Greetings golfers,

Another busy week here on site. Where to begin?

Let's start with the 'Best Putter in the Club' which was held on Saturday. 9 holes around the putting green on a predetermined course. Tee positions and holes numbered, Par 18.

I wasn't sure what to expect and what score would win but when the first two guys, Mike Lake and Captain Tom Gallagher both posted -3 I thought we were in for some good putting.

The competition ran from 8am until 1pm and over 50 people including some of our junior golfers, which a special mention has to go to Keeley Morris (11 years Old) who posted level par and beat a lot of adult golfers. At the end of play we had 2 players at -5 for the 9 hole course. John West and Steve Swain 'Swainy'.

A playoff was needed to determine the outright winner. A 3 hole loop was the first part of the playoff and this couldn't split them, then it went to a match-play format and on the 5th hole 'Swainy' had the honour and rolled in a 1 putt from approx. 15 feet which wasn't matched by John and 'Swainy' collect the winning prize of an Odyssey putter.

'Swainy' now has the honour of letting everyone he meets know he is 'the best putter in the club' 2017

Captain and Pro Match

Monday saw myself and senior Captain Russel Brooks in action against Peter Whitehead and Frank Taylor. A small contentious decision on the first tee as our opponents didn't want to play off the whites, so being the honourable captain he is, Russel let our opponents play off the yellows while we played from the whites.

We had a great match and neither team got more than 2 holes in front before being clawed back.

It all got very interesting on the Par 3 14th tee when Peter hit his shot to 10 feet, with a shot too; 3 putts later and we had a half. We felt we got away with one there. We lost the 15th to a nett birdie and were all square on the 16th. With myself on in two on the par 5 and waiting to knock in my birdie putt, captain Russell rolled in his own birdie from 15 feet, nett eagle and we went 1 up!

Russel obviously got a bit excited with his birdie as he promptly hit his tee shot on 17, well I'm not sure where it went. It wasn't playable, that is for sure, as we never found it. I missed the green pin high left and our opponents both were getting 2 shots each on the par 3! Peter got in his own troubles while Frank wasn't far away for nett 2 and was looking like getting a nett par.

Now I won't bore you with the details, but I hadn't chipped well all day and with a delicate chip over the rough then downhill to the pin towards the water, I was thinking to myself I really need to put an hour in my diary and go do a bit of chipping practice as it was so bad. I then hit a sublime chip that rolled up to the hole and dropped in dead weight for a 2 and the match. I haven't yet put time in my diary to practice as I will live on that for a while.

That makes 2 wins from 2 and our next match in a couple of weeks' time.

What's In The Bag

This is a new feature about what people are playing with. To get things rolling I will start with what is in my bag:

Bag: Titleist Tour Bag
Driver: Titleist 917 D3 8.75 degree slight draw bias Aldila RIP 60gram Stiff shaft
Fairway: Titleist 917 F3 13.5 degree slight fade bias Aldila RIP 80gram Stiff Shaft
Utility: Cobra King Utility 18-22 degree Dynamic Golf S300 AMT Steel Shaft
Irons: Cobra ONE Length Forged 4-pw Dynamic Golf S300 AMT Steel Shaft
Wedges: Edel 50, 54 & 60 degree driver grind 22degree bounce dynamic gold S200 shafts
Putter: Edel E1 34 inches
Ball: ProV1X
Trolley: motocaddy s1 electric Trolley
Range Finder: Nikon Super Shot
Accessories: Putting Mirror, tees, sharpies, markers, waterproofs, gloves, snacks, drinks.

I've played Titleist Drivers for as long as I can remember. I feel I get the best of both worlds in terms of distance (I average 272 yards carry = 295 total) and accuracy. I have a strong 3 wood in 13.5 degrees which carries about 250 and runs out 270. My utility is changeable in loft and I currently have it set at 18 degrees to get a flatter ball flight and more run this time of year. During the winter months I will tend to add more loft to carry it further.

This year I changed to the ONE length. I can honestly say they are great and feel that I am set up to the ball the same over every iron shot. If you haven't tried them yet I recommend that you do. Once you get over the initial wow my PW is really long and my 4 iron looks like a junior club, and trust the club, you will be amazed how consistently you hit the ball.

For wedges, this summer I have put in the new Edel wedges that we fit on site. They come with a lot of bounce but don't let that fool you. When you think the most bounce the vokey wedges come in is 12 degree bounce, my wedges are almost double that at 22 degree's - Remember bounce is your friend. Also you can see my distances are on the back of the club depending on the length of backswing I put on it. If you want, a Wedge Control session you can book one with me online.

I also have an Edel Putter which is fully fitted for me in terms of head weight, length, loft, lie, internal weight and counterbalance weight. We fit these for aim and speed, because at the end of the day that is all you can do, aim and hit it with the correct speed. Both of these are affected by the alignment and weight of your putter. You can see from the images that my putter's weight is a lot more centred compared to most 'off the shelf' putters, this is because I have a lot of weight in the grip and counter balance. If you want to discuss fitting, especially in the wedges and putter which are your scoring clubs, let me know.

I've always played Titleist golf balls and ProV1, this year I changed to the Pro V1x mainly because this year the balls changed in terms of spin. If you didn't know the 2017 Pro V1x spins more that the Pro V1 around the greens.

As for Range finders,, if you haven't got some sort of measuring device why not. It's important to know how far to the green, hazards, laying up etc. Then if you have a DMD do you know how far you hit each club? If not then book in for a gapping session.

The putting mirror I use before competitive events; you can incorporate it into your practice for 5 minutes when hitting some warm up putts in order to make sure your set up is in right place. Also a putting string to help alignment.

Ball markings I have some excessive lines on my ball and I use them for both teeing off and putting. I line the ball up where I want the ball to start and then I just set up to the ball.

I have plenty of gloves in the bag, by having 2 or 3 gloves in the bag and rotating them they last longer, as well as plenty of snacks and fluids for when playing, you can see I love a nutrigrain bar. Also a special couple of pitch forks, one from the Old Course which I have been lucky enough to play, and a ball marker from Harbour Town Golf Club in South Carolina.

All this is in my big tour bag and it weighs a ton so I always load it up on an electric trolley to take the strain off carrying or pushing a manual trolley!

If you want to feature in the next edition of WITB let me know and let me loose on your bag.

Junior Coaching

Ryan will be holding junior group classes every Saturday at 10am or 11am throughout the summer holidays. There is no commitment, just make the ones you can. Each class is only £6 per junior. Please note that there is no class Saturday 12th August.

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