Hello from Mark,
Here we are again rapidly approaching Christmas. It’s been another challenging year due to the pandemic. My team and I hope you and your loved ones are safe – and fully vaccinated. Vaccination is a sensitive subject with a lot of misinformation to be found.
As my dad taught me – “be careful of what people tell you, look further to understand what they are really saying”.
Every day is a win and a bonus gift!!
Now, let’s talk GOLF! Golf in Australia has been busy as with less travel, many people are turning to this wonderful game with students spending more time on their practice. That is always great news for a coach.
An interesting statistic is that there have been more Indoor Putting Mats sold in the past 12 x months than in the previous 10 years!! That says a lot. On the subject of PUTTING did you know:-
- for a single-figure golfer, it is about 40% of the game.
- for a middle handicap golfer, it’s 30% of their score.
- For a beginner, it’s the difference between a normal round & a best-ever round.
CAPTO – It’s been a very rewarding year for putting lessons. I designed a Putting Lesson Process where I:-
- collect data from the student on Capto (captogolf.com).
- match the data to video collected including routine and process.
- make corrections and recommend practice routines.
Capturing a new CAPTO session with the student will quantify the improvement.
2007, after spending 2 x days learning the Art of Putting with Harold Swash (regarded as the best putting coach in the world), it gave me more tools to improve the putting of my students. This information has been invaluable and I have used it with great success. In putting, there are two simple measures of improvement. Firstly the lessening number of 3 putts; Secondly to make a higher percentage of putts of ten feet and less.
I have been coaching this wonderful game for 40+ years now and with experience comes clarity and simplicity for the student.
This year, I am very proud to say that I have had success with ladies’ and men’s club championships. Congratulations and well done to all my students.
I have again been involved in delivering development sessions for the PGA to our young developing PGA Professionals. It’s not only fun, it’s challenging to make sure I stay current with all the trends in coaching! At one of the sessions, I was asked if I was an “old school coach”. In reply, I listed all of the technology I use in my lessons, day today and the young pros were stunned. The person who asked the question then cheekily answered “Old school with young school thoughts”. I did chuckle at that.
It made me reflect on how far coaching has come. Coaching is a combination of art and science and when I was starting out, coaching was completely an art, not a lot of science. Today coaching is a lot more science-based.
One thing I am passionate about when I am helping develop the PGA Coaches is that they understand that the best coaches have a blend, the correct blend of art & science. That blend varies from student to student.
On a personal note, I was very humbled and proud to be awarded LIFE MEMBERSHIP TO THE PGA. This is an incredible honor when you look at the names of other Life Members. The PGA is an Association with 2,600 members and is 110 years old. I am #40 in Life Membership so it’s a great honor.
Loic has had another stellar year with his Junior Programme continuing to grow and improve. Some of his juniors have represented RACV Royal Pines Resort very well in events all over the state. It is wonderful to see how much the juniors enjoy their class time with Loic!! There is no greater compliment than having a parent entrust the development of their child to someone else. Many parents become Loic’s clients as well.
Nancy has had an amazing year. Her students have done her proud. Billy Dowling has 20 under par for 4 rounds in the QLD Junior Championship. MoMo Sugiyama has been awarded a University Scholarship to the USA and she also won a Tournament in the College Programme. It’s difficult to win internationally when there is no travel, but she did it!! MoMo is part of the US College scheme now but Nancy is still guiding her golf!! Sakura (MoMo’s sister) also won in South Australia in a major GA event and has now also been awarded a University Scholarship to the USA as well.
Nancy’s classes are always full and there is lots of fun & laughter, especially when Nancy gets them competing at the end of a session.
Ali Orchard has settled well into my team. She is very busy on Sundays while the rest of the team is having a day off. Ali has also started some very popular and enjoyable Junior Classes. When I observe, it is easy to see how much the juniors love their time with Ali.
Last but not least, not only are the juniors developing their golf but the coaches are also instilling great qualities and ethics into not only their golf but their daily lives.
From everyone at Mark Gibson’s Exceptional Golf, we wish you a Merry Christmas & Happy & Healthy New Year filled with lots of golf!!
Look forward to seeing you at the Teaching Centre soon.
I have had a great Coaching Year with 2 x Gold Coast Club Champions; 1 x FNQ Champion; and
Good Golfing from Mark and the Team, Loic, Nancy & Ali.
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