Forget real turf–indoor golf is the place for real change
The winter season is upon us and golfers are forced to hang up their sticks or book an escape to green grass. Luckily, golfers at LGA Stoke Park, a luxury golf destination in the UK, are able to head indoors and continue their improvements on the next best thing.
Currently undergoing major renovations, Stoke Park golfers and instructors have relied heavily on their state-of-the-art Golfzon studio to conduct lessons and keep their member’s games sharp. We spoke with Leadbetter Instructor Adam Lewis, based at Stoke Park, to discuss the transition and how indoor practice can improve your game and keep off the rust throughout the winter.
Tell us a bit about the renovations at LGA Stoke Park which has led to more indoor golf and instruction.
In October 2021 Stoke Park closed to undertake extensive renovations on all buildings and the golf course. Currently, the golf academy is still operational with the range, studio, and Golfzon Simulators equipped with GDR technology. We currently have a coaching studio that hits out onto a range and then next to that we have three indoor Golfzon bays. Two are right-handed only and one is a combined left and right-handed bay.
Have you found golfers are able to make greater improvements in their golf swing in an indoor setting?
Using the GDR technology, I feel that the video feedback given with every swing is very useful for students working on technical work and it provides an effective feedback tool for self-practice.
I believe the indoor setting and hitting down a virtual range give golfers a greater degree of freedom. They do not seem to worry so much about the ball flight and more about the technique they are trying to achieve.
Do you find people generally like the idea of indoor practice? Or are they still yearning for turf and hitting golf shots to a real green.
Due to the facilities that we have available here at Stoke Park people will always yearn to be outside and hitting of turf and seeing real ball flight. However during the wintertime with the rain and the cold weather then the indoor facility becomes more attractive. I also feel that it takes people different lengths of time to become comfortable with hitting balls in an indoor environment.
What features in GDR have you found most beneficial to your coaching?
The main feature for coaching that the GDR has over coaching outside is the ability to set different slopes to practice off. This for me is an area that is overlooked when coaching all levels of the game.
Other features of the GDR software that makes it very useful to coaching are:
- The ability to hit into a green on the range area from 20yrds to 120yrds and 10-yard intervals
- The challenges, chipping, pitching, and driving games help bring a pressurized feel to coaching and practice. The only downside is it takes people new to the system a while to adjust to understanding distance, especially the feel-based players
- Field Practice. This area of the software is excellent for coaching in regards to selecting specific shots on courses that students struggle with. We can set up the scenario whether it’s a tee shot or an approach shot and hit the shot repeatedly.
Which feature on the GDR is the most popular at Stoke Park?
Most golfers use the basic range function when on their own before playing a few holes on one of the given courses.
How would you suggest a golfer use the GDR to help aid their practice routine?
In order for a student to get the most out of the GDR software to aid their practice, I believe they should use all that is available to them on it. The range facility for technical work, the challenges to applying pressure to the key areas of the game (driving, pitching, and chipping), and then to play holes to see how everything works.
To learn more about Golfzon’s GDR technology, click here.