Tip of the Month

September 2007

By John Pallot
Director of Instruction

The summer of 2007 will go down in my journal for two good reasons. The upgrade re-do of Biltmore Golf Club and a trip to Paris in search of culture. You're going to like the results of BIltmore's renaissance as much as I liked Paris which is a whole lot. Maybe because the City of Light's dominating architectural feature, the Eiffel Tower, to my golf dominated persona, represents the World's Largest Golf Tee. There's a three star restaurant perched upon it named for Jules Verne. Along with the delicious cuisine Francais the Cafe's site affords spectacular views of Paris. Napolean's Tomb, River Seine, Arc d' Triumphe, The Lourve, Musee d' Orsey, Notre Dame, and in the distance atop Montmarte the Sacre Coeur. No wonder Paris is so captivating. It's history, culture , ambience, romance, language, art, bistros, and wine. Truly one of the great places in the world to visit.

Time was found for a little golf with my good friends and genial hosts Bill & Catherine Ward. We played La Boulie, Le Golf National, and Stade Francais. Their courses are similar to American style courses but have a touch of links style too. La Boulie, an old style course built at the turn of the 20th century played host to the inaugural French Open in 1906. Playing it was special.Walter Hagen and Byron Nelson won there just to name a few. Narrow tree lined fairways, small greens and sloping terrain made this course memorable.

Pictured is the 10th hole of the La Vallee course, a 213 yard par 3 with an elevated tee featuring a pleasant view of forests and the open French countryside. As you can see, the green is well protected on the front and sides by a couple of bunkers. Our next venue was Le Golf National(Albatros course). Subtly crafted amidst the flat corn farmlands of the vast Guyancourt region, this beautiful course combines the Scottish "links style" with the "target golf" style of U.S. courses. It is well adapted to the native topography. It's layout includes well trimmed slick greens, undulating fairways , links style bunkers, water hazards, and fescue roughs. This inland links course tests all facets of your game. Our last stop was Stade Francais Golf Club. This course was designed by Bob Von Hagge who also designed Le Golf National. The picture shows undulating fairways, plenty of water, and again links style bunkers.

Our hosts, the Wards , are avid golfers. Both took lessons from me when they lived in the States and share a real passion for the game. The only time they seem to use a car is driving to the course(everyone walks in France). I took several videos of them as well as some of their friends and they eagerly awaited my feedback. This month's tip helped the Wards and it will help you too.
The heart of the golf swing is in the first three feet of the backswing and frontswing.If you can swing your club on plane with this mini-swing you're well on your way to improving your ball striking. My favorite drill for practicing this:

1) The 7 Ball Drill - place seven balls on the target line one foot apart from each other. Turn your club upside down so the handle or butt of the club points at the middle ball. Now take your backswing and point the butt at each ball. You'll point at three balls going back, now start your front swing and point at three balls going through and hold your finish. Re-hearse this slowly again 5 times. Now hit a few shots with your mini-swing. Remember to hold your finish. The left arm and club-shaft should form a straight line and the butt of the club is still pointing at the target line.

My friends, practice this drill. You will improve your swing plane and bid adieu to a swing not worth keeping.