Mel Reid opens new Leicestershire practice facility
Solheim Cup star Mel Reid has opened a new short-game facility in Leicestershire.
Charnwood Golf Complex is near Reid’s home in Loughborough and the Ladies European Tour player was on hand for a Q&A session.
The day also entailed lots of activities including a demonstration, short-game skills challenge, nearest-the-pin competition on the indoor simulator, free lesson in the teaching studio and a mini-golf tournament.
The new short game area has been created with the help of the local Notts County girls team and the Loughborough University Golf Team, both of whom are coached by PGA pro Daniel Parkes.
“When you look at all of the players who have had strong short games in the past like Seve Ballesteros and Phil Mickelson, they are very creative in how they manufacture shots around the course,” said Parkes, who recently won an England Golf Talent Pathway Award.
Daniel and his team have created an environment to test players’ creative sides and push them outside their comfort zones.
The short game area consists of nine ‘pods’, from where you can play to five different flag positions giving you 45 different variations for your practice sessions. Each pod has three different grass cuts (fairway, semi rough and rough) and every lie angle (uphill downhill, side hill and flat) so you can prepare for every on course scenario and never get bored of practising.
Parkes’ overall aim for Charnwood Golf Complex is to develop the site and create an environment that stimulates and challenges all levels and abilities of golfer from complete beginner to elite.
“I want us to be known as a facility players from all over the country will want to visit to learn and develop their golf,” he said.
Charnwood offers a whole host of top-class facilities including a 22-bay heated driving range with floodlights, an indoor teaching studio with V1 Pro, Flightscope and Foresights GC2 systems, an indoor golf simulator with 16 worldwide golf courses, an indoor putting studio (soon to be equipped with the SAM system) and of course the new short game area.
Daniel was was brought into Charnwood from the Nottinghamshire Golf and Country Club after winning the Talent Pathway Award for building a successful academy structure. It offered an outstanding contribution to developing and strengthening links between club and county to support talented young players. He was then awarded Advanced PGA Professional status for highly successful coaching achievements based around developing golf and also in my work with county level golfers in both the boys and girls squads.
Daniel is also the team coach for the Nottinghamshire county team and Loughborough University golf team.
Find out more about Daniel via his website, follow him on Twitter: @dparkespga and like him on Facebook: @dparkespga
