Dave Pelz 1 Day Golf Clinic

randomer

After my round today I decided that I need to work on my short game and putting. It is definitely a part of my game that I have not devoted enough time to.

I went online and saw that their is a Dave Pelz 1 Day Clinic at Kileen Castle tomorrow, so I have booked in .

I am very new to golf, only been playing since April and am really looking forward to it. I took a few lessons with Barry Power, who is very good, but I think a full day at the Pelz school will be beneficial for me.

In my last five rounds I have scored between 86 and 96. I really want to break 80 before the summer ends. Hopefully the Pelz clinic will help me make this goal.

I think the price of the clinics have been reduced, they are now €295 which is quite expensive, but if it can help me to break 80 it will be worth it!

I will post a full report of my experience at the clinic later in the week.

JCDUB

I've heard very good things about it, from all sorts of golfers, low and high.

Enjoy it, and you'll be well on the way to that elusive 80.

super_freddie

Hi,

I went last year, couple of weeks before Christmas. Found it very good and I think my short game has improved slightly but not as much as it could / should have. You really need to practice the drills they give you on the day and in the take-home booklet and I don't think I've done that enought

Will be interested to see what you thought of it.

Cheers,
super_freddie.

randomer

Really impressed with the course. It was incredibly simple, but incredibly effective!

I didn’t see anything mind blowing on the course, but there were a lot of simple things that were explained and simply made sense. Obviously the proof will be in my scores, but I am very confident that they will improve.

A lot of the learning aids that are used on the course are available to purchase, but there is no pressure put on participants to buy them. I did buy a new putter though. The putter that I had been using was about three inches too long for me, and when I had a go with one of the putters they had it felt really good (I am sure part of it was a mental thing). The putter cost a little bit more than it would have cost in McGuirks, but it was the correct size and they threw in a box of practice balls for me for free.

I am definitely going to go back for the three day course before the end of the summer.

randomer

Just played my first round post Pelz and shot an 84, a new personal best!

45 on the front nine. I birdied the par four first, and then three putted on the second, third and fourth.

I then had a 39 on the back nine, my first time to break 40, and I only had one three putt on the back. I needed a birdie on the 18th to break forty. I hit a huge drive straight down the middle and then hit my 58 degree wedge to within six feet and sank the putt.

ozymandias10

randomer wrote: »

Just played my first round post Pelz and shot an 84, a new personal best!

45 on the front nine. I birdied the par four first, and then three putted on the second, third and fourth.

I then had a 39 on the back nine, my first time to break 40, and I only had one three putt on the back. I needed a birdie on the 18th to break forty. I hit a huge drive straight down the middle and then hit my 58 degree wedge to within six feet and sank the putt.

how was the course......let us know more about the day with pelz

randomer

The course starts with a PowerPoint presentation which goes through some of the Pelz concepts. It lasts about 30 minutes and the instructor (Conor Devery).

We then went out to the range and worked on pitching. Conor went through some simple concepts and then we were given a pyramid of balls to hit at a target 15 yards away. There were six people on the course with one instructor, so Conor was watching everyone and then every now and then would offer advice. He spotted some simple things that I was doing wrong, and luckily I was able to stop them once he told me what I was doing.
After about 40 minutes of pitching Conor did a round up and we moved on to the next exercise, bunker play.

We went out to a steep bunker next to a nice practice green. Each participant was given another pyramid of balls and the Pelz bunker board. This is essentially a plank of wood or plastic that you put sand on and hit the ball off. Sounds very basic, and it is, but its aim is to get players gliding along the board rather than digging deep into the sand. After each shot all of the sand should be removed from the board. If it isn't, then you are doing something wrong, so it gives instant feedback. This exercise was excellent. The bunker board makes bunker play easier because you are always hitting off light sand, but it also increases confidence. Conor then discussed the best method for different bunker lies.

The final drill before lunch was chipping. There was a large emphasis on ball position and stance. This exercise was very good and I managed to chip in a couple of times.

We then went for lunch in the golf club. The food was top class, but this is Killeen Castle after all!

After lunch we moved onto putting. The first thing Conor did was put some impact tape onto our putters to see where we were making contact with the ball. He then went through some concepts and we went out onto a putting green to give them a go. There were a few different exercises using some of the Pelz feedback learning aids. We used the “truputt”, a cylindrical tube, that you putt. If you make a perfect contact it goes straight ahead. If you don't, it flies off to one side or the other. We then used the putting tutor. This is a really cool device. It is a plastic board with place holders for ball bearings at the other end. When you hit the ball it has to go through the ball bearings. If you hit the ball bearings it means that you did not make a perfect contact, or your putter head was not square. If the ball goes into the hole you know that your read of the green was correct. If not, you can move the device to get an accurate read. The great thing is that once you get it right you can review your read. It is very simple, but again gives instant feedback.

There were a few other putting drills. The speed control drill was very simple but very good. We aimed for a line rather than a hole.

The two lessons that I took from the morning session were 1) to have a consistent ball position (front foot for bunker, middle for pitching and right foot for chipping) and 2) have the appropriate backswing for the shot (you always want to be accelerating in your downswing).

In the putting lessons I essentially got a putting technique! Prior to this I just hit the ball, whereas now I actually have a technique.

Dolph Starbeam

Best of luck with it and congrats on doing so well for such a new player. Keep it up.

Whyner

Randomer - nice report. I've been thinking about doing a clinic recently, good job!!! Going to look into it....

ozymandias10

good report thanks

DU.LLAHAN

How has your game been since you went to the school radomer

randomer

DU.LLAHAN wrote: »

How has your game been since you went to the school radomer

My short game has been very good. I have had an 81, still havent broken 80 yet, but there is a bit of time left before the end of the summer.

The course teaches you the key elements, but you really need to practice it. If you don't practice it you will just resort back to the way you were before.

I really want to get down for the three day course next month, but I don't think I am going to be able to fit it into my schedule.

I would still definitely recommend the course.

f22

Great review randomer, I know a couple of people who've attemded and have nothing but good things to say about it, apart from the price perhaps.

A_Fitz

Nice review, sounds good.

CaptainPendulum

Am thinking of heading to the Dave Pelz school for a 1 day clinic (Xmas pressie). Just wondering if anyone has been there lately...?

aster99

randomer wrote: »

Really impressed with the course. It was incredibly simple, but incredibly effective!

I didn’t see anything mind blowing on the course, but there were a lot of simple things that were explained and simply made sense. Obviously the proof will be in my scores, but I am very confident that they will improve.

A lot of the learning aids that are used on the course are available to purchase, but there is no pressure put on participants to buy them. I did buy a new putter though. The putter that I had been using was about three inches too long for me, and when I had a go with one of the putters they had it felt really good (I am sure part of it was a mental thing). The putter cost a little bit more than it would have cost in McGuirks, but it was the correct size and they threw in a box of practice balls for me for free.

I am definitely going to go back for the three day course before the end of the summer.

Just wondering what length was you old putter and what was the new length? I have been thinking about making mine shorter

randomer

aster99 wrote: »

Just wondering what length was you old putter and what was the new length? I have been thinking about making mine shorter

I had a standard length putter, 35 inches, and the new one is 32 inches.