PGA Master Professional Gary Alliss was in his element when the Quinn Insurance British Masters pitched up at his Belfry base.
Alliss, a PGA Tutor for the Training Academy's three year Foundation Degree in Professional Golf Studies, spent a lot of time watching and observing the Tour's leading players and offers some useful tips that club golfers can learn from.
It was as if they didn't appreciate and respect the way the course was set up.
As much as we teaching pros go on and on to club golfers about dedicating more time to the short game, it's evident that a few of the tour players should heed that advice too.
At the British Masters, I studied with great interest the players as they practiced on the range and one of the things that struck me was that many of those who missed the cut had spent most of their time banging away with the driver despite hitting it perfectly well.
They were still seeking perfection but ultimately it didn't work because they missed the cut. This suggests they had neglected other aspects of their game.
The distinguishing factor between those who make money on tour and those who don't is that the successful ones play to their strengths and recognise the challenge in front of them. With some of the players who missed the cut, it felt almost as if they didn't like the look of the course and didn't pay attention to it.
But the Brabazon had US-style, punishing rough. They were chipping out of rough that they probably didn't chip out of very often and should have been preparing for it.
Those that finished at the top of the leaderboard kept it in play and during practice worked like mad chipping out of the rough.
It was as if the others didn't appreciate and respect the way the course was set up. They were seeking something that wasn't there rather than saying 'actually this course is all about keeping it in play'. 'OK it's long but I have got to be on my short game'.
The rough was four inches long up to the edge of the green and I noticed that the better players spent an awful lot of time chipping around out of the four inch grass, the poorer players in contrast still spent most of their time banging balls on the range which is what club golfers do.
So what can club players learn from the British Masters? If you are a good chipper, know that as a strength but you need to be able to put the ball in the fairway and keep it in play. There's no point if you miss the fairways and the rough is fierce.
Give up some yardage in order to at least have a chance of reaching the green in regulation, then make the most of your short game.
At the Brabazon if you found the rough you had virtually no chance of reaching, there's no point being a good chipper if you don't have the strategy for keeping the ball in play. A good example was Gonzalo Fernandez-Castano who stuck to his guns in the play-offs, hitting a three wood each time when Lee Westwood was bombing a driver miles past him. He kept himself in the game, biding his time, and was eventually rewarded with victory.
All the best players have great posture.
What also stood out was the posture and balance of Lee Westwood. He had the most beautiful balance and that is something that any club golfer should try and emulate. Strive to achieve good posture, good balance and good spine angle.
All the best players have great posture. Great posture gives the possibility of balance in the swing and the best chance of finding the right swing plane.
Those players spending time looking for their swing plane seemed to have the least good posture.
For club golfers, a common fault is that most don't have a sound enough foundation. All golf magazines say feet should be a shoulders' width apart but it's not enough information. Are the feet the same width with every club, give your pupils' check points and guidelines. They need to understand that feeling of being poised and springy. Many end up looking like a half empty sack as it crumples to the ground.
Most amateurs don't have that feeling of holding themselves up. It is getting the combination of mobility and stability, being strong and balanced enough to be mobile but not so mobile that you lose stability.
Gary Alliss is head professional at The Belfry and a Golf Monthly Top 25 coach. He can be contacted on 01675 470 301.