Hello golfers,

I hope you are all well and have been inspired by what was another incredible Ryder Cup, this time at Gleneagles. I was lucky to have been there for the week witnessing at first hand the incredible talent that these guys possess. The standard seems to increase every time the Ryder Cup comes round and this was certainly no different.

Paul McGinley was an inspiring captain who made some bold decisions on pairings and seemed to have the respect of the entire team. Tom Watson, on the other hand, made some bad calls on some selections which became quite evident at their post-press conference where Phil Mickelson openly criticised Tom Watson who happened to be sitting a mere 4 seats from him! Watson did not deserve that and I was very surprised at how unprofessional Mickelson was with his comments.

   

Back on the golf course it was always going to be interesting to see how the match would ebb and flow. All sessions in the Ryder Cup are key but this year it really was the foursomes' sessions that decided the outcome. With Europe winning the foursomes' sessions collectively 7-1, it really gave them a huge lift on the march to glory. Come Sunday the European team lead their American counter parts 10-6 and needed only four points to retain the cup and 4.5 points to win it outright. Both teams put some big names out at the top of the order hoping to register some early points.

Europe struck first as the World Number One, Rory McIlroy, played almost flawless golf as he was six under par through six holes and 6up on close friend Ricky Fowler. He went on to win 5&4 and set Europe on their way. Graham McDowell produced a superb comeback to defeat American star Jordan Speith having been 3down at one stage. Looking at the leaderboard it was hard to pick who may record the winning point for Europe. It looked like it could be Scotland's Stephen Gallacher until he went down in the end to Phil Mickelson. As it was, it came down to Jamie Donaldson as the Welshman hit an approach to a foot on the 15th to see off Keegan Bradley and set off jubilant scenes of celebration around the green.

   

In the end the overall result was 16.5-11.5 and another resounding win for the European Team. It's amazing how the shift of power has occurred after so many years of America dominating the event. And so now we wait another two years for the next chapter of what is the biggest event in world golf.

Did you win? If you read my predictions last week, I mentioned that I thought that Europe would win 16-12 so I was only half a point out. I also said that Justin Rose and Ricky Fowler would be each team's top points scorer - well one out of two wasn't bad.

New Nike Centre Out Of This World

I have been incredibly lucky this week that on the back of my week at the Ryder Cup I was invited by Nike Golf to spend three days with them at the amazing Archerfield Links complex near Edinburgh. This is the home to Nike Golf's first custom fit experience centre in the UK.

The idea of the trip was to take in the amazing facilities that Archerfield has to offer, attend some sales meetings and, most importantly, look at and try at first hand next year's line-up of products. The product for next year looks and plays amazing. The technology behind the product is first class and its shelf appeal looks stunning! There will be a full product launch starting at the end of January with a complete range of drivers, fairways, rescues, irons, bags and accessories to complement each other.

Whilst there I was privileged to meet Ryder Cup player Francesco Molinari as well as tour player Thorbjorn Olesen and was able to watch them hit balls on the range and pick their brains about their equipment choices.

   

Once again I am a Nike Swoosh Staff player and so we will have access to all the productS, lots of special offers as well as holding another a Nike Experience Day at some point next year. 2015 looks like a massive year for Nike.    

Tom Sheffield was the main man in this year's Gold Cup. His excellent golf over the two rounds enabled him to capture both the nett and scratch prizes and in turn a nice handicap cut to 6.6. Runner-up in the nett was Andy Smith and runner-up in the scratch was Joel Carnell. Congratulations to all players for some tremendous scoring over both rounds and to all those who received handicap cuts in the process.

Clive Seabourne claimed first place in the Midweek Stableford with an excellent 33 points. Well done, Clive.

A big congratulations to Tom Sheffield for winning the Gold Cup with rounds of 71 & 73. This really shows what can be done with the right Professional Golf advice and confidence.

Here's what Tom had to say:

'This year I have tried to play more and for much of the summer I was very happy with the way some aspects of my game were working but getting increasingly frustrated that I was not able to turn good play into decent scores. I had identified that my driving and putting were letting me down.

James took me out onto the golf course to look at both. What impressed me most was the way that he listened to what I was saying about my game and how he identified we could improve things without making major technical swing changes. James talked me through the reasons why I was hitting my bad shot, filmed my swing to show me where the fault lay and explained in simple terms how the faults made the shot go wayward and how to improve. We did the same with my putting. Within five minutes of watching me putt from varying distances James quickly saw the problem and explained how I could fix it with some simple changes to the way I set up over ball and the way I think about the putt.

Both my driving and putting have quickly improved significantly without having to make any major alterations to my technique. I found James very good at understanding what I hoped to gain from the coaching, very attentive and easy to understand. James helped me to resolve my problems and by now being able to consistently put the ball in play from the tee and making less 3-putts my scores have reduced from being consistently above my handicap to comfortably below (not that easy as I play off single figures) within a couple of lessons. If you have any issues with your game I would highly recommend seeing James for instruction.'

I am here to coach and am available every day to help you achieve what you want from your game. Whether it is a block of lessons, an on-course assessment or a brief swing check, please come in and have a chat to see what I can do to improve your game. Click here to book a lesson. 

**Please note that I am away from October the 8th-13th. Don't let that stop you booking lessons for my return.

Monday 6th October - Teignagers' Coaching - 3.30-4.30pm (General Swing) 
Tuesday 7th October - No Ladies' Coaching - Resuming Tuesday 14th October 2-3pm (Drivers) 

Game Improvement Sessions start Sunday October 19th 10.30am - 11.30am and run for 4 weeks. A perfect opportunity to have game check ups coming into the winter. Only £7.50 per session & limited spaces available. 


We all need Lessons

Even the best player in the world needs regular check points to make sure he is progressing on his intended target. Whether it is a quick swing check or a series of lessons, checking in with a golf coach every now and again can stop it getting to the point of quitting. Many times having a lesson when playing great will help cement certain swing thoughts rather than waiting until those low point rounds become customary and confidence is at an all-time low.

James is here to coach full-time so whether it is a planned lesson or at the point of desperation he will make sure your improvement comes first. 

As a golfer I am sure you are keen to improve your game and reduce your handicap or even obtain a handicap. My staff and I are the most qualified people to help you do this. We are trained to the highest standard in custom fitting and coaching - the two key areas to look at if you really want to improve your golf. I have managed to help many of you this year by custom fitting you correctly to a product that will undoubtedly help your game. Whether it be a set of irons, a driver or even a wedge or putter we have the skill set to correctly fit you in to the correct product to improve your game.

Our custom fitting is completely FREE when you make a purchase within one month of your fitting and with our wide range of choice aided by our state of the art GC2 Launch Monitor and Simulator. 


New addition to our Custom Fitting Equipment

We now have our Launch Monitor and Simulator up and running. The HMT unit is an amazing device which looks at the clubhead around at impact analysing the path the club is taking, attack angle, strike point on the club face and much, much more! It really is the ultimate device for improving any golfer's technique and understanding of their swing. It also take our custom fitting service to a new level allowing us deeper analysis on what the club is doing at impact and how that can be affected by changing lie angles etc.

To book your appointment using our HMT system please click here.

Our Price Promise to all our Customers

I take great pride in not only the amount of great product that we stock, but also how competitive our pricing is. I make it one of my weekly tasks to sit down and look at other retailers and compile a list of what price they are selling the products that we stock. Without having to move my pricing I am always sitting there right alongside the best pricing online. The one thing that I can give ALL my customers that the online retailers cannot is face to face advice and service.

We are here seven days a week to help you with all of your enquiries and queries and are the best people qualified to recommend and fit you for correct product. We also offer a complete after sales service package on all items we sell which gives our customers complete piece of mind.

If by any chance anyone finds a product we sell and the price is cheaper than us, then I am more than happy to match that price without compromising on our quality of service. Please feel free to come in to the Pro Shop and chat to us about our services.

Grip for Success

As we approach the winter months it is essential that you review the condition of your grips. Many of you will not have changed your grips since you have had your clubs so they will be well over due a change. It is a proven fact that poor grip condition can lead to poor golf. One of the key reason is that over a period of time grips lose their traction. They become hard and shiny and can start to slip in the hands when hitting shots. As a reaction to this it is common for a golfer to then increase grip pressure in order to keep hold if the club correctly which, in turn, can cause tension leading to poor rhythm and poor timing.

We have recently installed a new Grip Bar in the Pro Shop which allows us to correctly fit you for the best type and size of grip to suit your game. Correct grip size is crucial for consistent golf as it allows the hands to control the club head. If the grips are too thin then the hands can work too quickly causing the clubhead to close and the shots to fly left. If the grips are too thick then the hands can work too slowly leaving the clubface open leading to the ball flying to the right. 

Next time you're at the club why not pop in and talk to us about having some new grips fitted and see what difference it can make to your game. 


Super Stroke your way to better scores

As many of you will have seen recently there has been a growing number of players switching to use a Super Stroke putter grip. The larger grips are designed to encourage a more solid putting stroke helping to eliminate excessive wrist action which is often one of the major causes of inconsistent putting. If the wrists become too active then this can have major restrictions on the ability to control distance putts and maintain a square club face through impact causing pushes and pulls. The Super Stroke range of putter grips come in various sizes to suit all golfers. So next time you're at the club why not pop in to the shop and we can advise you on what size grip to be fitted with.