Sean Harrison - Editor/Publisher - golfswingimage@yahoo.com

October 2011 - Custom Club Fitting – For those that are serious about their game.

Any golfer who is about to invest in their golf game by purchasing a new set of clubs should make one more investment - Custom club-fitting.
Whatever your golf level, it must be good to know that if you do make a good swing, with the club-head square to your target at impact, you will produce a shot on your target line.

Every golfer varies in height, strength and body shape and everyone’s golf swing is different, so it makes sense to adjust your golf clubs to match the shape of your golf swing.

Custom club-fitting results in clubs that are specifically suited to an individual’s height, strength, club-head speed and swing characteristics whereas clubs bought off-the-shelf are ‘one-size-fits-all’ designed for the standard golfer. Standard being around 5 ft”10, and hitting a 6-iron around 150 yards. You never know, with luck, your off-the-shelf set may be OK for you, but many golfers without knowing find themselves with clubs that are not suited to them.

Many swing coaches have probably noted adjustments a golfer has made in his or her swing - grooving a good swing to a poor swing to compensate for factors listed below.

• Best combination of club-shaft [shaft length, flex & kick-point]
• Club loft [standard, week, or strong]
• The lie angle of the club [standard, upright or flat]
• Grip size [large to small hands]

There are different methods according to golf club manufacturers but ultimately they are all trying to improve your game.

To begin with simple measurements such as distance wrist-to-floor, height and hand size are taken. Then you will take a club and hit some balls. One method is to place impact tape on the bottom of the club and strike balls from an impact board on the floor.

As you hit the ball the board will leave a mark on the tape showing whether the heel or the toe of the club is striking the floor first. The resulting mark will show whether the club face needs to be flatter or more upright.

Analysis equipment can also measure everything from your club speed to the side spin of the ball so that you can get maximum distance. You can also measure the launch angle of the ball, how much backspin you generate and impact efficiency, all of which create distance.

Sean Harrison

Publisher / Editor

July 2011 - SEVE

Sports stars are skilled entertainers, but every so often a sports star comes along who does more than entertain and Seve Ballesteros, who sadly died at just 54 after a long battle with cancer, was one of them. Seve appealed to anyone who watched golf because he didn’t just play golf, he attacked it.

He had considerable strength and it was reputed that he could hold 11 golf balls in one of his large hands. On the golf course he was a gambler, a taker of risks with his shot making, producing a birdie or par where neither had seemed possible. He once observed “It doesn’t matter where you hit the drive if you make the putt.” A classic shot I will always remember was during his Open Championship win at Royal Lytham in 1979. On the 16th hole he missed the fairway with his tee shot and landed in the car parking lot. He then struck the green with a miraculous second shot and holed a putt from 15 feet to hold off Jack Nicklaus.

The BBC’s Peter Alliss said that Seve had something of George Best about him – “a gift that very few of them are given” The ”Seve” moniker was reminiscent of ”Ali’ - Only the greats can be known by a single name.

Along with watching his five major victories I will always remember his sensational Ryder Cup career as both a player and captain, playing in eight Ryder Cups before guiding Europe to victory over the United States at Valderrama in 1997. Even at last year’s Ryder Cup in Wales, from his home, Seve called Captain Colin Montgomerie and his players during their matches in the team room to give his support as the Europeans went on to win another Ryder Cup. Seve put European golf on a par with the American game. He inspired our European players and the Ryder Cup between Europe and the U.S.has now become golf’s most exciting event.

Seve, we will all miss you.
Sean Harrison

December 2010 - Well Done Monty

Colin Montgomerie said in his speech at the Ryder Cup closing ceremony that it was the proudest and best moment of his career. It meant everything to Colin and quite right - he should be very proud.

The Ryder Cup is incredibly stressful – taking over 18 months of your life. Monty was under so much pressure that he could not even bear to watch the golf at times and the overriding emotion we all saw afterwards was one of relief.

In truth, every day his strategy made sense and his listings for the singles matches were perfect – putting the strongest players out first then using experience at the back. As it turned out
Graeme McDowell and Hunter Mahan had the Ryder Cup result riding on their match. G-Mac, the US Open winner, pulled it off.

Monty had already brought in Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley and Thomas Bjorn as vice captains but then, when Sergio García asked if he could somehow be involved, Monty handed him the keys to a buggy. Then when Jose Maria Olazabal arrived, Monty asked him to help out. In his winning speech he pointed out that he would not be holding the Ryder Cup if it wasn’t for them.

Monty involved everyone he could think of. He brought in the Welshman Rhys Davies, invited Gareth Edwards and Ian Botham to spend time in his team room, while Seve Ballesteros motivated the team on the phone.

Even out on the course there were his clever minor details – including using the jumbo - TV screens. Rather than showing too much live golf, Monty wanted the screens displaying the match scores (showing blue) meaning the Europeans were ahead in their matches and keeping the European crowd cheering even more.

As for picking his team, earlier in his campaign Monty had asked if he could have 4 captain’s picks instead of 3. Maybe that will be the option for our next captain. Personally, I would give our captain 6 picks. If a player is top 5 of the [World Rankings] or leading the [Race to Dubai] he will get picked. For selecting players 7-12 it will give him more options. So, top 3 in the World Rankings, top 3 Race to Dubai – 6 picks??

One big change if possible? Especially for captain’s picks announcements, could we please announce our team on a Monday, rather than on the Sunday evening of a chosen event on our tour. Players very close to ‘getting a pick’ will again be playing in the States. The last team selection was while the Barclays was being played and with the obvious time difference it meant Justin Rose had a call midday while on the practice ground to say he was not selected (good preparation for your round?) and Paul Casey found out he was not selected while on the 4th tee (nice mind-set for 15 holes?)

As for Colin Montgomerie, thank you for leading our European Team to Ryder Cup victory in one of the most exciting Ryder Cup matches ever. We know he has ruled himself out for being our captain in 2012 and is maybe already looking to qualify for the team as a player for the 2012 matches. If he does not make the playing team I really hope he will be on that plane to Chicago in some alternative role to help our next team to victory.
SEAN HARRISON

Publisher/Editor

July 2010 - Juston Rose Joins List of English Players for Possible Ryder Cup Team Place

At the event founded by Jack Nicklaus (The Memorial Tournament at Muirfield Village, Ohio) Justin Rose played some of the best golf I have seen him play to become the first English player to lift one of the most coveted trophies in world golf. With a final round of 66 he beat a world class field by 3 shots.

With his wife Kate and son Leo at the 18th green the celebrations said it all and to have Jack Nicklaus there to congratulate him must have made it all the more exhilarating. His grin was as wide as on the day I watched one of his first victories at one of Britain’s amateur events, The Hampshire Hog at North Hants Golf Club in 1995 aged 14.

Justin has now won on five different continents - all before his 30th birthday this month. He switched to swing coach Sean Foley in the middle of last year - a tough decision made only by a player with a winners appetite. There are reminders here of Sir Nick Faldo in the manner in which Justin has dismantled his swing in his late twenties. Sir Nick went on to win his first Major at the age of 30 and followed it with five more.

Justin became the third Englishman, after Ian Poulter and Lee Westwood, to taste success on the PGA Tour this year. It brought a prize of just over $1 Million, but more importantly placed him back inside the top 50 of the Official World Rankings. The win also moved him from 27th to 8th place on the European Ryder Cup world points list. The first four places in the side will come from the world points list, with the next five automatic spots being decided by European Tour earnings.

With the Ryder Cup matches in Wales (October) getting closer we are all now looking forward to watching Europe, captained by Colin Montgomerie, take on the USA. For choosing his team at Gleneagles at the end of August, Montgomerie must be delighted to see all the English players doing so well in Europe and over on the US PGA Tour.

The English contingent, with four players now in the top ten of the World Rankings, seem to be spurring each other on. Recently there have been victories in Europe for Simon Khan at the BMW PGA Championship and Luke Donald at the Madrid Masters. Over on the US PGA Tour the week after Justin’s win Lee Westwood won the St Jude Classic following his 2nd place finish to Phil Mickelson at the Masters. Paul Casey and Ian Poulter went head to head in the final of the WGC Accenture Match Play. Also Brian Davis has recently finished runner up twice on the US Tour and in my opinion, like Rose, could win his first event on the US Tour soon.

SEAN HARRISON

Publisher/Editor