They say that ‘Vintage Westwood’ is a timeless piece that never goes out of Fashion!
………I would wholeheartedly disagree…have you seen some of Vivienne Westwoods stuff!!? I`ve seen a better dressed wound!
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Fortunately, the Westwood making all the headlines this week was Lee Westwood, who rolled back the Years, courtesy of rolling in a few Putts, on his way to victory in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship. Like most Golfers with a Tour Career as long as he has had, 27 Years, Westwood has had a few less than successful years. But in the main he has been one of the most consistent performers, a fact borne out by the Stat he achieved at the weekend. By landing his 25th European Tour Title he also posted his 169th Top 10 Finish and tied the current record held by Sir Nick Faldo! Needless to say, especially on current form, Lee has much more golf left in him too so it won`t be much longer before he holds that outright. Much like Monty, Lee will always be regarded as a Player that would`ve achieved much more if he had a reliable Putter, but unlike Monty, Westwood has managed the almost unthinkable (for us middleaged men!) and got thinner and in better shape as he`s gotten older! But again similarly to Colin Montgomerie, Westwood was a stalwart of the European Ryder Cup success. He made his debut in 1997 at Valderrama where he forged a fantastic partnership with Sir Nick Faldo and played every match through until 2016 at Hazeltine. It was there with some incredibly poor and gut-wrenching moments that the Golfing World assumed Westwood`s Ryder Cup Career was over.
That match he was tasked with mentoring a couple of the Rookies. In the opening day Foursomes, he was very much the weak link alongside Thomas Pieters, losing heavily to DJ & Matt Kuchar (5&4) – Thomas Pieters would go on to play every other Match winning all 4! Lee was ‘Rested’ until the Saturday afternoon Fourballs where alongside Masters Champ, Danny Willet, he again lost to JB Holmes & Ryan Moore. But it was in the Sunday Singles, again against Ryan Moore, that Westwood looked like his Ryder Cup time was up. 2 Up with 3 to play and the Match score at 14-13 in America's favour. A must-win match. In Moore`s defence he did play the last 3 holes in 3 Under Par but on 18 Westwood, having knocked it in close, had the chance to perhaps sneak the win…he missed! Moore Holed and USA won the Ryder Cup back. 2018 rolled around and Westwood wasn`t in contention to make the Team for Paris National and made the natural progression to Vice-Captain. But following a decent start to the 2020 Ryder Cup Qualifying, and sprinkling in this latest victory, then as things stand Lee Westwood is in Pole Position in that Race to Whistling Straights. But whatever happens PLEASE don`t let Vivienne Westwood design the Team Uniform!
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Lee`s win in Abu Dhabi wasn`t the only victory worth celebrating on the European Tour last weekend. If anything this reason to cheer has been even longer running than Westwood`s career!? The European Tour was delighted to announce that the implementation of their new stricter, stronger stance on Pace Of Play paid off with some noticeable results. The new Tour directive, a slight tweak to their last version, meant that any Player given 2 ‘Bad Timings’ in the entire Tournament would be Penalised 1 Stroke. Whereas before it was if they accrued 2 Bad Timings per Round. That meant Slow Players were still allowed to play Slow every round until they were given a Bad Time. As long as they didn`t slow down again that round they were fine to do the same again the next day. This new Version means that they have to be on their toes every round, especially if they have been pulled up once already. The nett result was that the Round Times, compared to the same event the previous Year (in very similar conditions) were 10 minutes approximately faster with an Average 3 Ball taking 4 Hours 30 Minutes. Which we all know on Tour is actually quite fast! Let`s hope it has a long term affect. Meanwhile in the City that has no concept of Time – Las Vegas – The PGA Tour was staging it`s Careerbuilder Challenge Tournament. It was extremely well named because unless you were an avid PGA Tour follower you might not have heard of many of the contenders! Most of the Top 5 sounded more like the Alter-Egos of Comic Book Superheroes! We had Sepp Straka, Scott Scheffler, Abe Ancer, Peter Parker, Sue Storm, Matt Murdock, Reed Richards (Ok, only the first 3 are Golfers!) but perhaps the best name was that of the eventual Winner Andy Landry (puddin'n’pie, kissed the girls and made them cry!) – I wonder if he went and had a little flutter on the Tables with some of his winners cheque!?
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Last Thursday I was also in a playground of the Rich & Famous, Gleneagles. But alas, I was neither rubbing shoulders with the glitterati nor golfing on one of the 3 Championship Courses there. Instead, I was at a day hosted by TaylorMade in conjunction with the Official Launch of their new SIM Product Range that I spoke about last week. I`m delighted and proud to announce that I have been approached and selected by TaylorMade to be one of only a dozen ‘TaylorMade Fitting Partners’ for this coming Season. So it is only right that I will be up to speed with the Tech, Features and best Fitting Practices for their new exciting Range of Equipment. |
The day was very interesting as they took the gathered group through the evolution and application of all the Technologies they have developed over the years, and how they have been incorporated to make the SIM Product their best performing Range yet. There will be some interesting content coming in the upcoming weeks from the time spent with their ‘Team TaylorMade’ Tour Players and their reaction to the new Product. So just to reiterate we have all the new SIM Range and the most comprehensive Fitting Process around. Hopefully, you will have seen the early Special Mail regarding my TaylorMade Launch Event on Sunday 2nd Feb – If not here is a reminder – Click Here
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Last week I also talked up the arrival of Callaway`s New MAVRIK Range. I did a Customers Driver Fitting during last week and it was the MAVRIK that came out on top, but not just purely on Performance! Let me explain, and in doing so hopefully, you will get a sense of why Custom Fitting, and being Custom Fitted by someone you know and trust is also extremely important. The Customer came looking to invest and improve on their current Driver. A Callaway Fusion with an exotic ‘After Market’ Shaft. After we gather some vital Performance Data from that Club, we established that we needed to find a Clubhead that helped reduce ‘Spin’ in general, and ‘Slice Spin’ specifically. If we could increase Club & Ball Speed then that would be an added bonus. But the most significant aspect that needed ‘Fitted’ had nothing to do with Make, Model or Head-Features. Shaft Length – This is an aspect sometimes overlooked in the suitability of a Club, and often overlooked by Manufacturers in an attempt to sell ‘More Distance’! I`d say the majority of Golfers (Elite & Tour Pros included, all the way up to novice & Handicap Golfers) will instantly improve their Direction, Shot Shape, and Distance Efficiency by hitting the middle of the Clubface more often. So, in this case, we introduced a Shorter Shaft Length, as well as making it a little lighter as I felt the current Shaft was too heavy for the Swing Speed being generated, and immediately a more centred Strike was achieved. Add in the newer Head Technologies and some Draw Weighted Balance and the Golfer immediately saw improved accuracy, straighter shot shape (those are not that same thing), longer carry and better rollout. |
We compared the Performance of 3 Brands/Models (PING, TaylorMade & Callaway) and all were good/better, however, the ‘Performance Data’ suggested the TaylorMade SIM had the potential best distance gain, however not the dispersion consistency of the MAVRIK. This is where the input from the Player is vital. The more personal traits of a Club play a big part in the decision process and the confidence of the user. So the upshot was, the Look, Sound, Feel and overall Control of the MAVRIK was much more appealing to the Customer so that was the one he ultimately ordered. |
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But that whole Fitting Experience might have been pointless unless we had established much better and consistent Contact via the Shaft Length.
If you are thinking about investing in your Game & Equipment, don`t make it a lucky dip or take a chance. We are here with all the very best equipment, knowledge and advice to give you the most comprehensive Fitting Experience……but we also are going to give you the most honest and personal level of service so you get exactly what you need.
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Just another quick reminder about my upcoming event next Saturday 1st Feb. KEEP A LOOK OUT TOMORROW FOR THE DETAILED EMAIL featuring Products & Prices. BIRTHDAY BARGAIN BONANZA Saturday 1st February: 9am–3pm This will be a ‘Clubhouse Cash Clearance’ with HUGE SAVINGS on many SALE Items all reduced to clear in order to make necessary Shop space and generate the equally necessary revenue to enable us to provide a comprehensive range of the latest 2020 Products. This will take place in the Bistro/Function Area.
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Featured Products: • Shoes • Bags • Clothing • Putters • Woods • Wedges • Balls • GPS • Accessories More details of the specific Products and Prices will be released nearer the time – In the meantime – Save The Date as this is a ‘One Day Only’ Flash Sale. There will also be Birthday Treats, Prize Draws and Studio Challenges on the go too. |
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January is always an exciting time in the golf industry with new products being launched left, right and centre. For us, there's one product that has us more excited than any other this year and it's Callaway's aptly-named Mavrik driver. |
We're sure you'll agree it looks phenomenal and with three models available - Mavrik, Mavrik Sub-Zero and Mavrik Max - it's vital that you come down to see us in order to find the best option for your game. If you're after more information then click on the image above but if you're already eager to give it a go, use the button below to book yourself in for a fitting with a member of the team. |
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