Hello again golfers and welcome to our weekly newsletter, we've obviously got some very educated readers out there as many of you replied with the correct answer to our quiz question last week which was 'what is a score of four under par on a hole called?' The correct answer is not 'a miracle' as one reader guessed, but the term is in fact a condor - and we'll be even more impressed if any of you ever get one!
Member Wendy Wren came back with a quick correct answer but unfortunately for her another member in Martin O'Leary just pipped her with the right answer arriving in our inbox within seconds of the newsletter going out. Well done Martin you have the prize of a sleeve of the newly released Titleist Tru-soft balls waiting for you in the shop!
Last week's question made me think where the term birdie comes from? Apparently the term was coined by an American golfer called Ab Smith in 1899 who described a good shot of his as a 'bird of a shot', from there the term birdie developed. It's thought that the other bird terms described for under par scores on a hole come from the fact that the respective birds are named in order of rarity to see.
In this week's news:
- We need your help!
- It's going down to the wire in the Winter League
- See what happened when Adam Powell tested the new PING irons
- More new equipment arrivals
- PING and Callaway fitting days announced
- World of golf news
- Get your 7 iron re-gripped for FREE!
- Quote of the week
- Seniors news
- Ladies news
- Upcoming events
Neil Dunning and Steve Holehouse make a formidable pair when they're on form and they showed this on Sunday as they returned a 24 point score in the rain, this was their second victory in seven rounds and it means that they are looking good to qualify for the semi-finals. The pair dove-tailed well in the early holes and then a birdie and two pars to finish from Steve meant that they had the winning score.
There was a card playoff for first as Andy Dodd and Alan Royle also scored 24 points, funnily enough they also had a birdie on the seventh hole but two bogies to finish scuppered their chances of taking first place. In third place were Sharon Dunning and Paul Underwood with 23 points, the highlight of their round was a birdie on the sixth.
So with just one round to go in the Winter League the top four in the table is far from decided, Ian Wharton and Simon Stephenson look good at the top but after that there are eight pairs all within 5 points of each other and a good score in the last round from any of these pairs could see them jump up the table and qualify for the semi-finals. The current top four are:
1. Ian Wharton & Simon Stephenson 114 points
2. Neil Dunning & Steve Holehouse 109 points
3. Julie Daines & James Eaton 109 points
4. Gareth Eaton & Liam Tyrer 107 points
The last round will be played on Sunday 14th February with an 11am start time.
New PING irons review
As soon as new clubs arrive in the shop we can't wait to give them a go and our PGA professional Adam Powell was the first to hit the new PING G irons. We thought it would be useful to bring you a review in which he hit the new G 7 iron and then compared the new club against its predecessor the G30 iron and the G Max iron that is also in the current PING range, and using our trusty GC2 launch monitor Click here for the results.
We need your help!
More and more of you reading this newsletter will also be involved in the social media world using platforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and as good as this newsletter is there is no substitute for checking up to the minute news like you can on our Facebook and Twitter pages that are updated with useful news daily. As well as up to date news about shop arrivals, competitions and social events we also have special offers that are sometimes only posted on the Facebook page so it's well worth keeping an eye on.
The Hartford Golf Club page now has a fantastic 981 'likes' on Facebook and it would be great to reach the 1,000 mark with your help, please like our page and if you already have then please share our page with your friends who may be interested. Also please leave us a review - if you like the golf course or you've had a good custom fitting session or lesson then please use the review section on Facebook so we can let others know about what we offer!
Just click on the links to visit our pages:
Like and review us on Facebook.
Follow us on Twitter: @HartfordGolfC
Leave us a Google review.
For the latest Club results, please click here.
It's an exciting time in the shop for us equipment geeks as new clubs are arriving almost daily, on Friday the new Callaway XR16 drivers and fairway woods arrived and on Monday we took delivery of the stunning new TaylorMade M2 demo drivers and irons. Next week we'll bring you the technology behind the new TaylorMade range but for this week let's focus on the new Callaway range.
Last year the Callaway XR was actually our best-selling driver, so this year the replacement has to be pretty good but we think that Callaway have managed to better it with the XR 16. Last year's XR was a near perfect driver but one small criticism was that the head shape promoted a slightly lower than optimal ball flight and forgiveness across the face was therefore compromised a little, Callaway realised this and have designed this year's driver with a longer footprint which allows the centre of gravity to be lower and further back - you can see the difference in the photographs.
Even before you hit the new XR 16 driver the improved head shape immediately fills you with confidence, but it also performs well - without getting overly technical the new head shape is more aerodynamic (achieved with help from experts at Boeing) allowing faster club head speed but also ball speed is improved across the club face by Callaway's designers being able to move weight saved with the new head shape across the face to improve MOI (resistance to twisting).
Callaway are using the new Fujikura Speeder Evolution shaft in the XR 16 driver which weighs in at just 59 grams - but it also feels extremely stable unlike some light shafts that feel like they can twist a lot - the result of all this technology is longer and consistently straighter shots with the XR 16.
Have a look at this cool video made by Callaway and Boeing to show the innovations within the new range.
Phil Mickleson and Henrik Stenson are already using versions of this year's XR 16 driver so maybe you should follow in their steps and give one a go, we're sure that you will be impressed with the results!
On the European Tour the Dubai swing continued as the players visited a windy Qatar for the Commercial bank Qatar Masters, it was South African Branden Grace that came out on top for the second successive year to claim his seventh career victory. Grace averaged an impressive 306 yards off the tee but it wasn't all about big hitting as he averaged just 28.5 putts per round and despite the strong winds he had a total of just three bogies over his four rounds.
Branden Grace used a bag full of 2016 Callaway clubs and as a staff player he is one of five Callaway players in the world's top fifteen - the most for any golf company and this just re-enforces the quality of their clubs at the moment.
Quote of the week
We bring you a new feature this week in which we pick a quote of the week, it could be a fact or a funny or motivational golfing remark that will hopefully brighten your day! So here is the first one and it's from the great Arnold Palmer:
'Golf is deceptively simple and endlessly complicated'
If you have a favourite quotation or any suggestions then please let me know by clicking here.
Get your 7 iron re-gripped for FREE
Check out our great new grip wall in the shop showing just a small selection of the many grips that we have in stock, remember a couple of weeks ago new told you of the importance of checking the grips on your clubs and make sure they are replaced before they get too worn and slippy. You wouldn't drive round in your car with bald tyres yet it amazes us how many people try to use clubs with completely worn out grips that feel like bars of soap! Well to celebrate the launch of our brilliant new grip wall we are offering you the chance to have a new grip put on your 7 iron for FREE, this will show you how good a new grip can feel and we'll also make sure that you get the right grip size to suit your hands. Call in now and we'll talk you through the grip selection and happily put a new grip on your 7 iron for you - but be quick as we have a limited stock of the free grips and its first come first served!
The launch of new 2016 equipment ranges from PING and Callaway means that we will have a number of fitting days coming up soon, here are two dates for your diaries:
PING - Thursday 16th February 2-6pm
Callaway - Thursday 23rd February 2-6pm
You can book an appointment now on either or both of these days to try the latest new clubs out and receive a FREE custom fitting session with an expert, the PING day will include the new G range of clubs that we talked about in last week's newsletter and the Callaway day will feature the new XR16 equipment using ground breaking technology taken from Boeing aircraft design! Both of these days will fill up fast so please get booked in as soon as you can, click here to book your FREE fitting appointment now.
The seniors had great weather on Tuesday morning for their nine hole Stableford as the overnight winds of storm Henry died down and the golf course was bathed in winter sunshine, the winner was Ken Powell with 20 points, in form Keith Morrish had another runners up spot with 19 and third went to Dennis Cherry on 18 points.
The ladies played the first round match of the Mail on Sunday Classic on Sunday at home against a strong Frodsham ladies side, the weather wasn't good as we had pretty heavy rain for most of the day. With a few of our ladies unavailable the team still put up a valiant fight but in the end lost the match by the narrowest margin of 3-2. Sandra Peake and Elspeth Forbes won their matches but in the end the opposition ladies lower handicapped golfers brought them through to victory, one Frodsham lady golfer really impressed us all by hitting the tricky third green in two shots! In the Daily Mail Foursomes competition the ladies have been lucky enough to get another home draw against a pair from Warrington Golf Club. The next ladies competition is a nine hole Stableford next Thursday 11th February.
February Medal - Saturday 6th February 11am
Team Match vs. Vale Royal Abbey - Sunday 7th February 10.04am
Seniors 9 hole roll up - Tuesday 9th February 9.16am Ladies 9 hole
Stableford - Thursday 11th February 9.32am
Winter League round 8 - Sunday 14th February 11am
Future date for your diaries - AGM and winter prize presentation evening Sunday March 20th at 6pm.