AFTER undertaking two consecutive weeks of intense, sweat-filled workouts, I went for a change of pace this week and tried golf with PGA Fellow Professional Alex Mollin.
Heading to the AMP Golf Performance Centre was a treat – it may not have been my finest athletic performance, but I thoroughly enjoyed myself and can’t wait to tell you more.
Let’s find out more about golf
Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use a variety of clubs to hit a ball into a series of holes on a course, in as few strokes as possible.
Courses typically have either nine or 18 holes, with each hole holding its own unique specific layout. Between the tee and the green, standard forms of terrain include the fairway, rough (tall grass), and various hazards – such as water, rocks or sand-filled bunkers – add to the challenge.
Although its origins are up for debate, golf is a game steeped in history, with many tracing the sport back to the Roman game of paganica.
The first participants used bent sticks to hit stuffed leather balls – very different to the flashy clubs available today.
With the sport’s huge moments over the past year – such as Rory McIlroy’s unforgettable Masters Tournament triumph and the entertaining Ryder Cup propelling it to new heights – golf is currently a popular pastime.
Mollin’s pathway into the sport was different to most people’s. She explained: “I didn’t play golf as a child. I started at around 23-24 years-of-age, when my membership came up for the Royal Jersey Golf Club, so I thought, ‘I’d better learn how to play’. It went on to become my profession,
“It’s brought a huge range of benefits to my life and I’m very passionate about the game.”
Since turning professional in 2010, Mollin has undertaken a wide range of coaching qualifications, including an Advanced Certificate in Golf Coaching, TPI Golf and Power Certifications, and is the only certified AimPoint Instructor licensed to teach the AimPoint Green Reading Method in Jersey.
Although she already holds an impressive array of qualifications, Mollin is keen to keep evolving as a coach, as she’s “always learning”.
Skilled and knowledgeable enough to coach any player, Mollin has certainly instructed a wide range of needs and abilities. She shared some advice drawn from all this accrued experience for the best way to get started. “Golf can be an intimidating game to start, so I’d always recommend starting out with a few lessons with a PGA professional, whether individual or group,” said Mollin.
“This is a safe way to introduce people to the game, allowing them to get a feel for it. This really is the best advice, as I’ve seen so many people waste a lot of time on YouTube – don’t get me wrong, some of it is great – but what a PGA professional can bring is unmatched, and it’s fundamental to development.”
As Mollin said, golf can be very intimidating, but never fear, as she explained why golf is “for everyone”. She added: “Golf is a difficult game and it can be intimidating for some, but we have a range of golf clubs over here for all abilities. Many get the sense that it’s quite elitist, but with the varying price ranges that’s definitely not the case.
“Individuals such as Adam [Dalton] have also been great in inspiring and encouraging others to get involved, showing that golf really is a sport for everyone.
“Coaches like me can support anyone to get started and play golf, tailoring plans to individuals to offer quicker, more accessible ways to pick up the game while loaning equipment.”
The uniqueness of golf offers great benefits for those who play. Mollin added: “There are few sports like golf – it’s a sport you can play until you’re 100, and it’s something families can play together.
“It’s a great way to keep active, especially since it’s sustainable through to your later years. A study some years ago showed golfers live longer, through the social interaction and physical activity.
“Other than the physical benefits of such good exercise, golf is great for the social side, as it’s easy to meet new people and make friends on the course.”
Time for a go
Eight months on from my lone session at the Longueville Golf Range – which was disappointing, to say the least – I was keen to redeem my efforts and show I had some promise.
Before we get into how I fared, I can’t speak highly enough on the facilities at the AMP Golf Performance Centre. Since this was confirmed, I couldn’t believe my luck that I got the opportunity to have a go there, and it really did live up to all expectations. A simple chat was had before I could get the chance to show off my swing, where Alex was looking to gain an insight into my background and playing experience, enabling her to tailor the session to me as an individual.
Now, it was time to show what I was made of. To begin with, I was told to carry out a few swings of the seven-iron “however feels natural” – but after not even holding a club for eight months, that request was a lot more difficult than it sounds – what is “natural”.
Somehow, I managed to improvise a posture and take a few swings. Any hopes of uncovering some natural talents were quickly dashed as I was failing even to make contact with the ball, which didn’t make for a great start.
Swing after swing connected with nothing but air, but I kept persisting, eager to get at least one before moving on. Contact was eventually made, but I had to wait until the eighth ball.
Following that disastrous start, Alex got her first opportunity to showcase her coaching – and it was certainly impressive. With cameras recording your every swing, she broke down the footage as we watched it back, offering a couple tweaks each time to avoid overwhelming me with too much information.
The little tweaks sounded incredibly small at the time, but the difference they made to my swing was extraordinary. In the space of 20 minutes or so, I went from not being able to hit the ball to consistently making decent hits.
I was taken aback by the degree of improvement I made in so little time, and wondered how far I might have gone in an hour.
The technology used at the AMP Performance Centre was amazing, constantly accumulating data with every swing and hit, allowing plenty of room to pick up on metrics and improve my game.
It even analysed every hit to determine where each ball I struck would land on a fairway, and it got closer to the target with every tweak.
With the lesson done and dusted, now was the time to put my new skills to the test, dragging in Dave Ferguson and GCSE student William Highfield – who was with us on Project Trident – in for a competitive game. As Dave had managed to get the better of me in our duel on the racketball court, I was eager to get one back and level the score.
The rules were simple – whoever got closest to the flag with three shots would win the spoils. Although it was just the bragging rights up for grabs, I wanted to do Alex proud and take the title.
I was up first – time to set the standard. My first shot was a bit of a poor one, but I flipped the script with the second one, getting incredibly close. Even though I landed in the rough – which would have been disastrous in a regular game – that’s all I needed to set a strong benchmark. My third and final shot didn’t better that effort, but I had what I needed.
Next up was Dave, strutting up to the tee. If you know Dave, you’ll be aware he’s something of a natural sportsman, so I was sure my time at the top would be coming quickly to a close when I saw his confident swing.
For a man who hadn’t touched a club in two years, his shots were absolutely remarkable. They were completely straight and he really powered them through. As I witnessed the trajectory of his first shot, I thought I was done for.
But, before I could gather myself to admit defeat yet again, it seemed his power was too much, and his ball sailed over the target to land in the sea. Dave quickly realised the error of his ways and practised his swing before going for attempt number two – only for it to soar well over once again. At least this time his ball made landfall, ending up on the beach.
The pressure was on for Dave’s third and final go. He had all the tools –but could he do it?
His final effort looked a lot better, stronger and more accurate than mine, with a perfect line to land on the grass – of course he saved his best for last.
William closed it out with some good efforts, after which it was time for the rankings to be unveiled. Who would walk away with the glory?
It was extremely tight, with only ten-or-so yards in it, but it was my time to shine. My face lit up as I saw my name at the top the bill. I’d done it, which I guess must make me the best golfer at All Island Media.
Although now I’ve put that down on paper, I have a feeling fellow sports reporter Archie Corbett may have something to say about it.
I had a great experience at the AMP Golf Performance Centre. The facilities were top-notch, the technology was unbelievable and I can’t praise Alex’s coaching enough, the strides we made in little time were unbelievable.
If you want to start playing golf, or hone your skills, Alex is who to go to. Don’t hesitate to send an email to alex@ampgolf.co.uk – what she doesn’t know about golf simply isn’t worth knowing.
