Lessons to be learned from the old school

Jun 25 2009 by Tim Taylor, The Journal

PETER Alliss reckons club golfers who want to improve are better off watching the seniors play at Slaley Hall this week than going to see Tiger Woods.

The BBC TV commentator was in Co Durham last weekend for ‘An Evening With Alliss’ at Ramside Hall and declared himself impressed with their set-up.

Revealing a forgotten connection with Northumberland, he said: “I have a very special interest in Slaley because, although David Thomas gets all the accolades for designing it, we were in partnership when Slaley Hall started 31 years ago.

“Slaley Hall has developed into a very, very nice facility. It is a lovely course and I think anybody interested in the game of golf who wants to improve will learn a lot more from watching people like Ian Woosnam and Sam Torrance.

“The senior golfers are not so physically strong as the younger main Tour professionals, and many club golfers can relate to what they do more in terms of their own golf.

“It is down to rhythm, balance and timing. Ordinary club golfers will learn far more from watching senior golfers or the top women tour golfers play rather than watching Tiger Woods, as much as we all admire him.

“When you marvel at Tiger and all these guys, you might learn how to play a bunker shot or something like that. Otherwise you learn very little from Tiger because you can’t do what he does.

“But you can say ‘I’m as strong as that top woman golfer or Senior Tour player’ and what do they do?

“The answer is that it’s about timing, balance and rhythm.

“So I say go along there and watch Woosie and Sam, and many other seriously good golfers, you will enjoy it.”