Improving Your Game
The Professionals at Links Hope Island are passionate about the game of golf and look forward to helping you to achieve your personal goals in the great game.
Our lesson packages are flexible and can be custom built to suit your goals and time allocation.
All of our lesson packages are inclusive of unlimited golf balls during the lesson, the use of video analysis, and any written material.
Private Lessons
Private lessons are the fastest way to improve your game with regular one on one contact with your professional. Lessons are available on all aspects of the game, as well as on course lessons.
Our professionals can cater lesson packages to suit your needs, alternatively one hour lessons are currently $125.00 per person.
For more information or to book please contact the Golf Shop on 5530 9033.
Clinics and Workshops
Clinics and Workshops offer a cost efficient and more sociable way to learn. Our Clinics are customized to suit, from a minimum of 3 up to 50! You can choose from an endless list of golfing topics for our professionals to cover or you can join one of our pre-organised programs which will cover a broad range of topics including:
- Putting
- Chipping
- Pitching
- Bunker Play
- Long Game
All our team of PGA Professionals are here to improve your game. Through coaching, video and swing analysis, our coaches can assist you with your practice routines, proper technique and correct equipment selection.
All members of the Links Hope Island Academy team are PGA Members. They are all passionate about the game and dedicated to improving their client’s score. View the Profiles of Don and Chris below.
For the latest information on the Links Hope Island Golf Clinics please call 5530 9000
Teaching Philosophy
In common with all good teachers we have preferences as to what we like. These preferences are the framework from which we operate and they generally relate to simplifying and minimising motion and direction.
Our philosophy is to treat each pupil on an individual basis. How each pupil is approached is dependent on many factors such as age, ability, goals, contact, ball flight, frequency of practice, the pupil’s own concepts and so on. The solutions to each pupil’s problems are arrived at based on all these factors and our experience of what generally works, sometimes works and what never works in fixing swing patterns and ball flight.
Our Preferences –
Set Up
The posture of the body is critical at set up – poor body angles and positions go a long way to creating most of the problems we see.
The posture approximates the angles of a good impact position (without the rotation of an actual swing). It allows the arms to hang freely and if the sequence of motion and swing radius are correct you can get the look of a turn and a weight shift without overturn or lateral motion – both of which generally cause problems with wrist angles, shaft plane, club face angles and complex match up moves on the downswing.
Swing Radius
Increasing the radius of the swing is one of the biggest problems we see. Extension directly and negatively affects wrist angles, arm positions, shoulder angles, head angle, direction of weight shift, shaft plane, club face angles – creating a series of changes that have to be compensated for in the downswing.
Weight Shift
We prefer weight shift to move around the spine angles established at our preferred address position, not a lateral motion on the backswing. Lateral weight shift, be it with over active knees and feet, hips or the whole body has huge and normally poor effects on arm, shaft and wrist positions in the backswing and again it requires complex matching moves in the downswing.
“You don’t shift weight you turn it” Jackie Burke
Turn
Maybe the most misunderstood concept in the game. Our preference is for the arms to pull the body around a maintained spine angle established by a good address position. A large range of motion is available from the shoulder joints separate to your torso. The look of a 90 degree turn can be accomplished with less than half that at your sternum.
Before & After Videos
Club Professionals
Don Fardon – PGA Professional
After an amateur career that included two Queensland Matchplay titles, representing Queensland seven times and Australia in an under 26 team, Don turned pro in 1989.
He was a two time winner on the Canadian Tour, an exempt player (top 60) on the Australian Tour from 1991 to1998 and played extensively on the Asian Tour with three 2nd place finishes and several top ten placing’s.
Don began teaching with Gary Edwin at Links Hope Island in 1999 and was a senior instructor with the Gary Edwin Academy at The Glades from 2001 to 2009. In addition to individual lessons he also taught the PGA IGI University course, conducted mentoring/assessment in tuition and presented seminars for PGA trainees.
He has enjoyed success with all levels of players from beginners to Tour players. Notable student achievements include the 2004 Australian Ladies Amateur champion, several Club Champions and over the last two years five students have graduated through various Tour Schools to join Professional Tours.
Chris Gibson – PGA Professional
Chris Gibson Australian AAA rated golf professional has been teaching golf in Australasia for over a decade. Chris is currently coaching and mentoring several touring professionals on the Australasian and world tours.
Chris is a coaching consultant and facilitator to Golf Queensland and his students have won several significant awards, including Australian trainee rookie of the year, Queensland School Boy’s Champion, Junior FCWT champion at IMG Academies Golf and Country Club in Florida. Chris has written for numerous publications and consulted to award winning golf courses.
Chris draws knowledge from his competitive golf experience, golf mentors, industry professionals, coaching seminars and forums as well as utilising sophisticated digital video and computer analysis equipment. Chris’s teaching philosophy focuses on simplicity and longevity in the game, providing help for golfers at all levels.
Chris is dedicated to the game of golf, helping all his clients play their best and achieve their golfing goals. Chris is proud to be part of the staff at Links Hope Island.
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