Head down, eye on the ball… - Clongowes Wood College

Posted: 4th May 2016

Clongowes Wood College SJ

Connor Mulholland (Poetry) recently spent two weeks at the American Golf Academy of Biarritz under the instruction of Michael Magher, a former PGA tour player, who advanced into the top 100 golfers in the world at the peak of his career. Michael’s philosophy of the golf swing came directly from Ben Hogan’s five fundamentals of golf: the grip, stance, posture, alignment and plane. Connor worked on these basic fundamentals for about six hours each day for the first week or so until his swing had been totally altered (see before and after above). The second week was all about making sure that the swing was perfect every time to allow for the best golf shot every time. Little things such as the way the grass was growing underneath the ball were analysed for every shot to make sure he could produce a swing that would create the desired ball flight, and reach the perfect yardage.

The final four days consisted of a men’s amateur championship in Bordeaux, called the Grand Prix de Bordeaux Trophée. Despite not performing to the standard he would have liked to, Connor finished in 13th position – testament to the work that Mike and he had done in limiting the bad shots that he hit around the course. Connor thoroughly enjoyed his stay and is looking forward to the season of golf that lies ahead this summer.

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