Captain's Charity Day
It's been another busy week at Tyrrells with lots going on. Our Captain's Charity Day was a great success raising nearly £6000 for his charity, GRACE.
A massive thank you to everyone who took part. I was on the 16th tee for the day, running a beat the pro competition. I managed just seven losses during the day, but a special mention must go to Rob Cullen for his tee shot. After I'd hit my shot to about 10 feet (right on line with the flag!), Mr Cullen stepped up and I think it's fair to say he didn't quite strike the ball quite as well as he'd like to. It bounced before the cross bunker and then rolled onto the green to nestle just a few feet away from the pin! - ouch!
He showed no sign of embarrassment and happily claimed his prize of a sleeve of Pro V1s, so watch out if you're up against Mr Cullen in any upcoming matches.
What to impress your friends? Read these five Royal Troon Open facts:
- Royal Troon is the first & last club in Great Britain to have been granted Royal status under Queen Elizabeth II
- The 8th hole, nicknamed 'The Postage Stamp', is one of the toughest par-3s on tour
- In 1878, Troon was founded as a five-hole golf course
- Royal Troon is home to both the longest and shortest holes in Open Championship golf
- Royal Troon has hosted the Open Championship eight times in its 138 years
While last time The Open was played at Royal Troon it was won by Todd Hamilton, who is a rather large outsider at 1000/1, it's hard not to pick Jason Day, Rory McIlroy, Jordan Spieth or Dustin Johnson this week. But if you want to look outside these players, I'd go for Branden Grace, Marc Leishman & Bernd Weisberger.
The weather can be a bit of lottery during The Open: if the wind blows it's going to be very important to keep the ball low. To see how it's done, please click here to see how the top pros prepared for this at last week's Scottish Open.
How much difference does the ball make?
As we announced last week, we're delighted to have Srixon hosting our very first Ball Fitting Day on Tuesday, 26 July. Members and golfers can try out all the latest equipment, see how it compares to your own golf clubs and receive expert guidance from a Srixon Custom Fitter. There will also be offers available for purchasing golf balls on the day.
We only have a few spots left and so please book early by clicking here.
What I've learnt from the past week
Never give up - In a WPGA event last week, I hit the ball the worst I have for a very long time. My back was sore and tight and I wasn't striking the ball anywhere near well enough. After 8 holes I'd had enough and was ready to walk in. I didn't, mostly because I've never withdrawn from a round no matter how bad the score, plus I really like the golf course. The back nine was a little better - my last 5 holes went par, birdie, birdie, eagle, par to finish with a respectable score and just outside the top 10. I've never walked off the course with the weirdest mix of feelings - disappointed with how I'd hit the ball for most of the round, but really pleased with my closing five holes. Mostly I was so glad I'd stuck it out and finished my round, through sticking it out I was able to go away from my round with something positive.
Embrace challenges - On Monday I played in the Ricoh Women's British Open Pre-Qualifying at The Berkshire. My goals were to enjoy the experience and to use the round as a learning curve. The whole experience was fantastic; we were playing from the men's white tees in blustery conditions so it was always going to be tough. A lot of the girls playing play either on the Ladies European Tour or the LET Access Series, a few like me work full time and play in the WPGA events. For the most part, I was really pleased with how well I struck the ball and that I didn't let my head go down or get disappointed when I had a bad hole. After my round I wrote down what I need to improve on and set some new goals following the experience. I'm already looking forward to entering the event again next year.
Click here to read the rest of Jo's article, including a few tips for your next round.
The next 10 days at Tyrrells
Sat 9 Jul - Many congratulations to Stuart La Frenais who won the Club Stableford with 36 points. I do have to wonder what Stuart was thinking though, he's playing with me at my old golf club, The Richmond, in their Pro-Am this Thursday & so why would he get cut to seven just a few days before? Let's hope his good form continues and he carries us to victory again! Please click here for the full results.
Sun 10 Jul - Very well played Paul Hughes & Derek Atkinson who won the National Playing Fields with an excellent betterball score of 48 points. Simon Cheung & Phillip Wicks finished in second place with 46 points. Please click here for the full results.
