Bendigo Academy of Sport athletes learn from golf experts

The squad of BAS athletes converged on Neangar's new pitch-n-putt course and the club's regular par-71 layout for the high-performance clinic hosted by Golf Australia's Travis Harrison.

Harrison is one of Golf Australia's high-performance coaches and throughout the day worked one-on-one with the athletes to share his expertise.

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Bendigo Academy of Sport manager of programs Mark Perdon said it was the ideal opportunity for the junior golfers to expand their skills and knowledge of the sport.

"Travis has such great knowledge and expertise as a golfer and it was an excellent chance for our athletes to learn even more about golf," he said.

"Not only were the kids in awe of his knowledge but also the parents who were also able to learn from his skills."

During the day the program started out with hands-on techniques on Neangar's pitch-n-putt course before they headed over to the driving range to work on refining their swings.

"Travis brought out the TrackMan for swing analysis which included drills on yardage and also proximity before they headed onto the main course," Perdon said.

"Instead of just going out and playing nines holes, the athletes were separated into smaller groups where they focused on different strategies of thinking themselves around a golf course,"

"They played three holes conservatively, three aggressively and then three with a normal approach."

The clinic on Sunday came on the back of recent all-round success of Australian Golf - which includes Cameron Smith's historic win at the 150th Open Championship, in addition to former BAS athlete Lucas Herbert having a strong year competing on the international stage.

With a remarkable five successive birdies to start the back nine, Smith chased down Rory McIlroy to become the first Australian to claim the famous Claret Jug since Greg Norman at Royal St George's in 1993.

Meanwhile, Herbert locked in a career-best Open finish at T15.

"It's incredible for Australians to have so much success lately on the golf course and all we hope is that the next generation of players see what's possible.

"It promotes golf as a great option for kids which hopefully means even greater overall participation numbers."

Another key area of the BAS's overall program that's excelling is a weekly strength and conditioning program held in collaboration with La Trobe University.

Each week athletes attend the program where they work directly with third year students who oversee them while they perform exercises specific to their chosen sport.

Founded nearly thirty years ago in 1995, the BAS was formed to support regional athletes and their families undertake elite training in regional areas.

Past participants include Herbert (golf), Tayla Vlaeminck (cricket) and Caitlin Thwaites (netball).

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