Hello golfers,

I hope this finds you well and the golf clubs have behaved themselves this week. Life here at the Valley has been very busy with lots of competitions on at the moment and a packed diary for the summer ahead there is a great buzz about the club. Please keep checking with myself or Chris in the Pro Shop to keep up to date with fixtures and tee bookings as their will be amendments to the club diary due to this being printed back in December.

I have been asked by the men's committee to remind players about the etiquette of not turning up for competitions. Players are responsible for putting their own names down for competitions and are reminded that it is etiquette to let the Pro Shop know if you will not be turning up for any competition as early as possible.

There have been quite a few occasions lately where players have been left on their own due to no shows from other players.

Captains Day

Saturday saw Andy and Vivienne stage their Captains Day.

A great field took to the course to play a Stableford with a twist! The twist was 2 power play holes where players could double their points for those holes if they choose to play to the hard flag position. This is always great fun and can really boost a players score. With the weather just about holding fair and the course in superb condition the scoring was destined to be good and so this proved!

Winning the men's trophy with a staggering 50pts was Micky Davis. He pipped New member Steve Allen by 1 point. The ladies trophy was won by Fiona Carpenter with an excellent 40pts.

All players appreciated the efforts of the Captains and wished them well for the remainder of their years as Captains.

10 yard challenge a success

In conjunction with Captains Day I ran a 10 yard challenge event. The idea was that I took the length of the players average drive and try to give the player at least an extra 10 yards by either a technique change, a ball change or a tweak to the driver through loft change or shaft.

I was rushed off my feet with members wanting to take this up so thank you to all those who supported the initiative and sorry to those who I couldn't squeeze in but please look out for future challenges.

I managed to make some great increases to most players with the most yards gained being an incredible 51 yards!! I also timed how long it took me to make the gains and the quickest gain was 52 seconds. The average yards gained was an impressive 23 yards! Both of these increases and indeed most of the other gains were made by tweaking techniques so therefore showing the importance of having golf lessons.

If you missed out and would like to see if I can gain your extra yards on your drive click here.

Club Championships

This weekend sees Men's Club Championships take place with the biggest field in recent times pegging it up. It promises to a keenly contested affair with the players playing 18 holes on Saturday before being re-ranked in leaderboard order ready for Sundays 2nd 18 holes. Their are trophys awarded for both the Scratch and Handicap winners.

Good luck to all those playing.

Ladies Mid-summer Foursomes

The ladies played 27 holes of foursomes on Tuesday to battle out the winner of the Mid-summer Foursomes Trophy. On a day with a few scattered showers this was as much of a mental test as a golfing test. In the end it was the pair of Ann Sommerscales and Serena Skinner who prevailed to lift the trophy.

Ladies continue good run

The Ladies President Trophy team continued their good form with another home victory this time over Stover. That made it 4 wins out of 5 and leaves them in a strong position with 3 matches to go.

Mixed win

The mixed team played at home to Crediton on Sunday and recorded a win by 5 and a half points to 2 and a half.

Micky and Roger just pipped

Micky Davis and Roger Carpenter narrowly lost their Daily Mail Foursomes match away at East Devon on the 20th hole! In a nip and tuck match they had chances to secure the match but just came up short in the end.

What a weekend ahead

It has a feel a bit like Christmas this week as not only is it the start of the US Open but also the World Cup!

I'm going to wearing the battery's out in the remote with all the channel hopping I'm going to be doing! I love a bit of predicting and so this week is heaven for me as I look at contenders in both. US Open wise it really is a very open event as for me there are a number of players in with a shout of lifting the famous trophy.

Both Rory Mcilroy and World no1 Adam Scott are both showing recent good form so they have to be right up there as favourites. The American Challenge will be lead by form player Bubba Watson but I think a US Open layout will be to tight for his wayward driving so for me Matt Kuchar and Hunter Mahan are worth keeping an eye on.

The World Cup is a football fans dream with matches galore and the worlds best footballers on show. You would have to say that the South American teams have the advantage due to the climate so the likes of Brazil and Argentina will be everyone's favourites. I have a sneaky feeling however that Germany will buck the trend of European teams not winning in that part if the world.

As for England's chances well I have to say I'm excited by the squad we have with its youth, pace and goalscoring threat so I think we will at least get to the quarter finals......beyond that who knows!!

I have done the draw for our World Cup Sweepstake so see who you have drawn and good luck! Click on the image to see a full size version.

Summer Clothing

Looking at the weather we could be looking at donning our summer wardrobe over the next week.

This is the perfect time to treat yourself to a new golfing shirt for summer.

We have some great shirts in stock in a wide range of colours, styles and sizes so we have something for everybody.

Pop in and get dressed for success this summer.

New Clubhouse Menu 

We now have a New Clubhouse Menu in place.

It is a full range of food and beverages at excellent prices and as one of the chief menu testers I can highly recommend it.

There are a variety of options from toasted sandwiches to paninis and baguettes as well as traditional meals like curry and ham egg and chips.

Please remember that non members are welcome so please feel free to bring friends and family up for a bite to eat and a drink and support your club.

The menu is brain child of both Leah and Nicola who have worked hard to give you such a great menu and I know would really appreciate the members supporting this excellent initiative.

Callaway now in stock

We have the new Callaway product in to the pro shop. Their new range of X2 Hot and Big Bertha clubs are fantastic performing clubs and we will be holding demo product in stock for you to be fitted with.

FREE Hybrid Offer

We are currently running a promotion with Callaway golf which allows any customer purchasing a X2 Hot driver to receive a matching X2 Hot Hybrid for FREE !! How good a deal is that!!

Book your fitting now, click here.

Working with pupils on a multitude of faults just got easier here at the Valley. I have just had delivery of a Swingperfector.

This is a great new teaching aid which allows me to work with pupils on correcting various swing faults. It's key use is based around swing plane and helping the pupil to swing in the desired plane in order to get them striking the ball more consistently and with increased direction.

It also has many other uses though and can help with weight transfer, loss of height in the swing and posture issues to name but a few.

I will be using the new tool up in the studio to assist me with my coaching so why not book a session now and get the benefit from the Swingperfector.

Click here to book your session with the swing perfector.

Our GC2 Launch Monitor and Simulator

As your PGA Professional I pride myself in giving you the best service possible. When it comes to coaching and custom fitting I have the perfect tool to help you get the most out of your sessions. The GC2 simulator and launch monitor is the market leader when it comes to club and ball data, both crucial when coaching and fitting. By looking at stats like club head speed, launch angle and spin rates I can help suggest technique improvements as well as fit you with any club to best suit your game. We are lucky to have such a great tool at our disposal and it's simple but effective results make it clear for any golfer to see what has happened.

Please contact me at the pro shop to book a fitting or a lesson using the GC2 or simply click here to book your session.

Know how far you hit the ball

Many golfers I play with have no idea of what yardage they have left in to any green. Their club selection is based upon guess work which they may get away with it to an extent as they become familiar with their own course but when they go elsewhere they struggle to get their club selection right. A GPS watch is the perfect way to get a accurate yardage on every shot you play. It displays a yardage to the front, middle and back of any green thus giving you the opportunity to select the correct club needed to cover the required distance. The Skycaddie GPS watch is a fantastic product and is in stock in the pro shop. We have a demo watch available for you to take to the course and try.

Find your numbers 

Working in conjunction with a GPS device it is vital that you know how far you hit each club. Using our GC2 launch monitor we can help you to understand how far you hit each club. We can help you perform a gap test which works out the average carry and total distance you hit each of your clubs vital information for the golf course.

An example of this would be your GPS device showing 132 yards to go and you knowing your 8 iron goes 135 would be a pretty good club selection.

To book your fitting please contact the pro shop or click here to book your session.

We will trade in your old irons

As the new golfing season approaches many of you will be thinking about treating yourselves to some new irons. Please remember that as your PGA Club Professional I am the most qualified person to help you find the correct set of irons for you. With the aid of our GC2 launch monitor I can give you the ultimate custom fit experience to make sure that we are fitting you correctly for your new clubs. We will look at elements such as shaft length and flex, grip size, lie angle and lofts to try to get the most out of your game.

The bonus for you as the customer is that all this comes FREE if you make a purchase on what you have been fitted for.

We also offer a FREE 3 month check up so we can make sure that you are totally happy with your purchase.

To help with the cost of your new clubs we offer a trade in on your old clubs. The price we offer depends on the age and condition of the clubs but we are more than happy to discuss this with you.

So if you've been thinking of treating yourself then now is a great time to pop in to the pro shop and talk to us about a custom fitting.

Pro-am next week

Just a reminder that we have our annual Pro-am and Professional Four Ball event next week so the course will be closed as follows:

• Tuesday - until 3.30pm
• Wednesday - until 2pm
• Thursday - until 1.30 pm

We have a full field of 36 teams for the Pro-am so thank you to all those who have signed up to play and to those who have volunteered to be ball spotters over the 3 days

Great clothing ranges in store

This years initiatives

This year we are giving you lots of exciting initiatives to be part of. These include the following :

• 10 yard challenge
• Shoe trade in
• Bag trade in
• Glove trade in
• Short game assessments
•  Demo days
• Ball fitting days
• Group coaching clinics
• And many more...

These are there for every one to join in on so keep reading your newsletter each week to find out further information and for confirmation of dates.

In an age where social media is a big part of our lives I can keep you up to date with what is going on in and around the club and pro shop. Follow me on Facebook at Darren Everett Pro Golf and in twitter @dceverettpgapro There will opportunities to access great deals and win prizes via social media this season so follow me now and find out how.