| 18th
January 2007
Greetings
from Duncan,
Firstly, congratulations
must go to Ed Weekes for an impressive score
in the Men’s January
Monthly Medal. A nett 55 got him safely to first
place and a handicap reduction of 3!
Please note that due to the very difficult weather
conditions, the Driving Range will open at 9.30am
- weekdays only - for the immediate future. This
will allow the Greenkeepers to be able to safely
hand pick range balls.
In this week’s newsletter we continue to
advise you on which driver is best suited to your
game. Leading companies Callaway, Titleist and
Cobra use the Vector Launch Monitor at their club
fitting centres and we are lucky to have this facility
also at Hele Park. The Vector Launch Monitor reads
club head speed, ball speed, ball launch angle,
spin rate and side spin which all help to advise
you on which club is best for your swing and game.
This is available in the studio at any time – call
us to book your appointment. Remember we are offering
free fitting on all drivers during January so get
in quick!
Vector Launch Monitor
This winter don’t
let your golf go
stale – our
Explanar wheel is available for use. A 5 minute
practise on this wheel is equivalent to hitting
200 balls with a correct swing and will improve
your technique by building up muscle memory in
the right places. Anybody wanting to have a go,
please contact me to book your first practice session
so I can advise you on the correct way to use it.
Last year Ben, Darren and Ian all used the wheel
during the winter and they each felt the effects
on their swing. All have won tournaments and reduced
their handicaps since.
Pros Explanar
January/February winter bargain is £10 for
one supervised session and two practice sessions!
Continuing from what I mentioned earlier, this
week I highlight the point that each golfer is
an individual and therefore individual attention
is required when choosing the correct loft and
shaft flex. I also carry on discussing innovations
in golf balls – your choice of ball should
be as unique to you as your choice in loft and
flex. Why not pop in to the shop and we can discuss
which driver specifications and golf balls are
best suited to your game.
Regards,
Duncan
GOLF SCHEDULE
Saturday 20 January
Dinner Dance
Passage House Hotel
Ask in the office for more info
Sunday 21 January
Mixed 9 Hole Stableford
Book your own times
Monday 22 January
Monday Group
10am
Tuesday 23 January
Senior’s 9 Hole Stableford
10am
Wednesday 24 January
Ladies 9 Hole Stableford
10am
Thursday 25 January
Mixed 9 Hole Stableford
Book your own times
Friday 26 January
Indoor Sports Trophy
7pm
What's
In Your Shop
*** COMING SOON ***
SALE EVENING 31 January
More information coming soon, but keep it free
if you want a bargain or three!
GRIP CHECK
HANG-ON
I want you, next time you look at your golf bag,
to check your grips.
Do you have worn or shiny patches?
Do they still feel sticky?
Are you having to grip too tightly causing your
large muscles to tense.
If you have any doubts about your Grips then
bring them into me and we’ll check them
for you.
Remember fresh grips will make your clubs feel
like new clubs again – without the large
hole in your finances.
Fresh grips will also lower your score and improve
your enjoyment.
Get a Grip and Enjoy your Golf.
WANT TO BREAK AWAY FOR VALENTINES?
Are you thinking of a romantic break away for
valentines?
Scroll down to the results section and have a
look at
our great Valentines Day offers from Imagina
Holidays.
Or contact Dolly from Imagina and put together
your own romantic break.
Dolly.ward@imaginaholidays.co.uk
WHAT’S ON AT THE TOURS?
EURO TOUR
Abu Dhabi Golf Championship, Abu Dhabi GC (United
Arab Emirates)
Defending Champ: Chris DiMarco
US TOUR
January 17-21
Bob Hope Chrysler Classic, Bermuda Dunes GC (California)
Defending Champ: Chad Campbell
RESULTS FROM THE TOURS
Sony Open, Hawaii
2007 Champ: Paul Goydos
Jo’burg Open, Royal Johannesburg & Kensington
GC
2007 Champ: Ariel Canete
STRANGE, AND TRUE…
In 1912 an American lady golfer, Maud McInnes,
took 166 strokes at a par-3 hole after her tee
shot landed in the river. Now instead of taking
a drop, like most golfers would have, she decided
to rather play it as it ‘floated’ (balls
were still made of feathers and bound in leather
in those days). She proceeded to climb into a boat
and tried to play out onto dry land… She
eventually succeeded, but a mile and a half down-stream!
The Shaft On
Your Driver Is What?
Last week I was making the point that the LOFT
on your Driver needed to be matched to your swing
speed, your golf ball and your swing type (did
you strike the ball with an ascending or descending
blow).
Many of you will also know that your launch angle
with your Driver is also linked to the flex on
your shaft. A shaft that is too stiff for your
swing speed will probably fly the ball lower
than expected (and with less length) while a
shaft that is too soft will probably fly the
ball too high to get the best results.
Of course a shaft that is too soft will also
probably bring the club head back to the ball
slightly closed and will send your tee shot left
(for right-handers) and a shaft that is too stiff
will most likely be open at impact resulting
in a ball going right.
So having established your fitted LOFT we need
to make sure that you are playing with the right
flex on this Driver, and that is complicated
by three challenges:
a) Most
golfers don’t know their true swing speed,
b) Even
when they do, most MALE golfers’ machismo
lead them to play with a
shaft
that is too strong for their game,
c) There
is no industry standard that matches the various
classifications of shaft
strength
to actual strength, so one manufacturer’s
regular can easily be
different
to another’s.
Again, when I am matching your golf swing to
a shaft flex, there is a very personal solution.
Two golfers might have the same swing speed but
the smoother swinging golfer will require a different
flex to a golfer that is jerkier in both the
backswing and downswing.
And in conversation with you, while checking
out your swing speed and type, if you are in
between requiring a regular or stiff shaft for
your Driver, I am likely to advise you to err
on the side of more flex NOT less.
Getting the right flex in your Driver will impact
on both the distance that you achieve with the
club and the accuracy. In 2007, get Fitted.
When I chat to golfers about their Driver there
seems to be a very personal and variable relationship
between the club and its owner. Almost as variable
as with the Putter.
Remember that the Driver is the longest club
in your bag, so any problem with your swing is
magnified through all 45" of graphite shaft.
If you want a club over which you have more control
and greater consistency, then think about taking
just an inch of the shaft length. After all,
most of the top Pros do.
The Golf Ball
& Your Handicap
For the regular golfer the news on the modern
golf ball is all good. The ball doesn’t slice
or hook anywhere near as much as it did 15 years
ago and it goes a lot further. But why hasn’t
the average club member’s handicap dropped.
The answer is almost certainly in the golf ball
you are teeing up.
Today a solidly hit golf ball doesn’t move.
The manufacturer’s designers have worked
the long night hours to make it so. But for most
of us the percentage of solidly hit shots hasn’t
improved that much and the ball, when hit poorly,
will deviate from the straight and narrow.
And some balls will deviate more than others.
Would you believe that the golf ball a Pro plays
with will deviate more than many of the alternatives
on the market!
The argument, then, is that most amateur golfers
could be playing with a golf ball that will make
them straighter but choose not to.
The bad news, for those who pick the ball used
by their hero on TV, is that the same golf ball,
when hit with a swing speed of only 85mph, isn’t
going to perform anywhere near its optimum level,
leaving you not only further from the Fairway than
you’d like, but further from the Green
than you could be.
Not the combination that any of us were looking
for when we teed up our brand new golf ball and
envisioned, in our pre-shot routine, a long,
slight draw that leaves us a simple approach
from the center of the Fairway.
So, why do less than 20% of regular golfers take
the time and trouble to find the golf ball that
will marry their swing speed and their requirement
for control and feel? Why, when each new golf
ball offers a toolbox of technologies all offering
different benefits, do we play the golf ball
we do?
Spend a little time working out what characteristics
your golf ball needs to have to help you enjoy
your golf game that little bit more. Be prepared
to experiment and remember that you can chat
to me. Not only am I trained to help, I’d
like to help.
Not What
The Pros Want
Faced with a 15 yard wide thin strip of Championship Fairway 20 years ago, the
best Pro’s would aim down one side and play with a slight draw or fade
(depending on which side of the Fairway they were aiming) allowing themselves
the full 15 yards as their margin of error.
Today with a golf ball that is so much harder to move sideways they have to aim
down the center leaving themselves only 7½ yards to work with either side,
reducing their margin for error.
Check the % of Fairways hit over the last 20 years on US Tour events, especially
the Open and PGA Championships, and you’ll see the proof of this.
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