TG Blog: Tour Fit For Golf goes to France
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In association with
In the third of a series of blogs about their experiences on the Tour Fit for Golf money-can’t-buy amateur tuition programme – supported by Golfbreaks.com, Europe’s largest golf travel company and endorsed by the European Tour Performance Institute – winners Nick Blunt and Chris Hughman share their thoughts on the second of three progress review sessions, this time at Aa Saint-Omer Hotel du Golf in Pas de Calais, northern France. They were tutored by Jean-Jacques Rivet, Sports Biomechanics Consultant to the European Tour, renowned coach Simon Holmes and Rob Hillman, the European Tour’s Director of Physiotherapy.
Nick Blunt
“Having spent the past month trying to accurately retain the imparted knowledge and diligently follow the drills supplied by Simon Holmes and JJ Rivet, I felt quietly confident that my swing had finally started to take shape.
“My personal exercise programme had begun to pay dividends and I was now able to adopt the positions Simon and JJ had taught me; indeed, a physical reassessment with Rob Hillman confirmed that the exercise had improved my flexibility although some limitations still existed. To help, I was given an even more targeted regime.
“I was then put through my paces on the About Golf technology to review the biomechanics of my ‘new’ swing that graphically demonstrated my improvements along with those areas still requiring work. The importance of maintaining a proper foot grounding throughout the entire swing, along with adopting the correct thought process to swing the club more easily, and therefore hit the ball further and more consistently, will take much work if I am to build my ideal golf swing.”
Chris Hughman
“I feel my game has come on leaps and bounds since the beginning of this amazing experience. Enjoying some better ball action, I struck my irons crisply and hugged a fair few pins, although over the course of the two days only sank one putt over 10ft!
“Old habits occasionally crept in so it was good to work on the driving range with JJ Rivet working on our biomechanics. I’d also been feeling tightness in my glutes and hamstrings so to have Rob Hillman check me out was reassuring!
“A prescribed course of exercises later and I was back on the balance plate. The superb About Golf kit enables you to see both the direct impact of swing flaws and the benefits of the corrections. The focus for me was from the moment of impact to the finishing position. I now have the swing with which to go forwards, and JJ and Rob really drove home the need to work on the exercises and improve my body as much as my swing… which will require some serious effort!”
The venue
Nick Blunt: “Aa Saint-Omer Hotel du Golf, with its championship course, must be the premier golfing venue in northern France.
“The course is hugely challenging, thanks to numerous variations in elevation, although it’s a very fair examination from the tee. Club selection is tested throughout the round with every club coming into play. The greens were large and well-paced although served up a host of tricky putts.
“The hotel appeared extremely new and was both clean and functional, offering excellent food and service.”
Chris Hughman: “Aa Saint-Omer is a European Tour venue I have wanted to play for years. From the clubhouse it looks none too daunting; however, once on the course you rarely have a flat approach to the green and clubbing correctly is a massive challenge.
“The course is immaculately maintained with many stunning vistas from the tees, and the greens were deceptively receptive even in hot, dry conditions. I thoroughly recommend playing Saint-Omer, but hire a buggy because I have never been so tired walking 18 holes!”
Deal hunter
Deal 1:
Two nights’ bed and breakfast at Aa Saint-Omer Hotel du Golf and two rounds of golf at Saint-Omer Le Val. Plus, Eurotunnel crossing and dinner at Restaurant Gastronomique. From £239 per person.
Deal 2:
Three nights’ bed and breakfast at Aa Saint-Omer Hotel du Golf and two rounds of golf at Saint-Omer Le Val. Plus, Eurotunnel crossing and dinner at Restaurant Gastronomique. From £249 per person.
Visit www.golfbreaks.com to book.
