Optimal Analysis

Donald Makes History in Dubai

Dec 122011

Yesterday, Luke Donald made history by becoming the first person to top both the US and European money lists in the same year. Having secured the US crown back in October, taking victory in the Disney Classic with a final round 64, the Englishman knew the European money list would be decided at this weekend’s Dubai World Championship.

The title for Europe’s top earner had come down to a two-horse race between Donald and US Open champion, Rory McIlroy. The young Northern Irishman had to win the event and hope that Donald finished outside the top 9 to snatch the title.

After day one, McIlroy was within touching distance of the leaders, only 2 shots off the pace, while Donald was a further 6 shots adrift following some erratic driving on the back 9. It was expected McIlroy would get off to a fast start, however Donald’s performance over the closing holes had the golfing world scratching their heads. Had the pressure of trying to become the first player in history to win both money titles, got to Donald?

Things started to change come Friday. Donald, finding the consistency he had enjoyed all year in shooting a solid 68, whilst McIlroy struggled to a 71. On Saturday, Donald dealt the hammer blow to McIlroy’s chances with a magnificent 66, hitting 17 of the 18 greens in regulation and leaving the feat of being the first golfer to top both money lists on either side of the Atlantic, tantalisingly close. Rory could once again only shoot a 71 on Saturday and effectively conceded defeat to Donald in his press conference that evening.

A final round 66 from Donald on Sunday saw him take 3rd place in the Dubai World Championship and win the European Tour’s Race To Dubai. Praise has been pouring in for Donald, lead by his defeated Ryder Cup teammate McIlroy: “He’s had an incredible year… he deserves to be No. 1 in the world and deserved to win both Money Lists.”

As public attention turns to this year’s BBC Sports Personality Of The Year, British golfers will reflect on a vintage year in 2011. Two major champions in McIlroy and Darren Clarke, but the incredible achievements of Donald, dominating on both the European and PGA tours, as well as ending the year as World number one, leaves him in good shape to pick up a final honour in 2011.

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Optimal Analysis at London Golf Show 2011, Earls Court

Nov 102011

Come and see the future of online golf instruction.

Bay 15 at the London Golf Show 2011, November 11th-13th, Earls Court.

Bishopbriggs Golf Range harnessing the power of Optimal eAcademy

Oct 262011

Optimal Analysis are pleased to announce that Bishopbriggs Golf Range are the latest high-profile establishment to join the eAcademy family. Located just north of Glasgow and offering a range of services, from tuition through to club repairs, the team of 5 PGA professionals at Bishopbriggs Golf Range are fully equipped to meet all your golfing needs.

Bishopsbriggs Groupon Offer

Led by teaching professionals, Iain Pender and Campbell Donaldson, Bishopbriggs employed a modern approach to promoting the arrival of eAcademy, running an exclusive offer on the popular ‘Deal of the Day’ website, Groupon. The offer combined a standard lesson with one of the Bishopbriggs pros and then a detailed online lesson analysis, delivered using eAcademy technology, all with a huge Groupon discount. The offer certainly had the desired effect as an amazing 317 individuals signed up!

The eAcademy software and web platform employed at Bishopbriggs allows teaching professionals to capture a customer’s swing, perform detailed analysis and then produce an individual lesson summary, complete with audio commentary. This lesson summary is then uploaded to the organisation’s fully branded, online platform and at the same time, emailed directly to the customer who can view their lesson summary instantly on computer, tablet or smartphone. Furthermore, the customer is able to sign in to the eAcademy at any time, to review their lesson summaries or any specific teaching content their coach has assigned to them, such as short game tips and putting drills. Finally, they can book their next lesson through our brand-new booking calendar, fully integrated with PayPal, or even upload their swing for an online lesson.

Please watch the video below to learn more about how this system works.

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Dramatic Sunday draws to a close

Sep 262011

Catriona Matthew celebrates 2011 Solheim Cup Win (Photo: Getty Images)

Sunday 26th of September, 2011: A day for golfing headlines.

It started with Europe’s ladies winning only their fourth ever Singles session to win the Solheim Cup. Catriona Matthew played Paula Creamer in the first Singles match and an impressive 6&5 win would produce Europe’s first point of the day. A further point came from Sophie Gustafson, but with Laura Davies and Sandra Gal struggling, it was clear that this was going to go to the wire.

An impressive comeback from Davies to seal a half point and an explosive final 35 minutes from the Europeans saw them strip the Americans of the Solheim Cup.

On the other side of the pond, the Fedex Cup was coming to the boil. Bill Haas had a three shot lead with three holes to go but dropped two of those before carding an 8 under total. Jason Day was 8 under with two to go but a bogey at the 17th ended his hopes of his largest carrier payday. Hunter Mahan, who led going into the final round, was one shot back with four to go. He birdied the reachable 15th and made regulation pars on the 16th and 17th. A sublime pitch on the last, secured his spot in the playoff for the Tour Championship and the Fedex Cup.

Whilst the playoff for $11.4 million was about to begin, Butch Harmon announced that he had just received a call from Dustin Johnson who has lost his caddie Joe LaCava to Tiger Woods. LaCava was the longterm caddie for Fred Couples but they split over the summer as Couples decided to reduce his schedule. LaCava was on the bag for Johnson at the Tour Championship and announced the news to Dustin after their tied 23rd finish. Woods and LaCava’s first event is the Frys.com on the 6th October.

The play-off started on the treacherous 230 yard, Par 3 18th. Both players made great 3’s, Bill Haas from short of the bunker and Mahan from inside. They then moved onto the 17th. Haas drove his ball into the right-hand trap as he did in regulation play. Mahan hit his ball straight down the fairway. The pin was cut tight to the left side and when Haas played his second from the bunker, he flew the flag and his ball finished in the water hazard. Mahan sensibly played his ball to the centre of the green.

Bill Haas holds the Tour Championship and Fedex Cup (Photo: Sam Greenwood/Getty Images)

Haas walked to the green with his head in his hands but once he saw the ball was playable, he slapped his hands together and walked straight into the hazard. Haas then played a shot which is bound to be described as the shot of the year, he dug his ball out of the water and onto the green with enough spin to stop it by the hole, a simply miraculous shot. Mahan still had a putt to win but when that missed, they were destined for the 18th once again.

Haas found the back edge of the green and Mahan left himself in the same bunker as before. Haas rolled his ball down the tricky slopes to leave himself a little uphill tester, Mahan splashed his ball out long and was left with a horrid downhill putt.

Mahan’s ball dribbled past the hole and when Haas holed his for par, Haas picked up the Tour Championship, the Fedex Cup and a cheque for $11.4 million. The race to Dubai has a lot to follow.

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GB&I survive dramatic final day to retain the Seve Trophy

Sep 202011

Paul McGinley Celebrates Victory with the Seve Trophy

Great Britain and Ireland cruised into a 11.5–6.5 lead over Continental Europe, having dominated the opening matches of the Seve Trophy in Saint-Nom-la-Bretèche, France. On the final day, with GB&I only needing to pick up 2.5 points in the singles to retain the trophy and with Lee Westwood racing into an early 3-hole lead in the opening match, it seemed the writing was on the wall for Continental Europe.

However, as the day developed, it turned out not to be the procession many had predicted. Thomas Bjorn squared the match with Westwood after 11 holes, going on to win 2&1, then Continental Europe won the following 4 matches to level the scores at 11.5 apiece.

In an afternoon reminiscent of the amazing turnaround in Brookline by the US Ryder Cup Team of 1999, an unthinkable European victory seemed a distinct possibility. Finally, a tightly contested halve from Englishman, David Horsey and Belgium’s Nicolas Colsaerts, halted Continental Europe’s run of victories. Scott Jamieson then provided a critical point to GB&I by beating Pablo Larrazábal, before a crucial birdie on the 18^th from Ian Poulter saw him defeat the young Italian, Matteo Manassero. All this meant that Mark Foster’s narrow victory over Raphaël Jacquelin was enough to retain the Seve Trophy for GB&I for the 6^th consecutive occasion.

In a day where 7 of the 10 matches were either halved, or won by only one hole, the Seve Trophy once again provided compulsive viewing and a fitting tribute to the late Seve Ballesteros.

European Golf has a lot to thank Seve for: As a player, he inspired young players to take up the game and captured the hearts of millions with his dramatic, high-risk approach to attaining victory. Seve was the talisman for consecutive European Ryder Cup teams, before going on to captain Team Europe to one of it’s most famous victories in 1997 at Valderrama, Spain.

He established the Seve Trophy to allow European golf to be showcased on a global scale and did so much to expand the brand of European Tour Golf globally. Optimal Analysis were fortunate to have a strong relationship with Seve through the Seve Ballesteros Golf Academy and we feel strongly that the European Tour should formally honour Seve by changing their logo to incorporate an image of this much-missed legend of the game.

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Calling all PGA Registered Assistants!

Sep 152011

Are you a Registered Assistant looking to become an established golf coach and would like some help to get your business off the ground?

At Optimal Analysis, we understand your problems and have created a unique price structure for our eAcademy package, designed to support you whilst you are building your client base and establishing yourself.

Registered Assistants will be able to use the eAcademy integrated solution absolutely free for 6 months.

For more information:

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Tel: +44 131 554 1984

Golf season comes to the boil in Atlanta

Aug 102011

The fourth and final major of the year begins tomorrow and the 93rd PGA Championship is set-up to be a gripping and fascinating contest. This year’s championship is being held at the Atlanta Athletic Club in Georgia and it is set to be a warm and humid affair, having being dubbed Hot-Lanta by several media organisations already. With numerous high profile players finding good form in the last few weeks, along with the well publicised return of a certain Tiger Woods, you can be sure it will make compulsive viewing.

So who are the main contenders? Adam Scott and his new caddy, Steve Williams of Tiger fame, blew away the field last week but winning back to back on tour is a feat rarely accomplished in the modern era. Tiger showed glimpses of form last week, though struggled to find the fairways off the tee, and with McIlroy, Donald and Westwood shooting 67, 66 and 65 respectively, it is difficult to select a pre-tournament favourite. The pressure is really on Donald and Westwood, who are looking to pick up their first major title and justify their respective world rankings of 1 and 2 to a sceptical American public. Jason Day, the young Australian, has showed impressive form at this year’s majors and a strong finish last week also makes him one to watch.

Team ISM, otherwise known as International Sports Management, the golfing stable of both McIlroy and Westwood, currently hold all the major titles from this year and are looking to complete the slam with this week’s prize, the USPGA’s Wannamaker Trophy. Fellow ISM charger, Charl Schwartzel, started the ball rolling at the Masters, then McIlroy took the U.S. Open in emphatic fashion, before Darren Clarke rolled back the years to capture the Claret Jug in July at Sandwich. Andrew ‘Chubby’ Chandler ISM MD and former European Tour golfer said “I’ll be delighted if any of our boys collects the trophy, but it would be particularly pleasing if Lee Westwood could finally cross the grand slam line after going so close, so often.”

All the while, the Americans will be hoping for a home victory. Phil Mickelson was the last American to win a major, the 2010 Masters, and since then 6 majors have been and gone with an American claiming top spot. This period symbolises the biggest drought in American major winners in the Open era and the US fans are eagerly waiting for one of the new kids on the block, like Anthony Kim or Rickie Fowler, to take over the reins from Woods and Mickelson.

Check back to the blog next week where we will use Optimal’s Coaching Studio video analysis software to make an in-depth analysis of the PGA champion’s swing. Optimal’s Coaching Studio software forms part of our groundbreaking eAcademy offering, for more information please click here.

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Tel: +44 131 554 1984

Dartfish 6.0 Has Arrived

Aug 092011

Optimal Analysis are excited to announce the release of the latest evolution of Dartfish video analysis software, version 6.0. This new edition of the market leading analysis solution boosts an impressive array of new features and improvements including:

A brand new video engine with greater picture quality, smoother playback and quicker access to stored videos
Simplified video and file import methods, including easy up import from smartphones and tablets.
Improved Tagging functionality and a new panel editor, providing greater flexibility when using Tagging and allowing users to easily build their own customized tagging panels.

Another exciting features of 6.0 is the brand new Customer Care Gateway. This fully integrated portal allows direct access to a wealth of training material and Dartfish technical support from your software. In the unlikely event you encounter any problems with you software, diagnosis information is automatically communicated to the support team directly by your Dartfish software, ensuring problems can be resolved quickly and simply. Furthermore, the Customer Care Gateway allows you to install your software straight away via download, as well as holding a definitive record of your Dartfish customer history for easy access to your downloads, drivers and license codes.

Dartfish Video Software is the market-leading video analysis solution. To learn more about Dartfish, or for further information on how Dartfish Video Analysis software could aid you and your organization, please contact Optimal Analysis.

For more information:

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Tel: +44 131 554 1984

Darren Clarke Seals Open Triumph At 20th Attempt

Jul 182011

Open Champion: Darren Clarke (Image courtesy of Reuters)

Darren Clarke held off spirited charges from Phil Mickelson and Dustin Johnson yesterday to claim the 151st British Open and with it, his first victory in a major.

The 42-year-old Northern Irishman took a one-shot lead into the final day over Johnson, who started sloppily with bogeys at both the 4th and 6th holes. Mickelson, however, set off like a train with birdies at the 2nd, 4th, 6th, and 10th, alongside an eagle at the Par 5 7th. All this, meant Clarke could not afford to sit back and wait for those around him to fall away and responded with some strong golf, rescuing a great opening par at the first and a birdie at the 2nd before bogeying the 4th.

Clarke then matched Mickelson’s eagle on the 7th to take him to 7 under, before Mickelson missed a short par putt 11th and followed this up with further bogeys on the 13th, 15th and 16th as he fell away from contention. However, Johnson came back at Clarke with birdies on the 7th, 10th and 12th but when a layup attempt on the par 5 14th went horrendously wrong, drifting out of bounds to the right, it was as if the title was destined for Clarke.

Clarke, who had his share of luck, twice fortuitously bouncing over hazardous pot bunkers, strung 9 pars together after his eagle at the 7th to leave him with a comfortable lead with two to play. Despite bogeys at the last two holes, he held on for the win and admitted:

“The last couple of holes, I was trying not to make any really stupid mistakes”.

Clarke dedicated the win to his two sons, Tyrone and Conor, who began their day playing a round at Royal Portrush back in Northern Ireland, before watching Dad secure his biggest career victory in the afternoon. Clarke said afterwards, “If it hadn’t come off and I hadn’t won, I could still have said I did my best. I ask my two boys to do their best and that’s what they do, so I think their dad should try do the same.”

Clarke, a man noted for his extravagant celebrations, is meant to be joining Weight Watchers this week and admitted it could well be “a bad week” for him to start as “there’s five points in a pint of Guiness.”

Clarke is next scheduled to be in action at the Irish Open later in July, but urged caution against any high expectations, saying: “I may not be sober… but I will be in Killarney”.

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Club Pro Goes All The Way

Jul 052011

Simon Edwards, club professional from Windermere Golf Club, has qualified for the British Open.

Simon Edwards made the 350-mile journey from the Lake District to Kent last week to compete in the Local Final Qualifying at Prince’s Golf Club. After a day interrupted by thunderstorms, Simon carded a 68 and followed it with a 69 to finish 7 under par, winning by two shots and booking his place at next week’s Open Championship at Royal St George’s.

Simon, who has been using Optimal’s eAcademy product in his teaching studio, made the switch from V1 in early January, citing better value for money and improved functionality as the reasons for the switch.

Join the growing number of eAcademy coaches worldwide by contacting one of the Optimal Analysis team, today.

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Tel: +44 131 554 1984