Nick's tip of the week  

Many golfers fall apart when it comes to playing well in competitions or tournaments because they crack up as soon as the pressure hits them and this could be at any point from the very first shot on the first tee to the very last shot on the eighteenth hole.

How do YOU go about making golf competitions easier for yourself?

- Start by recording your statistics every time you play, whether it is a practice round or a game, so you can fully identify all your strengths as well as your weaknesses. This information will help you do two things; give you the knowledge you need to develop a winning game strategy and also highlight your weakest shots so you can practice them until you bring them up to something remotely acceptable! It is a strange phenomenom that so many people practice what they know they can do, never giving the time or effort to work on what they can't do! 

- If you are practicing by yourself on a golf course try teeing off with two balls and then follow up by only playing the worst ball - you need to know how to tackle recovery shots in a calm, controlled manner so that when you have to tackle a recovery shot in a competition you don't break out in a sweat. 

- OK how about getting to know and use clubs that you wouldn't necessarily play? For this I suggest before you go out for that practice round you remove half the clubs from your bag; why not try removing all the odd numbered clubs. By doing this you will have a greater understanding of what you are able to do with clubs that you normally avoid. Using an unfamiliar club will also ensure you turn your focus up a notch or two. You never know you might even start playing creatively. 

- Always hit to a definite target, it doesn't matter if you are practicing on the course or the driving range, before you take any shot pick an exact target and aim for it. This will be far more beneficial to you than just working on your swing. 

- Set mental goals; there are a number of goals you could set such as - having a positive attitude for every shot, mentally rehearsing each shot, focusing on the process and always using a pre-shot routine to name a few.

  

The short game demo day this weekend is now being moved to this Sunday 12-4pm

There are still a couple of spaces remaining if anyone is interested please call or email me and I will book you a slot 01508 473 887 or alternatively dunstongolf@qhotels.co.uk. 

 

What a week we have in store. As the week progresses, so the Masters hype will build. This has to be one of the best times of the season, so if you haven't dusted off the clubs yet, make sure you do so. 

The winner of this year's Masters is a hard one to call, with so many genuine contenders. The world's top three - Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy - are all in good enough form, Day certainly so.

However, there a number of other players you could make a very good case for; we're talking about the likes of Bubba Watson, Louis Oosthuizen, Justin Rose, Adam Scott, Dustin Johnson, Rickie Fowler and Henrik Stenson. 

It's going to be a good one, that's for sure. We hope you make it the perfect weekend and get out for a round as well, before putting your feet up on the sofa on Sunday evening and watching what will hopefully be a thrilling finale. 

Enjoy.