Visiting Stone gathers no bogey

THAT Brandon Stone is one of the country’s rising stars is not in doubt, and no surprise at all to those who have been following his career.

He has been shooting scores in the low 60s since he was a young boy.

His father Kevin played for many years on the Sunshine Tour and still plays a more-than-decent game.

So, maybe it’s a surprise that he would visit the South Coast to fine-tune his short game.

But then again, not when you have a teaching professional in the form of Derek James of Southbroom Golf Club.

He is a major asset to the area and has been for many years.

Not so long ago, Brandon, the current South African Open champion, was spotted on Southbroom’s range, asking ‘DJ’ for help with his short-game.

It was interesting to watch them go about their business.

Derek kicks into ‘pro’ mode and is all focus. Game face, if you will.

Brandon is a friendly guy, considering all the new pressures that have come into his life.

It’s not that he isn’t used to the spotlight, it’s just that it is becoming more intense.

He seems to have the maturity to handle it quite easily, judging by the way he greeted people at the club, and the way he interacted with Derek, as well as his father Kevin, while they went through various drills, discussing technical intricacies.

Brandon admires the way Alexander Noren is able to get it up and down, with what looks like something of an unorthodox action.

Next time you watch him chip, notice how he holds the club off the right at a slightly odd angle.

They also discussed how different players have vastly different approaches to the game.

For example, Darren Clarke uses a more traditional method but is still lethal around the greens.

Brandon’s father Kevin chipped in with his own input, providing some humour as well.

They chatted about Ernie Els and how astonishingly good his short game is.

Interestingly, it seems the Big Easy employs something of a closed face approach to his bunker play.

However, he is able to get the ball to float out, seemingly at will, whatever distance he wants … and then get it to stop dead.

One thing, among many, that Derek suggested was to practise chipping off the green, in other words, to nip it off super-tight lies.

This isn’t something many amateurs ever have to do. The pros make it look ridiculously easy, but it’s not.

This is the area where Tiger Woods and a player like Martin Kaymer are supposedly having trouble.

Brandon also spoke about how one particular player, (it may have been Henrik Stenson) pushes his weight way over onto the left side when playing flop shots.

It looks a little awkward, but apparently works. Really works.

In the end, the discussions moved back to finding something that worked for Brandon, and perfecting that.

The same is true for any golfer of whatever ability. That’s the swing – the one that has been honed – that needs to arrive when you are under pressure!

Could Brandon be South Africa’s next major winner? It’s definitely not impossible.