Hello golfers,
I hope you have all been well-golfed this past week and that your games are in good shape. Life at the club is now full steam ahead as we reach a very busy period of events.
We start this Saturday with the Anniversary Cup competition. There is a separate trophy for every section to play for. The men, ladies and juniors are playing over 27 holes and the teignagers are playing over 18 holes. This is fully-subscribed and promises to be a brilliant, if not long, day of golf. The following weekend we then have the men's and ladies Club Championships with 18 holes on both the Saturday and Sunday. Just a few days after we have the annual staging of our Pro-Am and West Region PGA Fourball Event.
So a busy diary lie ahead and it's great to see the golf course looking in such superb condition so well done and thank you to Chris and Lucie for all their hard work and efforts.
Is a putter just a putter?
Many people have a slightly blinkered outlook when it comes to the putter. We hear all sorts of comments such as "it's not about the putter, just some days they drop and some days they don't" or "there's no point spending money on a putter because I can't putt anyway!"
I have to say that I am a believer in the golfing gods. Some days the gods will be on my side and I will hit the lip of the hole and the ball will drop in and sometimes it will spin out. But I also believe that if you are nowhere near hitting the hole you do not give the golfing gods a chance to bail you out anyway. The more consistent you putt then the percentage chance of you holing a putt increases hugely.
Being a better putter can come down a lot to technique but also being able to read the greens can either hinder or enhance your putting ability. But let's say that you have a sound technique and you read the greens very well, what else could let you down? How about a putter that is not suited to your technique? If asked whether you had a straight back and through stroke type or an arcing stroke type some of you may guess, some of you may have an idea but a lot of you wouldn't know.
Why is this important? Different styles of putters suit different stroke types. For example, a straight back and through stroke would be better suited to a mallet shape putter where as an arcing stroke type would see more benefit from a heel and toe-weighted putter. Fit the correct putter to the correct stroke type and bingo you are on your way to becoming a better putter. Custom fitting is not just for irons and woods.
If you would to book a putter fitting or just understand what stroke type you are then please contact the pro shop here.
We are now a Grass Roots Centre
I am delighted to announce that we are now an official Grass Roots Golf Centre. Authorised by The Golf Foundation, we have been granted this title with a view to the exciting up and coming contributions we will be making to help grow the game and introduce new people to golf.
Our aims include the following:
Build the structure of a new Junior Golf Academy
Run adult beginner golf lessons
Run specific ladies beginner golf lessons
As an official Grass Roots Centre we have access to funding to allow us to successfully implement our objectives. I will keep you updated with our progress in future newsletters.
Our annual Pro-Am is only a few weeks away and we are keen to get as many members playing as possible. The event has been a brilliant success the past few years with an average of 36 teams being paired up with a top West Region Professional to play in a team event. The Pro-Am precedes our annual West Region PGA Fourball Championships where the regions top Professionals battle in a fourball pairs competition.
The Pro-Am takes place on Tuesday, 16 June and is open to members and non-members and there are sponsorship opportunities also available. The cost is £180 per team of three amateurs which includes bacon baps and coffee on arrival, 18 holes with a professional playing in a team event followed by a two-course meal and a superb prize table. We can allocate you a professional to play with.
Entry forms can be picked up from the pro shop and it is advised that you get your team entry in quickly as spaces will fill fast.
Captain and Pro Challenge
Ted and I are looking for challengers to take us on in a series of challenge matches. The format will be pairs better ball stableford. The cost is £10 per pair but if any pairs beat us they will receive a sleeve of three balls. At the end of the series of matches the pair with the best stableford points will play alongside myself and Ted in a regional Pro-Am at no cost to the players.
There is a list of dates in the changing rooms but if you would like to contact us with a date and time of your own then we will try our very best to squeeze it in to our diaries. Pairs can be made up of any combination and the matches will be played from the red and white tees. We look forward to playing with you.
Complete Equipment Solution
If you are thinking about upgrading your existing clubs then now is a great time to do so. We are currently running our Complete Equipment Solution campaign where anyone getting fitted for irons, driver, fairways, hybrids or wedges from either TaylorMade or PING will receive a FREE fitting and lesson, now that's a superb offer! For more information please contact the pro shop.
Custom fitting IS for everyone
Many golfers still do not believe that they would benefit from custom fitting. This is mainly down to the mind set that they do not hit the ball consistent enough. Let's flip that on its head though, maybe the problem behind them not hitting the ball consistently is down to their clubs being ill-fitted? Golfers often blame themselves for bad shots which obviously a high percentage of the time is true. However I have seen golfers swing the club technically superb who just don't hit the shots they should because the clubs are not suited to them.
I remember vividly teaching a customer a few years ago who had been to America and whilst there purchased some clubs. On his return he booked a lesson to fine-tune his game. We had been hitting balls for around 5-6 minutes when I noticed a pattern. Every shot he hit made a loud thud and the ball kept going left. As I took a look through his swing movements I was really struggling to see what if any the problem was leading to these shots. And then it dawned on me. On asking the question of were the clubs custom fitted for him the answer was "what does that mean?". My search for the fault ended as it soon became evident that the club's lie angle was way out for what he should be using. Therefore every time the club was returned at impact the heel of the club dug in and the club head flipped left, exactly where the ball was ending up. Luckily on getting hold of the UK office of the brand we managed to get the clubs sent back and the lie angle correctly changed.
We have witnessed some superb golf the last couple of weeks from two of the world's best golfers. There is simply no way that either player would be producing this kind of golf with ill-fitted clubs, they wouldn't chance it so why should you? Myself and my team are here to help and advise you with any fitting required and we have access to lots of different demo product from some of the best companies in golf. We also have the perfect fitting tool in the GC2 Launch Monitor and Simulator. This helps us analysis a player's key data such as ball speed, spin rates and of course carry and total distance. With this information we can accurately fit you with the best product for you.
For more information come in to the pro shop and talk to us.
The right mix of clubs
For many that play the same course regularly you probably already know what club you may have into certain holes and what the changes would be if the wind changed. However, this little thought is to work out if you are getting the most out of your current clubs, or if there is room for improvement. Do you have any gaps in your yardages, clubs you don't like to hit, or clubs that seemingly go different distances to the rest?
If the answer is yes this proves that maybe you could add a club, or have a re-think about the certain club - especially important in wedges where a four degree gap should equate to only 10-12 yards difference. This helps to hit full shots and maximise your club selection from 100 yards and in.
If there is a club that you do not like hitting then you have already answered this question yourself. Do not carry a club you do not like hitting, either look to replace with a more consistent performer or look for technical advice to see if you are doing anything wrong. This is focusing on giving you the best chance of scoring well and eliminating any errors you may not even know you were making.
June Offer - Full gap testing plus 30 minute lesson (to be booked separately) - £30.00
Upcoming events - Sat 30 May - 10.00am-11.00am - The start of our new, revamped, HSBC Golf Roots Password Junior Academy