As I wrote this the final round of the Open Championship had yet to start, it looked like it could have been a mass playoff when the weather got worse for the later starters. Personally, I really wanted to see Jordan Spieth win and keep alive his chances of pulling off the calendar grand slam of all four majors in one year. After Tiger Woods just missed out achieving the feat, I never thought it would be possible for anyone else to achieve it given the strength in depth of the modern game and had Jordan not four putted a par three or dumped his approach shot in the valley of sin on 18 he could have been four rounds away from golfing legend.
Dustin Johnson could have won a handful of majors by now if it weren't for him self-destructing at some point each event. He is another player that has the ability to do something above and beyond everyone else. He hits the ball so high that he can get the ball close to flags that others can't get near. It's astonishing how much higher the ball goes. When I was at TPC Sawgrass watching the final round of the Players Championship, we got to the par 5 16th and someone asked me if it was possible to cut the corner and hit over the trees on the left to which my response was "no, you can't hit it high enough and far enough to get over". The very next player to the tee was Dustin and he launched it over the lot - nobody else came close to hitting the ball high enough to even attempt it.
This year is the 10th year of the Brocton Hall Pro Am to be played on Friday 21st August. We attract the top professionals from the PGA Midland Region and nearly 400 teams have competed over the decade - if you would like to play and enter a team there is an opportunity for you to join in. The format of the day is teams of four (three amateurs and 1 professional drawn for you) with the best two scores counting on each hole and includes:
Over £3000 of amateur prizes
£5000 professional prize fund
Halfway house refreshments
Meal after play
PGA starter announcing you onto the tee
PGA leaderboard truck
Open to members and non-members, ladies, gents and juniors
Members receive a special entry rate of £60 a person, members guests are £70 and non-member teams are £80 a person which is far less than other similar events and makes us still probably the best value pro-am in the Midland Region. You could also come along and spectate on the day and watch the action and maybe help out with some ball-spotting? It's good to have someone on the 1st hole during the day to keep the start flowing.
Click here if you'd like to enter, receive more details or offer to ball-spot. If you'd like you can also sponsor a hole which includes team entry and costs £275 +VAT and includes placing banners on the course and an advert in the programme.
Much of the talk from the weekend at St Andrews reflected my comments in this newsletter last week concerning the stimp rating of the greens being too quick for the severity of the slopes. They were running at 10 and a half feet whereas 9 or 10 feet was considered adequate for sloping exposed greens. Ours were running at 10 at the same time which is our fastest playable speed on some of the greens.
The players in the Club Championship and Twigg Trophy on Sunday were thankful of the early morning rain slowing the greens up slightly as the pin positions were pretty severe - any pin on the front at Brocton is a tough one, possibly with the exception of the 9th hole and the red flag on the 14th was just a couple of feet over the big slope at the front.
Scoring conditions were tough and the winners at the end of 36 holes were Neil Johnson carding 71 and 70 to win the Club Championship and David Moodie shooting nett 64 and 71 to win the Twigg. Dave was actually 4th best gross after the morning round playing off 13 handicap. Well done to the 70 competitors for playing two rounds, surprisingly there were only 10 twos in the whole day.
Speaking of difficult greens and tough pin positions, we played the club match against Beau Desert on Saturday and were attempting to win away for the first time ever but narrowly missed out losing 4 1/2 to 3 1/2. This coming Saturday is the 'biggie' as we play the Dartmouth Bowl away at South Staffs golf club which is the oldest trophy played between golf clubs in the whole of the sport, initiated in 1894. The trophy shows the names starting in that year but further proof was uncovered 5 years ago as the ladies locker rooms were refurbished at Brocton. In a wall cavity behind one of the built in cupboards was found the letter from Lord Dartmouth suggesting a competition between the two newly formed clubs. What a treat to be able to compete in such a historic event in a historic sport for myself and the 40 competitors and we're hoping to steal a rare win away.
The Jam Night at the golf club was packed on Sunday and it was a brilliant night with Dave Day and four other musicians entertaining us all with their skills. If you've not been to one of the social events yet, keep an eye on the notice boards. This event was just £5 and the menu to choose from for those wanting to dine was fantastic value, well done to all involved.
Shirt Amnesty
Our shirt amnesty has nearly finished and lots of you have been replenishing your wardrobes with this great opportunity.
Powakaddy trolley with FREE £149 bag.
Powakaddy continue with their FREE BAG deal with the purchase of a FW7 electric trolley. With a lead acid battery they cost £399 and with a popular lithium battery they are £549 and both come with a golf bag worth £150. You can choose from silver or black frames and then brushed chrome or carbon effect trim and it really is a very solid, reliable trolley. The offer is on whilst stocks last of the bag so get in to place your order quick if you are interested or click here to reserve one.
Two things were apparent with equipment at the Open Championship - one was that grey must be the fashion colour for this winter as nearly every player was reflecting the 'auld grey toon' in their clothing. The other was that the majority of the players were using putter grips which don't taper down like a normal grip. The Super Stroke grips started this trend a decade ago but it's only recently that the trend has really caught on. We sell and fit a lot of this style putter grip from manufacturers Winn, Super Stroke and the new cork grips. The main benefit is that it helps to reduce 'wrisitiness' in the stroke and you can choose from many different thickness grips - a lot of golfers benefit from putting with the lead hand low with this style of grip (the opposite to the way you hold a normal club).
