Do lessons work in terms of the absolute beginner? How quickly can a pupil progress? And what if any are the limitations of progress? Carol Kirwan, a member of The Irish Times Sports Department, is a newcomer to the game. Over the course of the summer, in conjunction with Irish PGA professional Dominic Reilly, based at the Leopardstown Golf Shop, Carol will attempt through tuition to provide a few answers.
The first meeting takes place at Stepaside Driving Range where Dominic's first instinct is to examine the old set of clubs that Carol has brought. Three of the grips are completely askew and this greatly increases the likelihood of adopting a poor grip. He immediately puts those aside, and will re-grip them in time for Carol's second lesson.
The first lesson alights on the basics of any swing, grip, stance, posture. Dominic positions Carol's hands into the correct alignment, emphasising the importance of resting the club in the fingers. Much of the time is spent in getting Carol to learn how to grip the club and check herself that it is correct.
The stance is easier to master and with a demonstration of the correct posture, it's time to hit a few balls. The first thing that becomes apparent is that Carol is able to hit a ball, the second is that it is in spite of her roundhouse swing. Dominic explained: "She's bringing the club around rather than back and up."
In a bid to retain clarity of purpose, Dominic asks that Carol concentrate on grip and posture, while practising prior to the next lesson. "There is no point in giving a pupil too many things to take away. They'll fall between stools. They should be clear about what's being asked of them and what they are required to work on."
Lesson two, and for the first five minutes or so, it's a refresher course, ensuring that the grip, stance and posture are correct before hitting some balls. It's then time to work on the swing plane. This aspect concentrates on breaking the swing down into components and Dominic likens it to a piano lesson where each movement is a separate entity, before finally putting everything together; the melody.
He is trying to get Carol to guarantee the correct takeaway, shoulder turn, wrist cock and then the subtle difference between hitting down rather than forward. To facilitate these demands, Dominic offers Carol a simple exercise. He asks her to take up her normal address position. He then requires her to bring the club up straight out in front at waist high, arms fully extended and cock her wrists.
She must then turn her shoulders until her back is facing the target. The third movement involves hitting down and in the process sweeping the golf ball off the tee. The importance is not in hitting it any distance, just the feel of the component parts. Dominic points out that ideally, it's preferential to let the mind go blank, that it is better to feel rather than think about what you are doing.
He gently chides Carol for lacking aggression in hitting down, demanding that she forcibly strike the mat. He then invites Carol to address the ball and offer a conventional swing, following 10 minutes of implementing the previous exercise. Dominic concludes the second instalment by stressing the importance of practising, adding that it's not the volume but rather quality.
"It's better to hit 20 balls well, concentrating on achieving a couple of goals, than hit 50 without ambition and possibly grooving existing faults." Carol returns for a third lesson this week and the incentive of finally being let loose on a golf course looms, providing she has made the requisite progress.
