On Thursday 27th November, the BHGC Golf Centre hosts it's popular Christmas Greetings and Eatings event, which runs from 2pm until 7pm:
Come along and share a festive drink with us in the Pro Shop
First chance to enter the Christmas Raffle
An opportunity to fill out your Christmas Wish List
Special menu available afterwards in the clubhouse – why not make a night of it.
We usually have upwards of 100 people here for the evening so it's a great evening to catch up and meet up.
Members and non-members welcome.
On the same date we are having an Open day in the Golf Centre – click here for the full details
Are you wasting money on clubs you seldom play?
More importantly, are you denying yourself opportunities to play better and more enjoyable golf, simply because your bag is equipped with clubs totally unsuited for your game?
Since the 1980's, golf equipment manufacturers have forced major changes in the specifications of the clubs with which we all play the game. It all started when OEMs (original equipment manufacturers) started messing with iron loft, which up until the 1980's were set to standards that every club manufacturer respected and adhered to. For example:
3-irons, a tough-to-swing 24 degree club on a good day, have been de-lofted over the past three decades to 20 to 18 degree (becoming LESS than a 2-iron);
4-irons, which historically were set at a 28 degree loft, were de-lofted to between 21 and 23 degrees (becoming less than a 3-iron);
5-irons, which before had been set with a 32 degree loft, have been de-lofted to between 23 degree and 25 degree (thus becoming what a 3-iron used to be).
This has also been done in varying degrees to the 6, 7, 8 and 9 irons. Why? Well, somebody got the bright idea that if every iron in the bag was de-lofted, he could market them with the appealing claim:
“OUR CLUBS HIT A GOLF BALL OVER A FULL CLUB LONGER!”
Which of course is exactly what happened. However, rolling back lofts was little more than a way to sell tons of “new and improved” golf clubs to appeal to golfers’ desires for more distance. But even more infamous and damaging was the fact that from this shrinking of lofts, the 3, 4 and 5 irons swiftly became a whole lot harder to impossible to hit for the vast majority of golfers.
Take a look at your own bag: Which clubs are shiny, and which are well worn? The higher number irons even have more worn-down grips. And the lower number irons? They’re practically untouched.
Designing clubs with cavity backs or exotic metals really didn’t help hitting those “new and improved” de-lofted lower number clubs either. So what did the industry do to compensate (and sell more golf clubs)? For a time, there was a small effort for high-lofted fairway metals to take up the slack, but higher numbered fairway woods somehow fall short of satisfying most golfers’ egos.
That’s when hybrids were introduced.
So this is why we’re at this point—where golfers seldom use their 3, 4 and even their 5 irons. Plus, for the most part, they’re also very confused about hybrids… which for most of us are necessary for consistently hitting longer-iron distances into the greens and on longer par-3 holes.
The fact is, hybrids are a wonderful product, an ingenious alternative to hitting today’s hard-to-hit long irons. They can be:
- Easier to get airborne than any iron of the same loft;
- Possibly more accurate on longer length par-3s;
- More consistent from both short and long grass;
- Effective from hard-pan; and
- Better suited for bump and run shots from around the greens.
They really are easier to hit high to fly than irons of the same loft if......hybrids are professionally fitted to the golfer—when they’re built with quality designed components and custom built to fitting specifications that ideally match each golfer’s individual swing characteristics that allow the hybrids to blend seamlessly with the conventional irons for consistent distance gaps.
We always advocate professional club fitting—it’s the single best way for any golfer to play better—but when it comes to hybrids, professional clubfitting is absolutely critical.
For more, I invite you to watch this special video that golf equipment design guru, Tom Wishon, has produced for me. Tom details the importance of club set makeup. Click here to watch the video
Lots of new items in the pro shop this week, including winter warm gear from PING, and a fantastic promotion on Srixon AD333 golf balls. Drop by the pro shop to take a look.
The annual Ladies Prize Presentation Evening was held on Friday 7th November with over 60 ladies attending, including two of our junior girls, Fern and Hannah, which was great to see. The ladies extended a huge thank-you to Justin, Sean, Mark, Alison, Tom and the rest of the Food & Beverage team for helping through-out the day with bringing in additional tables, sorting out the microphone as well as looking after the food and drinks in the evening!
Congratulations to all of the prize-winners with a special mention to Fern Clark who is going to be the County Junior Captain next year and also to junior Hannah Golding who won the Ladies Section - Most Improved Golfer prize!
Hannah is also to receive a Gold Medal in recognition of the golfer who records the best aggregate differential over 4 E G medal rounds (against the SS of the course). The winner goes straight through to the event final the following year.
The Staffordshire Winter Pro Am was played at Brocton last week and was won by David Gilford with level par. Everyone was very complimentary about the condition of the course and the catering. We have played this weeks' event already, at Great Barr, which was slightly less well draining! Luke won with a score of 1 under and both Brocton teams finished high on the leaderboard.
Luke had an astonishing scenario during his round. 12 months ago at Great Barr he teed off the tenth and then holed his second shot on the double dog-leg par 5 seventh hole (his 16th) for an albatross and won by 1 shot. This year he produced exactly the same feat on the same hole to win by 1 again!! How incredible is that? He’s played the par 5 hole twice in a total of 4 shots, 6 under par.
Pro’s Fiddle results from last Saturday. Well done to everyone who played for battling through the rain and finishing their rounds.
- Richard Brown, James Clarke and Eric Wong - 60.0 - £20 each
- Wayne Morris Adrian Luckman and Mark Bendall 60.1 - £12.50 each
- Daz Poole, Ryan Collier and Steve Witton 60.5 - £7.50 each
This week there is nothing on again so I will be holding another Pro’s fiddle on Saturday 15th. This week will be a Better Ball Stableford with every player allowed 1 mulligan (A free re-take of a shot from anywhere, including a putt). 3/4 handicap, £4 per pair including 2’s, no priority on the tee. Call us on 01785 661485 if you need fixing up.
