| 22nd
March 2007
Greetings from Duncan,
Chris Gill Wins Order of Merit
From the first game at Okehampton back in September
'06 when Chris came so far down the leader board
he didn't appear, it's been tough to fight his
way anywhere near the top in the Devon County
PGA Order of Merit. Another low point was at
Downes Crediton when Chris failed to score any
points at all. However, back-to-back 2nd places
at the Warren and Thurlestone put him firmly
back into contention just behind Neil Holman.
However, the target to shoot at throughout has
been frequent Order of Merit winner Jon Langmead
(Exminster), consistently on top throughout the
season. Into the last game at Stover (15th March),
Jon was front-runner some 15 points ahead of
Neil Holman in second place and Chris in third.
Standing on the first tee at Stover, Chris
was not feeling at all well and didn't rate
his chances highly. However, beware of the
injured golfer because he ground out a steady
predominantly par round, with two birdies and
one bogey. Not spectacular, but his score of
66 was enough to secure the Stover win, sharing
first place with Ashley Moon (Okehampton) and
James Langmead (Stover).
Chris said, 'Winning an Order of Merit is always
a good feeling because the name of the game is
consistency, something all pros are trying to
achieve throughout their career. Since moving
to Hele Park and taking advantage of our superb
practice facilities my game has improved immeasurably,
I have been custom fitted for a new set of clubs
from Titleist from our studio and the two combined
have had a great impact on my game - the results
speak for themselves.'
Picture The Scene….
(Recent email received from Steve Davies)
'Steve Davies... not the snooker player... tees
up on the 4th. Slamming shot. Belts ball straight
at the bunker. Misses it by inches...sod it!
Temporary tee on the opposite side. Nic Davies...
not married to snooker player. Slams ball at
150 marker and passes it by 25 yards...on the
right side of the fairway. Steve Davies... still
not the snooker player… grimaces. Takes
out wrong club. Chest puffs up. Ego rises to
100%. Forgets what the pro has taught. Need to
show whose boss, raises stakes to 150%, strikes
at ball... duffs to trees. New addition to the
English language created. Nic Davies... blah
blah blah... hits ball to temp green-ish. Steve
Davies says, "I'll take out the sacrificial
iron"... no.7.... practice swing ...looks
do-able... backswing feels sweet. Swing feels
sweet. Follow through is textbook. Ball lands
on temporary green. Pride restored... Nic Davies
shouts “fantastic shot”. 7 iron falls
in two. The tree won.
Said Steve Davies requires a new 7 iron. Darren
to the rescue. Moral of story. Don't know. Some
lessons will never be learnt. Stephen C Davies’
Spikes
Due to the success of the spike check last week
(proved by no accidents in the accident book!),
we will continue this offer for £1 off
all spikes and free fitting.
See the section below to find out more about
custom fitting of putters!
Well done to all who have taken part in the recent
competitions. Full results can be found on the
website (link below) but special mention to Tricia
Underwood who won the Ladies’ 9 Hole String
Stableford, and Matt Hamlet who won the Juniors’ March
Monthly Medal Div I.
Next week I’m in Spain
(a golf tournament, NOT a holiday!) with Chris
Gill, and so Stuart Disney is the guest editor
for the newsletter.
Want to know how to take three shots off your
score then read my feature on Putting this week.
Also in this week’s mail I talk about iron
innovation, and take a closer look at the King
Cobra S9 irons.
Have a good week,
Duncan
GOLF SCHEDULE
Chris Gill is playing at
Sunningdale in the Foursomes with Sean Mason – good
luck Chris!
Chris Gill & Sean Mason
Sunday 25 March
Mixed 9 Hole Stableford – book your own
times
Monday 26 March
Spring Renovations
Tuesday 27 March
Spring Renovations, Seniors & Ladies Away
Day – Oake Manor
Wednesday 28 March
Ladies’ Coffee Morning & 9 Hole Stableford
10am
Thursday 29 March
Mixed 9 Hole Stableford – book your own
times
WHATS IN YOUR SHOP?
TRY B4U BUY
We are now holding more and more demo equipment
for you to try. We have demo sets available for:
Wilson D7 New Fat Shaft (steel)
Ladies’ Cobra FP Irons & Rescue (graphite)
Titleist 975 Irons (steel)
… Plus many more drivers and rescue clubs
Drop into the shop any time to give them a try!
SQUARE HEAD DRIVERS
The Callaway square head drivers are finally
in – come and have a try!
COBRA
King Cobra Speed LD drivers now in.
IF A SHOE CAN ADD
DISTANCE …
You have all the seen the advert that proves
Padraig can hit the ball further and more accurately
if he is wearing a particular shoe.
Have you checked your spikes to see if you are
losing grip and traction with the ground? If
you are then you are losing distance and accuracy.
Increased traction equals better golf.
CUSTOM FIT
I’ve had a great response to last week’s
newsletter with many people booking a custom
fit to check if their clubs belong in their bag.
In this newsletter we concentrate on lowering
your scores by improving your putting, and one
of the best ways you can do this is by ensuring
your putter is right for you.
This is an area that has been highlighted in
the recent custom fit checks. This week we are
offering a free custom fit on your putter using
the Wilson Staff’s variable putter to measure
your stance. Did you know that the average length
of putter on the European Tour is 31”,
yet a standard putter is 34” for men and
33” for ladies? The reason for this is
most putters are made in the USA and their tour
standard is 34” due to the faster greens.
THREE SHOTS OFF YOUR SCORE
You hit more shots with the Putter than with
any other club and for most of us a 10% improvement
in performance is going to take 3 or 4 shots
off our score. Seems sensible to start here then,
if we are going to win more matches. So let me
give you three quick drills that will: make sure
your putting stroke is tuned, improve your distance
control and increase your confidence.
You want to have your hands, arms and shoulders
working together with the club face hitting the
ball perfectly squarely in the center. That will
ensure both accuracy (hitting it straight) and
better distance control (consistently striking
the ball off the sweet spot).
Set up two clubs perfectly parallel on the grass.
Swing the putter low to the ground between the
two clubs (see the picture).
You are trying to ensure
that you don’t
hit the clubs with the putter (or the ball!).
Incidentally this will also improve rhythm.
For most amateurs this should be a drill that
should be completed before the start of every
round. Good technique will help with the pressure
putts.
Most of us create three putts through poor distance
control on our first putt (rather than poor accuracy
or poor reads). So let’s improve that with
the following drill:
Using Tee Pegs set up imaginary distance lines
starting at 15 feet every 5 feet. I would setup
lines at 15, 20, 25, 30, 35 and 40 feet (if you
have enough room). Now take 15 balls. Try and
hit the first three so they land between the
15 and 20 feet lines. Then the next three between
the 20 and 25 feet lines and so on until you
are trying to get the last three golf balls between
the 35 and 40 feet lines.
Score 3 points for every ball that finishes
in the target zone, 1 point if it goes beyond
and no points if it is short. From your 15 golf
balls you are looking to score 37 points minimum.
Finally we all need to build confidence on the
Putting Green. To achieve that we need to be
holing putts and that is very difficult from
6 feet out.
Spend your time, when you have a golf hole to
aim at, hitting the 3 through 5 foot putts, on
a flat surface. Make sure your technique and
rhythm is right. Then concentrate on repeating
that, and LISTENING to the ball drop. That’s
right. Keep your eyes and head perfectly still
and down and you will enjoy listening to the
ball hitting the bottom of the cup.
BRINGING YOU THE BEST INNOVATIONS
One of the important parts of my job – away
from the shop – is keeping an eye on what
the manufacturers are doing with their design
teams. I am looking to identify the products
that are going to help you enjoy your game more
than ever.
Over the next weeks I am going to be looking
at the way that we can expect Irons to evolve
over the next couple of years and how that is
going to change the way you approach the game.
The last two years have seen the emergence of
the hybrid / iron set. Manufacturers such as
Tour Edge and Adams led the way but there are
now many alternatives.
Other manufacturers (Mizuno,
Titleist, Callaway, Wilson and Nike amongst
them) created “blended
technology” in their Iron sets. The design
and manufacturing process was created to ‘change’ the
way that the technology assists shot-making as
you move up the set from the short-irons through
to the longer irons. Longer Irons are easier
to hit, shorter irons leave you with much more
control to shape your shot.
But where to now? Early indications from releases
in the 2nd half of 2006 and the 1st half of 2007
is that we are going to see a continuation of
innovation in the design and manufacturing process
to create ‘discretionary weight’.
This weight, not needed in the structure, can
then be strategically placed to have an impact
on launch conditions and angles, ball flight,
sweet spots and hitting zones.
KEEPING AN EYE
ON YOUR GROOVE
One of the least heralded innovations, which
has had the biggest impact on the way that the
game is
played, is the design of your grooves.
Ping introduced ‘U’ grooves
that increased the amount of back spin imparted
on the golf ball,
even from the rough.
That little innovation has
resulted in the emergence of ‘bombers & gougers’,
who can attack the pin
from the rough (gouge)
after a wild shot from the tee (bomb).
The USGA equipment rules team is now attempting
to close down the way that the grooves are
designed and introducing restrictions (as they
have done with head sizes, COR and MOI).
King Cobra S9 Irons
If you want an Iron with a conventional appearance
that will help you hit the ball straighter, higher
and cleaner more often then you need a golf club
that features a wider sole and deeper under-cut
cavity.
The lower and deeper CoG, such a configuration
will create, will make it much easier to get
the ball airborne with a better spin rate.
The new Cobra Irons also feature another innovation.
The metal topline is replaced by a Urethane insert
that creates more weight saving. This allows
even more weight at the perimeters and not only
a lower, deeper CoG but an increased MOI.
There will be a perfect technology for your game.
It is my job to translate the ‘marketing
noise’ into exactly what will work for
you. Remember, if you are thinking of purchasing
new clubs talk to me and let me help you make
the perfect choice.
Have a great week and good luck to all of you
playing this weekend.
Regards
Duncan
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