The first CPD courses for 2011 were conducted at Oliva Nova Golf Resort in Spain, where we were covering Vision Training for Golf and the Advanced Short Game.

EGTF Master Professional, Paul Tolley, has spent many years studying the effects that the eyes play on golf.  This was a really fascinating day.  Paul began by showing how important the eyes are for gathering information that is then sent to the brain.  This then initiates the motor skill needed to produce our golf swing.

There were a number of tests that were covered to see how strong or weak our eyes were and how we train them to work better for us.

Once the theory side of things was completed, it was time to get outside and see how this information could help us on the golf course and especially the putting green, where the margins for missing and holing are small.

Vision Training is definitely something that very few coaches know anything about and yet is so important.  This day was literally an eye opener in understanding how our eyes function, and the type of things we can do to improve their performance.

Thanks to Paul Tolley for his excellent presentation and information on this subject.

Our second day was a little more familiar, tackling Advanced Short Game and how to create a more repeatable motion when faced with pressure shots.

We use the Pelz Finesse Swing system as our model for these days as it is widely used by the majority of the world’s top players and is considered to be the best method on the market.

We begin the day with a brief introduction into the short game, then it’s straight out to tackle the short game handicap test.  This is a fantastic means of identifying the areas of weakness in the short game.  The test was compiled by Dave Pelz to use in his short game schools and gives us a measuring tool with which we can constantly manage this part of the game.

The guys on the Course soon found out that their standards could do with some technical work to allow them to feel more confident over certain shots, and this is the beauty of the test as the results are there in front of you.

After lunch we went back onto the range to work on the various Finesse Swing system shots, which hopefully gave everyone a better insight into how to play the shots that help to make us better players.

In the Short Game we must have a way of measuring our standards, because then we will be able to manage it correctly.  This CPD day allows good interaction between theory and practical and everyone went away with a host of good information that will make them more consistent under pressure.

Thanks to everyone who took part in these excellent learning days.

Bill Abbott – Director of Education