Showbiz News: This year at the Academy Awards they handed out an Oscars to an Actor being a Singer and another to a Singer being an Actor! Politics News: In the real world we now have a Leader of the Remain Party wanting to ‘Leave’ and a Leader of the Opposing Leave Party wanting to ‘Remain’!! Sports News: The Manager who landed his ‘Dream Job’ has left for something else, and the Manager who left his ‘Dream Job’ now can`t wait to come back!!!
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In the words of Charlie Nicholas ‘isn`t it ironical!!’ It seems we live in a constant climate of contradiction! Whether that be the actual climate, which saw us endure the `Beast From The East` this time last year to enjoying record temperatures this week thanks to the ‘Sunny Love From Above’, or throwing our Border Arms open wide to offer asylum whilst our Homeless numbers continue to rise. |
In a nutshell I think it`s just our human nature that we can`t make up our mind! In Social Media we believe we`ve been given the ideal platform to exercise our right to freedom of speech then get bloodboilingly offended by what people have to say! People crave celebrity status, fame & fortune then plead for privacy when they get it! The Oscars extravaganza sums it up, a gathering of some of the wealthiest, best paid people on the planet dressed in the most luxurious collection of high end fashion, haberdashery and hosiery……that they`ve been given for free! How to make the other half feel lower than a Red Carpet`s underlay!!
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Speaking of ‘Underlay, underlay, reeba!’ the World Tour made the trip over ‘The Wall’ to Meh-hico for the WGC Mexico Championship. I`ll get to the golf in a second but to keep on the contradictive theme I`m back on ‘Rules Focus’ – Perhaps it was less of a contradiction and more inconsistent, and no I`m not talking about DJ & Rory`s differing Cart Path relief rulings.
That situation played out as it should`ve and, in DJ`s case there was definitely a sense of justice. Not just because a perfectly good Tee Shot ended up behind a Tree and his relief (because his stance touched a Cart Path) afforded him a clear shot to the green, but more because Dustin has been the harsh victim of some scandalous rules scenarios in the past!
Whereas Rory, the very next hole in a similar situation, was blatantly trying to bend the rules (aka cheat) in order to get the Rules Official to bow to his intentions. Well done on this occasion to the Rules Official for challenging the Player. |
Where I feel there was an inconsistency in the Rules was again the Governing Bodies willingness, or lack of, to administer the Rules. Rewind a few weeks and Sergio became the first player to ever be DQ`d from a Tournament for a serious breach of conduct (a temper tantrum which caused damage to the Putting Surfaces in Saudi), last week after Rd.1 Bryson De Chambeau was captured clear as day whacking his putter, causing serious damage, into the Putting green after his 1st round – Punishment ZERO! |
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Last week JB Holmes repeatedly breached the ‘Shot Time Allowance’, and he knew it and admitted it, in a game where Golfers are proud to be a self-policing sport – Punishment ZERO! |
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Ricky Fowler, whilst taking his Punishment after a Shank Out-Of-Bounds, made an instinctive (been programmed to do it like that since he was a boy) Shoulder High drop – Punishment 1 STROKE PENALTY! |
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Back to the real action though, and Dustin Johnson was imperious in his waltz to a 5 Shot victory in Mexico. That saw DJ claim his 6th WGC Championship, and to be fair it just looked plain easy (actually DJ makes everything look a cake walk!)
That was helped in no small measure by the fact that Chapultepec GC sat 7,800 feet above Sea Level, at that altitude the Golf Ball travelled incredible distances – Not something Dustin struggled with anyway, but it gave all the long hitters an unbelievable advantage where many Par 4 Holes were Driveable. In fact, Tommy Fleetwood set a new Tour Record by starting with back to back Eagle 2`s! |
Another interesting effect of golfing at altitude is that the ball actually also flies straighter! Check out this very insightful video that Titleist have done on the aerodynamic affect that altitude has on a golf ball.
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You`ll be glad to hear the new Titleist Ball Range and many more will be on show this weekend as we finally get moved back in to the Professional Shop. Things are really starting to take shape but it will take a few weeks before all the new stock arrives and we can get the place looking tip-top so bear with us. I`ve used the plural vernacular there because I am really excited to say that I`ve managed to make 2 of my best acquisitions for the new Shop. My Professional Shop Team and your friendly faces are now complete. James Dick has agreed to return and will be joined by Stuart Knox, a current Duddingston Member who regularly represents the Scratch Team.
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I know you`ll enjoy having these guys in the Shop and will give them as warm a welcome as I`ve received. And I’m also confident they will look after you just as well in return. |
Unfortunately looking after the course is not something that some golfers are doing very well! Both the Greenkeepers and a few more conscientious Members have noticed that despite Winter Regulations and Fairway Mat guidelines being clearly reminded that fresh divots are being made on many fairways and a huge amount of Pitchmarks are being left unrepaired. Obviously I have only just arrived at the Club, but quite a few members have made mention that the Course conditions in the pasts few Seasons haven`t perhaps been as good as they could’ve/should`ve been. So in keeping with the theme of this week`s Newsletter we can`t complain about the perceived condition of the course when it`s the very golfers that aren`t playing their part in allowing it to recover and blossom!
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We also need your help to spread the word! Hopefully you are enjoying the weekly eNewsletter, but for shorter, quicker bites of information we, along with the Golf Club in general, are embracing Social Media and we are trying to get as many of our members to engage with this communication medium, and in turn get as many of your friends and followers to the same. To ‘Follow’ us just Click the Icons below: https://www.facebook.com/DuddingstonGolfClubProShop/ https://www.facebook.com/duddingstongolfclub/ |
75 yards? Up-and-down for me... |
The majority of golfers know how far they hit their driver and irons with a full swing, but wedges require you to be a lot more accurate if you want to start shooting better scores. So, whilst it can be useful to know how far a full PW or LW goes, you'll benefit far more from dialling in your wedges so you can hit specific distances that you regularly find yourself with on the course. |
Give yourself options You'll notice that different swings with each wedge will result in yardages that overlap - see table above. This is important as it'll give you options when considering the conditions. For example, if you're facing a strong breeze, we'd suggest going up a club and utilising a shorter swing so the ball flies lower with less spin, helping it to penetrate through the wind. |
Dial in with Cleveland We'd recommend having a wedge system of the same brand and model, so you remove any variables in feel and spin across wedges. One model that we love is Cleveland's RTX-4 wedge. Some of you may have previous generations of RTX - which stands for Rotex Face Technology - but this current model has the sharpest grooves yet for more spin and maximum control around the greens. 18 bounce-grind combinations available between 46 and 64 degrees mean that a custom fitting is key if you want to get your next purchase exactly right. |
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