Located at the Home of Golf, St Andrews Links Golf Academy’s mission is to stay at the forefront of advancements in teaching and coaching golf. The game sees an ever increasing number of players equipped with great ball striking, yet golfers today need so much more than a golf swing.
St Andrews Links Golf Academy boasts some of the best instructors in the UK, along with the latest in technological teaching aids. According to Steve North, director of instruction at St Andrews Links Golf Academy, “We can provide players with the best coaching in the world however, in order for golfers to realise their full potential we need to develop comprehensive coaching programs. The Golf Academy’s objective is to explore coaching beyond the physical aspects of the golf swing and expose students to full physiological training and mind coaching.”
North called upon Jamie Edwards of Trained Brain. Edwards’ company gives athletes the necessary tools to achieve their full potential. Edwards is one of Europe’s leading peak performance coaches and has worked with the European Ryder Cup team and several PGAs across Europe. He has applied his trade to clients such as Lee Westwood, Darren Clarke, Paul McGinley, and Alison Nicholas.
While in St Andrews, Edwards spent the better part of a day ‘brain training’ local elite golfers including members of University of St Andrews Men’s and Ladies squads, and elite junior golfers who are currently being coached by Steve North and his team of PGA instructors.
Edwards’ goal is to get athletes to think differently; “We take the mind and body and train them together to perform at a higher level. But whilst the body has its physical limits, the mind has infinite room for growth and improvement. Yet the mind usually gives in before the body.”
Post seminar, Edwards’ work was put to the test when he accompanied two members of the University of St Andrews golf team onto the golf course. Mike Gray and Will Wrisdale have handicaps of 0 and 1 respectively. According to Mike, “I think it is crucially important to incorporate brain training into practice on and off the course. I genuinely believe it is the difference between amateur and professional level play.”
Closely echoing the advantages of brain training, Will found value in learning how to react to bad shots; “I was able to put this way of thinking into practice on the course, and I believe that helped me play more consistently.”
St Andrews Links Golf Academy www.standrewslinksgolfacademy.com