| 12th
April 2007
Greetings from Duncan,
Well what a fantastic weekend
in the golfing world…. not only did
we have a surprise winner of the US Masters
in American Zach Johnson, but our brand new
temporary shop extension was full to the rafters
(canvas rafters!) with eager buyers looking
for bargains to start the season with. The
weather was perfect and it was really good
to see the course, range, shop and bar all
buzzing.
The sale in the shop is continuing on clothing
with a massive 20% off all stock items. The sale
must end Sunday 15 April, so don’t miss
out on the chance to get the latest summer fashions!
The winner of the Hele Park Easter Masters Draw
was Brian Krechler – well done Brian! Runners-up
were Ann Pitman, Phillip Laws and Peter Fairall.
Prize monies will be added to the winner’s
accounts.
This week’s newsletter
focuses on the difference between hybrid and
fairway woods. We have a fantastic selection
of both types to demo on the driving range
or even take on the golf course. Our most popular
range has been the Cobras closely followed
by Mizuno hybrids.
We have had tremendous success with our McGregor
NVG2 fairway woods. Customers have commented
on their appearance, their great ball flight
and distance they can generate.
Please remember you can trial any of these clubs
and pop into the shop for some free professional
advice.
Finally, thank you to everyone who participated
in the Ping Fitting Survey, the response has
been fantastic!
Regards,
Duncan
GOLF SCHEDULE
Saturday 14 April
Ladies Monthly Medal
Noon
Sunday 15 April
Men’s Lombard Trophy
Noon
Monday 16 April
Monday Group
1pm
Tuesday 17 April
Seniors Monthly Medal
9.30am
Wednesday 18 April
Ladies Stableford
9.30am
Thursday 19 April
Midweek Mixed Stableford
Book your own times
Friday 20 April
Lady Vets 9 Hole Stableford
9.30am
WHAT’S ON
AT THE TOURS?
US TOUR
Verizon Horizon (Hilton Head Island GC, South
Carolina)
Defending Champ: Aaron Baddeley
EURO TOUR
Volvo China Open (Shanghai Silport GC, China)
Defending Champ: Jeev Singh
RESULTS FROM THE TOURS
US TOUR
Masters Championship (Augusta National, Florida)
2007 Champ: Zach Johnson
IF YOU THOUGHT STEEL
WAS STEEL …
When you start to think about what iron set that
you would like to purchase next there is a real
tendency to start with very strong pre-conceptions
linked to a combination of what brand you have
played with before, what brand is the flavour
of the year with the golf superstars and a budget
that you want to stick to.
The correct starting point is actually your
golf game and what you want to achieve in the
short-term. That will help you narrow down the
large selection into a core group of Irons that
are going to bring you, your golf swing and your
golf game the maximum benefit.
I’ve been looking at how the manufacturers
have been able to create so many different solutions.
Creating ‘discretionary weight’ has
driven the multitude of different designs that
are subtly different with different impact on
your golf shot.
I mentioned last week how it is no longer just
a matter of ‘Cast’ vs ‘Forged’ and
to highlight that complication now look at the
range of different metals that are used. It used
to be that 8620 and 1020 Steels were used in
almost all golf club heads. Mizuno have created
a higher grade steel (1025E) that improves the
mix of Carbon, Phosphorous and Sulphur.
The most important result of that is the metal
is stronger, allowing thinner walls to be created
(saving weight) and the feel of the club to be
improved.
I wish you could all use a golf club manufactured
in 1980 together with a golf ball from that year.
You would be amazed at how much more ‘feel’ there
is today, and how much more comfortable off-center
hits are.
What is frightening though is how the pace of
that improvement and innovation is increasing
every year. In 1980, as a golf professional,
one needed some understanding of technology and
a lot of expertise in equipment repair. Today,
we need to understand physics, design and materials
and then to update that knowledge at least every
quarter to keep pace with the manufacturers.
FITTING BY TEXT?
Thank-you to everyone that responded to my Fitting
Survey. I will publish the stats over the next
weeks.
I was interested in your answer to the questions:
Were you currently playing Custom Fit Clubs and,
if so, had they improved your golf. I then wanted
to know whether you would get your clubs fitted
next time and, if not, why not.
As ever with these surveys
it was the comments that were most revealing.
I was really surprised at the number of members
that said that they weren’t aware that
they could have their clubs custom fit at no
extra expense. I guess that is an indictment
of how we market our services to you.
There is no valid reason not to get your clubs
custom fitted. It will improve your golf (and
that is borne out in the stats) and it will increase
your enjoyment. And frankly even golf equipment
that is bought in a sale is too expensive if
it isn’t adding to your enjoyment.
The final question that I want you to seriously
think about is: Do you think that a web questionnaire
(where you hit zero golf balls) or a text questionnaire
(yes, one does exist) can provide you with a
sensible fitting?
PING
THE WINNER OF A SET OF PING IRONS IS
MARGARET MCLAIN FROM NORTHAMPTONSHIRE COUNTY
GC
Thank you to all that entered!
TAKING THE PAIN OUT OF GOLF BY DESIGN
The most fundamental change to Iron design over
the last 5 years has been the emergence of the
Hybrid. It is the ultimate extension of the innovation
in materials and manufacturing all working together
to make it as easy as possible for you to get
the ball airborne on a good trajectory with consistent
distance.
Although this is a club that was initially designed
for the amateur golfer its take-up amongst the
Touring Pros is probably higher than amongst
the single figure and scratch handicaps in most
golf clubs.
If you are not carrying a
hybrid(s) in your bag I would ask you to think
about that and consider the reasons why not.
If you don’t want
to spend more on equipment then that’s
a good reason (after all the touring Pros are
given theirs).
If you think that you can strike your long irons
as well as any hybrid then that’s a debate
that we can have. If you just haven’t seriously
considered it, and don’t want to get used
to a new club then my advice is to hit a couple
of golf balls with a hybrid. You will be amazed
at how much more consistently you will strike
the golf ball.
Just look at the hybrid shape and you can see
that the CoG has been moved much further back
than in an Iron.
The shape also allows the CoG to be set deeper
than in most Irons. The combination of these
two changes means that the ball gets up much
easier and actually flies on a higher trajectory
than a long iron and that means it will land
much softer.
The weight distribution in the bigger head also
allows the sweet spot to be larger (increasing
your likelihood of hitting the perfect shot)
and the club head to be more stable (a higher
MOI) resulting in straighter shots.
Every club in your bag needs to perform a function
and deliver results that will benefit your scorecard
and your enjoyment.
If you aren’t carrying a Hybrid then please
come through to the shop and pick up a hybrid.
Better still hit one. Call me on 01626 336060
or mail me on duncan.arnold@foremostgolf.com
and let’s chat about your golf.
Have a great week and good luck to all of you
playing this weekend.
Regards
Duncan
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