COMMUNITY

A few weeks ago, I started my quest for a new coach. I wanted someone who would respect what I had been trying to develop and wouldn't rebuild my swing just for the sake of it, but also who would take me to the next level. That's when I met Olivier Edmond, a great player and coach (voted best French player in 1990) who introduced me to the Key-Type method.

We started our first evaluation session with a set of physical tests and a few questions that helped him determine my psychological type and way of moving. He told me so many accurate things about me that it was scary!! A man who didn't know me for half an hour knew me better than some of my close friends... Scarier, I remember that during our first phone conversation more than a year ago, he told me that things were not going well with my current coach because I missed my previous one. He was right on. He accurately described me as someone who likes to see the globality of things, instead of getting caught in the details. Someone who can get entangled in analytical instruction. How true.

Then he looked at me hitting balls and he started making suggestions, while all the time asking me how I felt as I tried them. That was the first time that a golf coach actually suggested things for me to try, instead of telling me that's how things should be done! He left me with a few elements to experiment with (which I did), then we agreed to meet during my Florida trip.

When I arrived at the Mirasol golf club in West Palm Beach, I was in for a 6-hour session with Patricia Meunier-Lebouc (an LPGA player) and her husband and coach Antoine Lebouc. Olivier wanted me to meet Patricia because she's the same "type" as me. And indeed. I could relate a lot to what she was saying. We had the same body language. I obviously didn't have the same golfing ability ;)

We started with putting. The first thing they did was making me feel and strike the putt with my belly. As first, I was perplexed, but I quickly realized that taking my upper body out of the equation made a huge difference. They made me judge the distance by instinct (I had always been counting steps to determine the right intensity), then the line (I had always used the line on the ball), then close my eyes to putt! They finally changed my posture a bit (I'm squatting more now and resting on my right heel a bit more) and it made a world of difference. My putts were a lot more consistent, smoother and two days after, I scored 31 putts during my round, a record for me who had been scoring an average 38 putts before!!

We then went to pitching and the long game. The same principles applied there. I had to use my belly as a motor and take my arms a bit more out of the equation. I had to use my right leg longer (I was jumping on my left leg forcefully at the start of the downswing). I had been struggling with pitching before seeing them and now it was a lot better. I started feeling my entire body engaged more... I will need to continue practicing to see how it feels, but the best thing is that Olivier and his team are available for any question that I might have. I feel that I'm very good hands and that they will help me achieve my goals of becoming an excellent player by helping me discover what works best for me, instead of trying to force me down a mold.

I'll let you know how it goes :)