| 21st
Dec 2007
Greetings from Duncan,
A very happy Christmas to every one - another
year gone!
We played the Devon PGA medal
last Thursday at East Devon Golf Club. It was
Stuart's turn to be in the prizes with a great
score of 69, finishing in second spot. Unfortunately,
I had a few too many putts (4 on the last green)
for a 74, but it was a good day and fun for
everyone. Anyway, Lee my caddy and I won the
main event – the
festive hat prize – which is much more
important! At least Lee had the sense to wear
sunglasses so he doesn't look drunk just as the
camera clicks!
We have lots of Christmas bargains in the shop
for those who, like me, leave your Christmas
shopping to the last minute. Don't forget, we
close at 2pm on Christmas Eve so don't leave
it too late and be disappointed.
Mizuno have a great gift
set offer on a shoe bag, towel and cap all
for £20 (normally £29.99)
- something we all use and need. Other hot sellers
are hand warmers for those frosty mornings at
just £2.
The best selling gift this
year has been the Motorcaddy trolley, great
value at £249
for the S1 and £349 for the digital S3model.
You can order these up until the 22nd of December
- there's still time to drop hints to your better
half if you want one.
Christmas is giving most of the golfing world
the excuse to have time off. However, Srixon
Golf have bought Cleveland so this may be the
start of some interesting times at Srixon as
their golf ball sales are rightly going from
strength to strength.
We will be holding the Christmas
Draw at noon on Christmas Eve. This is your
chance to win a set of Mizuno Centenary Irons
in the presentation case plus many other prizes.
Tickets are £2
and on sale in the Pro Shop or you can do it
the easy way and click here to send an email
and we will take the ticket money from your shop
account.
This week I continue to wrap up 2007 by looking
at what driver you can expect to see in 2008.
I also have some wonderful gift ideas for Christmas,
so if you are looking for a gift for the golfer
in your life, take a look at what’s on
offer or pop into the store for some ideas. Struggling
for a golf ball then click on my ball selector
icon in the whiteboard and see which Srixon golf
ball I would recommend for you.
The next newsletter will be in 2008 so all that's
left to say is a very merry Christmas to every
one. Thank you for your support and loyalty this
year.
Regards,
Duncan
Super Stu's Tip - Scoring Zone - Part 3
The past 2 weeks have seen me discuss the importance
of wedge play and how to control distance and
trajectory. In this final part I will talk to
you about how to control the spin you impart
on the ball.
Imparting spin on the ball is about the quality
of the strike, which ball you are using,and the
ground conditions. Only the top players can reliably
achieve back spin which is why we lesser mortals
rely on some of the new range of lob wedges that
have transformed the amateur golfer's game.
To get spin,you need a ball with a soft core
such as a Titleist Pro VI, Srixon ZURS or ZURC.
These balls have the softest feel with the short
irons and, when struck correctly, will dance
around the hole.
The club must strike the ball with a descending
blow. To help with this, remember my first tip
with regard to ball placement - the ball must
be placed in the centre of your stance. The grooves
on the clubface also need to be clean. With smooth
acceleration of the club head through the ball,
the grooves will impart a spin on the ball.
The third factor that affects the
spin control is the ground conditions. During
the winter months, the ground is generally softer
giving the ball a better chance of stopping.
During the summer, the harder ground conditions
mean focusing on a descending strike is even
more key to controlling the spin.
Innovation And Consolidation
Over the last two weeks I have tried to look
at where we will go with Drivers in 2008. After
all, the governing bodies have now implemented
all sorts of restrictions relating to head size,
maximum Moment of Inertia and the trampoline
effect off the face.
I have speculated about shaft lengths (some
manufacturers are lengthening their stock shafts),
head shapes (square or bullet) and weight placement
(even lighter materials used, especially in the
crowns).
There is also likely to be
some consolidation in the industry that may
provide some shake-up. I say ‘may’ because
the Callaway acquisition of TopFlite and Ben
Hogan, and the Acushnet acquisition of Cobra
has yet to produce anything that is earth shattering.
In fact in both of these instances it might
be the case that the acquirer wanted to get
their hands on the technologies, patents or
manufacturing capability, rather than the brand
itself.
Which brings us to the most
recent acquisition – Srixon
having purchased Cleveland.
The people at Srixon have done an amazing job
of establishing a huge, and still growing, market-share
in the golf ball market. I would also suggest
that their hardware solutions have continued
to make ground.
The new Srixon Z-RW Driver
is a quality solution that continues the push
for greater ‘ease
of use’ for us when wielding the big stick.
The face will generate different side spin rates
(depending on where you make contact) to reduce
the negative impact of side-spin, while increasing
distance at the same time. This is great for
those of you who strike the ball towards the
toe, for instance.
So what are they going to do with Cleveland?
Are they going to maintain two hardware brands,
merge the best of both technologies into one,
or drop one slowly over the next 2 years? I’ll
stay on top of this one and keep you posted along
with providing updates on all the other hardware
innovations.
This brand is synonymous with leading golf ball
technology. After their recent acquisition of
Cleveland there was always a risk that they would
lose focus, but to date their new generation
Golf Balls are still rolling off the production
lines.
Christmas Pro Shop Specials
FootJoy X-Dimension Golf
Shoes + Free Pair of FootJoy Socks £69.99
Wet Weather Deal
1x FootJoy Raingrip Glove + 1 Dozen Srixon AD333
Golf Balls for £25
Mizuno Gift Pack (1 x Baseball
Hat, 1 x Shoe Bag, 1 x Towel) For £20
PLEASE DIARISE
The 2008 diaries will be posted to you early
in the New Year.
The first big date is the
Dinner Dance on Saturday, 19th January and
the Indoor Sports Trophy on Friday, 25th January.
The Indoor Sports Evening is for each and every
member and their loved ones - and it's great
fun. The Men's Section were last year's winners
and are therefore honour bound to come up with
the format for this year. Can’t you hear
those brains whirring? As you can see from
the photo of just one of the games played last
year, it's not going to test you intellectually
but it is great fun.
CHRISTMAS OPENING TIMES
Please remember we are closed
on Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s
Day. Between Christmas and the New Year, different
opening times apply.
Monday, 24th December - 8am to 2pm
Christmas Day & Boxing
Day - Closed
Thursday, 27th December - 8am to 7pm
Friday, 28th December - 8am to 7pm
Saturday, 29th December - 8am to 7pm
Sunday, 30th December - 8am to 7pm
Monday, 31st December - New
Year’s Eve
- 8am to 4pm
New Year’s Day - Closed
Wednesday, 2nd January onwards
Weekdays 8am to 9pm
Weekends 8am to 7pm
Congratulation
To Michael Franks for achieving
a Hole in One on the 7th hole on Monday morning.
Sadly, because of the frost we were on the temporary
greens so it doesn't count for the Hole in One
Club. I don't know why it doesn't count as I'm
sure that's where Mike was aiming and that's
where it went - well done!
Results From The Tours
EURO Tour
Michael Hill New Zealand Open
(The Hills GC, Queensland)
2007 Champ: Richard Finch
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