Welcome to another edition of our newsletter, in this week’ mail we take a look at an extraordinary swing that will be seen on the PGA Tour this week, its seems there is a lot of confusion on the new rules, and Brocton had a winter feel last week. Enjoy the read!
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An extraordinary swing… Remember the South Korean Pro golfer, Hosung Choi, whom I featured here a couple of weeks ago? Remember his super-quirky action where he wanders all over the tee, nearly falling over, twisting and turning to finish his swing? Well, it turns out he does this to increase his distance. This week sees his PGA Tour debut as he tees it up at Pebble Beach in the AT&T Pro-Am event and a pro I know from the nearby Monterey Peninsula had the opportunity to spend an hour with him this week and unveiled a great story in the process.
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He didn’t start playing golf until 26 years old. His family didn’t have any money and he worked in a factory and cut most of his left thumb off, needing a skin graft from his stomach to save what they could. He learnt to play by reading Golf Digest magazine and the extra jumping around is the result of him trying to hit the ball as far as he can with his lack of flexibility. He gains 20-25 yards when he does the jump through and in this video you can see how stable he is when hitting a normal shot. He and his family are having the time their lives, extremely grateful for anything and apparently they all wanted pictures taken with the bag drop staff and anyone else associated with the golf club as soon as they got out the car. What a great story - I wonder if his tee time will be the prime TV slot on Thursday? Click here to watch his swing.
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Less appreciable of the chance to play golf was Sergio Garcia who succumbed to the new rule whereby a player can get disqualified for poor behaviour which is rule of golf available to be used by every golf club now.
The new Rules of Golf were top of the agenda at the weekend again on the various Tours as well. One of the new rules is that a caddie isn’t allowed to stand in line with the player as they ‘take their stance’ to play a shot. Remember Nick Faldo’s caddie, Fanny Sunesson, lining his putter up from behind? Haotong Li suffered a 2 stroke penalty last week on the European Tour even though his caddie had moved away before he addressed the ball and this week Denny McCarthy received the same penalty at the Phoenix Open. Ludicrously on this occasion, his caddie was just standing behind him as he started his practice swings and moved away well before Denny moved in to play the shot. Other players took to Twitter to denounce the ruling and astonishingly the penalty was rescinded the next day with this statement appearing.
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The next day Rickie Fowler’s caddie had to dive out the way to avoid his player being ‘Haotong Li'd’ as whilst he was stood behind the ball looking at the yardage chart, Rickie approached the shot with a club in his hand. And finally, Branden Grace emerged unscathed somewhow as he took this penalty drop on the 71st hole in Scottsdale whilst in 2nd place. It looks pretty much like the R&A’s example of an illegal attempt at a knee high drop! |
Did you know? I was asked about rules for our 9th hole at the weekend, specifically what the options are should you hit a shot over the green from the right hand side and it rolls over the sleepers and into the water. This rule hasn’t changed here as the 9th lake is a Yellow penalty area and the options are the same as they were last year. You can play the shot again, drop as far back as you like keeping the point where the ball entered the penalty area between you and the flag, or go back to the drop zone behind the railings. Rule 17 is what you need to look at. There isn’t an option to drop the ball on the green side of the lake - this would require a red penalty area but it’s not, it’s yellow.
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Some snowy conditions… Well done to the competitors in the yellow ball comp on Saturday. It was minus 5 and white over as the first golfers set off and amazingly there were some 2s on the 3rd green! The ladies played in similar conditions last Wednesday and had snow to contend with for a short time as well. This week we have the Lady Captain and Lady Presidents Drive-In. Best wishes to everyone for the year ahead.
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Finally, thanks to Justyn, Shaun and everyone in the restaurant for a stunning Fish Night on Friday. I meant to take some pictures of the courses but they never stayed on my plate long enough to take them! Many comments were made from long-established members that this was the best meal they’d ever had at the club and I’d be tempted to agree. The next gourmet night is scheduled for Friday 1st March and will be a Spanish Night. Look out on the main board for the table plan or let me know if you’d like me to add you.
Pro’s Fiddle Over the next two weekends we’ll be running a Pro’s Fiddle with an Eclectic competition running alongside it. This Saturday, the 9th Feb, will be an individual stableford, £3.50 per person entry with it’s own prize fund. You can then play again on the Sunday and again on the following Saturday and Sunday and you can try to beat your best score on each hole from the Saturday’s round (we’ll keep the cards for you) which is called an ‘Eclectic’ competition. The cost for the Eclectic will be £1.50 per round. There’s no priority on the tee and if you need fixing up this Saturday, just let me know.
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| New shoes? Walk this way... |
Golf is first and foremost a walking sport, with many of us strolling more than five miles in a pair of shoes every single round. You might read that fact and instantly recall getting off the 18th green wanting nothing more than a sit-down, feet aching, after realising your shoes aren’t as comfortable as they ought to be. Well, if that is the case, it might well be time for a change... |
Just arrived - Skechers Pro V4 Skechers has been making huge strides in golf over recent years, and their 2019 footwear range looks set to continue that trend. Worn by PGA Tour winner Matt Kuchar, the Pro V4 is new for 2019 and effortlessly combines style with unbelievable comfort to offer you everything you need from a golf shoe. If you're yet to experience the comfort Skechers shoes deliver, be sure to pop by and try these on. |
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