In the words of Freddie & Queen: “Is this the world we created? What did we do it for, Is this the world we invaded... Against the law. So it seems in the end, Is this what we're all living for today... The world that we created! Somewhere a wealthy man is sitting on his throne. Waiting for life to go by. Wooh, is this the world we created? We made it all our own. Is this the world we devastated....right to the bone. If there's a God in the sky looking down. What can he think of what we've done? To the world that he created!”
Surely it`s not just me that thinks we are living in some sort of twisted paradox?
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Brexit is now a reality which means a Union of Countries desperate to ‘go it alone’ from a bigger Union of Countries has gotten it`s wish, but is vehemently campaigning that we are ‘better together’ when one of its own Union Countries feels that it would like to maybe look into this ‘go it alone’ malarkey!
‘Daddy, I`d like to try drinking straight Vodka for breakfast!’...’Don`t be silly, you`re too young and fragile to do something as reckless as that!’....’but Daddy, you do it!?’....’Just be quiet and do as I say! Not as I do!’
Which brings me nicely to our Politicians and World Leaders who vow to do EVERYTHING for the People so they get Elected, then do everything for themselves once in power! Then instead of creating Legislation and Laws to help protect the people, they decide they are above these Laws and break every one and get away with it!
And we`ve even had a Celebrity quit Dancing On Ice because her Professional Partner stopped speaking to her because Caprice kept falling over whilst rehearsing their routine! So in both cases, she ended up with the Cold Shoulder Treatment!
Then to cap things off on this crazy conveyor-belt of contradiction, the same weekend the R&A and USGA announced that they will be taking steps to limit the Distance of the Golfs ‘Bombers’ when two of the Games Shortest Hitters on either Tour won in the deserts of Arizona & Saudi Arabia respectively! More on that later!
But apologies first for this week`s rant! I`ve not been feeling myself since I nearly choked on the slice of fruit that got lodged in my throat when I was having a swig of some Mexican Beer! The Doctors can`t make up their mind if I`ve got Corona-Virus or Lime Disease! Bunch of Desperados if you ask me!
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Yes, speaking of alcohol that brings me nicely to another convenient contradiction for this week`s theme. On the same weekend, the European Tour made the controversial trip back to Saudi Arabia – a Country where Alcohol is banned and consumption of it against the Law (in a Tee Total country you have to stick to their Fruit Juice, so basically your only choices are a Saudi TT or a Saudi Quattro!), over in Scottsdale on the USPGA Tour the organisers of the Phoenix Open were herding 300 THOUSAND Spectators through their Gates in a veritable Stampede so they could get the best seat in the house to enable them to...... be able to consume as much alcohol as humanly possible and get as wildly drunk as they could! YEEEE-HAWWWWW! |
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To ensure nobody at the Hospitality got out of hand the Sponsors put on plenty of Security, which I believe were known as The ‘Wasted’ Management! The Waste Management Phoenix Open has become quite a spectacle, thanks largely to their famous Stadium enclosed Par 3 16th. One Edinburgh resident was lucky enough to get a ticket for the Tournament and said he saw more shots on target in one day in that stadium than he`d seen in a whole season at Tynecastle & Easter Road combined!
In the Tournament itself, Webb Simpson hunted down the Big Hitting Tony Finua to win. A birdie at the 72nd hole forced the Playoff, and an almost carbon copy – 3-Wood, Wedge, Putt – in the Playoff took the spoils.
It was a similar David v Goliath battle over on the European Tour in Saudi Arabia. This time though the shorter hitting Graeme McDowell always had his nose in front of the chasing pack which was led by Dustin Johnson.
Simpson & McDowell are very similar in many ways, in fact, I`d say that G-Mac has a better American Accent! However, one area they are very similar is Driving Distance, where they rank in 133rd & 147th on the Driving Distance Stats. Compare that to Finau & DJ who are widely known as 2 of the Longest and best in the game then it shows that on a certain course in certain conditions that ANY Golfer can win, and that Length, whilst an obvious advantage, doesn`t guarantee victory.
As mentioned previously the Governing Bodies have announced that they are taking a stance to curb, limit or even decrease the Distances the Top Players can generate now. To be honest, I don`t see this as a bad thing per say, and it`s been mooted many times in the last few years with the likes of Jack Nicklaus suggesting the easiest way to fix it is limit the ball. And he, of course, is talking about it from the practical standpoint of also being a Course Architect/Creator where he realises the need to build a Course big enough for the modern Tour Player leads to massive maintenance costs and courses that the average Amateur simply cannot enjoy.
And that is an important aspect. Whilst the studies show that the Tour Player is hitting it further & further every year, studies also show that the Amateur Game isn`t really seeing the same gains. The modern equipment is better, it does perform better, players can hit it further, many of you reading this might have experienced and benefited from better-performing equipment, but in the main distances and abilities (Handicaps) aren`t really improving in the Amateur game. The main reason for this? In my opinion, most recreational golfers haven`t been willing to invest the time to get the most out of their technique and equipment – and ‘if you always do what you always did, you`ll always get what you always got!’
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Which brings me nicely to ‘What we do!’ – Getting the Best Performance out of your Game is exactly what we are here to do. And the experience, technologies and facilities that we can deliver are the reason we are good at what we do. And to demonstrate that I want to share a couple of occasions that happened last week here at the SW:ING Studio to highlight that point of difference.
The first occasion was at my recent TaylorMade Fitting Event. 2 Members, both friends, came along and shared a ‘Fitting Session’ – They were both keen to improve their Driver Performance and were interested in the M5 or M6 TaylorMade Products that I had on offer. So firstly these 2 guys were completely different Handicaps with considerably different Clubhead Speeds (9mph) – yet they were essentially using the same Spec of Driver. With the detailed Data we capture from the GCQuad Launch Monitor it was easy to identify the aspects of the Club Set-Up that could be improved on, plus combining that with an explanation of the influence that the Players technique was having on the Shot. In both Players cases, we quickly established a better (more suitable) version which was fine-tuned as the session progressed. With the adjustments made to both the Club Set-Up and Players Technique (in both cases) we were able to significantly change the Shot Shape, Trajectory, Velocity, Consistency and ultimately the Distance of each Players Tee Shots. The chances of them experiencing those same gains by simply picking a like-for-like newer version of their Club of the shelf or from Online would be slim, to say the least. But there is being ‘Custom Fitted’ and there is having a ‘Custom Fit’ – I also had a Lesson with a Non-Member last week. I`d never met him before so this was the first time I`d seen his swing and his equipment. He had just treated himself to a new set of Titleist T200 Irons for his 60th Birthday which he had been ‘Fitted’ for at a local High Street Store (based at a Driving Range) – After only a few Shots into the Lesson I noticed something quite concerning about his Club Delivery, however, let him continue to hit to see if that might change as he ‘warmed up’. It didn`t and neither did his shots improve much despite him making, what in theory, were reasonably decent swings (he was a 7 handicapper). That particular day his contact was poor, and he had intimated that his bad shot (especially recently) had been a drag to the left. So having digested all the info he had shared with me I asked him if he could remember the Specifications he had been ‘Fitted’ for. He said that he had been recommended just Standard Length & Standard Lie. Based on the Data captured I was measuring his delivered Lie Angle as being MINIMUM 5* Degrees TOO UPRIGHT for that Player (Too Upright a Lie Angle will point the Loft/Face of the Club to the Left of Target – For Right Handers) hence why he was losing many shots to the left, but with the Toe that much in the air the centre point of the Clubface is also lifted off the ground. So making clean, solid and centred contact becomes very difficult. |
 | | We Measure Lie Angles Correctly & Accurately! |
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I wanted to see how the Players swing would react when I gave him a more suitable spec of Iron. I was only able to give him a Club that was -2* Degrees Flat from Standard (which going on what we discovered should`ve been still 3* degrees out) From the very first shot the results were immediate and noticeable. Firstly in the quality of his contact, then in shot shape & direction and finally and most obviously his delivered Lie Angle was virtually 0* Degrees every time. Never fluctuating more than 1* form zero. Given that most of his Non-Standard Grips were on particularly squint I felt that perhaps this Customer had been fitted into a Set that they had In Store which they then ‘Customized’ rather than order a ‘Custom Built Set’ from Titleist.
I encouraged this gentleman to go back and ask to be re-fitted, as the Grips alone would be reason enough to take them back.
So just to reiterate points I`ve made in the past. We are here to deliver an expert, honest, reliable and value for money Service that you just won`t receive anywhere else in a facility that you`ll also struggle to find anywhere nearby.
Why not book yourself in for a fitting and make sure your clubs are right for you - Click Here |
That facility is also yours to use socially and for fun – especially when the weather is so unreliable. And with the PGA Tour stopping off at Pebble Beach this week for the AT&T Pro-Am why not test your skills on the famous Californian Links!?
For the next 2 Weeks you can take advantage of a 2 Hour Simulator Special of ONLY £40 (That`s £40 for back to back Hours playing Pebble Beach for up to 4 People! Aka £5 Per Person Per Hour!)
If you`d like to take advantage of this Offer Click Here – (Remember you need to book back-to-back hours)
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 | | Pebble Beach @ Duddingston GC! |
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Thanks to everyone who came to support my ‘Clubhouse Clearance Sale’ to help celebrate my 1st Anniversary here at DGC. |
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I now have some remaining Sale Items on Offer In-Store – Shop Credits are eligible: |
Clothing
Galvin Green, Under Armour & Stuburt - HALF PRICE!
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Shoes
Under Armour Shoes HALF PRICE!
40% OFF FootJoy Shoes! (Ladies & Gents)
Bags
PowaKaddy, Motocaddy Waterproof Bags – NOW ONLY £125! SAVE Up To £95!
Balls
Callaway Truvis Golf Balls – ONLY £20 Per Dozen
TaylorMade Project (a) Golf Balls – ONLY £20 Per Dozen
New Equipment
All PING, Evnroll, TaylorMade & Odyssey Putters HALF PRICE!
Wilson C300 Drivers – NOW ONLY £99! SAVE £250!
Wilson C300 Fairway – NOW ONLY £89! SAVE £130!
Wilson C300 Hybrid – NOW ONLY £79! SAVE £120!
Wilson FG Tour Wedges – NOW ONLY £49! SAVE £50!
Titleist Vokey SM7 Wedges (Black 52, 56, 60) – NOW ONLY £79 EACH – ALL 3 FOR ONLY £210!
Callaway XR Speed Drivers – NOW ONLY £129! SAVE £220! (Ladies & Gents)
Ex-Trial Equipment
PING G400 Drivers – NOW ONLY £149!
Titleist 818 Hybrids – NOW ONLY £79!
PING G Le Ladies Fairways – NOW ONLY £99!
Titleist Vokey SM7 – NOW ONLY £65 or 3 FOR £150!
GPS
All Garmin Devices HALF PRICE! Save Up To £175!
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Many of you will have tried Wilson Staff's DX2 Soft golf ball over the years; one of the best feeling and longest balls to date. Well, not only has it been upgraded for 2020 but it has had a rebranding too - so, without further ado, we introduce to you the new DUO Soft + ball... |
 | Wilson Staff DUO Soft+ golf ball
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It boasts all of the same things that you will have loved about the DX2 Soft: incredibly soft feel, impressive distance and a brilliant price point. |
You can also buy the DUO in a range of matte colours, which will certainly add a bit of fun to your fourball. Come and see us in-store to take a look. |
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