Session 1Last year’s Ryder Cup was prettygripping and I’ve always loved golfcommentators (“Now that lookslike a birdie…” – what?!), but whenit comes to playing, I have no clue.Crazy golf is fun and frustrating inequal measure and I’veattempted a par 3 course onceor twice (with terrible results)but really, to me, it’s just ametal pole that you whack aball with and hope for thebest.We quickly learnt there’s a lotmore technique to it than that.For one, our coach AlanFletcher told us, we shouldn’tbe worrying about hitting the

ball, we should be aiming to hit theground with our strokes.And there’s a knack for holdingthe club correctly, positioningyour feet, swooping your armsand pointing everything in theright direction. Apparently, if youmanage to fit all those cogstogether you’re practically a pro!Safe to say I wasn’t quite there,even after knocking 100 ballsabout at the driving range.I’d manage one decent shot thathad the perfect soft click/thwackwhen I hit the ball, and then

seven or eightrubbish swings!Consistency wasdefinitely not myforte. Maybe Ijust need morepractice.

Session 2For our secondlesson Alan took usthrough the stanceswe’d need if wewere going toproduce a fluidswing and a shot that

had some power to it – golf is somuch more mathematical thanyou’d think.Trying to remember what welearnt in the first session and adda competent back swing, aproper follow through and asmart golfing pose to it was muchtrickier than expected.A lot of it was to do with keepingyour arm long and straight andnot trying to hook round the balland whip it into the air – if youhit it with the right part of theclub, it is meant to do thatnaturally (easier said than done).It was more fun to be smackingthe ball though, unlike in the first

session. I wasn’t great ataiming straight but didmanage to get the ball toarc up and felt I looked alittle bit more like I knewwhat I was doing. The

only problem with going forpower (and not owning a golfglove) is getting blisters all overyour hands!There is a real art to golf, andI – surprising even myself – amquite keen to learn more.

CB Magazine 01/2013

52

Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports

With golf set to join the Olympics for Rio 2016,Ella Walker and Lydia Fallon went along to Total GolfAcademy in Melbourn to see what all the fuss is about– and practise their swing

Sports tried + tested:

g lfElla’sstory

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CB Magazine 01/2013

53Session 1I’m going to be honest; I’ve neverreally got golf. Talk of birdies andpars leave me thoroughlybemused and sweater vests arenever a good look.My previous attempts at crazygolf have ended in disaster (themost frustrating game EVER!) andI have never stepped foot on aproper golf course in my life– theodds were most definitely stackedagainst me.But it turns out I’m not totallyhopeless but Tiger shouldn’t bequaking in his golf shoes either.Alan started by telling us that ratherthan focusing solely on hitting theball, we should make sure our iron

hit the ground as well. Heexplained that this will produce thecleanest possible shot and is amust if we want to reach our fullgolfing potential.This proved a lot trickier than itsounds; I seemed to have a knack formissing both the ball and the ground!He also showed us how to positionour feet (slightly turned out), howwe should be holding the club andwhich part of the ball we should beaiming to hit. Put all thosecomponents together and you’reon the right track, apparently.It’s a lot harder than it looks,though. I’d manage one half decentshot but then scuff the next five.When I eventually managed to get abit of consistency, Alan showed mehow to put more swing in my shotfor that extra bit of distance.

Session 2Our second lesson was all aboutintroducing a bit more swing andpower to our shot, so we couldstart hitting those kind ofswoonworthy distances you seeon the TV.Alan started the lesson by breaking

down the swing into each positionwe should be hitting, explainingthat achieving one fluid swing waskey to achieving the perfect shot.He also emphasised theimportance of the left wrist, andgot us practising lifting the club upand down with only our left hand,a surprisingly tricky task.After being mildly impressed withmy ability in the first class, mybeginners luck definitely ran outduring my second attempt. I reallystruggled putting all thecomponents together andfrustratingly kept missing the ballaltogether. Apparently I wasstuttering just before my clubreached the ball; once I relaxedmy swing, my shots were muchmore effective.I thought an hour hitting ball afterball would get a little tiresome, butactually it was a lot of fun andreally rewarding when you startseeing an improvement – I justwish I could speed thatimprovement up a bit.Golf might not offer the fast-pacedthrills and spills of some sports butit definitely left me wanting more.

Lydia’sstory

The 5-week

programme at Total Golf

Academy is priced £25 per

person and includes balls and

equipment if needed. The next

classes begin on Thursday,

January 10 from 7 – 8pm and

Saturday, January 12 from

11am – 12noon.

Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports Sports

Total Golf Academy is at Cambridge Road, Melbourn,Royston, SG8 6EY. For more information visit

www.totalgolfacademy.co.uk.

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