Match Play Qualifier

Match Play Qualifier

Portrush Golf Club was the venue for the first round of the 36 hole match play qualifier. Although the sun was shining brightly conditions were extremely difficult with winds recorded at over 30mph. The top 8 net qualifiers after the 36 holes are played will proceed into the quarter finals to compete to be the match play champion.

The leading qualifier after round one was Conall Murdock with an excellent net 67. Conall began his round in steady fashion with three pars in his first four holes. He finished the front nine strongly with a good par on the tricky par three ninth hole. Conall also had a solid back nine compiling a total of four pars and two birdies including an excellent birdie two on the difficult par three fifteenth hole.

In second place two shots further back with a net 69 was Jules Preston. This was Jules' best performance of the year to date having compiled a total of eight pars during his round in the most difficult of conditions. 

In third place was Dylan Carton with a net 71 followed by Caolan Smith in fourth place one shot further back with a net 72.

Short Game Lessons

Last week the students underwent further short game lessons. The shots that they were assessed on this time were the chip shot and the bunker shot. Each student was given specific teaching points with practice drills which were recorded into their dairies. They also received video analysis with the videos later uploaded onto their personal google drive accounts. Timescales were given and these particular short game shots will continue to be assessed over the coming weeks.

Short Game Skills Testing

The students were put through their first recorded short game skills test of the year last Thursday. For most it was their first full test and will therefore act as an excellent starting platform from which to improve upon. There was a total of twelve shots within the test with every shot from a 3 foot putt to a 50 yard pitch shot tested.

The highest score recorded on the day for the test was 104 points from Paul Conroy with the class averaging an excellent total of 92. Everyone will be working hard on all aspects of their short game with their next test scheduled for mid February. 

Long Game Skills Testing

This week the students will undergo their first long game skills test of the year. The test involves approximately 70 shots recorded on the FlightScope launch monitor with the distances ranging anything between 20 yards to 240 yards. Each test will take approximately 45 minutes so every student may possibly not complete it this week. Stay tuned next week for updates on the scoring.

Fitness Testing Results

Having now completed all of the relevant fitness test the students can now view their test results on their google drive accounts. The test involved nine separate tests with the pass mark set at 120 points. However each student had to ensure that they didn't fail a total of four of these tests otherwise they would not pass the test.

The effort and commitment shown to date in the fitness classes has been very refreshing and if this continues throughout the year huge progress will be expected within the fitness department.

First Week @ DCGS

First Week

Welcome to your new DCGS update medium. We will be using this to give you regular updates about what we've been up to and how the students have been progressing. Enjoy!

Week 1 flew by and what a great start it was for our new intake. The students seen a fair bit of the country side in the first week after travelling to Ballyclare Golf Club on the Wednesday, Royal Portrush Golf Club on the Thursday and the Hilton Templepatrick on the Friday.

Each day provided the students with a totally different course and challenge and gave the coaches a good opportunity to view them in action. The three round event allowed them to get to know one another and also to record three scores to go towards their school handicap and also their Order of Merit totals.

Here's how the top 5 rolled out:

Keelan Evans - 105 pts

Harry Thompson - 104pts

Paul Conroy - 103pts

Darragh Lynch - 95 pts

Conall Murdock - 88pts

Second Week

1-1 Sessions

During the second week the students completed their initial 1-1 psychology sessions. The psychology sessions gave the students the opportunity to outline their goals for their time at the school and from that they were then able to set specific short and long term targets.

The initial long game assessments with video analysis also took place throughout the duration of the second week. Each student received a number of key teaching points along with specific drills to work on over a particular timescale. Swing videos were then uploaded onto their own personal google drive accounts for them to analyse frequently.

Hilton Templepatrick Stableford Competition

On the final day of the second week the students competed in a stableford competition at the Hilton Templepatrick on what was perfect scoring conditions.

The winner on the day with an excellent 40 points was Dylan Carton. In second place was Caolan Smith with 38 points. Further back in third place in a tie was Paul Conroy and Keelan Evans with 36 points.

Well done to all of the students who are all progressing well.

Third Week

Short Game Lessons

Last week the students completed their initial short game assessments. They were assessed on their pitching and putting techniques. Swing analysis was also given for both which was then uploaded onto their google drive accounts. Teaching points were provided for each which was noted down in their dairies. Again specific timescales were given for each student to work on.

The remainder of the short game assessments will be completed within the next couple of weeks with chipping and bunker play to be analysed.

Fortwilliam GC Stableford Competition

On what was another difficult day with rain, wind and casual water the students showed some good resolve to complete 18 holes at Fortwilliam Golf Club.

In a tie for first on the day was Paul Conroy and Conall Murdock with 36 points. Just one point further back was Darragh Lynch with 35 points. In third place a further 3 points back was Gareth Reid with 32 points.

Well done to everyone. We look forward to another week of hard work next week.

NEW School Scoring Average System

This year the school has employed a new scoring average system which will calculate the scores that the students shoot each week and will subsequently give them a handicap to play off each week which will be updated each week.

Fitness Sessions & Testing

Over the last couple of weeks the students have been taking part in various fitness sessions. Last week each student completed a full fitness test which has allowed us to assess their level of fitness. These test results will also go towards their rank for the term. The minimum requirement is that they attend 50% of the sessions provided as well as meeting the 120 point pass mark to achieve rank 1 in term 1.

Skills Testing

Over the next couple of week the students will be completing their short game and long game skills testing. This again will be a good assessment of both areas of their game and it will give us another opportunity to identify where any weaknesses may be. These scores will go towards their overall Order of Merit total.

Golf Performance Programmes at the DCGS

Adult Golf Coaching here at the DCGS

Another year of the DCGS has come to an end.  This is the 10th year of operation for the school and it's been another very successful one indeed.  We have seen excellent handicap reductions, vast improvements to techniques and ball flights, a very enjoyable warm (ok not so warm this year!) trip to Spain back in January which seems like years ago now, a brilliant effort from our lads at the British Schools finals at Forest of Arden and a wonderful final week 54 hole event.

Class of 2016/17 -happy bunch.  Some of the current year's students have been here for the past 3 years and have made life long friends along the way. 

The DCGS experience continues to develop and improve with each passing year.  The students all have these amazing facilities to use and hone their games as well as a host of other impressive indoor areas such as the sports hall.  Time does fly when you're having fun but this year's group certainly has made excellent progress.  Of those who are graduating the paths are varied, one is off to the USA college system after gaining an impressive scholarship. Another is heading to the tournament golf college in England to further his studies, two have gained jobs within the golf industry already and several others are going to continue to play and practice while getting part time jobs to support themselves.  What ever the path they'll all be welcome back to the DCGS in the future and we look forward to keeping up with how they all get on.

We are busy recruiting for our new school year at the moment and have what is shaping up to be a great year to look forward to starting in September. If you would like to enquire about becoming a student here at the school please contact the office 028 9446 6227 (0044 28 9446 6227) or info@darrenclarkegolfschool.com.

Check out our website at www.darrenclarkegolfschool.com

Benjamin McCartney Shoots Fine 73

Benjamin McCartney Shoots Fine 73 To Take The Victory At Home Course

It was Benjamin McCartney's day as he lead the rest of the field with an impressive 73 (+1) which gave him a net 70. Ben began his round in steady fashion as he parred his first ten holes before dropping two shots on the difficult eleventh and twelfth holes. His round then steadied up once more with pars in his next five holes before making a great birdie four on the par five eighteenth hole. 

In second place five shots further back was John Pomeroy. John who is now playing off a handicap of ten managed to shot 85 which gave him a net 75. John made his only birdie of the day on the difficult par thee fourth hole to go along with six pars giving him a total of 85 strokes.

Two shots further back of John was Conor Hagan who shot a net 77. Conor may be slightly disappointed with this round as he felt he left shots out on the course after hitting the ball extremely well throughout the round. Two double bogeys back to back on the sixth a seventh holes didn't help his cause as he finished the front nine six over par. A good start to the back nine with three pars on his opening three holes gave Conor belief for his final six holes. However four dropped shots in a row before a par on the seventeenth and a birdie on 18 gave Conor a total of 81 strokes.

Lee Westwood Golf School Visit

It was great to have the Lee Westwood Golf School students visiting us last week. While here they were able to utilise the facilities, experience a custom fitting session in our TaylorMade Performance Center and play local courses at Royal Portrush and Hilton Templepatrick. With Belfast City only 20 mins away they also sampled what the great city has to offer. We hope to have them back with us again in the near future.

Final Week

This week is the final week of the programme with some students finishing up their two years with us at the school and some just finishing of their first year with us. It has been a hugely successful year with many highlights including the fantastic Winter Training trip to Spain along with the team finishing in the top 5 at the British Schools trip to the Forest of Arden. Progression and improvements have been made all round with targets and goals achieved.

This week the students will take part in the 54 hole Strokeplay Championship which will take place at Portrush, Hilton and Fortwilliam golf courses. The graduation ceremony will then take place around midday on Friday.

Golf & Education Programme

Interested in a Golf and Education Programme!? With a new pricing structure the DCGS is now very accessible and affordable. Contact us at info@darrenclarkegolfschool.com or phone 028 9446 6227 (0044 28 9446 6227) to find out how we can get you on the path to a great education and using some of the best golf facilities around.