Debbie's amateur golfing achievements included playing at county level and culminated in her winning the NAPGC singles championship at St. Andrews before turning professional.

During her transition to professional golf Debbie also trained as a "life coach" and actively uses the skills acquired from this in her golf coaching.Debbie focuses her skills on coaching all comers to the game of golf from beginners and juniors through to advanced male & female players.

Debbie's style is relaxed, placing emphasis on fun whilst being informative. She is highly professional in her approach and goes out of her way to ensure your golf game improves. She is an excellent communicator and has the ability to get the best out of people at all levels.

Debbie is currently a teaching professional based at Brickhampton Court Golf Complex, Nr Cheltenham. She can be contacted on 01452 859444 or mobile 07711 599555 or via email on Debbie@DebbieDay.co.uk. Click here to go to Debbie's website www.debbieday.co.uk

Debbie also organises Intensive Coaching Programmes in the Sun!! Click here to find out more.

1. First, proper posture and foot placement allows you to maintain your balance throughout the swing. All great players are balanced from address to the finish, which allows them to hit the ball squarely in the center of the clubface. Balance is the key to consistent ball striking and a good setup allows you to remain in balance when swinging.

2. Second, a good setup helps you create power and control the direction of the shot. Key pre-swing elements such as ball position and body alignment create the conditions that lead to control. The body angles that you create at address directly influence the path and angle on which you swing the club. They influence the actual in-swing body positions and movements; therefore your setup directly affects all elements of the swing.

3. Finally, all great players pre-set themselves in positions that they try to create at impact. In other words, your setup puts you in positions of advantage, making a fundamentally sound swing possible. Your swing evolves from your setup and if you want to achieve a good impact position, you can simply setup with impact in mind. A good setup goes a massive way to ensuring a good golf swing and hence impact!!

Good Luck!!!!

However it is important to keep your swing as "grooved" as possible during these months and by making your practice exciting and challenging you may find that you enjoy it more than you would expect.

For me the key to any practice you do should be that it reflects realistically what you would do on the actual golf course.

Don't stand on the driving range hitting ball after ball aligned as dictated by the usual square mats most ranges have. Instead set yourself different targets that enable you to practice your pre-shot alignment routine. In addition work on getting the distance right by using different clubs.

A good idea is to play "pretend" round of golf by starting off with a drive down a "make believe" fairway that you have picked out for yourself between say two targets. If you hit a good tee shot then decide on what the next shot would be and play it e.g. a 7 iron to a target that would match the distance you would normally hit your 7 iron. If you hit a good solid shot then assume you will 2 putt as a result and then play another tee shot. If you play a less than good shot pretend you have to play a chip or pitch shot to get you either back into position or to get the ball on the green.

Keep a note of your score and reward yourself accordingly if you feel that you played well overall with whatever takes your fancy.

I guarantee that your practice session will go by very quickly but you will be better able to apply what you practice to the real situation on the actual course when you next go to play.

Good Luck!!

Being in good health means that we are of sound mind, body and soul, having the physical and mental capacity to undertake the things that we wish and being able to make choices about what we you do and when we do it.

There are six key things which give us our health:-

What we Eat, Exercise, Rest, Water Intake, Life style & environment, Inherited Factors.

As individuals we can control all but inherited factors, so WE are very much in control of our destiny.

Nutrition is often overlooked by the average golfer, but it will no doubt have a positive effect on golfing performance. The 18 holes required for golf can be both physically and mentally draining as energy is continuously required for an average 4 hours. Unexpected and wild shots late in the round can often be attributed to low energy levels and dehydration.

The Glycaemic Index (GI) identifies food by how quickly and how much energy it releases into the blood stream and is available for the body to use as an energy source. The index goes from 100, the highest, downwards. A golfer needs regular and consistent energy over a number of hours but not to the level of that of say a footballer. The golfer needs a slower release of energy over a longer period of time so medium to low GI foods are best to consume e.g. bananas medium GI, apples and peanuts which are low GI foods.

Essential to life water is just over 60% of our body weight and is vital to temperature regulation and aids transportation of substances around the body.

During a round of golf get into the habit of consuming 100 - 150mls of water every 15-20 minutes especially this time of year. Work on taking a 3-4 mouthfuls of water after every hole played and try to avoid fizzy or sugary drinks and caffeine as these can dehydrate the body further.

The following is a set of pointers for a right-handed player in helping you get and keep a good grip:-

1. Firstly remember it is a fingers grip not in the palms of the hands. This enables our hands and wrists to work correctly throughout the swing movement.

2. Ensure you leave approx 1 inch of the butt of the club clear when placing hands on the grip.

3. Place left hand on grip ensuring you can see two knuckles when you look down at your hand. This will feel as if the hand is sitting slightly on top of the grip. In addition you should also see the "V" created by the left index finger and thumb pointing up to your right shoulder/ear. You can check this by either asking a friend or looking in a mirror whilst gripping your club. The thumb should be slightly off centre, just right of the club centre line.

4. Then place your right hand on the grip. You should ensure that the palm is facing to your target. Again the "V" created by the right index finger and thumb should be pointing up to your right shoulder/ear.

5. When placing the right hand on the grip you will need to decide which grip you prefer:-

" Overlapping Grip - where the right little finger sits in between the gap of the left hand index finger and 2nd finger - "piggy back style".

" Interlocking Grip - where the little finger of the right hand intertwines with the index finger of the left hand.

" Ten Fingered Grip - where all fingers are in contact with the grip and butted up close to each other ensuring no gap.

Finally the most important point to remember when gripping your club is that it is not a "white-knuckle" ride. The grip pressure needs to be light with pressure evenly applied across and by both hands.

BE RELAXED WITH YOUR GRIP!!!

One of the most important aspects of the golf swing is ensuring correct alignment of the body to your intended target. Alignment includes your feet, knees, hips, stomach, chest and finally the shoulders. In actual fact research has shown that we generally will swing along the line of where our shoulders are pointing at address not our feet.

The difference with golf compared to many other sports is that your head and hence eyes are not looking down the line of your intended target. Our body is on one line whilst our ball to target is on another. So how do we ensure we have correct alignment?

The procedure that I always use as part of my overall set up to the ball is to start off by standing directly behind the ball in line with your intended target in the distance. Then draw an imaginary line back from your target to the ball and pick out a point or spot on that line about 2 feet in front of the ball. Now keeping your eyes on the spot you have picked out place your club "square" (at right angles) across the line to the spot. Secondly and this is the tricky bit, place your feet on a parallel line to your ball to target line. Then take your grip still keeping the spot you have picked out in your peripheral vision. Finally, and this is a key step in the overall procedure look at your target. This helps the eyes to train the brain with the correct "alignment signals".

Practice this procedure on the driving or practice ground checking whether you are correctly lined up by placing a club across your feet once you have finished your procedure and see whether you are lined up correctly. By incorporating this into your normal method of playing out on the golf course you will very quickly find you are lining up correctly more consistently.

This is the month when we all start to think about the golfing season ahead of us but how many of us set ourselves a goal to achieve during or by the end of the season complete with an action plan of how we intend to do it.

So how do we go about setting our goal? In fact what is the benefit in setting any goals at all? Well whether we realise it or not we are all either consciously or subconsciously setting goals for ourselves. Where we are in our lives right now is a direct result of having taken various decisions and actions in our lives so far. By setting goals consciously we stretch ourselves to achieve and often we exceed the targets we set ourselves.

When setting our goals they need to be SMART:

S = Specific - "I am going to achieve a handicap of between 15 - 25" is too wide
M = Measurable - By definition a handicap is a figure that can be measured
A = Action-Oriented - "What you will practically do to achieve your goal?"
R = Realistic - It must be something you can actually achieve
T = Time phased - By when will you have reached your target(s)

If a goal is not realistic, there is no hope, but if it is not challenging, there is no motivation. In addition goals must always be stated in the positive! So if you are say a 22 handicapper a realistic goal could be "I will be playing off 18 by the end of September 2006 and I will achieve this through practicing for 2 hours each week and entering all qualifying club competitions each month".

"But I don't feel confident that I can do this" I hear you say. Well confidence can largely be associated with fear of failure and our own limiting beliefs. By allowing our mind to believe that achieving our goal is a real possibility amazing things start to happen. We start moving towards our goal unconsciously. We may notice we are having better rounds of golf when not in competition. We may feel that we are hitting the ball better or our timing and rhythm is improved. As a result our confidence level will start to rise naturally. In addition we feel much calmer on the course and more positive when addressing the ball.

A fantastic example of what belief can do is the story of Roger Bannister who ran a mile in 3 minutes 59.4 seconds in May 1954. Reports of his amazing achievement were flashed around the world. Runners had attempted to break the 4 minute mile barrier for the previous 100 hundred years! Scientists and doctors said it couldn't be done. They claimed that the human heart would burst under the stress of such an effort. So what made it possible for Bannister to do the impossible? Why did he succeed where others had failed? The answer is quite simple. He chose to set aside the global belief that it wasn't possible and to believe in his goal.

It's even more interesting to look at what happened after Bannister set his record. Within seven months thirty-seven other runners had done it too! In the following three years 300 more did it. How can this be explained? The reality is that any of the other runners were as capable as Bannister, but they were constrained by their beliefs in a way that he was not.

And finally in addition to having a goal and the confidence and belief to achieve it, getting into the habit of practicing, even if it is only for a few minutes every day, will reap huge benefits for you. When you know you have practiced and feel that your swing is getting better then negative thoughts begin to diminish, replaced by positive thinking.

So what golfing goal are you going to set for the oncoming season? Good Luck!!

The golf swing is a very complex movement, requiring much from the body. Only if the body is flexible and strengthened, can one expect consistent and powerful golf swings. No matter what your current physical condition or your handicap, your golf game can benefit by regular stretching with flexibility in mind.

I know though that finding both the time and enthusiasm to do exercise is difficult and that it's not something many of us eagerly look forward to doing, however the benefits are immense. Just by setting aside 20mins every day your flexibility will start to improve in a matter of a couple of weeks. Do stretches even when sitting in front of the TV and make it fun!!

Below are just two stretching exercises to do over the next couple of weeks and see how you progress. Start by measuring how far you can stretch before you start with these and then measure yourself again in 2 weeks time the results will be startling!

The first golf stretch is the Lying Leg Crossover:
o Lie on back with legs extended.
o Raise one leg and bend at knee to 90 degrees in knee and hip.
o Cross that leg over extended leg, while opposite shoulder stays on ground.
o Go until you feel a slight pull in the butt and lower back.
o Hold for 15 seconds and repeat once more.
o Switch legs and do opposite side.
This simple golf stretch will not only make your back feel better, but it will improve your ability to make a bigger turn, with less hip movement, creating torque and energy.

The second golf stretch is the Backswing Stretch:
o Extend left arm (for right-handers) out in front of you.
o Take right hand and put under left wrist.
o Pull with right hand against left wrist and make as big a turn on backswing as you can.
o Hold for at least 15 seconds, repeat once more.
o Switch to your other side, going the opposite direction, for the follow through.
This simple golf stretch will loosen up the muscles in the back of your shoulders and your upper back for more freedom on both your backswing and follow through.

Do these two stretches daily and you'll start seeing improvement in your game, including more yards off the tee.

Playing with clubs that need to be re-gripped will instinctively cause you to tighten your grip more than normal. This will affect your ability to make a good contact with the ball through deadening a lot of feeling in the hands. In addition if you have any hand, elbow or arm injuries gripping tighter than you need to will not help.

Whether you are the type to put your clubs away until the new season starts or you continue playing during these months just ask your local professional to check your grips. Even if you intend to hang up your golfing shoes for the winter then getting your clubs regripped before putting them away will be one job you won't have to think about for next season.

It's easy to put off getting them done but in my experience, if your clubs have not been re-gripped for some time you will really feel the difference when you do. Just have a feel of the grips on the new clubs in your local Proshop! It costs on average around £5 a club with many local Proshops offering deals on a full set. So don't delay get them done straight away!