At Pure Golf Training, we are always trying to find new ways to bring you golf training information. We understand that not everyone has the opportunity to train with a PGA Tour coach, and that is why we took the opportunity to film Steve Bann coaching some very talented young Korean golfers at his academy in Melbourne.

Over the next few days, we will bring you a number of free videos through which you can be a fly on the wall as Bann teaches his players a number of different skills including putting, short game, long iron shots, swing plane and much much more.

Now this is all unscripted and put together with minimum fuss- we won’t be winning any filming awards any time soon but we’re sure you will pick up some great tips for your own game and enjoy the experience of watching a master at work. It’s the next best thing to being there!

Let’s start with the first video. In this video Steve is teaching Korean LPGA Tour player how to make the correct transition from the top of the backswing. This move sets up the sequencing of the body and helps drop the club on plane halfway down while also helping the golfer generate maximum power through the golf ball. Basically, it’s an awesome drill!

Dr. Gio Valiante knows the value of finding creative ways to drive a message home to a client- each person is unique and sometimes you’ve got to think outside the box to get your point across. So about a month ago, he took one of his star clients, Columbian USPGA Tour player Camilo Villegas out onto the practice green and told him they would play a little game:

For every putt Villegas made, he would get a rare silver coin with a value of $500 and eventually a $1000 gold coin. Villegas drained 12 straight putts of different lengths.

Then, Dr.Valiante took his wallet and told him that for every putt that he missed, he would lose $100, and then $200, $300 and so on. “He missed on his third putt” said Valiante.

The purpose of the exercise? It showed Camilo that he plays much better golf when he feels like he has nothing to lose and only something to gain.

Fast forward a month ahead and Villegas closed out his third victory on the USPGA Tour at the Honda Classic with a final round of -2 (68) to finish at -13 and 5 shots ahead of American Anthony Kim.

All week, Villegas spoke about a shift in his mental attitude as being the main reason behind his improved play from last season. He mentioned the importance of appreciating the opportunity that he has to play on the best tour in the world, and basically being positive and going for his shots without fear. This, of course, is a central principle of Dr. Gio Valiante’s “Fearless Golf” philosophy.

This philosophy fits in perfectly into the Pure Golf Training program, and that is why the golf training academy is proud to have Dr. Valiante on its coaching staff. “Gio gets it. Playing good golf is all about trying TO do the right thing, not trying NOT to make mistakes” says Pure Golf Training co-founder and USPGA Tour coach Steve Bann.

“You need to make an assessment of what you can improve in your game, set some realistic goals for improvement, find specific drills/activities to help you achieve those goals and then focus your attention solely on that. Don’t stand there worrying about what could go wrong in your game- focus on a positive improvement plan and you will be very pleased with the results”.

Villegas is sure to be pleased with the results- look for this to be a big year for the popular Columbian.

Thanks to Pure Golf Blog for the story

Sunday 7th March| K.J Choi continued his recent run of strong play with a 2nd place finish behind compatriot Noh Seung-yul at the Maybank Malaysian Open in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The experienced South Korean lovingly called “the tank” by his peers handled the severe heat and humidity impressively to finish at 13 under par for the tournament. Choi birdied the final hole to put pressure on the 18 year old Noh coming down the par 5 18th tied for the lead. After taking an adventurous route on the 18th which included playing through the crowds after taking relief from the practice putting green, Noh hit a clutch pitch to 3 feet and sank the putt for birdie to win by one.

Choi, however, will take plenty of positives from a week which saw him continue to strike the ball extremely well, only to fall short (and only just) with the putter. When asked if he was disappointed at not winning he said:

“No I’m not disappointed at all. I played well and tried my best. My hats off to Seung-yul (Noh), he played well and had a fantastic round. I’m happy with how my game has improved and I have a lot to look forward to. The pin positions were tough but I held my game and managed to be in contention. Noh played brilliantly and I have no complaints.”

To his credit, Choi showed some great spirit by joining in the celebrations with young Noh as he closed out the win. He joined his Korean compatriots in showering the winner with water- a Korean tradition.

Choi enjoyed great support all week from the crowds at the Kuala Lumpur Golf Club, who seemed to adopt him as an honorary Malaysian for the week. After struggling with his game last year, Choi has started off 2010 in positive fashion with some encouraging results on the US PGA Tour including a T15 at the Farmers Insurance Open and T20 and T21 finishes at the Mayakoba Golf Classic and the AT&T Pebble Beach National Pro-Am respectively.

Choi’s coach Steve Bann has been predicting a strong run of play from him in the last few weeks, having seen his game improve significantly in their practice sessions:

“K.J is starting to look scary good in practice. He has gained about a club in distance and is absolutely striping it. He just needs a little bit of tidying up here and there and we’ll be good to go. He is too good a player to be outside the top 50 in the world and I am confident he will be right back where he belongs in no time. I am very pleased with his progress and just excited to see him complete the final step of the Confidence Cycle and bring it onto the course in competition for 4 straight rounds.”

Thanks to Pure Golf Blog for this story

Along with being crowned champion at the Volvo China Open, Strange also finished runner up to Robert Allenby at the 2009 Australian PGA Championship presented by Coca-Cola, had a 12th place finish at the Australian Open, and secured a further five European Tour top 10’s.
According to Strange, “The OneAsia Tour is a great concept for the region’s best players competing on a tour that develops golf in those partnering countries,”
“As the winner last year’s inaugural Order of Merit, I am really looking forward to 2010 and participating in the OneAsia events – hopefully last year’s form continues! I look forward to opening my 2010 account at the Luxehills Chengdu Open, and seeing the international players competing in Australia at the end of the year.”

PGA of Australasia has the rest of the story:

While this may be welcome news for golf fans who just want to see him back playing golf instead of on tabloid frontcovers, the Woods camp still hasn’t given any indication of when he will be coming back to playing golf from his “indefinite break”.

“He is still working on his marriage and they’re working hard at it,” said the source who according to Reuters declined to be identified. “He is (also) hitting some balls and working out.”

Tiger spent a week in Arizona attending counseling sessions with his wife Elin before returning home to Orlando to start practicing again. The 14 time Major winner has only missed two events so far this season that he regularly plays- those being the San Diego Open in Torrey Pines and the WGC CA Championships.

The Augusta Masters, which starts on April 8, was the tournament many believed would be the one where he would make his comeback, however after his recent public apology, all bets seem to be off on when he’ll show up on our tv screens again.

Goggin, who works with Pure Golf Training coach Dale Lynch, started the week off in blistering fashion with a 66 in round 1 followed by a 67 in round 2. A 1 under 70 in round 3 might have slowed him down a bit but he still would still have had a chance to win the event going into the final 9 holes on Sunday. Unfortunately, an  eagle on the par 5 13th was offset by 4 bogies on the back 9 and Goggin eventually finished 3 shots behind eventual winner Hunter Mahan of the U.S.A.

Pure Golf Blog has the rest of the story:

Building on her T11 place finish last week at the LPGA Honda PTT Thailand, Hee Young showed some encouraging signs that this could be a big year for her on the LPGA Tour with a solid 68 in the first round to be tied for the lead. She struggled to a 74 on Friday, only to bounce back with a 3 under par 69 on Saturday. Sunday was a frustrating day for the young South Korean but she battled gamely, sinking a big birdie putt on the 18th to finish at level par for the day and ensure a top 10 finish.

Pure Golf Blog has the rest of the story:

In a statement released Thursday in Singapore, ESPN STAR said the exclusive agreement through to 2014 would include live coverage of OneAsia events in 24 countries and territories in Asia.

Nike has virtually built the golf section of its brand on the back of its sponsorship of Woods and the company has no intentions of rushing the World #1 back into competition until he is ready to be back inside the ropes. Nike brand president Charlie Denson emphasized this when he said: “Under the circumstances, the more he deals with the issues and the better he deals with them, the better off he’ll be when he does return”.

After losing Accenture and AT&T as sponsors while being downgraded by Gillette and Tag-Huer, Woods can at least count on his major sponsor supporting him through what has surely been the toughest period of his career to date.

“We’ve been supportive of Tiger since the story broke and we continue to be supportive,” Denson said. “He’s got issues he needs to deal with and he’s dealing with them. We are looking forward to him getting back on the golf course.”

Woods issued a public apology last week and has said that he is returning to rehab to solve issues with his personal life.