Professional Approach Sees Surrey To Success

The Surrey county and under-18 teams both won their respective six-man national championships in 2000, the first time that any county has won both sections in the same year.

Having employed tour coach and TV pundit Jeremy Bennett at the beginning of the season to revitalise the county's coaching methods, Surrey's potential has finally been fulfilled.

It had been 20 years since the Surrey team qualified for the six-man National Finals, let alone won the title, and adding a certain twist to events, the last time that Surrey did win the National Final was when former Surrey amateur champion Bennett was a member of the team.

When Bennett took over the coaching at Surrey he didn't turn-up to practice sessions to hand out swing tips, but he completely restructured Surrey's approach to every aspect of competitive golf.

"There's so much more than just advising on golfers' swings that a coach can do," said Bennett. "So when I went to Surrey I starting working on their course management, match preparation, technique, public relations, diet and equipment. I prepared yardage charts for the team and checked pin positions for them. I started to oversee every part of their game so that nothing was left to chance, including making sure that hotel rooms were not in noisy areas."

The talent at Bennett's disposal must not be under-estimated. US college star Paul Casey, who started his PGA Tour career in the recent AT&T Pro-Am at Pebble Beech, played his part in the early part of Surrey's season. And fellow-US collegiate David Ryles was an important part of the team in the year that he received his first England call-up.Surrey's third England international was 18-year-old Zane Scotland, who played in the Open Championship at Carnoustie in 1999.

"It has been really satisfying," adds Bennett, who himself played for 12 years on the European Tour and has coached, among others, Bernhard Langer. "Some members of the team were a bit low in confidence at the beginning of the year, but they have all worked hard and it has paid off. It is now a case of trying to emulate last year's achievements and perhaps get one more member of the team into the England set-up."

Bennett will continue to guide the Surrey squad this year, in tandem with his commitments to Sky Sports, for whom he regularly provides studio analysis of events and instructional advice. Bennett also intends to spend more time coaching on the European Tour.

Golfers looking to add more structure and depth to their own regime, rather than purely using their handicap as a gauge of progress, can take a one-day crash course with Bennett at Windlesham in Surrey. The course, including a full day of advice, seminars and lunch, costs £269 per person. Call 01276-451434 for further information.