Hello again golfers and a warm welcome to our newsletter, hopefully you took advantage of the decent weather at the weekend and got a game in before the rain returned! So far in January and February we've had a total of 159mm of rain, compared to the same period last year when we had just 83mm - so it has been a very wet start to the year unfortunately.
A special mention as promised to reader Phil Hulse this week congratulations on the news you're soon to be a grandad - thanks for your kind words about our newsletter and glad you enjoy it!
Many golf clubs still have some draconian rules but none more so than the nine hole Prison View Golf Course in Angola, Louisiana, if you wish to play a round there you have to book 48 hours in advance so you can undergo a background check, all vehicles are searched upon arrival and play can be suspended at any time at the warden's discretion - strict rules but you can probably understand why given the location.
In this week's news:
- Have you tried our distance gain challenge yet?
- Winter League update
- Trade your old bag in for £20 OFF a new one now!
- Adam Scott outlasts Sergio through the Bear Trap
- Fitting day news
- Will Audrey Deal or no Deal?
- Ladies winter Foursomes results
- Don't forget Mother's Day this Sunday!
- Junior news
- Upcoming events
Hartford Distance Gained Challenge
We've changed the name of our challenge to the Hartford distance GAINED challenge as a few readers were under the impression we were running a long drive competition! This isn't the case - the challenge is to find the player who increases the distance on their tee shots the most through a custom fitting session.
So you can visit use for a custom fitting session in our Performance Studio using your current driver and our launch monitor technology we tell you exactly how far the ball is travelling, we then custom fit you for a new driver and we work out how much further the ball is flying with your new club - it's a simple as that! We've helped countless golfers increase their distance and if you've never been fitted before we can virtually guarantee you extra distance.
The lucky golfer that increases their distance the most between now and Sunday 10th April will win a FREE matching fairway wood to add to their driver!
So far we've got three names on the leader board with Jonny Armstrong leading with a 25 yard distance gain, we reckon he can be knocked off top spot though and there's no reason why it couldn't be you! Contact us here to book your session now.
We're now at the semi-finals stage of the Winter League, the first match was played on Saturday off the white tees and it's probably fair to say the extra length on the course suited the bigger hitting Dave Johnson and Antony Green more than the opposition pair of Pete Wildin and Ken Powell. Dave and Antony took an early lead and they never relented running out winners by the margin of 6 and 5, so it was a good weekend for Dave as his beloved Man City had a very lucky win on penalties in the League Cup Final too!
Dave and Antony will meet in the final either Ian Wharton and Simon Stephenson or Steve Holehouse and Neil Dunning who play their match this Saturday.
There was another high quality field on the USPGA Tour last week in the Honda Classic played at the PGA National course, surprisingly Rory McIlory missed the cut but it was still a packed leaderboard as in form Rickie Fowler took an early lead before dropping back to leave a two way battle between a resurgent Adam Scott and Sergio Garcia. It was neck and neck down the stretch but it was Scott that eventually prevailed for his twelfth tour victory thanks to a cool par down the last.
Interestingly Scott seemed to be putting better than ever using a conventional putter as opposed to his longer one that he had been using for many years before the anchoring ban took effect this year. With his new found confidence on the greens and as a former winner Adam Scott will surely be a contender as the Masters Tournament approaches at Augusta in just six weeks' time.
There was an embarrassing moment for the starter as he mistakenly announced the wrong player on the tee have a look here - bring back Ivor Robson we say!
Our fitting days are always popular, on these days you can receive a FREE fitting from a custom fitting expert on some of the new club ranges for 2016. The dates are as follows:
TaylorMade - Wednesday 23rd March 2-6pm
Benross - Thursday 14th April 10am-2pm
Titleist - Friday 15th April 10am-2pm
If you would like to book a slot for a free fitting please contact us here.
Celebrity News
We couldn't fail to mention that one of our lady members is appearing on TV every day at the moment on one of the country's most famous game shows, our very own Judi Dench lookalike Dame Audrey Kettle is a contestant on Channel Four's Deal or No Deal and even Noel Edmonds mentioned the resemblance when he welcomed her to the show!
Audrey has been appearing each day opening a box before she eventually becomes the main contestant and has to deal with the dreaded Banker in the next week or so, here she is in her first appearance, look out for her on Channel Four at 2.10pm every day next week.
Don't forget it's Mother's Day this Sunday, just in time for this we've had some new ladies clothing arrive from Nike Golf and the new light crimson colour story in the polo shirts and jackets is very eye catching - perfect for a Mother's Day present!
Remember that we are a lot more than just a Golf Club and there is a special Mother's Day Sunday lunch menu in the clubhouse on Sunday offering great value at just £10.95 for 2 course, it's not too late to book a table just contact us here.
The ladies played a winter Foursomes competition on Thursday, foursomes is never the easiest format to play but the winning pair were lady captain and Annie Rowland and Ann Broster with a fine score of nett 71. Ann is clearly a fan of foursome's golf which is good news as she is representing the club next week with Alison Worrall in the Daily Mail Foursomes Knockout in a match against Warrington Golf Club.
In second place were Jill Bebbington and Sandra Peake with nett 78 and third place went to Margaret Cherry and Sharon Dunning on nett 79.
The next ladies competition is next Thursday at 9.32am.
There was a nine hole junior competition on Sunday and it was good to see that there were a few juniors that played in their first competition on the golf course, the winner was young Ben Barrow with a nett 71.
The next junior competition is on Easter Sunday 27th March at 1pm.
- March Medal - Saturday 5th March 11am
- Seniors 9 hole Stableford - Tuesday 8th March 9.16am
- Ladies 9 hole Stableford - Thursday 10th March 9.32am
- Ladies 18 hole Stableford - Sunday 13th March 1pm
This week sees the launch of two new great deals in the shop, we know that you all love a good trade in deal and you can now trade your old golf bag in a get £20 off a new Callaway and TaylorMade bags - this offer will run throughout March so if you're old bag is looking tired or the zips are broken now is the perfect time to upgrade. If your bag looks like this old wreck on the left then trade it in and get a nice bag like the one on the right with £20 off the price!
Also look out for our 4 for the price of 3 deal on Titleist Pro V1 balls, this offer also allows you to personalise your balls at no extra cost with your name on or a short message, 4 dozen balls works out at the bargain price of just £119.97 - the maths experts amongst you will know that this works out at an unbelievable £29.99 per dozen for your own personalised Pro V1 balls - get them now at this ridiculous price and they will last you all season! Click here to place your order now.
