Sunday 16 October 2016 14:24, UK
A feature of the British Masters is the innovative live Masterclass sessions after play on each of the first three days, and host Nick Dougherty believes the viewers at home will have again learned valuable insight from the pros.
I've really enjoyed hosting the live Masterclasses at The Grove and, like Woburn last year, we've seen another long list of high-quality players giving up their time to share their views on what makes them stand out.
These guys are so good. They have to deal with a lot of media requests throughout the season, particularly at the bigger events like this, although the Masterclasses are different as it's a live show on Sky Sports.
They get to perform as well as talking about it. Last year was great, and this year we've all learned how best to get the most out of them. The theme is very good and we get to see their personalities and have a bit of fun with them.
But we also get some real detail for the folks watching. It's not that often the viewers are able to get such insight into what makes the pros so good. We all watch golf and we've all got our opinions on how they do it, but to hear them say how they accomplish certain shots and all the technical aspects, that's solid gold for the viewers.
Effectively, they're getting a free lesson from a leading professional golfer through their TV screens, and that should help knock strokes off their games.
We've had some great sessions this week, and day two was particularly entertaining. It was a long game Masterclass and I really enjoyed the combination of Matt Fitzpatrick and Joe Miller.
We covered the difference between being able to hit the ball straight, with competitive distance, and then we moved on to how you can generate raw power, and that's obviously what Joe is all about.
He won the World Long Drive Championship earlier this week, so he's clearly got ballistic power, whereas Matt's session was all about accuracy off the tee. It was a great combination and it gave the viewers all they need to know about each discipline.
The average club golfer wants to hit it straight of course, but if you asked them what they really want, they'd say they just want to hit it past their mates at the weekend! It was the best of both worlds, and to get Matt and Joe's perspective on both was fantastic. And drawing comparisons in their data was very unique.
Matt was also very good at explaining how he shapes the ball both ways through the air, and it was very similar to the driving Masterclass we did with Lee Westwood at Woburn last year. Both like to fade the ball, and both don't need to think much about fading the ball because it comes naturally to them.
But their feels for drawing the ball are very simple, and the viewers at home can learn most from that concept.
There are so many swing tips in various golf magazines and online sites, and everyone has a different opinion. It can get confusing finding a tip that works for you, and if you take too much advice on board you can turn yourself inside out. Trust me I know, I've been there!
But to hear from the very best players how simple it can be, like when Matt was telling us about how he sets up slightly differently to draw the ball, that makes people at home feel like they're not missing out.
It was proof that simple works best, even at the very highest level.
