What a spectacle we were treated to last week at Royal Troon with Phil Mickelson and Henrik Stenson putting on a golfing Masterclass. I was hoping for a 4-hole playoff as I just didn't want it to finish but the 'IceMan', Stenson rolled the final putt home with suitable coolness. No-one has won an Open Championship by 11 shots and that's how many Mickelson finished ahead of 3rd place!!
The only downside with Stenson winning was his final words of 'Have a Safe Journey Home', which if anyone knows me is one of my pet hates as no-one seems able to finish an acceptance speech without these very words!!
He mentioned the sad passing of a friend of his called Mike on the Wednesday before the first round and this turned out to be a guy called Mike Gerbich. He was involved in building the Palm Island in Dubai and was Captain at the Emirates Golf Club. I met him in Scottsdale Arizona on the first day of my first trip 5 years ago as he had retired to the Uber exclusive Desert Highlands golf club. Through a friend of a friend he had arranged for me to join him for a game and was a fantastic host, loved his golf and we finished off having some beers in his house by the second green. I made a point of contacting him every year since and the Pro-Am Tour have an annual Ryder Cup style match against the members of Desert Highlands which was set-up after this initial visit - I hope this match will continue in memory of a great and generous man.
We had The Open on the TV in the shop and it was being relayed from the R&A app. This meant we couldn't follow the SKY coverage but what made it really interesting was that we got to see some different golf to usual. The app allowed the watching of a key group - Jordan Spieth, Danny Willett and Adam Scott for example, or you could watch the groups coming through the 6th, 7th and 8th holes. This meant we got the opportunity to see every group playing, not just the leading few. As such, it was startling to see how many really short putts were missed. The greens were slower than Brocton's at less than 10 feet on the stimpmeter and rolling very true. We've long known the average number of holed putts is far less than most would assume it would be, this was evident by seeing the groups who weren't in the lead. Of course, the ones in the lead, much like Stenson showed us, were holing above average number of putts to equalise the averages.
Due to golf now being in the Olympic Games the final major of the year starts just next week, the US PGA Championship at Baltusrol. We have another sweep in the shop for you to have a go on. £3 per go and you could pick a winner.
The timing of my newsletter meant I missed a picture of the Lady Captains Day winners, so here they are:
Here's another picture, this time the '1946 Babes' who played as a group with a dinner afterwards, last Friday.
Tuesday night social, 47 golfers took part with the winners being:
1st Nathan Cooper 22
2nd Ian Thwaites 20
3rd Holly Hunt 19
4th Ken Skelton 19
5th Kevin Hunt 19
18 Powakaddy FREE BAG deal - Only a week left to take advantage of Powakaddy's free bag deal. Purchase an FW7s model at £429 lead acid or £579 lithium and claim a free cart bag worth up to £119 from Powakaddy.
Shoe price drop -
ECCO Cage golf shoes have recently reduced in price by £20. They feature a moulded cage to at the heel and side which adds stability whilst still feeling very soft with the Yak leather. They're now £149.
FOOTJOY Hyperflex shoes are renowned for a cushioned fit and now come with a free belt PLUS they have come down in price from £125 to £109 in a variety of colours.
With the warmest temperatures of the year this week you can take advantage of our shirt Trade in deal. Just bring in an old shirt to trade-in against a brand new FootJoy, Mizuno or Ladies Glenmuir item and you'll get £10 off the price. The promotion will be on until the end of the USPGA championship next Sunday.
Good luck to everyone playing in the Club Championship on Sunday, the course is closed until approx 6pm whilst 75 golfer play 36 holes for the spoils.
