Monday, 10 May 2010 16:54

The Italian Open was the next stop on the European Tour this week. The venue was the Royal Park Golf Club located near Turin. Unfortunately the weather was not as kind as it was in Seville. Heavy rainfall from the Monday through to the Wednesday meant the course was deemed unplayable and it unlikely that the tournament would be completed over 72 holes.

Practice therefore was at a miminal with the putting green virtually under water. However there were a few periods where the rain stopped and the guys did their best to prepare as normal.

Edaordo Molinari was the local favourite this week, having been brought up in Turin. Edoardo was happy with his putting, so very little work was required there. Hopefully he can win his national title this week and follow in his brothers footsteps. I aslo spent some time with Ollie Fisher and Rob Coles although our work was hampered due to the weather. Other pupils playing this week were Joost Lutien, Michael Hoey, Mark Brown and David Horsey.

From a product perspective the inclement weather meant the guys were not able to test and try different putters, so it was a pretty quite week on that front also.

Next week I will be at the Mallorca Open, volcanic ash and weather permitting.

Sunday, 02 May 2010 16:33

It was good to be back out in Spain this week for the Open de Espana. Luckily this time the sun was shining.  It was aslo good to catch up with the guys, with having not seen most of them since the Andalucia Open, as the Tour went back to Asia for 2 weeks. The venue this week was the Real Club de Sevilla which is a quality golf course that is in great condition and in particular the greens are absolutely fantastic. No excuses for missed putts!

While the tour went back to Asia a few of the guys took the opportunity to visit the putting studio during the break, such as Richard Finch, Michael Hoey and Mark Brown. Which is always good from my perspective as it enables some quality work to be done away from the tournament environment.

Ollie Fisher was also due to come to the studio aslo, but fortunately for him, he had to cancel because his appointment. Ollie couldnt stop making top 10 finishes which meant he kept getting into the events in Asia. After loosing his card in 2009, Ollie's superb early season form (four consecutive top 10's) has meant that he should have enough money up on the order of merit already to secure his playing rights for 2011.So it was great to see Ollie in Seville to congratulate him but also spend a little time brushing up on a few things in preparation for this week.

Edoardo Molinari, with whom I hadnt seen since Dubai, was also in Seville. Edoardo had a great result recently on the US Tour when he finished 2nd at the Bay Hill Invitational.We spent a little time on the SAM system on the Tuesday and Edoardo's stroke was looking good, which was good feedback on the hard work and changes he has made over the last 6 months.

I also spent some time with Rob Coles on the Tuesday and the Wednesday, while other pupils also playing this week include Joost Luiten, David Horsey and Darren Clarke.

From a product perspective the new Yes!  'Mollie' is proving to be popular. Raphael Jacquelin is one of a few players using it this week, while also the Donna 2 is getting a lot of interest.

Next week its the Italian Open, where hometown hero Edoardo Molinari will be present hoping to follow in his brother footsteps by winning the title. Looking forward to bringing you some news from Turin

Thursday, 25 March 2010 10:15

It was good to be back out on tour for the Andalucian Masters at the Parador Golf Club, Malaga, Spain.This was the first event in mainland Europe for the tour after hitting Asia, the Middle East and Africa to start the season.

Yes! Golf have a some new model for the 2010 season so this was also the first time to show the guys the product and both the Donna 2 and the Mollie were well received.

The Donna 2 is a toe down hybrid mallet putter with a plumber's hosel connection.  The face and hosel of the Donna 2 are made from light weight aluminium with the back of the putter constructed from stainless steel.  Heel and toe weighting helps to optimise the moment of inertia (MOI) and improve forgiveness.  The Donna 2 is also CNC Milled.

Steve Webster liked it enough to put it straight into his bag, while there was a also a good response from a few of the other guys who tested it.

The Mollie is classic blade putter with a multi-material head construction. The head combines a tungsten back with a stainless steel body and an aluminium face. The synergy of the light, aluminium face and extremely heavy back perimeter maximizes the moment of inertia, stabilizing the face at impact, resulting in more control and consistency. Carlos del Moral and Michael Lundberg both picked up putter and hopefully will be using it this week.

From a coaching perspective, quite a few of the guys I work with were at the event. On the Monday I caught up with Joost Luiten while on the Tuesday I spent some time with Darren Clarke, Rob Coles and Michael Hoey who had only just recently visited the studio for the first time.With Darren we spent some time on the SAM system helping his with his timing. He his working hard and hopefully things can turn round for him.

On the Wednesday I met with David Horsey who has had a really steady start to the year and is one to watch I think this season and will be worth a nice each way bet.

Next week was meant to be Portugal but the event has been moved to June now. Instead I will be travelling to Florida to catch up with do some work with Henrik Stenson. My next event on tour will be the Spanish Open in Seville at the end of April.

Thursday, 04 February 2010 17:02

Dubai was the venue for the last event in the 'Desert Swing', the 'Omega Dubai Desert Classic'.

The practice days saw some fantastic weather and the course was in superb condition.I arrived in Dubai the weekend prior, so I arranged to meet up with Darren Clarke, who was there early to practice, and with whom I hadn't seen since he finished 2^nd In the Jo'Burg Open.

Darren's stroke is looking a lot better in practice and the data we collected highlighted that, which also pleased Darren. We also tested some different weight options in the Yes! SWS putter range. Darren tested really well with the Callie 100g internal weighting and so has a new putter in play this week. Let's hope it brings him luck.

On the Tuesday I met up with Henrik Stenson again and we put some productive work in ready for the week. I also spent some time with Edoardo Molinari tweaking a few things, while also looking at a slightly shorter putter which Edoardo felt helped him achieve his ideal eye position, now that we have improved his weight distribution and balance at set up.

One player I started working with this week for the first time is Joost Luiten, which is really exciting for me as he is a very good prospect. The week previous, Joost had visited the Yes Putting centre in Holland which is run by our Harold Swash Accredited Instructor Rob Mouwen.

Rob conducted an in-depth analysis using forceplates, SAM puttlab and high speed video. Rob then passed the data over with his comments and critique and I caught up with Joost, this week, to put a plan in place that he can follow on tour and also when back at home with Rob in Holland.

Dave Horsey who achieved another top 15 last week in Qatar was also playing so we met for some work on the green. Dave this year has gone back to his trusty Callie putter which he used ever so well when winning the challenge tour order or merit in 2008. He briefly used a Tracy FC at the back end of last year, but has found form again with his Callie. I believe Dave is one to watch this year.

Other students in the field included Ollie Fisher and Richard Finch. From a product perspective it was a pretty quite week with having seen most of the guys the week before in Qatar.

On a final note it was great to see Tom Watson in Dubai, and just like every other golf fan if they had the chance, I couldn't resist having my picture taken with him! My next event back out on tour will be the Andalucia Masters in Malaga in March.

Phil Kenyon with Tom Watson

Sunday, 31 January 2010 18:20

It was great to be back out for my first event of the 2010 season at the Qatars Masters. This was my first visit to Qatar, for what is the 2nd event in the early season 'Desert Swing'.

The Doha Golf Course is a great facility and the course was set up very tough, with thick rough, hard greens but soft fairways. The practice days also brought strong winds, which is common I believe in these parts, that only added to the difficulty.

On the Tuesday it was good to catch up with Edoardo Molinari with whom I hadn't seen so far this year. Edoardo was meant to visit the studio in early January but his flight was cancelled due to the snow we had. Edoardo however has been in good form and the improvements we have been working on looked like they were taking shape.

I also met up with Henrik Stenson on the Tuesday to do some work on the SAM Puttlab, and see how his stats were, in comparison to where we left off last year.

Dave Horsey was also playing this week but was happy with what he was doing. Prior to coming out into the Desert, Dave had been to the studio where we had worked on a few different aspects.

Last week in Abu Dhabi Dave led the putting stats with 100 putts over the 4 rounds, an average of 25 putts per round!. He also had an average of under 1.6 putts per green in regulation on his way to a top 10 finish.

From a product point of view we had a few guys pick up the Yes! Putter. Rafa Echenique picked up a Callie as did Oscar Henningson. Mark Brown also picked up a Victoria 2, while Mikael Lunberg picked up a back up for his Donna.

Next week its Dubai for the Desert classic. I will be meeting up with Darren Clarke over the weeked prior to the practice days to do some more work on his putting. Darren took a week off this week and stayed in Dubai to practice as opposed to playing in Qatar.

Things hopefully are improving on the greens for Darren with a 2nd place finish in the Jo'Burg Open a few weeks back, while in the Abu Dhabi Tournamnet last week in the first round he only needed 22 putts.

More from Dubai next week.

Tuesday, 24 November 2009 11:02

It was a memorable first visit to Royal Hong Kong Golf Club for the final regular event of the 2009 season, where a lot was at stake for many of the guys. Whether it's your Tour Card for 2010 or making the Race to Dubai, pressure is always relevant.

For Darren Clarke whom I was working with this week the goal was to finish high enough to qualify for the Race to Dubai. While for Ollie Fisher it was securing enough money to keep his card for 2010.

I met with Darren on the Monday and it was good to see some big improvements in his stroke. We collected some data on the SAM Puttlab again and video and compared it to when we first started work in Portugal and the difference was very recognisable.

Darren has been working hard and also put a lot of work in during the week of Hong Kong. The hard work resulted in finishing 11th in the event which unfortunately was one shot out of making the Race to Dubai. However he was pleased with his putting stats for the week of 29.2 per round and the direction his game is going in.

For Ollie the week wasn't as positive, in that he missed the cut, which means he will now go back to tour school in an effort to regain full playing rights for 2010. It was a week where without playing too badly nothing clicked for him. However his form of late and the work he has put in, has seen him turn a corner. I'm very confident he will make it through tour school with a Grade A!

Well  there you go....Hong Kong was the last Tour Event for me in 2009. It all starts again in the desert next January. Hope you all winter well and keep checking the news section for the last info, what we are up to and which of our guys are doing well.

Phil Kenyon keeping a watchful eye over Darren Clarke at the Hong Kong Open

Thursday, 22 October 2009 19:27

It was the last strokeplay event in mainland Europe for me this week. The venue was Club de Campo Mediteraneo for the Castello Masters, near Valencia.

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Thursday, 15 October 2009 12:11

Vilamoura was the venue this week for the Portugal Masters and once again the weather was kind. Great practice facilities and sunshine mean the practice days were very busy.

On the Monday Darren Clark had asked me to arrive earlier than planned to do some work specifically on his putting technique. He has been struggling of late and although I have helped him a couple of times in the past at certain events, he hasn't been working with anybody on his putting of late.

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Sunday, 11 October 2009 11:31

Thankfully the weather in Madrid was a lot better than the previous week in St Andrews, which allowed for a more productive Tuesday and Wednesday in the preparation for the Madrid Masters.

On Tuesday first thing, I spent some time with Mads Vibe Hastrup on the SAM system testing both the Callie and Donna. I also helped him with a few technical issues and he also took both putters to the course to test. Mads will be using one of them this week. I also made up a Tracy 3 with a 'plumbers neck' for Joyti Randawa.

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Friday, 02 October 2009 11:32

After a couple of weeks break it was up to St Andrews this week for the Dunhill Championship that is played across 3 courses, those being the Old Course, Kingsbarns and Carnoustie.

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