Especially with him making some good progress recently and coming so close in Mallorca. Hopefully it will be fine for this week and can get fully fit for a run of big events coming up.
David Horsey was also playing this week, I didn't get much chance to catch up with Dave because but he seemed happy any with things and I'm sure has good memories from here last year when he finished 2nd. Hopefully he can go one better this week.
Next week it's the US Open, which I won't be attending. So for me it's a week at home and working from the studio. We also have the British Amateur on our door step at my home course Hillside. In preparation for the event I have some students visiting the studio in the days prior, including the Scottish Men's team, while during the event I will take some time to watch some of the guys. It will be great to be back at a tournament I used to enjoy playing in myself when I was amateur. Next tour event for me with the BMW Open in Munich.
