junior golf
junior training
Diocesan Team Up for Schools’ Triumph
Post-Round Practice In this, the final installment of a three part series on managing competitve play, Brad outlines the importance of analyzing your stats so you know what to work on post-round.
Roberts and Chan Excel in Individual Categories PHOTOGRAPHY BY PATRICK LEUNG
By Brad Schadewitz National Junior Coach
S
olid displays by Tiffany Chan, Kelly Kung and Jonathan Yeung enabled Diocesan to win the Hong Kong Schools Team Championship at The Hong Kong Golf Club late February. In a closely fought round over the New Course, Diocesan, who finished third in the event last year, carded a three-player total of 227 to pip Shatin College and Kiangsu Chekiang by two shots. West Island School 1 placed fourth, a further seven shots adrift. Defending champions Hong Kong International School couldn’t match their efforts of a year ago and finished in fifth spot. 15-year-old Chan, whose stellar form over the past 12 months has won her a number of trophies at both junior and senior level, fired a 3-over-par 73, which clinched her victory in the Girls 15-18 age division, while Kung, who plays off a handicap of 10, impressed with her 78. Yeung’s steady 76 sealed the team win and gave the 14-year-old the individual title in the Boys 13-14 age bracket. Round-of-the-day honours went to Oliver Roberts (Shatin College) who carded a fine 71 to coast to victory in the Boys 15-18 age category. Long-hitting Roberts, a two-handicapper, put on a great display of ball striking to beat current Hong Kong Amateur Close champion Steven Lam and Liu Lok-tin by three strokes. Cheria Heng (Kiangsu Chekiang) was another impressive individual winner; a 75 giving her a six shot margin of victory over Mimi Ho and Michelle Cheung in the Girls 13-14 age division.
Learn from the pros
Cheria Heng
If you have ever attended the UBS Hong Kong Open and watched the players on the range, you’ll have noticed just how much time they spend working on their games after they’ve finished their round. If they have had problems hitting a particular shot out on the course that day, they will try and work it out afterwards. The majority of tour pros keep their stats, so they know what to concentrate on. This helps them make the best use of their practice time. Even if they’ve played well, they’ll still hit balls to help maintain their feel.
Oliver Roberts
Training aids
The use of training aids is also widespread on tour, and they are particularly useful when it comes to working on alignment. Alignment is a key fundamental and it is extremely important to get it right. Virtually all of the players lay down something on the ground for alignment when they are hitting balls. They don't want to fall into any bad habits that could affect their ball striking. The pros don’t want to fall into any bad habits that could affect their ballstriking—and neither do you.
Log your stats
One of the most important things I tell all the Hong Kong team to do is to keep a record of their stats so they know what to practice after their round. Keeping a log of the number of fairways you hit, your greens in regulation percentage, the number of up-and-downs you make and your putting average is a great way to let you know which part of your game to focus on.
The winning Diocesan team
Final Thought
So the lesson for the average player is this: after your round, head to the range and use the time to really work on your game. Use your stats to identify your problem areas and if you’re not sure how you can fix the problem consult a qualified PGA professional to help speed up the learning process and start practicing like the best players in the world.
HK GOLFER・APR/MAY 2009
WWW.HKGA.COM
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Steven Lam, pictured above, keeps a log of his statistics whenever he plays.
227 229 229 236 239
Team Event Scores 1 Diocesan Girls/Boys 2= Shatin College Kiangsu Chekiang 4 West Island School 1 5 HK International School
“The players who will improve the most are the players who can sit down and look objectively at their own game, find their weaknesses and work on them to get better.”
WWW.HKGA.COM
2009 HK GOLFER・APR/MAY
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