What to expect from the PM6 Challenge

Grow player potential

The average golf handicaps for men and women over the past 10 years have remained pretty stagnant.

For men, the current average handicap is 14 and for ladies, it’s 27.

So in this day and age with things like new equipment promising us straighter and longer shots, why is the average handicap not much lower?

Why do golfers still get frustrated and don’t see long-term improvement in their games in the same ways they have for decades?

This is a puzzle that GolfSpace founder Dean Dewhirst feels can finally be conquered and lead golfers of all abilities to achieve long-term improvement.

Dewhirst has created a unique new system known as the PlayMaker 6 Challenge that can take golfers on a journey to a major improvement in the space of 12 weeks.

But why did he feel there was a requirement to create the PlayMaker 6 Challenge in the first place?

“So, for the last 30 to 50 years, people have been looking at golf improvement by getting a lesson at a driving range or with a golf pro at a golf club with the same old focus on fixing the swing fault.“

Improving swing mechanics is one thing but it doesn’t answer the question fully in Dewhirst’s eyes:

“It’s not all about fixing the golf swing. It’s about how do I actually score in the game of golf and how do I reduce my handicap?“

When we look at how professionals look to improve their play they have a very different approach.

Professionals are not afraid to tackle head-on where the weakest parts of their games are and they will use technology and analysis to pinpoint those areas.

Using the data they collate they can measure precisely if they are improving and it’s something Dewhirst sees as a key differentiator between the professional and amateur ranks.

Referring to how professionals are using technology and analysis Dewhirst observes:

“This is because the pros have been using these two mechanisms for a while and the pros are getting better and better right? They’re scoring lower.”

But now amateur golfers can take advantage of enrolling on the PlayMaker 6 Challenge to experience a process of improvement similar to the professionals.

To start with, Dean explains how the process begins with data being gathered for each golfer:

“What we do differently is that we will get you to go and play an outdoor round to start with and get you to track your data and the stats on how you played that round.”

Those numbers are then shared with the golfer’s assigned coach and from there the golfer will play the same course again but indoors this time so the coach can see not only how the golfer is hitting it but the decisions that they take as they navigate their way round the course.

This is where the big difference of the PlayMaker 6 Challenge comes in as Dewhirst goes on to explain:

“So what do we do differently? A traditional golf pro is going to get the golfer to hit some balls on the driving range and say right let’s see what we’re working with. And they’re looking at the ball flight and they’re looking at finding your faults. We’re doing the opposite. We’re saying play a round of golf outdoors and track how you play. Then come in and show us what you do indoors when you’re playing golf.”

So now the golfer can see the difference between indoors and outdoors plus working with the coach, can start to build a tailor-made plan towards improvement.

The golfer can also articulate with the coach the holes that cause them the biggest problems when they are playing and find a more effective way to tackle them.

This level of in-depth analysis is another synergy between what the top pros use day in and day out and what any amateur can experience via the PlayMaker 6 Challenge.

“The first thing the coach wouldn’t say to a top pro. Let’s just hit some balls. Let’s have a look at what we’re working with. They’re going to say: Let’s have a look at your stats and data, and what you do when you’re playing golf. So we’re doing that for the amateur.”

What gets Dean really excited about the PlayMaker 6 Challenge is that it is already starting to produce some outstanding results for those who have enrolled in the program.

Speaking of one new golfer who took the challenge Dean noted:

“‘They’d never really played too much outdoor golf and they were shooting 120 in their first round and then ended up shooting 99. So they lost about 20 shots in 12 weeks, because we were able to teach them how to do it, how to keep it in play and when to play certain shots and why you would do that.”

In that one instance, PlayMaker 6 is demonstrated perfectly.

Working with the golfer to produce better shots via mechanics but educating them on how to manage their way around the golf course effectively. And all this was done in 12 weeks.

It also highlights how the work done indoors aided the golfer when they got to the real course and played – something Dean believes is at the core of the PlayMaker 6 Challenge:

“We exist to ensure that you play better golf outdoors so indoor training for outdoor performance.”

The PlayMaker 6 Challenge will allow a golfer to work on all areas of their game with the benefit of analysis in the key components, namely:

• Driving
• Approach play
• Chipping and pitching 
• Putting

Coupled with helping their decision-making process and mindset the PlayMaker 6 Challenge is a wholesale improvement process.

We’ll leave the last word on the PlayMaker 6 Challenge to its creator – Dean Dewhirst. Asked to sum up the program’s relevance in one sentence he describes it:

“Golfers understand what the key to success is to improve at golf and get off practicing ball striking on a driving range thinking that is the answer to lower scores.”

Interested in knowing more about the PlayMaker 6 Challenge? Read more here