An update from Pro Tom Sherreard, who’s playing on the ‘Alps’ Tour ( a stepping stone towards the Challenge and European Tours) – we’ve been following Tom through ’12 and so far in ’13, ready to pop some champagne. Not this time around, but soon!
“So it has been a while since I managed to write a blog. The first half of this year has been pretty hectic, culminating in a six week road trip playing six different events on the Alps Tour, taking me from Austria to Gaudeloupe in the West Indies. During this spell I played consistently, unfortunately it wasn’t consistently well though, recording five made cuts but only one top 10 and finishing in the 20’s far too often. This clearly is a frustrating feeling, as I don’t feel like I have played that badly but have just not recorded then results I need to. Back to the drawing board as they say, but what does the drawing board say? At the moment I am working on a feeling that I had when I was a lot younger and in my amateur days. This feeling has me standing quite close to the ball, and quite upright. In the past (since turning pro) I have consistently worked on making my swing more orthodox as generally an orthodox method produces the best results, especially under pressure. I think it is important to remember there is definitely more than one way to skin a cat, and this is more true in golf than any other walk of life in my opinion. This is why guys like Jim Fuyrk make so much money, because they know this and believe it, and due to this belief they have the confidence to believe in themselves – that’s why they go out and produce results. Don’t get me wrong, you have to have some key fundamentals in place, but once these fundamentals are in place it is simply down to the individual to find his own groove and just make sure it repeats consistently. I think this is an important lesson for any amateur to learn; get the fundamentals right and from there it’s pretty hard to go wrong as long as what you do repeats. It’s as easy at that…. I hope!
Tom’s Monthly Tip
Video your practice
This tip is a case of doing exactly what is says on the tin. You consistently see on television coverage commentators looking at slowed down golf swings of big names so they can critique their swings. Now I’m not suggesting you go and buy a swing hub camera or whatever the Americans call that equipment that records about 1000 frames a second that probably costs upwards of $10,000. Simply take a normal camera and get a friend to video a couple of swings every so often. This will help you look at your fundamentals to keep them in check. The two main things that will change over time are alignment and ball position. So it is important to get a view from both down the line like the first picture, and a side view, face on, like picture two. Doing this will mean your fundamentals stay the same and will make it easier for you to repeat your swing and thus will make you a more consistent golfer. However be warned, due to an improvement in your game you may find it harder and harder to find ‘friends’ willing to video your swing as time goes on.”
