| 28th
June 2007
Greetings from Duncan,
Club Championships 2007
Well done to all those who took part in the 2007
Club Championships, and battled through the
rain to play 36 holes! Congratulations to the
winners - Ian Lidbury is Men’s Club Champion
for his first time, Katie Mowll is Ladies’ Club
Champion for the fourth time and Sam Wallace
is Junior Club Champion. Results can be found
by clicking here.
Mowll On A Roll
Congratulations to Katie Mowll who, not content
with winning the nett and gross Ladies’ Club
Championships on Saturday, went on to win the
Devon County Mixed Foursomes with Tim Aggett
(Staddon Heights) at Thurlestone the next day,
nailing 57 Stableford points over 27 holes. We
are very proud that Hele Park’s name has
now been added to the list of illustrious clubs
that have won this prestigious trophy.
Basil Steer Trophy
Congratulations to Hele Park Juniors Sam Wallace,
Andy Steele & Scott Jessop who won Round
2 of the Basil Steer Trophy against Teign Valley
at Teignmouth Golf Club. The final result was
2-1 to Hele Park. Well done boys!
This week I continue my discussion of Irons and
clear up the confusion around MOI (Moment of
Inertia) a little more, pop in to the shop for
more information or to chat about the right irons
for your game. Don’t forget to see who
the survey winners are, thanks again to all who
participated.
Best wishes,
Duncan
GOLF SCHEDULE
Friday 29 June
Ladies’ Open
Saturday 30 June
Men’s Invitation Day Noon
Sunday 1 July
Mixed Stableford –
book your own times
Tuesday 3 July
Seniors’ Invitation
Wednesday 4 July
Ladies’ Wimbledon Team Event
Pimms & Strawberries 11.30am
Thursday 5 July
Men’s Friendly v
Dainton Park (H) 4pm
Seniors’ Friendly
v
Fingle Glen (A) 11am
Midweek Mixed Stableford –
book your own times
FEEDBACK NEEDED
What do you think of our newsletter? We’d
really appreciate your feedback. Do you like
getting a weekly copy? What would you like to
see less of/more of? Please email your comments
to olivia@heleparkgolf.co.uk.
FREE COACHING
Another free coaching session is being planned
for the 1st July –
please call 01626 336060 to put
your name down.
DRIVER DRIVING YOU MAD?
Missing too many fairways? Losing more than your
fair share of golf balls? Then you’re probably
using the wrong driver! Could you get better
results with an alternative driver? Why not pop
into the shop - we have all the demo clubs and
resources available to ensure you are maximising
your playing potential. Read up on the technicalities
below.
JUNIOR GOLF, WEDNESDAY
Starting Wednesday 25th July for four consecutive
weeks, Simon Warne is running a course for Juniors,
focusing on constructing scores for competition
rounds. The majority of the time will be spent
practising the most important part of the game – the
short game. Please contact the shop to book your
place. You can find more information above the
results section…
CAPTAIN’S DAY
Sunday 8th July
Make sure you’ve got your name down for
Captain’s Day! It’s always a very
enjoyable day and there are lots of prizes to
be won. It’s a team event, the front 9
is a Texas Scramble and the back is played in
a Stableford format.
THE WINNERS OF THE UK GOLF CLUB SURVEY
Everybody that completed our equipment survey
was entered into a competition where the following
prizes were available to be won: a Nike SasQuatch
Sumo Driver, Mizuno MX900 Irons, Ping G5 Woods,
Srixon Tour Bag, a Glenmuir outfit – trousers,
shirt, jumper, and a Powakaddy Freeway Digital
Trolley.
Our congratulations go out to the winners of
these great prizes! They are:
Nike SasQuatch Sumo Driver – Roger Thomson
from Sandy Lodge GC
Mizuno MX900 Irons – Ian McDougall from
The Leaderboard
Ping G5 Woods – James Watson from Noah’s
Ark GC
Srixon Tour Bag – David Lambert from Saffron
Walden GC
Glenmuir outfit – Robert Hyde from Hinckley
GC
Powakaddy Freeway Digital Trolley – Suzanne
Hamilton from Worcestershire GC
The winners of the Nike SasQuatch Sumo Driver,
Mizuno MX900 Irons, and Ping G5 Woods will now
have a scheduled fitting with their PGA qualified
Professional. Together they will work out which
solution works best for their game and then make
sure that the golf club/s is made to measure
perfectly.
That process will extend
beyond making sure that the clubs fit their
physical dimensions (and over 40% of golfers
are playing with clubs that don’t fit
their physical dimensions) but will ensure
that the club fits their dynamic characteristics
(athletic ability, club speed, etc.) and then
that the technology in the club selected will
benefit each specific winner the most.
Every golfer should use the skills of their
PGA Club Professional to make the most of any
investment they are making in equipment. It costs
nothing and results in strokes saved on the course
and so much more enjoyment.
The winners of the Srixon Tour Bag, Glenmuir
outfit, and Powakaddy Freeway Digital Trolley
will surely also feel that their enjoyment of
their golf game is further enhanced by the use
of top of the range golfing equipment! Congratulations
once again to all the winners, and thank you
to everyone who took part in the survey.
CLEARING UP THE HYPE
The hype around high-MOI Drivers shows no sign
of calming down. The confusion it creates for
the golfer is not good, so let me provide you
with some very simple guidelines.
The first is to approach all the marketing noise
with some cynicism. The authorities reacted quickly
to increasing MOI by imposing a limit. As soon
as they did that, the race amongst the manufacturers
was on. They could create differentiation by
releasing new models that got closer and closer
to the limit. It is now a selling tool.
That said, if you are playing
with a pre-2006 Driver then, whatever your
handicap, there are benefits to be gained with
the 460cc Drivers that have MOI ratings of
above 4000 gm cm².
There is no real benefit
with on-center hits. What a higher MOI does,
is create less distance loss on off-center
hits. With a pre-2006 Driver, for every ½" off-center strike, you
will lose approximately 5 – 7% of your
distance potential. High-MOI Drivers reduce that
impact.
THE FACTS
The U.S. Golf Association decided to limit a
driver's MOI to 6,000 grams-centimeters squared.
When the MOI on Drivers increased from 2,000
gm cm2 to 4,000 gm cm2 (in 2005) there was a
significant improvement in performance on mis-hits.
But from 4,000 gm cm2 - 6,000 gm cm2 there is
much less improvement.
The latest square drivers have improved the
MOI to 5,300 gm cm2
In Robot testing at a TaylorMade facility in
San Diego the average distance of a mis-hit on
high-MOI drivers was more than six yards greater
than in 2002, and three yards greater than in
2005.
What the graphic above highlights is who will
benefit most from a high-MOI Driver based on
the information I have provided.
The last graphic (on the right) shows where
a top Professional will regularly strike the
face of the Driver. As these blows are all close
or on the sweet spot there are no mis-hits that
will benefit from a higher MOI Driver.
The second graphic highlights where a low handicap
golfer is likely to strike the face of the Driver.
As you can see, with this dispersion, there are
a couple of strikes that will benefit from high
MOI, but the graphic on the left (higher handicap)
shows many strikes towards the toe. All of these
shots will lose less distance because of the
mis-hit.
BECOMING GOLF EQUIPMENT LEGENDS
Mizuno, first with the MX-23 and then with the
MX-17 proved that they can make high quality
golf clubs for golfers that are not touring professionals.
These clubs went on to win many awards but, most
importantly, improved the golf of many club golfers.
Mizuno then surprised everybody with the MX-900,
probably the most versatile set of Irons ever
created.
In today’s world of rapid innovation it
is not possible for any manufacturer to sit still
so we now have some enhancements in the Mizuno
MX range and, continuing last week’s theme,
I’d like to help start a conversation with
any golfer looking to buy a set of Mizuno Irons.
So this week I have given my player-match for
the MX range.
Mizuno MX 25: Any golfer from a low handicap
to an 18 handicap should consider these Irons.
They have feel, a great balance of forgiveness
(needed for the 18 handicap golfer) and shot
shape control (needed by the 5 handicap golfer).
I think the secret to their design is the fact
that the undercut cavity works progressively
through the set. It is deepest in the long irons
where frankly we all need more consistency and
a solid design in the shorter irons where we
all want more control over our shots.
Mizuno MX 19: If you are
a higher handicap golfer, who doesn’t
want to invest in the price of forged irons
but do want quality of design and manufacture,
then you will not find better than these.
The design of the clubhead aims to provide the
maximum forgiveness on off centre strikes, to
ensure that you are as straight as possible and
that it is easier to get the ball on a higher
ball flight (for softer landing).
The Mizuno MX-900 Irons have taken hybrid design,
Mizuno manufacturing and iron heritage and worked
them together into a set that have real ease
of use in a more traditional appearance.
The long irons are based
on the Mizuno Fli-Hi hybrid design, the mid-irons
are hollow forged with tungsten weights to
deliver progressive benefit and the short irons
are solid, one piece forged. The result: the
forgiveness and high ball flight of the hybrid
in the long irons, the progressive balance
of forgiveness and workability in the mid irons
and real shot control in the short irons. That’s
why I would recommend that almost all handicaps
have a look at this set before making a final
decision.
If you are looking to purchase a set of Irons,
take some care about the exact model you choose
and then make sure you get fitted properly. The
right choice, properly fitted will improve your
golf. If you would like to know more about any
of these Irons, or just want to chat about equipment
in general then please contact me.
SUMMER JUNIOR COACHING ACADEMY (HELE PARK MEMBERS)
Four Week course aimed at improving your scoring
potential during the summer holidays.
Week 1
Swing theory – looking at mid irons, identifying
distances using our Vector launch monitor to
give you some idea of how far you’re hitting
your irons.
Learn how to control the flights of your irons
so you can play in all types of weather.
Short Game session looking at putting, with tips
on how to change your mind set and also tips
on how to use your practice putting time wisely.
Further to putting will be a look at improving
a variety of chipping techniques to get you out
of those tight spots you often find yourself
in whilst playing competition rounds.
Week 2
Swing theory – looking at long irons and
fairway woods.
Work with Vector to work out distances in order
to give you a better understanding of your game
especially when clubbing a certain distance is
crucial.
Short Game – Pitching, looking at club
choice with flight and spin patterns.
Week 3
Swing theory – Driving and shaping of shots
in order to give yourself the best line into
the pins.
Short Game – Variety of shot types from
flop shots, to low running punch shots for use
in windy weather and conduct the Dave Pelz short
game test to give you a short game handicap.
Week 4
Create a strategy to play Hele Park by taking
a walk of the course and constructing a custom
made plan in order for those competition rounds
to go smoothly.
Cost
£30 per junior for the full four weeks
or £10 for a single week
Have a great week and good luck to all of you
playing this weekend.
Regards
Duncan |
