We check out new the UK HQ for David Leadbetter's famed Academy which has just arrived in Leeds.
Most people know the name David Leadbetter is synonymous with teaching golf, and he is credited by many as making the world of golf coaching into an industry which is now as big in golf as any other.
Author of countless books and presenter of numerous DVDs on coaching Leadbetter is one of the biggest names in the industry, and now he has launched the UK headquarters of his famed Leadbetter Golf Academy in North Leeds.
It's rare that such a high-profile institution would be based outside of the south of England, but the Leeds Golf Centre has been chosen to host the UK headquarters of Leadbetter's teaching facility - and is headed up by Chris Parker who has worked with the man himself for a decade.
So it only seemed right to pop down and see if the Leadbetter way could somehow work its magic on a swing so far untouched by professional minds.
The first thing that strikes you is the technology involved, cameras at all angles and a multitude of training aids around the brand new teaching bays at Leeds Golf Centre instantly give you the feeling of being in a real centre of learning.
Senior Professional
Luckily enough I got to work with Chris himself, the Senior Leadbetter Professional at Leeds who has worked with top flight players all over the globe - as Leadbetter wants to keep uniformity around his teaching practices the learning never ends for the teachers also.
This enables players to enter any one of Leadbetter's 25 academies from around the globe, in Europe, America and Asia and still get the same level of teaching and ethics to continue their development without being taught different methods.
Chris talked me through the huge amount of deficiencies in my swing, not trying to teach too much too soon but to get a much solider base with which to start with.
Another nice touch is that at the end of the lesson Chris uses the multi-angle video footage of the before and after swings, along with an audio commentary, and packages that up in a video to be emailed to the player.
You can then access that on your laptop and smartphone and keep thinking of your swing changes when working on your own at the range or just before a round - and if anyone can help you with your swing it is this man.
"It's a nice location and with developments here in a few years' time this will be a great venue for golf," Chris told me at Leeds Golf Centre.
Technology
"In here we've got all the latest technology - V1, Flightscope, a balance lab to work out your foot pressure, and also an ultra sound putt analyser which breaks the putting stroke down into 28 different movements you can analyse through your putting stroke."
For all this technology though, it is the golfer themselves that needs to put in the work if they really want to improve, and the emphasis is on the golfer to keep on practising and working - after all golf lessons can be expensive so you need to get the most out of them.
"The thing for us is to improve people's learning and make it easy for them," Chris added. "If you come out of a golf lesson not tired then you've not really made the most of it.
"Learning something consciously and then doing it sub consciously is very important - people can understand something quite quickly, but if you're trying to work on it and develop it consciously it's hard work.
"The trick in golf is to work hard on that so it becomes a subconscious state so you can repeat it time and time again and that's when you get maximum performance out on the golf course."
Leadbetter has worked with the best for years, now his academies can work their magic on even the worst of swings from their shiny new base in Leeds.
For more information on the Leadbetter Academy and Leeds Golf Centre go to www.leedsgolfcentre.com.
