Greetings golfers, 

It was a sad day on Saturday as I said goodbye to Kieran when we worked our last shift together. I thought I caught him shedding a tear at one stage! However it was only because he caught himself awkwardly on the loft & lie machine. After a couple of minutes we managed to free him and he won't be doing that in hurry again! 

Good luck Kieran, I will miss you!


 

'Snow' Way He Went Out In That

Saturday brought some cold weather and some flurries of snow. The course remained opened as many opted for a hot coffee opposed rather than a round of golf. There was one man, who stood steadfast in his golfing quest. 

This man was the mighty "John Ward" who laughed in the face of sleet and snow as he teed up his white, yes white ball. John was so tough he made it even more difficult by playing a ball who mimicked the colour of snow. 

John I salute you, well done!

   

 

Practice Facility Improvements

In previous newsletters you will have seen how we plan to improve the practice facilities. We broke turf a while ago next to the chipping green to show you where we were going to put our new bunker. With a couple of dry days in a row Brian and his team has started to build up the areas around the bunker to make the required lips. 

Most golf clubs would have had to buy this soil but not us. Brian has blended the excavated soil from the recent drainage works and mixed it with sand and other soils to create the perfect mix of soil needed. This has saved us a lot of money and well done to Brian! 

The bunker will still take a while to finish and bed in but as always I will keep you all informed.


We will also be putting out the new yardage signs in the next few weeks with the help of Steven Moran. We are still trying to encourage more growth at both ends of the area so we can have a structured area from hitting from. This will not happen until the warmer weather so we again will keep you posted when we will start to trial this.

You are all going to see a big difference to our facilities in the near future which will benefit you all and give you even more value to your membership.


 

My Trip to the Mizuno Factory 

I've been sneaking into the Mizuno Factory again and watching how clubs are made and fitted. I have been fitting clubs for many years, but I never give up the chance to learn more and question why they do it a certain way. I never believe anything a manufacturer says until I can experience it and believe it myself. This is again another reason why I believe that I am the best choice for any golfer wanting new golf clubs. So here are some snaps of where I was!

  

   

Do Your Golf Clubs Actually Help You? 

I would say that most of you will be using golf clubs that do not help you. From shafts that are too long to lie angles that are wrong. It's not me being horrible, its just the simple truth. 

For example, how many of you who lost your clubs in the fire were fitted to clubs over the phone from an online company? Unless the people on the other end of the phone were related to Aliens with Jedi mind tricks, there is no way that you have got the right clubs for you, it's just impossible! 

How many of you were told "These will be similar or better than your old ones". How did they know? They unfortunately didn't. The clubs may be good, but they may be set up incorrectly for you and I can help right the wrong. It's not about me selling you clubs all the time, it really isn't, it's about me making the clubs better for you! So here is an example for you.

I found myself coaching a gentleman who was struggling with his overall game, especially his striking of the ball out of the club face. The strikes were low in the face and scattered about the face. He also had an issue with striking the ground behind the ball. Why was this happening?

Were his clubs not good enough? 

No absolutely not, they were great quality and modern! They were simply far far far too long. This forced him miles away from the ball, made his body stop turning and made the heel of his clubs dig into the turf. It honestly wasn't rocket science to help him really. We just made his clubs shorter (calculated adjustment) and this improved everything! Please note that the clubs were rebalanced after these adjustments to make them perfect.

A new set of clubs was not the answer - we just tailored his to suit!


Golf Is In Their Jeans

I loved my introduction to golf as a 7 year old at Cathcart Castle Golf Club. I remember clearly stamping my feet and refusing to carry my Junior Wilson Bernhard Langer golf bag. To be fair it was made of the heaviest leather known to man, it could well have been made of Elephant hide, I am nearly 37 years old you know. I also remember the delight of being bought a nuclear orange coloured Penfold Ace. In the 80's this was the Pro V1 of its day and it definitely stopped the sulking. 

Last week Logan and I visited the range to get some well needed practice. Logan loved it, and was doing well until he threw his club down and announced to around 8 bays of players that he "Needed a big poo daddy". At this point I rushed him to the toilet as I didn't think he knew the rule about loose impediments! 

Harris my youngest has also shown an interest in golf by swinging Logan's clubs around the house. Mostly into my shins and the odd sideboard, so he has a little way to go yet.


 

Trade Your Old Bag For A Shiny New One

Controversial but a great headline! 

Last week I told you about my trade in offer on waterproofs, this week I am shouting from the rooftops about my bag trade in deal. I have used a ladder and followed all health and safety procedures, so I will not fall no matter how many old bags you throw at me.

The brands I will including in this will be:

- Big MAX 
- TaylorMade 
- PING 

Whether or not you are looking for a trolley bag, stand bag or even waterproof bag, I am most certainly your man, so let me know if you want to get rid of your old bag!!