Going low with Project Joe
Can this enthusiastic beginner break 100 for the first time with the help of Cobra Puma Golf?
Golf can be an incredibly difficult sport, especially for those just starting out and trying to juggle other commitments like work and family life. But we wanted to see if we could fast-track the development of a beginner golfer this season with the help of Cobra Puma Golf.
Step forward Joe Brewin, someone who has caught the golf bug but played less than a handful of rounds. We put him through an initial assessment with PGA Pro James Whittemore at Girton Golf Club, followed by a series of lessons.
You can follow his progress on the Golf Monthly website via his blog updates and watch exclusive video content on his journey from beginner to winner, hopefully…
Joe’s story
The cameras are set. A crowd is gathered. There’s one final warm-up swing towards the earlymorning sun, before I set my stance and prepare to take aim. The fairway is wide open, begging for a straight drive down the middle. As is so often the way in golf, though, reality is rarely anything close to the dream (at least in my world). This is the 16th hole at Girton Golf Club – and I am about to embarrass myself.
As I swing back, the brainworm ingrained within every beginner golfer niggles away – I’ve got no idea what might happen next. Wild hook? Awful slice? A troubling top? It’s the latter. I watch the ball scuttle off left into the undergrowth and know this is going to be a long morning for everyone. Worse, I reload and do exactly the same thing again. At least we find that one.
As I hack my way to the end of the hole, not a clean strike in sight, the brainworm quickly
“As a novice, I’ve got no right to be annoyed by my incompetence, but it’s very demoralising!”
wins out. As a novice, I know I’ve got no right to be annoyed by my incompetence, but when you’ve previously been striking 60-70% of your shots with a modicum of respectability at the range, it’s demoralising. The course is very different, though: different lies, different conditions, a different mindset... a greater chance of cocking it all up.
Before I go on, a quick potted history: by day I’m the deputy editor of Fourfourtwo magazine, and newly a father of one. I started playing last July, since when I’ve been to two group lessons and had three solo lessons at the tail end of 2020. The latter at least stopped me hooking the ball with every depressing stroke, but as I’d later find out, also taught me an unhelpful habit. I’ve played one-and-a-half rounds of golf in total: rough average score around 120 over 18 holes. Putting the ‘project’ in Project Joe, basically.
I’m heartened that James has quickly spotted a pattern of doom. My bad shot throughout was a top – arguably the most humiliating blunder stroke – largely down to poor posture. We keep the tutorials relatively light until a lesson after our final hole. James suggests six manageable changes, mostly on the set-up. There’s no immediate success
– he’s not magic - but it’s an important start.
Will this renewed optimism last? Will a new set of Cobra clubs make all the difference? Find out in a future issue of
Golf Monthly…
The coach’s view
Watching Joe for a few holes, my main takeaway was he struggled with strike – mostly thin shots. This was caused by hanging back on his trail foot and swinging mostly with just his arms – there was no weight shift into his lead foot through the shot.
There were some positives, though – his putting stroke was pretty good and he is very receptive to change, which should really help speed up his improvement. My main focus was on the set-up position – getting him into a more athletic stance, rather than being very hunched over the ball. This will naturally help his rotation and movement.
A drill we used was making some backswing movements with a cane across his chest and pointing it towards the ball. This gave him the feeling of turning correctly while staying in posture. He’s got a long way to go, but the potential is there and I’m excited to help him try and achieve his goals.