At Golf Escapes, we are proud to continue our partnership with the team at MY Golf Academy and support their great work. We are based locally to both Academy centres, Horsham Golf and Horne Park. Our close relationship helps us create something special with our years of experience and dedication.

The pandemic has affected everybody in different ways, not least the travel industry which has particularly struggled due to the new restrictions. During this time, the team at Golf Escapes have worked tirelessly to provide our customers with the very best service, rebooking and refunding along with regular guidance and updates when needed. This level of service has seen us achieve our Gold Trusted Service Award – 5 star independently rated, which is something we are very proud of.

Therefore, after such a long time we are delighted to see confidence slowly increasing in overseas travel once again and we remain at your disposal for advice, that last-minute escape to the sun or to discuss and plan your 2022 golf escape.

You can also visit our website for the latest travel requirements.

Here are just a few of the latest tempting offers for 2022:

Algarve

Tivoli Lagos – https://www.golf-escapes.com/book-package/?id=41494

Feb ’22 package includes Espiche and is good value.

Vidamar – https://www.golf-escapes.com/book-package/?id=44152

Mar ’22 package which is an exclusive offer

Belek

Cornelia Deluxe Resort – https://www.golf-escapes.com/book-package/?id=44529

Feb – Mar ’22 7N 3R – All inclusive

Kaya Belek – https://www.golf-escapes.com/book-package/?id=44534

May – Jun ’22 7N 3R – All inclusive

As experts in golf travel since 2002, we help people find their perfect golf holiday, whether that’s in the UK, Europe or luxury long-haul, all with the best value and our five-star customer service. Since we set up in 2002, we have sent more than 150,000 happy golfers on their perfect golf breaks.

To find out more, visit golf-escapes.com or email us on info@golf-escapes.com.

Golf Escapes operates as part of The Sport and Travel Group which brings under one umbrella such diverse travel options as our golf, safaris, jazz tours, The Ladies Collection and most recently, vegan food tours. Please contact us for further information about our sister companies on 01342 811 777. We look forward to being of assistance.

No two golfers are the same in either their physical stature or golf swing, so the thought that a ‘standard’ or ‘off the shelf’ set of golf clubs will suit everyone is wildly inaccurate.

The custom fit process is about blending your physical assets with the dynamic motion of your golf swing. In the same way that you don’t walk up to the tee in shoes three sizes too small, your clubs should fit your height, strength, technique, hand size and much, much more.

Long gone are the days that custom fit clubs are reserved for the elite golfers of this world and in the vast majority of cases there is no extra cost for fitted clubs.

WHY YOU SHOULD OPT FOR CUSTOM FITTING

Custom fit clubs allow you to get the most out of your swing, your equipment and will take strokes off of your score. Why would you want to limit your performance and adapt your swing to poorly suited equipment?

#1 – Golf Clubs Fit To ‘Your Swing’

#2 – Benefit From The Latest Golf Club Technology

#3 – Understand Your Game In More Detail

#4 – Boost Your Confidence

#5 – Maximise Your Potential

#6 – Get The Best Return On Your Investment!

While its common knowledge that the professionals who appear on our television screens use clubs that have, in some cases, undergone a dramatic transformation from their off-the-shelf counterparts, there is a misconception that this service is not widely available to the greater public.

Not only will customising the fit of your clubs help you dial out the inconsistencies in your game thus leading to a more enjoyable golfing experience. No longer do you have to rely on gut feel alone to work out whether a set of clubs will work for you or not.

With technology radically changing the way we approach custom fitting, golfers of every level can improve their game. Nowadays, custom fitting is accessible to all and you can use either an existing or a new set of clubs as the starting point to your perfect swing.

Tools such as FlightScope technology provide instant feedback on club and ball and provide you with data so that you can make informed fitment choices.

Here at Horsham Golf, we have an in-house team of experts who specialise in club fitting, club alterations and repairs. Having helped refine the equipment needs of a wide range of golfers, the value of their input and the results of their service cannot be overstated.

Our Golf Shop has everything you could need on the course under one roof, stocking leading brands including Callaway, Ping, Cobra, Yonex, Cleveland and Srixon. Our knowledgeable PGA Professionals provide expert advice, and excellent service to complement a price match guarantee.

If you’re interested in finding out more about our Custom Fit service, email us at info@horshamgolf.co.uk to add yards to your game, with increased accuracy to match.

BEFORE THE SHOT

• What are the conditions telling me?
  • Wet?
  • Dry?
  • Wind into/across/down?
  • Hot/Cold
• What would a good shot look like here to me?
  • Low/high
  • Lots of roll or all carry?
  • Aggressive or conservative?
• Clubs selection
  • After deciding the above, what club does that option leave me with?
  • If you’re in between shots, ask yourself – if I had 10 shots from this spot, what option would give me the most consistent result?

DURING THE SHOT

• Be in the now, the planning is already done. Now it’s time to execute.
• Focus on breathing

AFTER THE SHOT

• Good shot? Remember it! For example, Tiger gave himself a physical trigger by twirling the club when he hits a good shot. Savouring the good shots in your mind can boost confidence.
• Bad shot? Put it behind you, maybe hum your favourite song when you’re walking to your next shot. Or when you’re putting your club back in your bag, verbally say the word ‘finished’ and as you let go of the golf club, you let go of the shot.

You’re standing over a vital five-foot putt, doing your level best to commit to a smelly left-to-right line, when you suddenly hear your brain asking “Hmm, I wonder what’s for tea tonight…”

Believe me, this is not as uncommon as it sounds. Ok, it might not always be food-related; but whatever level we have reached in the game, our focus can go a-wandering at the most inappropriate moments. It can even happen to the best of us. Just ask the oldest major champion of them all.

“I have a hard time keeping focused for a period of time,” said Phil Mickelson earlier this year. “I go through spells of three or four holes where I’ll throw five or six shots away. I just kind of go mind-numb. My ability to regain focus has been the biggest challenge as I’ve gotten older. I don’t have a great solution right now. But I’m working on it.”

Phil’s amazing PGA victory at Kiawah Island – one in which a new-found focus was evident – shows just how successful his work was. Phil talked of “expanding the mind like a muscle”, using meditation and prolonged spells of concentration to build it up.

Whether you follow his path or find your own way, there is no question that focus is an essential element of performance. Essentially, focus is the act of bringing your attention to the task in front of you. This is not as easy as it sounds. The mind has a mind of its own. Its natural state is to jump around from one thought to the next, something Eastern philosophers have long termed the Monkey Mind. If you’re day-dreaming, it’s fine to let it go where it will; but if you have a task you want to complete, it’s all about bringing your mind back to where you need to be. But how do we achieve that?

Your first step is to understand and accept the hopping nature of focus. Sure, we’d rather not be thinking about bangers and mash as we prepare to take the club away; but if the thought does rear its head it is not a sign of failure. The key is to notice the thought and let it pass without making too much of a meal of it, so to speak. A sudden random thought doesn’t have to de-rail you, though if it does happen to take root you are best off backing away and resetting.

The second step is based around a simple word: intention. Intention is what you want the ball to do. On this occasion, we want the ball to start left-edge of the hole and drop in at around 7 o’clock on the hole’s clockface. Your intention is the source of your focus. If your focus wanders, work harder on setting and committing to an intention. If your mind drifts off that intention, accept it and smoothly bring your focus back on to it.

Focus may not be a physical thing: but as Mickelson implies, it can be worked on, strengthened and made more robust. Phil himself is a prime example of the potential rewards of doing so; but there were two other performance-related elements of his famous victory that caught my eye… and from which we can all learn:

• Swing with commitment. Speaking after his victorious final round, Phil said: “I had made some uncommitted swings the first six holes. My caddie Tim pulled me aside and said, ‘If you’re going to win this thing, you’re going to have to make committed golf swings.’ It hit me in the head. I can’t control the outcome, I have to swing committed. The first one I made was the drive on 7. It gave me a chance to get down by the green and make birdie. From there on, I hit a lot of really good shots because I was committed to each one.”

Many golfers misunderstand what is meant by making a committed swing. They read it as going all out, hitting hard. But no. A committed swing is one where you stay true to the shot you’re going to play and let go of the outcome – and that could be clubbing up and making a soft, smooth swing just as easily as hitting a hard drive. For a right-hander slicer trying to hit a draw, commitment is starting the ball right of the target, even though it could cut from there. Commitment is going after what you want the shot to be, but with an acceptance of what it could be.

• Learn with clarity. Phil gave plenty of credit to his coach, Andrew Getson, saying: “He is a tremendous instructor because of his ability to simplify it. He doesn’t cloud my head with a lot of things.”

A great coach is brave enough to keep it simple. As Tommy Armour once said, “You need to understand a swing in all its complexity to teach it in its simplicity.” It is almost a barometer of a good lesson that you leave it with one or perhaps two clear images of what you need to do. A strong image in your mind means a clear, effective message from the brain to the muscles. And that message doesn’t need to be too precise. As leading American coach Mike Hebron has noted, “the brain doesn’t like precision; it likes it in the ballpark.” Precision means tension; a clear, tractable message offers you your best route forward. Make it your business never to leave a lesson without one.

www.themindfactor.com

Karl has worked with multiple major winners. Check out his BrainBooster Podcasts for free on iTunes