The K-factor – The Key to solid putts By Michael Balderstone, BSI Founder and PGA Master Professional The key to great putting is to consistently control the pace of your putts. One of the main reasons why most golfers cannot control their pace on the greens is that they do not hit the sweet-spot of

COURSE STRATEGY – RECOVERY SHOTS By Michael Balderstone, PGA Master Professional and Founder of the Balderstone Sports Institute The old adage is “Go where the mower goes” to keep the ball out of trouble.  Of course, this is our goal, but no matter our playing ability, we know that occasionally (or sometimes often!!!) we find ourselves in

HOW BSI IS ADAPTING DURING LOCKDOWN By Michael Balderstone, PGA Master Professional With more than 140 student-athletes across 2 campus and 2 sporting codes, including high school and college education, 2 boarding houses and a 25% international student contingent, the operations at Balderstone Sports Institute (and its sister academy TGSE Cape Town) are complex at

USING SMARTER STRATEGY TO LOWER YOUR SCORES By Michael Balderstone, PGA Master Professional Smart strategy and decision-making play a vital role in optimising the score that we post in each round. A Smart-Aggressive Strategy is ideal for elite or peak performance as proven by modern statistical analysis.  But what is Smart-Aggressive Strategy? Smart-Aggressive Strategy runs on a

GOLF MYTH-BUSTING – FACE VS PATH By Michael Balderstone – PGA Master Professional Have you ever tried to bend a shot round a tree but hit the ball straight into the tree?  Me too. The answer is in the science of ball flight, and how that differs to the traditional way we thought ball flight

PITCHING: SETUP VS. IMPACT By Michael Balderstone, PGA Master Professional Most golfers don’t realise is that by simply pre-setting your impact position you give yourself a far greater chance of achieving the correct impact position.  In order to achieve this impact position we simply allow our setup to dictate how we find ourselves at impact.

HOW TO PLAY UNEVEN LIES By Michael Balderstone, PGA Master Professional While we normally practice on driving ranges with perfectly flat surfaces, the golf course often provides us with uneven ground that will affect the flight of the golf ball.  Here is a summary of what you can expect to happen (taking into account your

THE TOOTHPASTE GRIP By Michael Balderstone, PGA Master Professional Many golfers grip the club too tightly, especially in pressure situations like on the 1st tee, a tight driving hole, a crucial putt or trying to finish off a good score. If you grip too tightly, your arms and shoulders will be tense and your wrists

THE TOWEL DRILL By Michael Balderstone, PGA Master Professional As much as I like modern technology and methods of coaching I also find great value in some of the old school, low-tech teaching methods.  One such drill that I use all the time is the towel drill, which involves placing a towel, headcover or glove