The Masters

Did the Masters live up to your expectations? From my point of view it was a great year but lacked that excitement coming down the back 9 on Sunday, but Saturday was certainly edge of your seat stuff.

So Bubba wins again! That means that in the last 12 years the Masters has been won by a left hander 6 times, why? It has been said many times that to win around Augusta you have to be able to shape the ball from right to left which for a lefty is a fade/slice. This shot shape for the Pro’s is an easier shot to control so maybe the lefty’s do have a slight advantage around Augusta?

A lot of you have said to me and the team that it must be a nightmare for us when Bubba wins, as it's well known he does not have a coach or take lessons. My answer is quite simple, I think it is great for the game when Bubba wins. I say this for a few reasons and the first is that although he does not take lessons who do you think gives him golf clubs that allow him to swing and create all those different shots and shafts that cope with his colossal swing speeds? Expert Professionals. And the very latest in launch monitor technology has got to be the answer. I looked up during the Masters what the stats for Bubba’s driver were. Swinging at 122mph he was launching the ball over 16 degrees off of the clubface with only 1600 revs of back spin, taking the high launch low spin theory to its maximum! I don’t think Bubba would be able to perform the same shots with a 10.5 regular driver off the shelf?? So he may not have lessons but he certainly needs the help of Professionals in other departments.

The second reason is that he creates a great buzz and gets the non golfers interested, who may not have thought about giving golf a go previously, and the more people playing our wonderful game the better. The Masters really does get the golfing world going and inspires a lot of us to pick up the clubs a little more often and hit the course or driving range.

It seems that it may have had an effect on our very own Tom Cheetham who played in a Midlands PQ event this week and posted an incredible score of -7 gross 64 to win the event at Pipe Hayes Golf Club. Let’s hope it marks the start of a great playing season.

Slow Play

We are very aware of some slow play issues that have been happening of late and are looking into ways in which we can help to speed things up a little. Most people have a different view on how long it should take to play a round of golf but the answer is not as straight forward as you may think, as things such as the length of the course and the weather will always have an influence. During competitions and weekend play, there will always be the slower rounds of golf but, please be aware that we expect it to take no longer than 4hrs 30mins to play at these busy times.

Remember it is the responsibility of every golfer to keep up with the speed of play and to let groups through who may be playing at a quicker pace. Take a minute to look in your diaries and you will see a page called ‘Fast Play Makes Fast Friends’. If every golfer followed these simple rules then slow play could be a thing of the past. You also can find the article by clicking here

Billy Foster

After Lee Westwood put on another good 'nearly' Masters performance his caddie, Billy Foster, will be with us for the evening and we only have a few spaces left. If you would like me to reserve you any places then please click here.

County Cards

Some of you will already be aware of the County Card scheme that you can be a part of. For those of you who are not aware, the County Card is available for purchase from the Professional Shop for a small fee, in return you will receive a membership card for one year which entitles you to play over 1200 courses in the English counties at significantly reduced rates, normally this will be either half price or at the clubs members guest rate. I think this a fantastic scheme and means that you can play new courses all over the Midlands at very small costs. Get your County card from the Performance Centre for only £5. Limited availability.

Penkridge Masters

Last Saturday was the 2nd annual Masters Par 3 Challenge.

We had 95 players play on the day and have had some great feedback from those that played. We also had 2 hole in one's, Thomas Beasley & Shaun Mason. Congratulations must go to Brad Hill who shot a fantastic -4 gross to win with Nett 45.

1. Brad Hill
2. Mark Cadman
3. Eddie SaundersAlan Cooke
4. Cecil Rhoden
5. Dave Cartridge & Chris Doherty

The Par 3 challenge was followed on Sunday with the first major of the season, The Penkridge Masters.

We had 115 entries and The Chase wind did not let us down, making the combination of back tee’s and wind a stern test. The scores were yet again very close with three tied on the winning score of 71, maybe we should introduce a play off?

Congratulations to all of the winners.

1. Craig Davis - 71
2. Mitch Coleman - 71
3. Brad Hill - 71
4. Larry Horan - 72
5. Chris Cole - 72

Best Gross (75) Richard Knott