Dave Pelz, the world renown short game guru and short game coach to Phil Mickleson has launched his latest Dave Pelz Golf School at the highly prestigious Grove in North London. Golfshake traveled down to take a look at the facilities The Grove has to offer and spend some time with Pelz on the short game area for a Q&A session and chipping lesson.

Dave Pelz has long been admired as one of the leading coaches in the game of golf and has produced several highly acclaimed books including Dave Pelz Short Game Bible and the Dave Pelz Putting Bible. Both books delve deeply into the science of the short game, unearthing  golfing science and statistics that are then applied to the teaching of the short game, such as Pelz’s discovery that a putt is most likely to go in when rolled at speed to go 17 inches past the hole.

The Grove has been one of the UK’s premier golfing venues for the past decade since it was built in 2003, it held the HSBC World Golf Championship in 2006 which was won by Tiger Woods. The 7130 yard layout has been constructed to the highest standards and is always in the fantastic condition. Whats more it is open to anyone to play and The Grove’s golf course is complemented by a luxury 26 bedroom Mansion house and 141 bedroom 5* hotel and Spa.

Dave Pelz Q&A

The gathered media spent some time with Dave Pelz on the short game area for a Q&A session.

Pelz was first quizzed on what he thought a golfer should do when he or she is having trouble thinning the ball across the green on a regular basis. Pelz responded by saying;

“We see many amateurs come to our schools and hit 10, 20 fats and say to themselves that they wont hit it fat anymore, so they start thinning it and then as a result hit a couple more fats, in the end they decide thin is better than fat and get into the thins”

Pelz went on to explain why amateurs hit the ball fat or thin;

“Most amateurs put the ball in the wrong place in their stance. They point their feet towards the target and play the ball off the back toe. This is too far forward relative to your shoulders. The ball should be played off your back ankle.  Your swing arch bottoms out in between your shoulders.  The ball should be behind that. Putting the ball opposite your back ankle makes sure you create a descending blow and you take the fat shot out of the game”  

Phil Mickleson has worked with Pelz for 9 years, Pelz was asked about Mickleson and his thoughts on his short game;

"Phil Mickelson is not the most gifted athlete, he is good but not the most gifted. He grew up with a practice area in his back yard and he worked endlessly to get good. If Phil does not practice he is not that good, he is not that naturally gifted a short game player. Each year we start in January and he is not that good, so he works very hard and by the Masters it is very good. It is a sound technique combined with practice that makes a great short game player"

Golfshake also asked him what exactly average amateur golfer should be thinking and trying to do when standing over a chip on the golf course;

"It is not a question of positive thinking or imagining positive results, these wont work if the mechanics are not right. So first make sure your mechanics are correct, but then you must work on a preshot routine and ritual. If i was going to say go with your game to the course today with only one though it would be have good rhythm, rhythm is the most important thing and secondly make sure you have the correct ball position"

Dave Pelz Golf School Dates

Dave Pelz Golf Schools have three upcoming courses at The Grove all of which are 3 days and cover all areas of the short game including the theories and techniques taught by Pelz. Lessons are taught using video analysis and feedback tools.

Upcoming dates for the Dave Pelz golf school at the Grove.

• 17 - 19 August
• 21 - 23 September
• 5 - 7 October

Schools are priced at £1,500 per person, and participants will receive £100 towards their hotel accommodation. you can book your place on the Dave Pelz Golf School by visiting the website at http://www.pelzgolf.com