In the second instalment of our series on taming the Middle East’s toughest holes, Claude Harmon 3 Performance Golf Academy Director of Instruction Jamie McConnell tackles the water-hugged 15th at The Els Club Dubai

There’s irrefutable statistical proof but it’s not just the numbers that make the 15th the most difficult hole at The Els Club. It is also the most visually intimidating hole on Ernie Els’ Dubai gem and that often throws amateurs off their strategy as soon as they arrive on the tee. Indeed, it’s often the intimidation factor that results in all those scorecard blowouts and broken hearts.

The key to conquering the 15th is the tee shot. Finding dry land is the first step and for most amateurs, the odds of achieving this can be significantly increased by choosing the correct line from the tee. For most, the instinct is to take the “Tiger Line” between the bunkers and the water. Yet by taking this line you significantly narrow your “Safe Miss Zone” and instantly increase the odds of taking a water-infused penalty. To make matters worse your next shot will be from an even worse position, most likely a nasty lie in the sand.

Higher skilled, lower handicappers will be able to take a line tight to the right edge of the traps and allow the ball to simply slide right towards the fairway. This maximises the margin for error and almost completely removes the chances of taking a penalty.

Map illustration by 3deagleview.com

For higher handicappers, a more conservative strategy is the key. The prudent line is directly at the centre of the two bunkers on the far corner of the dogleg. There is nothing fancy needed here as this line affords the widest possible landing area while also reducing the risk of hitting the ball in the water and suffering a penalty. The worst-case scenario is a second shot played from one of the bunkers, followed by a wedge or a short iron in. This still means you take any potential for big numbers off the card. And remember, you get a shot or two here anyway depending on your handicap. Use them wisely!

Once your tee shot finds the fairway – or pretty much anywhere other than the water – the approach to the green becomes much easier to handle.

At first glance, the 15th green looks like a difficult surface to hit but it is actually an exceptionally clever design. When you look at it in more detail, the key to figuring out the approach is to look at the shape of the green. Essentially the green plays in a figure of eight: wide at the front, slender in the middle and wide at the back. This means that the pin has a huge influence on how you need to approach the green.

For a front pin, the best miss is certainly short left, while for a back flag ensuring that you have enough club almost completely takes the water out of play. Favouring these areas will mean that you either have a great look at birdie, or an easy up and down to save par. Remember, don’t allow that intimidating tee shot to knock your before you even tee off. Stick to a strategy consummate with your handicap and reap the rewards. Good luck! — with Kent Gray

BE AT 1 SERIES:
Tame ‘Sea View’, stroke index 1 at Saadiyat Beach Golf Club
Tame the 5th, stroke index 1, at Tower Links Golf Club
Tame the 15th, stroke index 1, at Yas Links Abu Dhabi
Tame the 7th, stroke index 1, at Dubai Hills Golf Club
Tame the 12th, stroke index 1, at Royal Greens Golf & Country Club
Tame the 13th, stroke index 1, at Al Zorah Golf Club
Tame the 10th, stroke index 1, at Al Ain Equestrian, Shooting & Golf Club
Tame the 5th, stroke index 1, at Abu Dhabi Golf Club

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The MENA Tour’s new amateur star has his driver back under control. Watch out world

By Joe Marshall
After a frustrating summer in the UK with the big stick, Josh Hill has rediscovered his driving mojo with the help of Claude Harmon 3 Performance Golf Academy head professional Joe Marshall. To say the results have been impressive – T-6 in Abu Dhabi and a maiden MENA Tour title and world record to boot – is an understatement.

RELATED: Meet the MENA Tour’s new Boy Wonder

“Josh tends to get a little left-sided early in his backswing so the simple motion of getting wider in the takeaway, feeling more right-sided with a neutral clubface were the keys to retaining some control,” Marshall explains. “The beauty about Josh is he understands this kind of thing so quickly and just wants to go away and get it figured in his own mind, which he usually does. He uses his practice windows exceptionally well.” —with Kent Gray

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SETUP
Josh has such a strong, classic driver setup set up that looks ready to produce speed. We keep a close eye on his shoulders not being pulled forward too much creating a C-Posture.

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TAKEAWAY
The key here is that Josh gets the arms and club working in a motion that matches up with the body. His right leg provides stability for this to happen as his body weight starts to shift a little.

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BACKSWING
Here is where you can see the work Josh has done recently, keeping a wider feel and creating good pressure down through his right foot, preventing the tendency to go left too early.

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AT THE TOP
Josh is fully loaded into his right hip at the top with a huge shoulder turn that is much like Dustin Johnson. We love how stable this big coil has become!

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DOWNSWING
A fantastic movement of the hips moving down into the left side. This shift, which oozes power, causes the club to shallow nicely. Josh feels he has to stay behind a little here.

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IMPACT
Josh has done excellent leg work with our Fitness Professional, Allister Parlane, as his left leg provides a solid post for energy to be transferred into the club creating a 123mph swing speed!

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POST-IMPACT
All we look for is that his torso continues to rotate through to the target with the clubface matching the chest as it is released.  We don’t like the toe to win the race too early.

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FINISH
When Josh holds his finish high on the left side with good balance and doesn’t rock back to the right slightly, we know it’s a good one. Notice how the body has released fully round to the left.

The post Prodigy Power: The driver swing that helped Josh Hill wow the golf world appeared first on Golf Digest Middle East.

The newest member of The Els Club, Dubai performance academy team is passionate about introducing more women to golf

By Kent Gray
Amy Millward is on a mission to make the Claude Harmon 3 Performance Golf Academy, Dubai the hub of women’s golf growth in the region.

The 24-year-old has just joined the CH3 team at The Els Club, Dubai and arrives with a freshly minted ‘Professional Golf Studies’ degree from the University of Birmingham after coaching stints in the U.K and Switzerland.

Millward is also a Love.Golf coach and an energised disciple of a programme that is bringing ground-breaking research to women’s golf coaching.

Whereas newbies are typically plonked on the range for week upon week and run through the fundamentals of the game, Love.Golf coaching predominately takes place on the golf course (or a shortened course). This allows players “to learn how women want to learn in a group environment free from any dress codes or unnecessary rules.”

“We don’t just want to make you [new players] have a golf swing. We want to make you a golfer,” says Millward.

Seeing new and more established players improve has become more than just a job for Millward who calls the small English town of Cleobury Mortimer home. Her “passion” is now the fuel of a new initiative at The Els Club, Dubai where the CH3 team plan to turn Tuesday into an exclusive ladies day, with lessons, competitions, range time as well as social experiences spread across the day and evening.

The CH3 ladies programme will offer three types of classes – ‘Explorers’, ‘Players’ and ‘Competitors’. Millward will be on hand for two ‘Taster Days’ in October and November to run curious or intending players through the ropes.

The introduction sessions, both running from 10am to noon, are scheduled for October 15 and November 12 and will be followed by refreshments. Email Millward at amy@ch3performancegolf.com to reserve your place.

Myself, The Els Club and Claude Harmon III Performance Golf Academy are delighted to announce our new LADIES PROGRAMME!!

We are hosting a LADIES TASTER DAY on Tuesday 15th October from 10am to 12pm.

Our Ladies… https://t.co/JSr4oiK6ZX

— Amy Millward (@amymillward4) September 29, 2019

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Nobody in my entire family played or even plays now. Friends of mine were going to play at a local pitch and putt club when I was about nine and I tagged along. Fell in love with it straight away and when a driving range opened up beside my grandmother she encouraged me to go down. From then she gave me just about every opportunity to play from giving me lifts here there and everywhere to helping me enter tournaments.

I spent most of my time at Navan Golf Club and joined Royal Tara later in my junior years. Navan was always my home though as it was right next to my grandmothers, I practically lived there for 10 years!

I got to scratch handicap and hovered around that for a year or two, never broke far into the + figures though.

I turned pro when I was 18 and went to Euro pro qualifying with a good friend of mine, Emmet Staunton. It was a shock to the system, to say the least but I played on mini-tours, EuroPro and Jamega, for about two years before I realised there were just too many guys out there that were playing to a much higher standard than me.

After that, I went through the PGA system back home, began running pro shops and golf clubs at a very young age. I quickly realised that If I couldn’t play for a living myself the next best thing was to help someone else get better and even play for a living, that’s where the infatuation with coaching began.

I love Dubai. I moved out five years ago and the attraction was simply to work at one of the best golf schools in the world. Having received coaching from Butch when I was about 15, his three schools were always the ones that I wanted to work in and figure out why the Harmon family were so good at what they do. Luckily I had a few things fall into place and when JP [former Butch Harmon School of Golf DOI Justin Parsons] asked me if I would like to come over there was no hesitation, it was an immediate yes.

Becoming Director of Instruction is a real honour. Taking over from Justin first of all, he has been such a mentor to me since I arrived and to be the one that tries to fill his very large shoes is a huge task, but one I am extremely humbled to accept. Secondly being the first DOI at the new Claude Harmon 3 Performance Golf Acadamy is extremely exciting. Claude has been another huge influence on my coaching career and someone I am lucky enough to also call a great friend. We have some big plans for the school going forward so there should be some exciting times ahead.

Justin Parson’s passion and drive was infectious from the word go. He was determined to be the best coach he possibly could and it was hard not to have that rub off on you. That is exactly why he is now, in my mind, one of the best coaches in the world. His players are also backing that up with some big results and it wouldn’t surprise me if later on this year at some point you will see JP and one of his guys with a major trophy in hand.

Toby Bishop was my very first lesson when I arrived in Dubai and even from a young age, he showed promise. Since then both he and his parents committed to a plan and have stuck to it for five years. As with all golfers we have had highs and lows but he is probably one of the most consistent improvers I have seen and he always surprises me with what he is capable of. He has always been a pleasure to teach and is a credit to his parents Mark and Kristen. Having their full support is always a big help and when you see the great bunch of talented guys that he is constantly around, it’s a big help for his development.

I think you could sum up my coaching philosophy with “do whatever is necessary to make them better”. As coaches, we often jump to a technical change which at times can be extremely important. However, I think what the Harmons, JP included, have mastered over the years is being able to quickly identify what each player needs and when. That could be anything from a technical change to an improvement in their movement or sometimes even something as simple as lending an ear and letting them vent to you about things away from the course. I feel that’s what truly makes a great coach over a teacher, anyone can learn the positions but knowing how and when to apply it is far more important.

I think if I could tell amateurs one thing it would be stick to the plan. I think most people expect each lesson to be a new theme, whereas more often than not, themes on swing changes could last months. If they want consistency they need to be consistent about what they work on rather than taking a number of tips from various different sources.

Claude has been fantastic to me over the years and has given me some great opportunities to watch and help him with some of his players. Every year since I have been here he has spent time with the instructors. He had originally set up the school 10 years ago with Justin so it’s a very natural progression for him to take it on and make it his own. It’s been particularly exciting over the last few weeks seeing the place get a spruce up, some new images and new equipment as he comes in to take over.

Jordan Spieth always comes to mind as a star we could all learn from simply because of how smart he is when playing the game. I think if most golfers played as smart as Jordan does they would instantly save shots on the golf course. His course management tends to be great and he really gets the most out if his game rather than trying to be someone else.

Tiger will always be a favourite deep down. Even at the Ryder cup despite him struggling it was his group that always seemed to have a buzz around it. Of the more recent players, I would say Brooks and DJ with their “all in, go for broke” attitude. I think it brings a huge amount of excitement to the sport and can only be good for the game.

I think had you asked me two years ago when he could only complete the first round of the Desert Classic, I would have said no, Tiger won’t win another major. But after seeing him get back into the top 20 in the world this year and then winning the Tour Championships, I think I would be a silly man to bet against him.

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