Texas Scramble

To the amazement of the weekend golfers, we had a couple of days for them to enjoy which weren't affected by the elements! Over 130 golfers played in the Texas Scramble on Sunday which is more than some medal days in the summer, proof that at Brocton we have the course and conditions to allow us to play normal golf though the winter, not just ‘Winter golf’.

Full scores can be found on the club website here.

The Belfry

On Tuesday, I played an event on the Brabazon course at The Belfry on a day where we actually had some warm sun on our backs too!

PGA Tour greens

Did you see the final event of the ‘West Coast Swing’ on the PGA Tour at the weekend? The name is given to the courses on the West coast of the United Stated where they start the mainland PGA Tour season and the unique aspect of this run of events is that the courses aren’t in full growth and the greens are bumpier and slower than they play for most of the season. Instead of fast fescue or creeping bent, they play the West Coast Swing on courses like Pebble Beach and Riviera with Poa Annua (meadow grass) on the greens, which are predominantly the same as the grass on our greens and lawns in the UK.

It was ironic watching how poorly they were often putting with the commentators blaming the greens, yet we are used to putting on the same surfaces in the UK and don’t have to grind away so hard to hole short putts. Kevin Na spent over a minute to tap a putt in from no more than 2 feet and he wasn’t on his own in that respect. Rory Mcilroy drove the ball onto a 349 yard par 4 and proceeded to take 5 putts, afterwards he had this advice:

“All you can do is start the ball on line and try to get the pace right. After that, it’s not up to you, it’s up to gravity. You just need to stay patient.”

We’re used to putting our trust in gravity in the UK and it also displays how you can give yourself a bit of leeway for missing the odd short putt, it’s why I like to roll my putts to arrive at the hole at deadweight pace. It may often be said that good players hit the ball hard into the back of the hole, but that’s really only relevant when the greens are super smooth or you’re hitting into the grain which slows the ball down quickly. Hopefully we’ll be able to test this out in the studio now as the putting surface is settling down and plays 2 feet faster one way compared to the other.

A club fit for the course

One of the benefits of having the newly revamped indoor facility was highlighted last week as one of our lady members came for a club fitting with a very specific problem to solve. Jan finds that our downhill par 3 third hole is easier to play in the winter than in the summer as when the ground is firmer in the summer, she finds that shots landing on the first half of the green will kick off the downslope and zoom off the back of the green. To look for a solution, we measured the 3rd hole on the course, estimated the drop to the green and then I chose a downhill hole on the simulator with a green sloping similarly from front to back. The software has the ability to allow us to play a shot from anywhere and I could set a tee up the exact distance away from the green that we play the 3rd hole from. I could even set the ground to play firm and the green speed fast and add a little downwind aspect to it as well.

There are a few shots on the course at Brocton which are tricky for different levels of golfers - a few that come to mind are the 9th hole island green tee shot, the deep bunkers at the front of the 7th or the bank at the front of the 15th green.

Click here if you would like some help with a shot on the course.

Newsletter feedback

Last week I asked for feedback on this newsletter format and a couple of people suggested that it might be a good idea to sometimes include an instruction video from out on the course, which I like the idea of. Many thanks for all the feedback of which there was lots and it’s very much appreciated. I was taken aback with all the positive comments and overwhelmingly the suggestion was to continue in the same form as at present.

Here’s a few of the comments:

"Hi Nev, I very much enjoy your newsletter in its current format. Although I appreciate the difficulty in finding new and interesting subjects to cover I feel your personal slant on a wide range of matters from BHGC news to International stuff is great and is much more fun to read than the bog standard stuff you get from others. I would avoid the youtube stuff as although I use youtube and social media, I would guess your views would go down with the majority of members...keep up the good work!” - Ben

“HI Nevil I have always found your Newsletter interesting informative and a pleasure to read. It’s great in the winter months to know what you are doing for the Club Members, the new Members, Juniors and you own business interests for you and the golfers”

"I enjoy the current format, always take the time to have a good read through it. Not opposed to change, and maybe a short video on the course from different locations from time to time could work”