Strengths
Control of club
I would class my control of my driver as one of my strengths this is because I am able to control the club well through my swing and is one of my consistent clubs and performs good results most of the time. I am able to control the club well considering it’s length and I am able to produce very long drives with the club as well.
When looking at Terry for example who has a handicap of 36 I can tell that his control of the club is weak because he struggles with his driver and finds it hard to hit because of the length of the club. On his down swing of the club he finds it especially hard to control the club because he doesn’t always bring the club down straight he often brings it down at an angle causing him to slice the ball a lot.
Back swing
My back swing is another strength of my driving because I bring the club up quite slowly not to fast so I don’t lose position or affect my stance by bringing the club up two fast. I also keep my left arm/for arm very straight, which you are supposed to do so you don’t miss hit the ball, this also gives you more power on you drive.
Moreover when comparing my back swing to some one with a high handicap there is a very distinct difference for example when looking at Terry who plays of 36 his back swing when driving the ball is very unstable and inaccurate, which has quite a big impact on his overall shoot. The major weakness Terry has with his back swing is that he bends his for arm dramatically, which has a really bad effect on his down swing. Terry also has another weakness on his back swing of his drive, this is that he brings the club up too quickly, this again has an effect on his down swing and can make his lose his stance an and feet position slightly.
Down swing
When observing my down swing I would class this as one of my strengths this is because my down swing works in conjunction with my back swing. My down swing is a strength this is because I bring the club down straight keeping my forearm strong and in a set position to produce an efficient drive.
When comparing my down swing to Terry’s I am able to see that Terry’s back swing is very inaccurate, this is because Terry bends his arms on his back swing and this then affects his down swing because he snaps his arms forward on his down swing making his shoot very inconsistent and vary variable in terms of accuracy.
Balance/Timing
My balance/timing of my drive I feel is another strength of the core skill this is because I feel very balance when taking driving and I will never miss the ball or top the ball with my driver. I might hock the ball rarely due to my positioning/stance but I will not top the ball because my timing and balance is accurate. Also when I drive the ball a feel composed and I don’t fall over the ball when taking my shoot.
When looking at Terry again he can be slightly unbalanced when taking his shoot because he leans to far over the ball this can cause Terry to top the ball and feel top heavy very uncomfortable.
Mid Irons
When looking at the core skill Mid Irons you can break it down in to 10 sub skills, which combined together. These 10 sub skills are as follows: -
- Early preparation before taking the shot
- Address
- Stance
- Alignment
- Control of club
- Back swing
- Down swing
- Balance/Timing
- Follow through/Recovery
- Result this includes how effective the shot was and if the shot was accurate
When analysing my performance of my mid irons based on the 10 sub skills I am able to pick out certain strengths and weakness within the core skill and compare these to people below and above my performance level.
Weakness
Address and Alignment
When analysing my mid iron shoots I feel that my address and alignment to the ball is a weakness this is because I am some times off target with my shoots now and then and this is due to my address to the ball. My shoulder position becomes inaccurate and not in line with the flag or where I should be aiming this causes my shoot to be off target. Another reason for address and alignment being one of my weaknesses is that I seem to miss judge my feet angle that again affects the position of my shoulders.
Compared to Tiger Woods who always gets his shoulders in the correct position and his feet inline and in the correct position resulting in an accurate and precise shoot.
Early preparation before taking the shot
My early preparation before taking my mid irons I would class as one of my weakness because I don’t always judge the weather conditions and how it could affect the shoot, I also don’t spend enough time looking at the environment before taking the shoot, compared to Tiger Woods who will always spend a time analysing the hole and the wind conditions for example if there is a strong wind to the left or an out of bounds he will known how to play the shoot and will be able to put precise draw on the ball so he will compromise with the wind or avoid the hazard.
Follow Through
My follow through of my mid irons is a weakness. This is because as I follow through with the club whilst making connection with the ball is not always smooth hence I some times make a bad connection with the ball. This is due to me wanting to hit the ball too hard, by wanting to hit the ball too hard this can also affect my down swing and make me lose my head positioning.
When comparing my follow through of my mid irons to a technical model e.g. Tiger Woods his follow though is extremely precise he keeps his head well and firmly positioned and makes a smooth connection with the ball resulting in a good and accurate shoot. He is also able to control his power of the power mid irons.
Balance
Balance is a weakness with some of my mid irons shots this is because I try to hit the ball to hard and when I do this I lean to far over the ball and move my head causing my to be unbalanced when striking the ball. Also when I have to position my body in different angle for example dog leg to the right I am some times unbalanced because my stance can be unstable this is because I might be on a down slope making it harder to get in a good balanced and stable stance.
Compared to Tiger Woods who is able to position him self precisely so he is stable and doesn’t become unbalance during his shoot. He is able to get his body into various angels so he can hit an accurate shoot.
Strengths
Grip
My grip on my mid iron clubs is a strength to me because I grip the club accurately, so my hands are in the correct position as shown on the grip diagram, so they don’t slip on the club making the face open cause me to slice the ball.
When looking at Terry’s grip he doesn’t over lap his hands correctly resulting in Terry having poor control of the club and an inaccurate shoot the lacks in power
Back Swing
My back swing is strength of my mid irons because I bring the club with control so I don’t lose position. I also keep my left arm/for arm very straight as with my driver.
Moreover when comparing my back swing to Terry’s his back swing with his mid irons inconsistent having a very varying affect on his shoot. The major weakness Terry has with his back swing is that he again bends his forearm as with his driving resulting in a very snappy shoot, not a smooth swing.
Control of my Mid Irons
I am able to control my mid irons well because I grip my mid irons well and firmly, which gives good control of them during my swing and I am able to use my mid irons effectively and perform go results whit my mid irons.
When looking at Terry’s control of his mid irons he doesn’t grip the club properly so when he strikes the ball it is very inconsistent and often miss hits the ball showing an lack of control with his mid irons.
Timing
When hitting my mid irons my timing is accurate because my head remains still, and focused on the ball so I don't miss hit the ball. Compared to Terry who focus on the ball isn’t always 100% he also lifts his head just before he hits the ball to see where it has gone straight away, but because he is not looking at the ball all the way through the shoot he often miss-hits it.
Result Of Shoot
My result of my mid iron shoots is generally accurate this is due to again my good control and grip of my mid irons. As I am very focused during the shoot the shoot is on target. My swing and timing with my mid irons is also good, which plays a key role in the accuracy of my shoot.
Compared to Terry for example, when playing a long par 3 hole which requires using a mid iron club my shoot will be accurate and near the green as for Terry’s shoot which has a high chance of being inaccurate due his faults in the core skill.
Approach Shoots (Pitching and Chipping)
Weakness
Accuracy of Shoot/ Alignment
My short game seems to be quite inaccurate around the greens this is due to my judgement. I seem to often miss judge the speed of the green or the length to the pin. Also I have a weakness in my alignment of my pitching because I miss judge the pin directing and produce an inaccurate shoot. I also lift my head too early when playing some of my approach shoots having an affect on the accuracy of the shoot because I try to look at the shoot to early.
Compared to Tiger Woods who judgment is very precise and his head is steady whilst hitting his shoot. Tiger is very accurate in shoot and is able to put various spin on the ball to make his shoot even more accurate.
Stance
When observing my stance when playing my short game it is very variable because I don’t always position my body in the correct position so I don’t get an accurate enough shoot. My feet seem to be angled incorrectly when tacking my shoot having an affect on the alignment of my stance. When I need to get a lot of height on the ball I don’t always lean my stance back enough causing the shoot to flatter, by the shoot being flatter the ball doesn’t have enough back spin causing it to role forward instead of stopping when it pitches on the green.
When observing Tiger Woods his stance is very stable has he keeps his legs firmly position and his body angle very precise. His feet are always aiming at the correct angle giving him a very accurate shoot. He is also able to control the type of spin he wants to put on the ball when chipping or pitching e.g. hi back spin/ low back chip and run etc.
Down Swing
My down swing of my short irons seems to be a weakness of my shoot game because I seem to be to aggressive with it and want to hit the ball too hard resulting in a fast and uncontrolled back swing. By my down swing being uncontrolled it has a negative effect on my follow through causing my to stab/punch at the ball resulting in an inaccurate shoot.
In addition compared to Tiger Woods down swing when he is attacking the green or chipping it is very smooth and he is in control all of the time. He doesn’t attempt to hit the ball so he doesn’t punch the ball unless he attends to do so. He also makes it look extremely easy by his shoot being so smooth.
Follow Through
When observing my follow through of my short irons I have a weakness where I punch at the ball and not follow all the way through with the shoot. This is cause by my thinking I am going to hit the ball too hard if a follow through because my down swing is too aggressive. By me not following through and just punching at the ball I can make my shoots become very inconsistent around the green for example if you punch the ball and your club face is open more than what it should be it cause a lot more dramatic effect than if you were to follow trough and can sometimes result in a slice.
Further more when looking at Tiger Woods at the way he follows though with his shoot irons you are able to tell a distinct difference. This is because Tiger Woods relies strongly on his follow through with chipping and pitching the ball for example he emphasises his follow through to gain different amounts of spin on the ball to control and have an extremely accurate shoot.
Strengths
Grip
When observing my grip on my short iron’s is a strength to me because I grip the club accurately, so my hands are in the correct position as shown on the grip diagram, so they don’t slip or reposition on my swing so I am able to get way with my follow through.
When looking at Terry’s grip he doesn’t over lap his hands correctly resulting in Terry having poor control of the club and an inaccurate shoot the lacks in power, this also cause Terry’s hands to slip on the club regularly resulting in him hitting the ball incorrectly.
Back swing
My back swing is strength with my short irons because I bring the club smoothly and with control so I don’t lose position. I also keep my left arm/forearm positioned well when bring the club back depending on the sort of strength shot I want to play or a flop shoot etc.
Moreover when comparing my back swing to Terry’s his back swing with his short irons is inconsistent having a very varying affect on his shoot. The major weakness Terry has with his back swing is that he cant control the shoot very well and limits the different type of shoots he is able to play.
Control of my short irons
I am able to control my short well because I grip them well and firmly, which gives good control. My control of my short irons is also strength because I am able to control them well on my back swing.
When looking at Terry’s control of his short irons for a start doesn’t grip the club properly so when he strikes the ball it is very inconsistent, his shoots are also off target and he usually over strikes the ball and doesn’t have very much spin control on the ball and isn’t able to make the ball stop dead on the green.
Timing
When hitting my short irons my timing is accurate because my head remains still, and focused on the ball so I don't miss hit the ball. I also make a good connection with the ball showing a good strength in the timing of my swing. Compared to Terry who’s focus on the ball isn’t always 100% he also lifts his head just before he hits the ball to see where it has gone straight away because he try’s to hit the ball too hard this also causes Terry to hock the ball often because he turns his body on his follow through
Bunker Play
Weakness
Body Position within the bunker
My body position within the bunker is a weakness of mine because I often find it hard to position my self right in the sand because I is a differing texture to the fair way or tee and you have to dig you feet into the sand to get a stable position so you don’t slid when swing the club. When hitting a ball that has landed on the edge of the bunker I find it especially to hard to get a comfortable position to hit the ball because of being a steep angle, like Tiger woods in the picture above.
When observing Tiger Woods and his bunker play he is able to position him self and have a very stable stance when playing very hard bunker shoots as shown in the picture above. His feet positioning is very precise unlike mine this makes his shoot extremely accurate.
Follow Through
My follow through of my bunker shoot is a strong weakness of mine during my bunker play because I find I very hard to judge the amount of sand I need behind the ball and the length of shoot I need to play. May main weakness is that I miss judge how far the ball is going to go and I seem to under estimate the strength of the shoot causing the ball to fall shoot of the target resulting in giving my self a long put on the green. When estimating how much sand I need to behind the ball I find it very hard to get it precise. Compared to Tiger Woods that seems to know how much sand he needs to put behind the ball when following through with his shoot. He is also able to play various kinds of shoot out of the bunker that I am not able to perform, Tiger can put extrinsic amount of spin on the ball when hitting out of the bunker, which makes his shoot very accurate.
Stance
When observing my stance when playing bunker shoots it is very variable because I don’t always position my body in the correct position so I don’t get an under the ball enough resulting in a very flat shoot, which is not all the good in a steep sided bunker. I don’t bend my legs enough to get my whole body through the ball on my swing.
When observing Tiger Woods his stance is very stable has he keeps his legs firmly position and his body angle very precise as shown again in the picture above. His feet are always aiming at the correct angle giving him a very accurate shoot. He also his knees so he is very well balanced controlling his centre of gravity result in a very comfortable stance that performs very efficient results.
Strengths
GRIP
I grip my sand wedge
When observing my grip on my short iron’s is a strength to me because I grip the club accurately, so my hands are in the correct position as shown on the grip diagram, so they don’t slip or reposition on my swing so I am able to get way with my follow through.
When looking at Terry’s grip he doesn’t over lap his hands correctly resulting in Terry having poor control of the club and an inaccurate shoot the lacks in power, this also cause Terry’s hands to slip on the club regularly resulting in him hitting the ball incorrectly.
Knowledge of the type of shot to play
When playing out of the bunker there is a variety of shoots you can be faced with. When being face in the bunker I think I have a good knowledge of what type if shoot to play for example if the ball is very close to the edge of the bunker, which is a very hard shoot to be faced with you will have to position you self slightly behind the ball and play the shoot off your back foot so you can get under the ball and avoid hitting the edge of the bunker on your down swing.
If Terry were faced with this situation he would struggle to play the correct shoot because of his lack of knowledge. Terry would also find it hard to get in the correct stance and use the appropriate swing to hit the ball correctly.
Timing
When playing shoots my timing is accurate because my head remains still, and focused on the ball so I don't miss hit the ball. I also make a good connection with the ball showing a good strength in the timing of my swing. Compared to Terry whose focus on the ball isn’t always 100% he also lifts his while playing the shoot resulting in, inconsistent play.
Putting
Weakness
Early preparation before putting
Before I take my putt I have a weakness in my early preparation because I don’t take long enough observing the green and looking at the break of the green this can result in an inaccurate putt, which has been missed judged.
Section C
The purpose of section c is to identify the possible causes of 2 faults and weakness of mine in each core skill and suggest corrective measures to bring about possible improvements, showing an understanding of theoretical knowledge using Physiological, Psychological and Socio-cultural aspects.
Core skill - Driving
Weakness 1
Address/Alignment
Cause of weakness: -
The cause of this weakness is mainly due to my feet position because it not very accurate and I vary the angle of my feet a lot, causing my alignment to be off when taking my shoot. One reason for this could be a lack of coaching in the sport due to a Socio-cultural factor of the I wasn’t taught the sport in my experience of play and physical education lessons because I was not taught the sport in school.
Corrective practice: -
Schools should reinforce the less popular sports of the younger generation such as golf and tell kids how they can get involved in the sport at a young age. This would teach children in schools the benefits of the sport and what it has to offer. This would improve children’s involvement of the sport at a young age developing more skilled golfers and younger ages.
Weakness 2
Follow through/Recovery
Cause of Weakness
My follow through/recovery of my driving is a weakness because as I follow through with the club whilst making connection with the ball my hand seems to slip on the club. This weakness is also due to my grip of the club. This is due to a lack of guidance this means I never guided through how to grip my driver correctly, therefore I don’t really know when I have griped the club successfully, so fore I do not develop my kinaesthesis.
Corrective practice
The way to make this successful is to have lessons with a professional coach in the sport so he is able to guide me through the correct steeps on gripping the club so I am able to know what is right and what is wrong with my grip so I can correct it accordingly.
Core Skill – Mid irons
Weakness 1
Balance
Cause of weakness
Balance is a weakness with my mid irons because I try to hit the ball to hard and when I do this I lean to far over the ball and move my head causing my to be unbalanced when striking the ball. When I have to position my body in different angle for example dog leg to the right I am some times unbalanced because my stance can be unstable this is because I might be on a down slope making it harder to get in a good balanced and stable stance. This could be due to a physiological factor because I find it hard to find my centre of balance.
Corrective Practice
I could under take a training program that focus on improving my balance. I would include drill’s that would improve an correct my balance in these situations. I could also undertake some lessons from a professional coach to improve my balance when playing shoot on a down slope of in tight situations. I would have to carry out the program for at least 2 months if I wanted to see any meaningful improvements.
Weakness 2
Early preparation before taking the shot
Cause of weakness
My early preparation before taking my mid irons is a weakness because I don’t always judge the weather conditions and how it could affect the shoot, I also don’t spend enough time looking at the environment before taking the shoot. This could be due to the types of practices experienced when playing golf in very windy conditions for example. This would help me be able to judge the correct shoot to play when being faced with these conditions. I could all so do with some motivation as well so I fell motivated to go and play golf in these bad weather conditions so I can gain more
Corrective Practice
I could improve this by having some one to motivate me to play more in bad weather conditions so I would be faced with strong winds and rain so can get more practice in these conditions, this will improve my judgement of the type of shoot I need to play to compromise with the weather conditions. With extensive practice It will have a big improvement on my overall game.
Core Skill- Approach Shoots (Pitching and Chipping)
Weakness 1
Down Swing
Cause of weakness
My down swing of my short irons seems to be a weakness this is because I play the shoot to aggressively and want to hit the ball too hard resulting in a fast and uncontrolled back swing. By my down swing being uncontrolled it has a negative effect on my follow through causing my to stab/punch at the ball resulting in an inaccurate shoot. This is relate to an psychological factor because I think I am going to under hit the ball in my mind and end up hitting it harder than I should.
Corrective practice
I could employ different types of practices to improve this psychological error. I could employ the trail and error method and practice-hitting ball with a verity of powers so I can tell my self I don’t need to hit the ball so hard. If I keep repeating this I want to hit the ball so hard so my shoot will be more accurate.
Weakness 2
Follow through
Cause of weakness
When observing my follow through of my short irons I have a weakness where I punch at the ball and not follow all the way through with the shoot. This is cause by my thinking I am going to hit the ball too hard if a follow through because my down swing is too aggressive. The cause of this weakness is that there is a very limited provision of facilities in the area where I live so I am not able to practice chipping and pitching. This is because there is a lack public pitch and put facilities and also a lack of golf practice schools.
Corrective practice
I could improve on this by joining a private facility for example a private golf club, which would have practice facility’s for chipping and pitching and I would also be able to use the golf course as much as like, the limitation with this is that I costs alto of money to join private clubs and the waiting list or very long.
Core Skill – Bunker play
Weakness 1
Body Position within the Bunker
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Core Skill - Putting