I was glued to the TV again this weekend - the second weekend in a row Nicky tells me - watching the PGA Tour event at Harbour Town. I can't believe it's been two years since I played there. It brought back lots of great memoires, it's a beautiful place and well worth a visit. England's Luke Donald held the lead with one round to go (I wonder if those comments from Paul Casey at the Masters gave him some extra motivation?). It was also great to see Ernie Els back playing some good golf including a final round 66. His fellow South African, Branden Grace, won the tournament with an excellent final round (also 66) to win by two shots.
This now makes it three victories in a row for Callaway. I keep telling you this but you really must try their new XR16 range - especially if you're looking to increase your distance off the tee! Demo clubs are available in the pro shop for you to try at any time.
Last Tuesday saw us launch our new ladies fashion range at Tyrrells Wood. Lucy and Mary from the brand were on hand to meet the ladies and showcase their clothing range. You can see them and Jo modelling part of the range in the picture here. The new clothing range seemed to go down very well and we now have stock of their range in the pro shop.
I'm delighted to announce the complete 2016 PING range of hardware will be here this weekend and all of next week for you try. We will also be joined by one of their experienced fitting technicians on Wednesday, 27 April. You can book or just turn up to meet him, as well as have a FREE PING putter fitting session from one of the best in the business, it's one you won't want to miss out on.
To view their range please click here.
Improve your pace putts
In your last round, how many three-putts did you make? How much better would your score have been if those three-putts became two-putts? The majority of three-putts stem from a poor first putt that ends up either too far short or too far past the hole. This puts far too much pressure on your short putting, especially if it becomes a habit repeated frequently. Improving your pace putting is a great way to improve your confidence on the greens, take the pressure off your short putting and improve your scores. Here's a great practice drill to improve you pace putting:
Set up 6 tee pegs at 6, 12, 18, 24, 30 and 36 feet from a hole
Place a club or alignment stick on the ground three feet behind the hole
Take your first putt from 6 feet, the ball must finish either in the hole or past the hole in order to progress onto the next tee peg
If the ball finishes short of the hole or hits the club/alignment stick behind the hole then you must start again from the 6 foot tee peg
The objectives of the drill are to give your practice more focus and to get used to getting the ball just past the hole, after all 100% of putts that don't reach the hole miss.
Need some help with your putting?
If you feel that your putting is letting you down, this month I have a coaching package specifically about improving your putting. The package consists of:
The package is available for £120 throughout April. For more information please contact Jo via assistant.professional@tyrrellswoodgolfclub.com.
I'm sure you've all seen our General Manager's email regarding slow play at Tyrrells Wood. These two simple rules - playing ready golf and knowing when to call players through - will make a difference to the pace of play and make rounds more enjoyable.
This week I was sent a video link about how to play quickly. It's a good concept and who knows, maybe we'll use this for Pro's Day in July? Click here to view the video.
Surrey 5s -Unfortunately Tyrrells suffered a big defeat at the hands of North Downs last week, losing all five matches. Not our best performance chaps, but in their defence, I understand the condition of the course and the greens was pretty poor. You see, you've all been very spoilt by Paul and his team.
John Ling over 55 SGU Pairs KO - On a miserable day last Friday at TW, 10 fearless aging golfers managed to beat Reigate Hill GC 5-0. This was a wonderful TW victory considering our players had to give two courtesy shorts then the new 90% difference rule was applied. In the next round TW have drawn Hindhead GC away, arranged for Tuesday, 26 April.
Men's Matches - On a cold, wet and windy Saturday morning, we did battle with the RAC. Grant Buxton and Geoff Hubbard had a fine win 1 up, with Geoff making par on the 17th & 18th to secure the win. Ken Drew and Terry Gaunlett went down 3&4, enough said. Simon Winsalde and Alan Rowbottom again had a fine win 2&1, with one of their opponents imitating Ernie Else on one of the holes. Steve Thorn and James Caird went down 3&2, the Captain must try harder. Final result 2-2.
Next Matches - Away at Kingswood on Sunday, 8 May. Home against Purley Downs on Saturday, 14 May. Away against Reigate Heath on Saturday, 28 May. Men, be prepared for a phone call.
The next 10 days at Tyrrells
Thu 14 Apr - Very well played to Stuart Hood who continued his good form and won the Club Stableford with 38 points. Please click here for the full results. Stuart also won the Saturday roll-up with 44 points last week, I'm sure everyone is looking forward to you going back to work soon Stuart.
Sun 17 Apr - Congratulations to Tom Waugh who pretty much cleaning up the prizes in the Spring Meeting. Tom shot a fantastic level-par round (a gross 71 - nett 66) to win by a mile. Please click here for the full results.
Tue 19 Apr - Many congratulations to Helen Johnson who won the Ladies Bisque Par competition on countback from Sue Eaton with a score of +1. Please click here for the full results.
