Welcome to the latest issue of our weekly newsletter, it's been another busy week in the world of golf with Rory McIlroy choosing to play in the French Open it was left to world number one Jason Day and in form US Open winner Dustin Johnson to battle it out for the massive Gary Player Trophy at the World Golf Championships at the fearsome Firestone Country Club, in the end the 17th hole was pivotal as Johnson made a good birdie before Day found the trees with his tee-shot and ended up with a costly double bogey. It all sets up well for a cracking Open Championship at Troon next week and Dustin Johnson will take some beating on current form, remember that our Open sweepstake is up and running in the shop at just £1 a ticket - there are a total of 7 prizes up for grabs including a £75 gift voucher.
In this week's news:
- Steve's record breaking club championship win
- We've declared a shirt amnesty!
- 'super sub' Matt books a trip to Portugal
- Tony's magical run gives him victory with the seniors
- Have you booked on the Titleist fitting day yet?
- A great deal you shouldn't miss on Titleist ProV1 balls
Club Championship review
It was the big one on Saturday as we played for the Club Championship Trophy, the course was in fantastic condition with quick greens and there was a fresh wind blowing to make conditions suitably demanding for a major board competition.
There were some big guns playing in the first few groups with last year's winner and 7 handicapper Steve Bond going well on just two over par after nine holes despite a double bogey on five, in the group behind 8 handicapper Martin Major was doing even better as he went out in level par with just one bogey and one birdie, conditions meant that birdies were very difficult to come by.
As is usually the case with major competitions the back nine was where the winner and losers were decided, both players must have been feeling the pressure as Steve had three bogeys in a row from the 13th through to the 15th, but Martin had four bogeys in a row over the same holes! In the end the 17th hole proved pivotal as both players had hit their tee shots left but Steve still found the green in two and made par whilst Martin suffered a costly double bogey, this meant Martin's two shot lead was eroded and Steve now lead by a shot.
Martin made a solid par up the difficult last hole to score 76 and even though Steve made a bogey to also finish on 76 he became the club champion for a record third time courtesy of his better back nine, in third place was Antony Green with a nine over par 78.
The nett prize was won by 15 handicapper Chris Whalley with a fine nett 64, his round got off to the perfect start with a nice birdie on the first and he rarely found trouble despite the difficult conditions, in second place was Antony Green on nett 66 who had a birdie on the 6th hole both times around. In third place was Matt Leach on nett 67.
Well done Steve - a great achievement to be Club Champion three times and well played Chris on a fantastic round in tricky conditions.
This Saturday we play the July Medal starting at 12:04pm.
Shirt trade in deal throughout July
We have now declared a shirt amnesty! Bring any old shirt into the shop and we'll give you £10 OFF the price of any brand new golf shirt in the shop - it's as simple as that. We don't mind how old the shirt is that you're trading in and we don't even mind if it has holes in or buttons falling off!
It's the perfect opportunity to upgrade your wardrobe and save some money at the same time, we have some great new summer shirts in the shop from Nike, adidas, Under Armour, FootJoy, PING and Galvin Green - why not call in and have a look, this great offer will be running throughout July.
Lombard Trophy Pro-Am review
Our PGA professional Adam Powell and partner 19 handicapper Matt Leach both played a blinder on Wednesday to qualify for the Grand Final of the Lombard Trophy at Pestana Golf Resort in Portugal, they scored a brilliant 11 under par 61 to win the qualifying event at Dunham Forest. Matt was a 'super sub' as the original partner to Adam - James Eaton had fallen ill, Martin Major was on standby but he couldn't get time off work so it was left to Matt to step in at the last minute and he contributed greatly with an amazing 10 nett birdies and one nett eagle, Adam contributed some good birdies of his own on the holes Matt didn't score on.
They will now play in the Grand Final in September where there is a massive £41,500 prize purse up for grabs including a £12,000 first prize for the leading professional, so best of luck in the final Adam and Matt!
Titleist Fitting Day
We are committed to giving you the best custom fitting experiences and we believe that every golfer can improve through a custom fitting session, we have another opportunity for you to enjoy a FREE custom fitting session on our Titleist Fitting Day next Wednesday 13th July from 11am - 3pm. On this day James from Titleist will be around to give you advice and fit you for any of the clubs in the 2016 Titleist range.
In conjunction with this day we have some special Titleist offers in the shop:
- 915 Drivers were £329 now just £249
- 915 Fairway woods were £199 now just £159
- SM6 wedges £109 each or 2 for £199 or 3 for £279
- Buy a set of 716 irons (min. 7 sticks) and we'll give you a dozen Pro V1 balls for FREE!
- Titleist Pro V1 balls presentation box - 2 dozen balls only £75 and with FREE cap and ball marker
We can custom fit you for any of the clubs above on the deals and you can book a FREE fitting next Wednesday by contacting me here.
The seniors played another round of their nine hole Summer League on Tuesday, the winner was Tony Ledson with a 21 point haul, Tony had a brilliant run from holes 4-8 with four pars and a birdie even though he didn't score on the 9th hole he still had enough points to take first place. In second was Alan Nevin on 20 points and Ray Gilliland was third also on 20 points.
Next week the seniors are playing their Summer Special which is an 18 hole competition starting at 9:16am.
Is it the 'Big Three' or the 'Big Four'?
Just when you thought Jason Day, Jordan Spieth and Rory McIlroy were all set to divvy up golf's biggest prizes, along comes big-hitting Dustin Johnson. The US champion is now number two in the world and looks to be finally fulfilling his potential after another fine win at the weekend - and a big one too at the WGC Bridgestone Invitational. For years Johnson seemed destined to be the bridesmaid, now he's one of the favourites to go back-to-back in Majors and take the Claret Jug back across the Atlantic.
Next week's Open at Royal Troon could be a classic
Which leads us on to a new section of our website - our regular poll, and we want your votes. Tell us who you think will win the Open Championship next week; will it be Day, Johnson, Spieth, McIlroy or A.N. Other?
Have your say by clicking through to our homepage here...
- July Medal - Saturday 9th July 12:04pm
- Ladies Monday 9H Stableford - Monday 11th July 5:32pm
- Seniors Summer Special - Tuesday 12th July 9:16am
- July Midweek Medal - Wednesday 13th July
- Ladies Charity Day 9 holes - Thursday 14th July 9:24am
- Seniors match vs. Pryors Hayes - Thursday 14th July 10:36am
- Stag Trophy - Sunday 17th July 11am