|Leadbetter answers your questions|
|Around the Academy:
We gave you the chance to put your questions to David Leadbetter, one of the world's best golf coaches.
He works with Ernie Els and Michelle Wie and was on hand to offer some top-class golf tips.
Don't worry if your question didn't get answered, the answers below will be helpful to everyone.
Wayne, 26, Reading
What advice would you give to golfers with limited practice time available to them, but who want to improve?
You don't have to go out and hit balls all the time. Get a good posture and grip and work on your technique in a mirror in the garden or in the house, if you've got room.
You can also use a video camera to look at your swing to compare it to what you see on TV. And you can practise your putting at home too.
Daniel, 15, Biggleswade
What age did you start to teach Michelle?
I only started teaching Michelle when she was 13. She's got a God-given talent to hit a golf ball.
Look out for the American Charles Howell. He has been with me since he was 12 and he's now 24 so he's developed his fundamentals with me over a period of time.
Robert, 35, Cape Town
What in your opinion is the problem with Tiger's swing?
Every great player throughout history has a down period in their game. He's made a couple of changes to make things better but to me his swing doesn't look as natural as it used to be.
For me he's getting his club face and left wrist a little bit too closed at the top and this causes him at times to hit some block shots or some hooks.
Peter, 18, Dublin
What's the secret to holing out from 2-3 feet?
The key to holing out is to have a nice, short, compact stroke. Keep your head still and listen for the ball to go in the hole.
Some people miss the short putts because they follow the ball with their eyes. If you move your head your less likely to hit it solidly.
John, 49, Glasgow
What is the best way to create a good tempo in your swing?
First of all visualise someone like Ernie Els and then make a lot of practice swings with your eyes closed. You can get a really good sense of rhythm like this.
A lot of times when your eyes are open, your conscious mind is controlling what you're doing.
Ollie, 23, Arundel
What is the best way to keep your cool after a bad shot or putt?
It's hard not to be a hot-head sometimes, I know this myself! You have to train your mind to think in terms of the next shot.
If you hit a bad shot, do not leave that spot until you've made a couple of good swings where you feel, 'that's the swing that I want.'
Try to be as positive as you can. In golf you've always got the next shot to think about so get the last one out of your mind as soon as possible.
Malcolm, 36, Stoke
If you had just one piece of advice to give someone to be more consistent with their ball striking what would it be?
Get your set-up position right. That includes your grip, your posture, your alignment and the ball position.
You need to make sure it's the same each time. When you're practising, put a club on the floor to get your alignment and your ball position right.
Also get a good pre-shot routine - do it on the practice range too.
Gareth, 24, Peterborough
What are the common causes of a hook shot and how would you fix it?
Generally speaking a hook is caused because the swing goes from inside to out causing excessive hand action.
If this happens, practice hitting some shots with the ball beneath your feet. That will encourage you to get your club up on the backswing and get your club more on line.
Andrew, 14 Sittingbourne
What is the best way to practice my bunker shots?
Believe it or not but the best way to practise is with an 8-iron. What it makes you do is open the face of the club and it gives you more bounce.
Then work on opening the face through impact. You'll make contact with the sand in the same way each time and it will make you accelerate because the sharp leading edge of an 8-iron will dig in.
Ryan, 28, Belfast
Is there the one perfect swing that we should all be working towards for maximum consistency and power?
Ernie Els has got beautiful tempo, so even though we can't do exactly the same as him, keep his tempo in mind.
It's worth remembering that a good tempo can cover up a lot of basic problems in your swing.
David Leadbetter appeared at a Callaway coaching clinic at Romanby Golf Club, North Yorkshire.