I see Australia have been hit with their biggest Ball Tampering scandal since they discovered Dame Edna Everage was actually a man in drag!! |
As a Non-Enthusiast, when I saw a Cricket Headline referring to ‘Ball Tampering’ I did start to wonder what LBW actually meant! I suppose they have to do something to make Cricket exciting!! (Cue guffawing and stammering from the Leather on Willow brigade!) I say that tongue in cheek of course, because let`s be honest, our own ‘wonderful game’ of golf can be a right snoozefest at times! And I`m not just talking about ‘Pace Of Play’, but I`ll come to that in a bit. Maybe we were just suffering from a Tiger-Hypo (no that`s not a typo!!) Hangover but I`ll admit that the recent Matchplay event couldn`t have been less interesting if they got Colin Montgomerie to recite the Haynes Handbook for a 1990 Fiat Uno! (Can you imagine!? ‘The Fiat Uno, eh, eh, one of, one of Italy`s most reliable exports! And of course, d`eh, eh, who can forget that at Celtic Manor in 2010, I too, had 2 of Italy`s most reliable GOLFING exports in the shape of The Molinari Brothers, d`eh, eh who were vital cogs in the engine of MY Ryder Cup Team…that took on the 12 best Players, THE 12 BEST…d`eh, eh that the US had to offer! (pause for dramatic effect)....and we beat them! My Team! Lead by ME!)
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Although watching Bubba Watson manoeuvre his ball was as entertaining as a Clint Eastwood Film as he managed to hit it ‘Every Which Way But Loose!’…and knowing Bubba`s quirky nature it wouldn`t surprise me if he pitched up at an event with an Orangutan as his Caddy! As a Golf enthusiast, a student of Technique and an Instructor I`m fascinated at how Bubba goes about his business. He gave a wonderful quote, in typical Bubba ideology, when asked about his game. He said ‘I`ve never had a Lesson, I only ever had Dreams!’ Now, I`m certainly not going to encourage you NOT to take Lessons, but what is worthwhile taking from Bubba’s style is it doesn`t have to look pretty, you just need to know how it works and trust it. That`s the biggest thing I try and stress to my Pupils about what they`ll gain from a Lesson. They will have a clearer picture of what`s wrong, how to improve it and why. Bubba ended up coasting to a comfortable 7&6 victory in the Final over Kevin Kisner who in the Final was hitting it ‘Every Which Way But Straight!’…he also looked like he`d been clobbered by a right hook from Clyde as he appeared to be in a bit of a daze following a hard fought Semi-Final tussle with Alex Noren which went all the way to the 19th.
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One thing Bubba did last year that many believe played a big part in his loss of form could also be classed as ‘Ball Tampering’ he made a decision to switch to a Ball Brand that was essentially untried and untested at any level, never mind Tour Level. Perhaps he was swayed by his love for the fluorescent or perhaps it was the dollar signs but Bubba chose to play a Volvik ball. This season he reverted back to his tried and tested Titleist Pro V1 Ball and his form, and confidence, has resurfaced for all to see. More than just coincidence wouldn`t you say!? The Ball is such an important element of your equipment yet it is an area often overlooked or poo-poo`d by many mid to high handicap golfers. (I`d say in the main, most lower handicappers have found a ball they like and trust and will stick to it. What I`m not saying however is they are playing the ball that is best for the attributes of their game, but the continuity of the same ball is at least a start.) The kind of comments I often get when I ask a mid to high handicapper what type of ball they play varies from “Whatever I find!”, “Anything that`s round!”, “As long as it`s white!” or “The first one that comes out the bag!” But think about it for a second, the other thing I hear constantly from this level of Golfer is “I wish I was more consistent!”…yet they`ve chosen to be inconsistent with the one thing that 100% they can make a constant!
So if you are a Higher Handicapper, especially with perhaps a slower swing speed I want you to take a look at this short video we did on Golf Balls using a very simple ‘Bounce Test’ to illustrate how a ball reacts in regards to compression at impact.
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The bright Yellow Ball is the new Wilson DX2 Optix, which we used so the balls are easily distinguishable from one another. Test 1 was against a Titleist Pro V1 which seems to be every Mid to High Handicappers default choice when the want to choose ‘A Good Ball’ and the second video is against one of our Budget Basket balls.
Click here to watch video. |
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So think of the criteria here for a second: • Premium Balls are too expensive for my standard, I`ll just buy a Budget Ball. • Budget Balls are too hard, I can`t chip or putt with them. If you can`t ‘Engage’ the engine on a Premium Ball by having enough Club Speed to Compress it properly then get the ball to compress for you! If you still want a ball that sounds and feels soft and reacts well on wedge & chip shots then go for one with a soft but durable cover. |
The DX2 Soft (in either standard white or the Optix High-Vis) is certainly 1 ball you should seriously consider. There are others we stock that we can recommend, but none come close to the Wilson DX2 Soft on Value. £6 For 3 £10 For 6 £16 For 12 £28 For 24 |
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Thankfully there was a lot of balls out on show over the weekend!...Only because the weather was fantastic and we finally got a great turnout on the Course. It also made ‘Opening Day’ and the official start to the Season a really good day. In total we had 48 Teams take part. I took every Teams photo which I posted on my Facebook Page, so if you haven`t seen yours yet and you would like to then please click here. The pace was set fairly early on with the morning Team of Jim West, Jim Cruickshank, Mark W McDonald and Jeff Capstick lighting it up with a 2 Best score Total of 122 (20 Under Par!) Here are the full Results: OPENING DAY Saturday 24TH March`18
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| 1ST – 122 Jim West, Mark W McDonald, Jim Cruickshank & Jeff Capstick
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| 2ND – 127 Dave Fleming, Bob Inkster, Ian Elmslie & Peter Clark
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| 3RD – 129 Stuart Winpenny, Denis Golder, Bill Tait & Bill Brechin
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| 4TH – 132 ACB Dylan Mitchel, Rikki Chalmers, Gary Smith & Jim Steel
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| NEAREST THE PIN Winner @ 5th –Jim West
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| NEAREST THE PIN Winner @12th – Steve Lawrie
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With the Summer Season starting that means the Winter Season has to draw to a close, and on Sunday the Final of the Winter League was contested between Steve Lawrie & Stuart Cumming versus Rab Dickson & Hugh Murdoch. These four know each other’s game very well and it was a close contest but the spoils and undoubted ‘Season Long’ Bragging rights belonged to Hugh & Rab who won on the 16th Green. |
| Winter League Final |
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As this is the Counting Competition Season underway I thought it’s important to re-affirm the ‘Course Regulations’ we now must play. Hopefully you all received and read the Club Email sent to you, but just in case, here it is again: PREFERRED LIES: Closely Mown Areas ONLY (Fairways & Approaches) BUNKERS: In Play - As it Lies. ORDER OF PLAY: 1 to 18 Players are also reminded of their responsibility to help maintain the course conditions as best they can by replacing all Divots, raking Bunkers and, most importantly, repairing all/any Pitchmarks. To further help everyone`s enjoyment we are hoping that ALL Golfers adopt the 'Ready Golf' Philosophy to ensure a fluent 'Pace of Play' …So with Steven Spielberg’s latest Blockbuster about to hit Cinemas I think start thinking about the sequels and remember ‘Ready Player One, Two Three & Four!!’ And speaking of getting the Player Ready…
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As previously mentioned in Stuart’s blog I am Titleist Performance Institute Certified so over the coming weeks I will be offering exercises that are specifically golf related to help improve your game and movement. These exercises can all be done at home, on the practice range or part of your pre-round warm up. Please note, all exercises should be totally pain free, if there is any pain stop the test. The first exercise I am advising you to try is the Seated Trunk Rotation Test. This test should be performed sitting upright, club resting on the shoulders with hands gently holding onto the grip and head, feet and knees together at a 90 degree angle (see image).
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When performing the test the feet and knees must remain together. Most people have a tendency to allow the knees to part as they can’t rotate the thoracic spine correctly. The test is to be carried out slowly, by that I mean do not rotate left to right continuously as the momentum created will produce more rotation. Rotate slowly one way until you can’t rotate any further. Reset back to facing forwards and then rotate in the opposite direction. The amount of rotation can vary from player to player but there should be at least 45 degrees of rotation on both sides otherwise it would be considered as poor movement and therefore be some sort of compensation during the swing (will vary from player to player). Remember, the test is designed to assess rotational mobility in the thoracic spine. If a player lacks thoracic mobility they may compensate for that by excessively loading the lumbar spine which can lead to strain on the lower back. The Seated Trunk Rotation Test also teaches good separation between the upper and lower body which is important to help generate clubhead speed whilst maintaining posture during the swing.
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I still have a few Spaces left in my TaylorMade Demo Day next week.
TaylorMade Demo Day
Thursday, 5 April – (1st day of the US Masters!) 30 Minute Fitting Slots 3pm – 7pm (Last Session 6.30pm)
To Book a Slot – Click Here
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There’s a well-known phrase: if you can’t beat them, join them. So while it’s unlikely you’ll be challenging for a Ryder Cup place later this year, why not join the world’s best in following the latest golf trends? |
This stylish Galvin Green Dawson sweater has been getting a lot of attention in our shop. Like all of Galvin Green’s premium clothing, it’s designed specifically for golf with its Insula fabric creating effective and long-lasting thermal insulation with breathability, so you stay nice and warm but don’t overheat and sweat. | |
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