Welcome to the first newsletter of what promises to be an exciting 2015! I hope everyone had a good Christmas and New Year break and we are all now looking forward to the clocks changing and the season starting. The golf course has held up very well to the recent snow, torrential rain and high winds and many members and visitors have enjoyed playing over the festivities.

Congratulations to Dave Cederholm who has taken over the role of Men's Team Captain from Garry Fawcett, we wish him and his team the very best for the season.


Men's Winter League

In last Saturday's Blair Salver, John McNeill produced his best round of the year (haha) to win with a fabulous 41 points. Two golfers finished with 38 points, but edging second place was Rick Austin ahead of Peter Rogers in third. In the Chris Kenrick, Andy Nolan returned the same winning score with 41 points which was good enough to edge out Phil High's 41 points on countback. In third, with 39 points, was Phil's playing partner Keith Stevenson.

Here is a look at the top three in both the Blair and the Kenrick at the start of 2015:

 Blair - Rick Austin 157, John Farrell 147, Lee Pennington 147 (4 scores) 
Kenrick - Magdy Taher 186, Jamie Powell 173, Martin Higby 171 (5 scores)

Ladies' 3 Clubs and a Putter

The ladies started the New Year with an 11 hole '3 clubs and a putter' competition. There was not a good start weatherwise as torrential rain marred what should have been a fun event. Despite this we still had some good scores on the day. In Division One Kate Dean was the winner with 20 points, three ahead of runner-up Sue Humphreys. In Division Two Ruth Walker also had 20 points ahead of Sue Pogson in second with 17. Division Three was won with 21 points by Hilary Sharpe and another score of 17 for runner-up Ann Scriven. Alka Tank's 20 points beat Syliva Comer's 20 on a countback in Division Four. Well braved, ladies!


Conwy Trip

I was disappointed not to be available for the Conwy trip this year but by all accounts it was a fantastic day on the Welsh coast. Colin Jones decided upon a team format this year and the winning team were Gary Lewis, Hywel Jones, Bob Carter & Paul Jamieson. 

For the first part of the year I am going to add a 'how to play the hole' guide into the newsletter on a weekly basis, starting, of course, with the 1st hole.

Hole One - 421/410 yards

Our first hole is one of the toughest on the course and one of the toughest opening holes in the North West. How you play it should be determined by your handicap. If the golfers who get a shot here would treat it like a par 5 then we would see some much better scores.

The most obvious thing to avoid is the OOB down the left side. The problem here being the over compensation down the right, and with a driver in hand this can quite quickly make the hole play a whole lot longer. A tee shot down the fairway short of the road may leave an uphill approach of around 190 yards, but with a lay up all this would leave is a simple pitch up the green which makes avoiding the front bunkers an easy task.

For the lower handicappers who don't get a shot, the tee shot can be more demanding. These players should know their shape by now and can use it to their advantage. Aiming right for the right-to-left player opens up the fairway, and, all be it more daunting, using the Oak Tree to slide the ball off for the left-to-righters does the same. A reasonable shot here finishing over the road will leave a short iron approach from 150 yards and under. My advice here would be to play for the back of the green as all of the trouble is short and a pitch from the back isn't too complicated.

If there are any particular holes that cause you problems during your round come and speak to us in the shop and we will be more than glad to help. Alternatively, why not book a playing lesson so we can play the holes with you whilst giving your our expert advice? Click here to get in touch.

I am pleased to announce that the club will be hosting a Nike Golf Experience Day on Wednesday, 13th May. This will comprise of an 18 hole tournament for Gents, Ladies and eligible juniors with the chance to try Nike equipment from drivers to shoes, balls to waterproofs. There will be nearest the pin, longest drive competitions during the round, there will also be an opportunity to take a look at your swing using the very latest in measuring technology.

Our SHOE SALE continues but stock is diminishing rapidly, come in store to grab a bargain from as little as £25!