As Two Ronnies would say it's goodnight from him and its hello from me (just tweaked it a little). It's been a little different this week as we have said goodbye to academy founder Peter Mitchell who has been giving club members and visitors a wide variety of lessons here at his academy in Santo da Serra, Madeira for the past 6 weeks and I think he literally has returned to the UK for a well earned rest due to his popularity.
While he was here Peter stated that one of his biggest concerns was that many amateur golfters chose the wrong equipment through no fault of their own , and to avoid this he is opening the first 'fitting' centre on the island which will give golfers the opportunity to talk to me, Dara, and receive professional and expert guidance on changes that are needed such as grip sizes and shaft changes. In many instances golfers make massive compensations to actually be able to play which in turn has a major impact on their game and can lead to people giving up purely because they feel they are not improving. Yet when they play with equipment designed for their height the improvement is almost immediate and once your game improves you become so much more excited and positive about golf.
Future ideas also involve introducing group lessons, as many people new to the sport can feel overwhelmed at the thought of a one to one lesson, whereas a group lesson allows for people to interact with the others of the group and their instructor on a slightly less intense level while the group provides each member with a support network and a healthy bit of competitiveness.
