An exciting week lies ahead for the Ricoh Women’s British Open to be held on the stunning Marquess course at Woburn Golf & Country Club one of three gems the facility has to offer. The Marquess is a contrasting course in comparison to the Dukes and Duchess with approach shots requiring pin point accuracy both in distance control and placement. It will be a real treat to see the best in the world tame the tree lined beauty of Woburn, the question will be answered some Sunday evening “Can Charley win her first Major on home soil?”

I personally have many fond memories of the Woburn Country Club which stems back to one of my first Professional events held on the extremely narrow Duchess course in the early to mid 1990’s. This is a real test of course management with well directed tee shots the order of play, for those who remember “Woody Woodpecker” the sound echoes across the fairways on a regular basis with very narrow tempting gaps which you may think a 1.68″ golf ball should fit through!!!

The Dukes course is particularly special to me as this was the last British Open I played in as an Amateur in 1990 prior to turning Professional off a handicap of +4 where I competed on the Ladies European Tour for the following 20 years.  I remember the final round as if it were yesterday playing with Helen Alfredsson  who who made me feel at total ease from the first tee.

I ended up winning the Moira Smyth Salver for the low Amateur making the cut over the four rounds finishing just outside the top 20 overall, my lasting highlights of my Amateur career.  It was a lovely experience to play with Helen in the fourth round who of course was the eventual 1990 Women’s British Open winner.

1990 Low Amateur Champion Women’s British Open

The one point I would like to make from this post is something which really amazes me, despite this win happening 26 years ago I can recall the key shot I played on the Dukes course including the yardage, the position from the fairway the shot shape, the club and make I used! I can even recall the colour shirt and outfit which I hasten to add I would not fit in to today!

It is quite ironic  the club I used was a Lynx cobalt 5 wood  which I gripped down to hit a high soft fade to access a tight front right pin position, quite fearless in those days considering the trouble on the right hand side. I wish I could replicate that particular thought process on a regular basis!

However, this is a key area which I am very interested driving performance from both an Elite and a new golfers perspective. The use of visualisation and imagery is really key and if you watch the Women this week either live or on the TV just pay attention to their focus prior to the shot execution.

I will be releasing a date on my facebook page for my “Making your mind work for you” evening at the club which I hope will really provide some key points to assist in this often overlooked area.

I am delighted to be meeting with Lynx   who have kindly provided the complimentary tickets to relive these memories along with 13 GolfingGirls I will be inviting the ladies to the Coaching nets within the tented village which are open to every spectator to either “try” the game or brush up on their skills and knowledge with a free golf lesson with myself and my PGA colleagues.

GolfingGirls with Sarah Bennett Golf at Woburn

I hope you have enjoyed reading this post and please pop by to introduce yourself and have a free lesson next week whilst watching the growth and top players in Women’s golf.