Friday 9 November 2012

Cleveland Golf Wedge History

Cleveland Golf Wedge Timeline

I'm always interested in current and historical equipment changes and Cleveland Golf have given us all a great insight into their famous wedges.

I have added some content from their site below:

Click Here for Wedge Timeline Page

(valid until xmas 2012, while stocks last)
Buy 2 and get the 3rd FREE!

Contact me know to find out which combines are best for you.

Click Here to Email me now!






Readers,
Over the next few weeks, we’ll be documenting four of Cleveland Golf’s most significant wedge innovations. Cleveland Golf has long set the industry standard in the wedge category, and we certainly don’t plan on changing that any time soon. So, leading up to the release of our new wedge this fall, we wanted to take some time to remind you how we got to where we are today.
Let’s start with Multiple Lofts.
We believe having proper wedge loft gaps is essential to short-game success, and we’ve been preaching this for years.
When the original 588 wedge was introduced in 1988, it was available in lofts of 50° and 56°. One year later, a 60° model was added. Realizing the need to bring “a new level of predictable excellence” in the short game, Cleveland Golf continued to expand loft offerings with the 53° “Diadic” wedge and the 49° Special Pitching Wedge.
Pros and amateurs saw the benefits of multiple wedges, and as time went on, our engineers realized the need for proper gap spacing and kept adding more lofts.
Today, the 588 Forged wedge is available in lofts of 46°, 48°, 50°, 52°, 54°, 56°, 58°, 60°, 62° and 64°. There’s an incredible range of wedge combinations available for any golfer looking to improve their short game, and we take pride in educating golfers on knowing how to select the right lofts. After all, wedges affect the outcome of every shot you hit inside 120 yards.

What lofts do you have in your bag?


Readers,

Recently, we discussed how Cleveland Golf’s emphasis on multiple wedge lofts has changed the way golfers approach the short game. Another way Cleveland Golf has brought game-changing innovation and improved performance to wedges is by offering multiple finishes.
Each finish is unique and has its own advantages, from enhancing feel and reducing glare to adding style to players’ golf bags. We’re proud that we’ve brought multiple finishes to wedges for more than 25 years.
It started back in 1987 with the BeCu (Beryllium Copper) finish in 485 wedges, which provided softer feel in addition to a cool copper look. The next significant finish was Raw Tour Grind, or “RTG”, that was released to the masses in 1996 after overwhelming demand and success on tour. RTG is an unchromed, special grind version of the 588 wedge, with the head designed to rust over time. These wedges are particularly renowned for their feel, resistance to glare, and even enhanced spin.
Cleveland Golf also set a high standard for darker-finish wedges that resisted glare, starting with Gun Metal and progressing into Black Pearl. First introduced in the CG10 wedge, Black Pearl has remained a staple in Cleveland’s wedge lines thanks to its sleek style and ability to better frame the ball at address.
Other popular finishes have included Chrome, BeNi (Beryllium Nickel) and Satin Chrome.

So, what’s your favorite finish?


Readers,

For more than 25 years, Cleveland Golf wedges have been the standard by which all other wedges are judged. Our innovation and leadership have brought the wedge selection process from an afterthought to one of the most important decisions golfers make. It has always been our goal to provide the highest quality wedges to fit every golfer, not just tour players.
Of course, fitting every golfer is not an easy task. That’s why we were a pioneer in having multiple bounce options in wedges.
“Bounce” is the angle – in degrees – between the ground and the club’s sole plane. At impact in soft turf or sand, a higher bounce angle increases the upward force on the sole of the club to prevent digging. For firm turf and sand, a lower bounce angle improves contact by reducing this resisting force, allowing the leading edge to easily slide underneath the ball.
Generally, wedges with higher bounce can benefit players with a steeper attack angle, while those with a shallower angle of attack can benefit from lower-bounce wedges. Standard bounces accommodate the largest variety of turf, sand and swing types.
This is not a sure-fire way to fit everyone, which is why Cleveland Golf encourages every player to go through a wedge fitting and find the correct wedges for their game.
Back in 2000, Cleveland Golf introduced low-bounce options in the 900 wedge line. Then, in 2004, CG10 wedges incorporated high-bounce options and the accompanying dot labeling system: one dot for low bounce, two dots for standard bounce, and three dots for high bounce.
In addition to featuring a tour-proven shape and incredible feel, Cleveland Golf’s 588 Forged wedge line offers low, standard and high-bounce options to fit the needs of every player. This range of offerings continues to pace the wedge market.

What are the bounces on your wedges?




GTB Ryder Cup Success

GTB v The Golf Plaza
GTB v The Golf Plaza
Lumine Golf Resort
Barcelona, Spain
September 2012

In the wonderful setting of Salou, near Barcelona sits the 45 hole complex Lumine Beach and Golf Resort.  Lumine is currently hosting the European Tour School (Nov 2012) and proved to be a great test for us all.

Over 54 holes my team challenged a team from The Golf Plaza to a Ryder Cup style team event.

Introducing my Team Bragg!

Lee and Jason Prentice
Dev Patel
Fraser Robertson
Jason Grech

The format for the event was 2 days of 4Ball Betterball and then the final day being a straight singles matchplay.  Each game was worth a point and a 1/2 point for a draw.

In warm temperatures and glorious sunshine we set about claiming the trophy for our respective teams!



As with the excitement of the recent Ryder Cup in Medinah our games literally went down to the last singles game on the last day and on the last green for the cup to be won.  Jason Prentice secured his point on the last hole after his wedge shot slammed into the pin (hole shown below) and he safely two putted.

18th Green, Hill Course

Big thanks to all my team for joining me in Spain, I really enjoyed sharing the break with you and found the time working on your games hugely beneficial.

Also a big thanks to Jon who together helped to put together the trip and also a great team, we look forward to defending our title next year!








2013 Venue to be confirmed, but Team GTB will be ready!! :)




Wednesday 25 July 2012

Kubera Wealth Corporate Day

Company Days/Golf Clinics

I recently took part in the Kubera Wealth Corporate Day at Batchworth Park Golf Course.

Stuart Poonawala put together a wonderful day for his clients that started out with a light lunch and introduction to the day.

After lunch I carried out a short game clinic for all participants, I worked on the use of different loft around the green to achieve a variety of chip/pitch shots.





As the golfers set out on the course, Stuart and I spent time with each group so that I could pass on some advice and Stuart could take some great pictures.










Thanks Stuart for a great day, we all enjoyed the day and you left no stone left unturned.

For information on how I can help with your corporate date whether it be organising, golf clinic, beat the pro event or participating please email me:

Darren@GolfTuitionBreaks.com
Golftuitionbreaks.com


Friday 11 May 2012

Putting - Precision Ball Striking



The key to consistent putting is lies in your ability to strike the ball out of the centre of the clubface (sweetspot) with an accelerating clubhead.  Combine this with a square clubface (to intended target line) at strike and you will surely hole more and more putts.

A great way to measure how you are striking your putts simply follow the below drill and let me know how you get on

Precision Ball Striking Drill


For this drill I have simply used two pieces of Blu-Tac and placed them an inch apart either side of the sweetspot on my putter.  I have also used my alignment sticks as swing path guides, which I would recommend for all practice sessions.

I have used this drill with putts of about 3-4 feet and then gradually moved back to 20 feet.  Go through your normal putting routine and strike the putts towards your target.  If you hit the centre of the clubface then you will see the ball roll as normal but if you mishit the putt then the ball will travel at about 45 degrees away from your target as the ball struck part of the Blu-Tac.

Once you have successfully struck 5 putts from 3-4 feet then move back 3 feet at a time until you reach the 20 feet range.


For a simple drill for clubface control click the below link:

Priority Putting


There is no better place to check your stroke or discuss your findings than the academy, contact me now to book in a putting lesson.

Good luck

Darren





Friday 13 April 2012

Pre Shot Routine Tip


Pre Shot Routine Advice 


Over the last ten years we have all seen more and more of Golf Psychology in golf magazines, on tv and used in and around the sport at all levels.

We all want to be more consistent, but this is not only about your swing but also about how well you think and how confident you are are executing your game on the golf course and in competitions.

One of the biggest elements of the "mind game" is the role of the Pre Shot Routine, what does this mean? how do I create one? How will it help me?  these are all great questions and below I hope to help answer them with some logic that I worked hard on whilst playing tournament golf and now pass on to my clients.  I have also added a video of myself following my personal routine:

What is a Pre Shot Routine?  How will it help me?



Your shield from pressure, your comfort blanket. Your pre-shot routine helps you to deal with difficult situations and allows you to play on auto-pilot. As the name suggests it is a routine and by definition that is something that you do consistently.

So you need to create a pre-shot routine that is efficient, effective and easily repeated.



You'll notice that when you watch the pros on TV each pro has certain mannerisms that they go through before each shot, and typically they perform these mannerisms identically for each shot. They are going through their pre-shot routine. 


I believe that we should have two mindsets for golf, one that is a "Trusting" and one that is a "Training" mindset, why two?  simple, we need to have a mindset for technical areas of the game, this can apply to drills, lessons and practice sessions and also one for the golf course/target practice.

Training Mindset - When we work on our games we have to be consciously thinking about mechanics, we are learning and attempting to recreate these new movements...at these times we cannot also be focusing on the result i.e the shot.  Our sole purpose here is to develop and reinforce.

Trusting Mindset - We have to practice aiming at targets and learn to trust our mechanics, easier said than done for sure but there's  no place for thinking about "how will I make a swing that will get the ball there" it has to be more instinctive, "look and react a little more".  Pick a precise target and give up trying to control the ball there, learn to trust your mechanics more, of course this doesn't mean you will hit it perfect all the time but you will become more and more committed to every shot and far less tentative.

Think about a scenario where someone is walking around you in a circle (about 10 feet away) and you are holding a ball, imagine throwing them the ball gently...I would suggest that most of the time you would manage to throw the ball successfully for the other person to catch it.  Now imagine the same scenario but this time you have to think about all the specific movements involved in throwing the ball, judging the distance and direction, sounds difficult doesn't it? Yet in the first scenario we didn't think about the "how" we "just did it".  This can definitely be applied to your game.

How do I create one?

This is the fun bit!
A routine is to simply following a sequence of events time and time again, it can allow you to focus more exclusively on the shot at hand. Why? Because executing a pre-shot routine requires the focus of conscious attention on relevant tasks, thereby eliminating or at least reducing any extra time to attend to irrelevant or unwanted things.

You will need to think about a routine that best suits you as a person, for example if you are a very fast golf and personality then your routine should match this rhythm alternatively you may be a slow paced golfer/person, if so then you should consider a more methodical based routine.  What is your speed? Fast, Slow or Medium.







I hope you have found this useful, as you can see in the above video, I have a routine that I follow on all shots and it is part of my game permanently.

Explore designing a routine for your game, if you would like some help on this then you can contact me directly to discuss

Click here to Email.
The North London Golf Academy
Golf Tuition Breaks

Cheers

Darren




Some great references for the "Mind Game"


Bob Rotella - Multiple titles inc "golf is not a game of perfect" & "golf is a game of confidence"

Dr Parent "ZEN GOLF: Mastering the Mental Game"

Tim Gallwey "The Inner Game of Golf"

Karl Morris - The Mind Factor




Friday 10 February 2012

Stella Di Mare Pro Am








Stella Di Mare Pro Am
23rd - 30th April

I have been invited to bring a team to the exciting Stella Di Mare International Pro Am in April, I'm looking for 3 golfers who fancy a week away in the sun competing in a 54 hole tournament.

Join me in Egypt for a week to remember!






All details of this event can be found either by clicking on the below link or contacting me directly.

CLICK HERE

DarrenNLGA@gmail.com