Hello again golfers and welcome to our first newsletter of the new golf season. 

We'll be bringing you all the news from Cheshire's friendliest Golf Club and let's hope we can make this your best golfing summer yet!

In this week's news:

- Ian drives in to please the crowds!
- Martin achieves a personal best
- Check out our brilliant April deals
- Our Masters tips
- Don't forget the Distance Gained Challenge
- Titleist Thursdays coming to Hartford




Captain's Drive in The Captain's drive in is our traditional curtain raiser for the new golf season and although there were plenty of dark clouds around the weather was dry for Ian Wharton as he hit the opening shot of the season as the new Captain. 

As usual a big (and slightly raucous) crowd gathered to watch our new Captain drive off and he brushed away the nerves to hit a decent drive that ended up in the left hand rough, we had a bit of fun on Facebook beforehand by asking everyone to guess where Ian's drive would end up and the closest guess was from Sarah Dee, well done, Sarah! 

Through the wonders of Facebook Live for the first time ever we brought the Captain's drive in to a worldwide audience as far away as Tennessee in America and in case you missed it you can see the full video here. 




April Medal 

After the drive-in it was straight onto our first competition of the summer season as we played the April Medal, it was a cloudy start but on the back nine the sun came out although there was a steady breeze blowing all day. 

The first competition off the white tees is always tough for everyone but there was one particular player heading into proceedings with confidence, 7 handicapper Martin Major had blitzed the 9 hole AGM Stableford the week before with an amazing 5 under par nine hole round and he was in a rich vein of form. Martin's steady golf continued on Saturday as played the first nine holes in just two over par and his back nine started with 3 more pars and then a brilliant birdie on the thirteenth hole to leave him at just one over par, it's always tricky finishing off a good medal round but Martin had no worse than a bogey in his last five holes and returned a fine nett 66 to be the early clubhouse leader. 

Steve Hulse was next in with a nice nett 68 before Simon Stephenson topped that with a nett 67 including two birdies on the sixth hole, but despite the sun coming out nobody could match Martin's excellent round and he took the victory and he sees his handicap drop to 6 for the first time in his golfing career. Well done also to Captain Ian Wharton who returned a very respectable round of nett 71 in his first round as Captain to take 8th place overall and to Gary Cashmore who scored the only two of the day, but why didn't you enter the two's sweep Gary?! 

This Saturday we play the Spring Stableford starting at 12:04pm and don't forget that membership renewals are now due!




Some hot deals in store.... 

Our bag trade in deal comes to an end on Friday but we have plenty more great deals on at the moment to celebrate the start of the new season: 

- Take the strain out of your round and invest in a new lithium trolley battery and get £25 off when trading in an old battery, lighter and more reliable than old lead acid batteries.

  

- Take our FootJoy shoe size challenge, 70% of golfers wear the wrong size shoes - we can measure your feet and if you're wearing the correct size we'll reward you with a FREE pair of FJ socks - no catches! 

- Loyalty rewarded with Titleist, an unbelievable deal on the new 2017 Pro V1 balls - order 4 dozen and pay for 3 so it's only £32.25 per dozen AND you can get them personalised with your name on - stock up for the season! 

- We have a great new range of adidas shoes in stock including the new BOA Traxion shoes and you can get up to £20 off when you trade in your old shoes.

- We have some great new clothing collections in store for the spring including; FootJoy, Under Armour, Nike, adidas & Galvin Green.




Our Masters tips 

As every golf fan will know this Thursday sees the first Major of the season being played - the famous Masters Tournament at Augusta National. It's always fun to have a little wager on which players will do well and we thought we'd give you our selection of players to watch: 

Red Hot Favourite: Dustin Johnson at just 7/1 he is the red hot favourite after three wins in a row and he has cemented his place as the world number one, a great driver of the ball and a solid putter he has every attribute needed to wear the Green Jacket 

British Hope: Tyrrell Hatton great odds at 50/1 although he's never won a major he's getting closer including top 10 finishes in his last two majors, it's his Masters debut but he's been playing more tournaments in America this year and has the game to emulate Danny Willett 

European Contender: John Rahm at 28/1 although he currently plays on the US Tour the Spaniard is a great hope of a European winner, he took Dustin Johnson to the last hole in the recent World Matchplay final and he's already a winner on Tour, has a steely confidence and great short game which should suit Augusta 

Value Bet: Marc Leishman at 60/1 the Aussie is a great value bet, won the Bay Hill Tournament amongst a top field, three top 10 finishes this season and although he missed the cut last year he is in the form of his life at the moment 

Which players are you backing for the Masters? Let us know your thoughts here and don't forget that you can watch the coverage live in our clubhouse. 




Hartford Distance Gained Challenge 

We're now into the second month of our challenge, last year we helped over 50 golfers gain distance on their drives through a custom fitting session and the biggest increase was a massive 45 yards extra through our Distance Gained Challenge. 

If you're serious about your golf you really should take part in this challenge, we can virtually guarantee you extra distance on your drives through some expert advice from us and a custom fitting session, so far this year's biggest gain is an extra 20 yards for Dave Cotterill. 

Not only can you gain more distance but we also have a fabulous prize, the golfer that increases their distance the most throughout March and April will win a prize of a FREE matching fairway wood to the driver that they were fitted for and purchased - so as well as hitting the ball further you could also win a fairway wood worth up to £249! 

We can fit you for any of the 2017 ranges with leading models such as the Callaway Epic, TaylorMade M1 and M2's, the PING G series, Titleist 917's and Benross' new HTX range. 

Surely this offer is too good to miss out on, especially if you're using an old driver from years ago or if you've never had a fitting before the improvements could be massive and this year we think we can beat last year's best of a 45 yard increase! Get booked in now for your fitting by contacting us here. 




Titleist Thursdays 

Titleist Thursdays are coming to Hartford, during Titleist Thursdays we are inviting you to take part in a complimentary club fitting session with a Titleist expert fitter 

- utilising a TrackMan Launch Monitor you can hit your choice of Pro V1 or Pro V1x golf balls 
-  demo Titleist's industry-leading range of golf clubs from the wedges and irons through to the 917 metal woods. 

Those of you unable to book online due to high demand are still encouraged to attend the Titleist Thursday events, where you can trial Titleist clubs and spend time with one of our own expert club fitters. Every golfer fitted by Titleist in 2017 will also receive a golf ball recommendation based on shot characteristics and play preferences. 

The first event is on Thursday 24th April from 1-7pm. To register your interest in booking a Titleist Thursdays slot please contact us here and you can check out all the dates on the poster or click here.




- Lady Captain's drive in 9 Hole Stableford - Thursday 6th April 9:24am 
- Spring Stableford - Saturday 8th April 12:04pm 
- Senior Captain's drive in & Summer League - Tuesday 11th April 
- April Midweek Medal - Wednesday 12th April