| 25th
January 2007
Greetings
from Duncan,
We have a winner
on our books! Not the Pros, but our very own
Greenkeeper, Chris Ralph. He came first in the
BIGGA Competition at Carlyon Bay with 34 points
on a very windy Thursday.
Well done Chris!!!
Keep Wednesday
31st January free for our Sales Evening where
you can pick up a bargain or three. There will
be great deals on lots of equipment, clothing
and accessories.
The Hele Park Christmas Draw has finally been
made and I am pleased to announce the winners:
1st – John Chapman – Mizuno Draino
Putter
2nd – Phil Steele – Wilson Driver
3rd – Nigel Colledge – Cutter & Buck
Holdall
4th – Rob Foss – Srixon Balls
5th – Fliss Martin – Olive Oyl Head
Cover
6th – Margaret Carswell – Glove
7th – Dave Parsons – Glove
Thank you to all
who took part and congratulations to the winners!
Thanks also to all who entered the ‘Guess
The Member’ competition last week. The
answer was Steve Bristow and the winner of the
glove is John Feltham – well done John!
The 2007 Dinner and Dance was a great success
and the Passage House Hotel looked after us all
brilliantly. Thanks to all who supported the
event and I hope you enjoyed it as much as we
did!
This week I continue to discuss the importance
of choosing a driver that suits your specific
needs, ensuring that the technology of your driver
will give you the best benefits and highlight
two drivers available to you from your pro shop.
Its all about getting your equipment tailored
to your game. Pop into the shop so we can discuss
how I can help you achieve your perfect set,
suited to your unique game.
Enjoy the week.
Regards,
Duncan
GOLF SCHEDULE
Friday 26 January
Indoor Sports Trophy - 7pm
Saturday 27 January
Mixed 9 Hole Stableford
Book your own times
Sunday 28 January
Juniors’ Monthly Medal
9 Hole Stableford 11.30am
Monday 29 January
Monday Group 10am
Tuesday 30 January
Seniors’ 9 Hole Stableford 10am
Wednesday 31 January
Ladies’ 9 Hole Stableford 10am
Thursday 01 February
Mixed 9 Hole Stableford
Book your own times
DON’T FORGET
Friday night is Indoor Sports Evening for all
members of Hele Park. Neil Vaughan will be providing
the entertainment, including some creepy crawlies
that were such a hit last year! All members are
welcome.
IN YOUR SHOP
Sale Still On
Callaway X20 – Ladies, Men’s and
tour models now in!!!
STRANGE, AND TRUE…
In the early 1900’s hickory shafts replaced
the rigid steel shafts and consequently, more varieties
of loft became available. This led to some players
carrying as many as 31 clubs in their bag, like
the amateur - Lawson Little. Obviously this was
starting to get out of hand and both the USPGA
and the R&A issued statements limiting the
number of clubs allowed by a golfer to 14.
Grip Check: Size
Is Everything
Now check that you grip is the right size for
you hands. You'll be surprised how many grips
are the wrong size. The finger tips should lightly
touch the pad of the top grip hand (palm area)
in the proper grip position. A gap either way
indication a grip too small or too large. If
the finger tips overlap the palm, a larger grip
is required. If the finger tips do not touch
the palm of the top grip hand, a smaller grip
is required.
I've fixed countless hooks by increasing the thickness
of a grip. Money saved in lost balls, lost golf
games and wasted lessons.
GolfPride:Gripa. www.golfpride.com
Your Swing, Which
Technology?
You may imagine that a ‘golf equipment fitting
session’ is all about dimensions and swing
speeds. But actually it is taken up with much
more discussion around your swing type, the results
you currently achieve on the golf course and
the improvements that you would like to see.
In the last two weeks I have talked about getting
the Loft, the shaft type and the shaft length
fitted for you with your new Driver for 2007.
At this stage, I know you have a brand and even
probably a model in mind (in fact some people
have already picked out the head cover).
But making sure that the technology delivered
in the Driver you are about to purchase will
deliver on the benefits and improvements that
you want is probably the most important step.
Never going to remove that “over the top,
out to in” swing shape? Then let’s
look at the different models that have offset
faces designed to reduce the chances of sidespin
on the ball.
If you struggle with your hands to get the club
square at impact, leaving the face open on an
otherwise good swing path, then let’s review
clubs that have shifted more weight into the
heel.
Maybe you struggle to find the sweet spot on
a consistent basis leaving you unsure of whether
you are walking 180 yards or 280 yards down the
fairway. If that is the case, then there are
Drivers where weight has been pulled to the extremes
maximizing the size of the solid impact zone.
Fitting is no longer just about matching the
setup and dimensions of the club to your build
and swing, it is also about making sure that
the technology of a particular model will give
you the best return.
So even for the Driver, it is best to start with
more than the thought of finding a club on the
shelf that will do the job for you. It is as
important as it is with any club in your bag
to make sure that it is fitted personally for
your game.
Next time you buy a Driver, get fitted, and tell
everyone in the club about the results. I’m
confident that personally fitted golf equipment
will improve every golfer’s game.
In 2007, get Fitted.
Whose Golf Ball
Is It Anyway?
Your swing, your golf equipment and your golf
ball. Yes, as important as it is to make sure
that your golf clubs are working for you, so
it is just as important to make sure the same
can be said about the most used piece of equipment
- your golf ball.
If it’s your swing, and not that of Padraig
Harrington, Lee Westwood or Darren Clarke, then
let’s make it your ball for your swing and
NOT their ball for your swing. Here’s just
three examples:
Wendy Stanbury, who plays off a handicap of 20,
needs a golf ball that is going to get him 10 – 15
yards further off the tee than he is currently.
The result will be playing shorter clubs that
will, by their higher loft, offer increased control
on approach.
For that reason I have recommended the Wilson
DX2. It will work well with Wendy’s swing
speed offering maximum distance. The nice touch
with this ball is it still offers a very soft
feel off the Putter face, an aspect that was
very important to Wendy.
Ian Lidbury, who plays off a handicap of 6, has
a great golf swing and generates great club head
speed. Distance is not an issue. He likes to
attack the pin on approach and needs a ball that
will work well around the green.
In fact Ian should choose his ball from the Green
backwards. Find a choice of balls that work with
his Wedge and Putter and then narrow that choice
to one that gives good control on approach and
finally choose, from that smaller list, the ball
that works best with the Driver.
I have recommended
the Titleist Pro V1X.
What we decided was needed for Peter Read, who
plays off a handicap of 17, was a golf ball that,
whilst being soft and responsive, also reduced
the impact of his fade / slice from the tee.
Distance was a secondary issue, although we needed
to make sure none was lost with the recommended
ball.
The Titleist NXT will spin a lot less, including
sidespin, than other balls. It has feel and control
as a priority over distance but will work well
with Peter’s swing speed.
If you would like me to chat about your golf
ball selection, then just pop in and see me or
even give me a call. It’s our job to know
how each golf ball will react with different
swings. Let us help you get the perfect match.
Innovation
in Design & Manufacturing
Golf Illustrated’s hottest Driver in this
review was the Mizuno MX-500. Famous for their
Irons, GI were highly impressed with the way
that this Mizuno Driver worked for the average
golfer who gets distance occasionally but often
struggles with both consistency of strike and
accuracy.
With a very creative design and use of graphite
in the Crown and in a Toe Insert the CoG is not
only moved low and deep to make it easy to get
the ball up on a great ball flight, but weight
that now sits at the heel makes it much easier
for your hands to square the clubface.
I know we all think about hot faces but most
of us would gain more distance if we hit the
ball squarely more often.
With Mizuno’s manufacturing capability,
additional weight can also be saved with the
use of a variable thickness face.
That also allows for the face to maximize energy
transfer and create a higher ball velocity.
This is one of the most easy to use Drivers on
the market today. Try one out if you struggle
with Distance and Consistency.
High launch, low spin and maximum ball velocity
are the fundamentals behind further distance.
The Titleist 905R, a 460cc Driver, has a number
of design features that provide those characteristics
for you. In addition, though, the Titleist 905R
provides you with:
a larger sweet spot (35% larger than previous
models) to ensure maximum distance more often,
increased stability when you make contact off-centre
(10% higher MOI) ensuring that you still have
solid distance AND a straight shot
and of course the full 460cc head to give you
the biggest and best of all worlds.
This graphic neatly shows the way that the hosel
fits within the club and then allows a strategic
weight to be moved deep and low at the back of
the club head.Being able to identify weight that
can be saved and moved at the discretion of the
designer is the key to any manufacturer’s
improvements.
Titleist achieves their savings in the standard
way (lighter materials, thinner walls etc) but
also has computer milled aluminium hosel that
replaces traditional bore-thru hosel.
Titleist takes all the saved weight and places
it in strategic weight pads that aim to improve
your launch conditions off the face of the Driver – better
launch angle with a slightly lower spin rate.
And that means greater hang time and more distance.
HELE PARK GOLF CENTRE Scorecard
Go to http://www.heleparkgolf.co.uk/results.html
for details of all the latest club results.
Good luck to all those playing in this week’s
competitions!!!
Have a great week and good luck to all of you
playing this weekend.
Regards
Duncan
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