IMPROVE EVERY LAYER OF YOUR GAME

Challenge Tour star Daniel Gavins shows you how

It’s easy to get overwhelmed when you’re on the course, especially if the putts aren’t dropping or you’ve got a bunch of hard holes coming up. The trick is to make life as easy as possible for yourself, and that applies to every layer of your game – from your choice of shot to the clothing you wear. Anyone who takes the game seriously puts lots of hours into grooving their swing, and choosing the best clubs. But not many of us put as much effort into the clothing we wear. Over the next six pages, I’ll show you some of the tips that have helped me get on the Challenge Tour this year. I’ve combined that with the clothing I choose for all conditions, whether it’s warm, cool, windy or wet. Match the two, and you can shoot lower scores.

Thanks to Moor Allerton Golf Club in Leeds for hosting our photo shoot. Find out more about the 27 holes of golf on offer at www.moorallertongolfclub.co.uk

1 Driver

The majority of amateurs really struggle to add width in their backswing and end up losing a lot of distance off the tee. In an ideal world, the clubface should be horizontal to the ground at the top, but the worst thing you can do is to fast-track the motion by collapsing the right arm as you take it back. Do that and the swing arc will become too narrow, robbing distance. From there, you’ll be inclined to cast from the top, which naturally leads to a big slice.

2 Fairway woods

I reckon at least 75% of amateurs struggle to hit a fairway wood off the deck – and it’s nearly always because they try to hit it too hard. As a result, they swing off balance and end up hanging back as they try and help the ball into the air. The key to crisp ballstriking is stability, and a good swing thought is to feel like you are covering the ball with your chest. This will help to limit any kind of swaying and ensure the weight is correctly transferred at the point of impact.

3 Irons

Most amateurs watch guys like Dustin Johnson and Bubba Watson hitting driver/wedge into par 5s and think that their secret is swinging as fast as possible to generate as much power. Speed does help, but swinging in time is far more effective in marrying distance and accuracy, especially when you are hitting approach shots with an iron. Most greens are guarded by hazards, so I always try to swing within myself and really focus on timing so the clubface arrives square at impact.

4 Wedges

Short game is all about feel, and matching the length of the backswing with the follow-through is a big part of that. That’s why so many amateurs struggle with in-between pitch shots. They don’t trust the loft on clubface and end up quitting on it. The best drill to practise distance control is to match your hand position with an imaginary clockface (six o’clock being the ball position, as shown above). Practice these positions at the range, and you’ll get up and down more often.

5 Putting

Putting is all about confidence and setting the ball off on your intended target line. We all misread greens, but if your stroke path is inconsistent as well, you’ll have to be pretty lucky to hole any putts. I see lots of club golfers who manipulate the face with the hands and the majority don’t even realise they’re doing it. That’s why I always recommend setting up this gate drill because it will instantly show up any technical flaws.

Clock watcher For a half shot, stop the backswing with the shaft pointing parallel to the ground. This is effectively a 9 o’clock position, so the followthrough should extend to 3 o’clock. Longer shots For a three-quarter shot, I go to 10 o’clock to 2...

Slow-mo swing From a technical standpoint, swinging in slow motion is a great way to tick off certain checkpoints in your swing. Hitting balls at 50% and then slowly quickening the pace is just as effective and will also highlight how fast you can...

Set up for success With a fairway wood I set up with the ball a club’s width inside my left heel and my weight evenly distributed 50-50 on each side.

Hit down Unlike a driver, I am not trying to sweep a fairway wood off the tee. If anything, you want to impart a downward blow. Your set-up needs to reflect this, with the ball position about a clubhead inside your left heel.

Load for lag The idea is to feel like you are storing power. From there, you can create lag in the downswing and unlock extra distance.

Don’t fold To stop your right arm folding in the backswing, let the shoulders initiate the takeaway and focus on keeping the wrist firm. Feel like you are overexaggerating how far you extend the club back in the takeaway and then use the upper body to...

Do it anywhere The great thing is that you can set this drill up anywhere, including at work or at home. If you don’t have a pair of tees handy, lay down a couple of pens instead.

How to do it Place two tees about a putter width apart so they form a gate about a foot in front of the ball. Focus on keeping the hands quiet and try to roll the ball through the gate. If the head is open or closed at impact, the ball will catch one...