The US PGA Championship

Looks like Rory McIlroy will be hard to beat this week in the final Major of the year due to his past success around Quail Hollow. Factor in that the course has been waterlogged over the last couple of days and measures over 7,500 yards and it looks to favour a bomber of Rory’s calibre. I like Gary Woodland’s chances at 80/1 and Rafael Cabrera Bello also at 80/1 as top European.

One of the shaft manufacturers I have access to as a club maker is ACCRA and their tour representative has been working with Gary Woodland on developing a 5 wood for him this week. He wants a club that he can stop quickly from 240 yards away and also dig out of 2 1/2" deep Bermuda rough! ACCRA shafts were heavily in use at the Women’s British Open (why is it not The Open?) last week with the winner In-Kyun Kim and a few others spotted using them.

Can you rule out Hideki Matsuyama from winning the USPGA after his scintillating final round 61 to win the World Golf event last week? Well, maybe yes you can. He could be seen twirling his clubs in anger on the practice area as he sprayed the ball all over the place during his warm up for the final round and was reacting to many shots on the course in the same way - only for the ball to land near the pin and roll in another birdie. Hideki played with Tiger a few years prior when Woods shot 61 and he claimed he couldn’t understand how anyone could shoot a 61 at Firestone, then he does it himself when he’s off his game!

Junior Club Championship

Another 61 was shot at Brocton last week with Alex Dommett-Pelaez shooting the nett score in the second round of the Junior Club Championship to surge through the field and win by 1 from the in-form Ethan Evans. The consolation for Ethan was to win the gross prize which is a board competition - well done everyone.

There are plenty of junior competitions over the holidays but a message to the juniors - don’t forget you can also come along and play or practice on any other day as well. Parents can walk around the course if suitably attired and the practice areas are always available to use, we have a plentiful supply of golf balls that you can use at no cost. It’s a great way to spend hours or days in the holidays, you’ll have the chance of meeting up with other members and you’ll also improve your game. We are always on hand in the Pro Shop to help out if you need any advice.

Club Championship

Good luck in the 36 holes Club Championship next week (it was rained off this week) - the course will be playing long after a day of rain beforehand. If you haven’t popped into the shop for a week, we have taken stock of 60 items of ladies clothing on clearance with a large range of styles and brands with prices from £15 - £25.

We also have a number of Calvin Klein men’s shirts at £25 each.

Welcome to the 2017 Brocton Hall Midland PGA Pro Am.

Now in its 14th consecutive year, the event is well on its way to becoming golf’s official 5th Major Championship. All that’s left to do now is purchase some land to create room for a practice area, tented village and car parking, knock down some of the nearby houses to make room for grandstands and boost the prize fund by £10million or so.

Once this has all been completed, I’ll ensure that teams, companies and individuals who have been supporting our event in the past are given first class treatment, gain access to the players’ lounge and get to meet Holly Sonders from the Golf Channel.

Until then, please enjoy your day and continue to enjoy the intricacies of Brocton Hall. As the course designer Harry Vardon stated – "Don’t play too much golf – twice a day is plenty".

#safejourneyhome

Here’s a question for you - Do you think the height of the shots was caused due to the higher clubhead speed, or is the higher clubhead speed caused by the golfer releasing the club through impact and generating more height?