My lesson with the famous golf guru

So on Monday I embarked on the long drive from Southampton to Exeter. Not quite a 4 hour drive but one that was well worth it! The purpose of the trip was for a lesson with golf coach and social media star Mark Crossfield.   Most of you may know him as the ‘Golf Guru’ from his videos on YouTube.   He also has a big presence on twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

I had a 3 hour lesson booked with Mark, who had a range of top golfing technology at his disposal. If you have never had a lesson that capitalises on tech such as launch monitors I would thoroughly recommend it. It is a game changer when used well.   The truth is the areas identified by Mark as issues I would have never ever identified.

What Mark identified quickly was really interesting.   My club path was good and consistent. Club face, despite being in a traditional ‘closed position at the top’ was returning into a neutral position. The source of the problem causing inconsistent strikes was based on my angle of attack.   You can see the before and after below. My angle of attack was slightly up with irons which is never a good thing. It would explain lots of clean strikes as opposed to a solid ball – turf contact.

Mark then used a pressure mat, a device that shows an image on a monitor of how pressure and centre of balance changes during the swing. I discovered that my pressure was shifting too much during the swing towards my right foot and that my centre of balance was moving in excess.

We then hit shots focusing on steady pressure between both feet and maintaining a good centre of balance. Angle of attack and strike improved immediately.   We then hit some drivers and made some adjustments to deal with my tendency to hit towards the heel.

Finally we spent some time using a Marks launch monitor for putting. This again was useful and resulted in identifying a tendency to twist the club slightly at impact. My poor putt was a pull, which again made sense.

Marks teaching style is excellent. He has a real passion for the game and for good quality coaching. If you follow Mark you will know that he is flying the flag for a more evidence and data based approach to golf teaching using technology. He also is keen to debunk some of the age old golfing myths that actually don’t really help people to improve.   His current favourite is the much sought after yet totally destructive concept of ‘lag’.

He shared some great stories about his experience in the golf industry. I thoroughly enjoyed the 3 hours and the time flew by.

I have been practising since this and the game has improved. I am hoping that I can get from 7 (6.7) to a good solid 6. I am sure the lesson will really help.

I cant wait to play this weekend and to get decked out in my bunker gear to hopefully go low.

#wearitwell #lovethegame

Steve