Congratulations to the President, Ken Bailey, and his wife Linda on a fantastic weekend and to everyone involved in organising and volunteering on Presidents Day.
The course was set up tough but fair with only a couple of 'naughty' pin positions and the winning score from Josh Smith saw him make five birdies including three in the last four holes to shoot 66 gross, 41 points to win on count back from Steve Hirst.
The younger juniors also played a 9 hole competition on Presidents Day, helped by many volunteers and organised by Steve Kanes, and the winners were also the best dressed golfers at the presentation, so well done junior section! (There were 27 juniors playing in the medal last week and over 25% of them were girls).
1st Oliver Clarke 23 points
2nd George Williams 20 points
3rd Benjy Clapton 17 points
Good luck for Lady President, Gill Cooper, on her day this week. We also have Gill to thank for the tidy foliage at the entrance to the locker rooms as she spent a long time tending, pruning and weeding the area on Saturday. Well done Gill!
Our US Open sweep is currently underway in the Pro Shop, £3 a go, pick a player at random and watch with interest at Oakmont. The US OPEN is organised by the USGA - the rule governing body and the US equivalent to our R&A. Whilst on our shores, The Open championship, is synonymous with links golf courses, the US OPEN is known for the tough way the courses are set up each year. A typical US Open venue will feature narrow fairways, thick, lush rough and very firm greens.
This means anyone can win as generally the best drivers of the ball win the most tournaments and the US Open penalises any drive that misses a fairway.
WAIT, IS THAT RIGHT? THE BEST DRIVERS WIN THE MOST !!?? - What happened to 'Drive for show and Putt for dough'??
I was having this discussion with someone in the Pro Shop just last week as they mentioned that putting is the most important aspect in golf and I was trying to point out it's actually more often the long game that dictates a golfers score:
1. The old argument is that if you level par is 69 at Brocton and allows for 2 putts every hole, so 36 putts compared to 33 shots.
2. However, consider that potentially 18 of those putts could be short tap-ins, so suddenly we are hitting nearly twice as many full shots as putts.
3. Then, consider that a wild drive or approach shot could find Out-of Bounds, or a water hazard or result in a Lost Ball which could cost you 2 shots (stroke and distance).
4. Conversely each missed putt only costs you one shot.
5. I'd bet you could never beat Rory McIlroy or Lydia Ko in a tee-to green contest with no shots, but you WOULD have a chance of beating them in an 18 hole putting competition.
Coincidentally, the PGA Tour released their stats for the past 6 years last week and this is how they stack up:
Best 3 drivers on Tour and their World Ranking:
1. Bubba Watson 4th Ranked player
2. Rory McIlroy 3rd
3. Adam Scott 7th
Best 3 putters on Tour and their World Ranking:
1. Aaron Baddeley 271st Ranked
2. Greg Chalmers 448th
3. Brandt Snedeker 17th
Combined Career Prize Money on @pgatour:
3 best drivers $108 million
3 best putters $57 million
So, the best drivers have won nearly twice as much as the best putters in their careers and the best putters have been around for a lot longer too.
On average The best drivers when putting poorly will still beat the best putters when driving poorly.
That's a myth busted right there!
Tuesday social Results: Seach 'Brocton Hall Tuesday Social' on Facebook for our Closed Group and check out the Order of Merits. 111 different golfers have played this year - 49 played the front 9 holes this week:
1st Ken Skelton 20 points £15
2nd Steve Treadwell 20 £14
3rd Harriet Painter 20 £13
4th Daz Poole 20 £11
5th Andy Metcalfe 19 £9
6th Josh Smith 19 £8
7th Ben Porter 19 £7
8th Mark Bendall 19 £6
9th Ron Painter 18 £5
10th Nathan Cooper 18 £4
Steve Treadwell leads The Premier League, Mark Bendall leads the Numpty League and Adam Matthews and Angela Byers lead the Part-Timers league.
SOCKS
Gentlemen - Please be aware that with shorts you may wear knee length socks of any colour, or short socks ABOVE ankle height which have to be white. Your shirts must be tucked in at the waistband before, during and after your round.
