Modernising Golf's Rules
Last week the R&A proposed some key changes to the Rules of Golf from 2019. Their Rules Modernisation initiative has been underway for a few years now and this is the next stage in that process. The aim is to not only make the Rules easier to understand, but also to address some of the game's current problems, such as speed of play, and ensure they fit the needs of today's game.
Please spare a couple of minutes to complete our survey, which gives you the chance to have your say on the proposed changes.
We've picked out some of the most significant Rules changes for you to digest in this survey, before giving you the chance to say whether you agree or disagree with each of them. It'll be great to know your thoughts.
Have your say here.
Marvellous March for Mason
Brian Mason produced some brilliance to win the March Yellow Tee Stableford from a packed leader board. Brian had the magic going early with a front nine of 21 points, but things took a turn for the worse and by the time he was on the 16th tee he was only level with his handicap. With 10 players bettering their handicap on the day, something special was required.
Up to the plate stepped Brian… a stunning 4, 4, 4 finish grabbed him nine points, 39 points in total, and the win. I know coach Joe was chuffed!
Ed Smith came home in second spot, his 38 points was JUST enough to beat Randal Casson into second spot via countback. The pair were out early and are both having very good seasons.
Ed is always towards the top of the order of merit, and Randal has been shooting some phenomenal scores over the past week or two, especially since his lesson with me at the AIZ. I can safely say these two will have great 2017's.
The man home in 4th, who also scored 38 points was Steve Ellis. Steve is already well on his way to producing some more magic this year… The order of merit table doesn't lie:
S A Ellis - 29pts
E W A Smith - 19pts
C E Gilman - 16pts
A T Wilson - 16pts
N C Richardson - 15pts
M Inman - 14pts
N K Crowther - 13pts
G S Melville - 12pts
R Davis - 10pts
C D Marjoram - 10pts
Frozen Fingers
Bernadette Clark and Morag Ross lead the way in the Frozen Fingers qualifying. Both have scores of 145 which looks sure to have them seeded towards the top once qualifying ends.
Captain Pro Match
This week Nick and I were challenged by Julian Pitts and Rick Hartley. In this modified foursomes format where if a team goes three down, they then get shots until they get back to one down, we are yet to be given a shot.
Well when Ricky and Jules arrived an hour and a half before the match for a marathon warm up we knew they meant business. Their very long warm up paid dividends as they made the perfect start to be two up after two and it was only a 20 foot putt from me on the third that stopped them getting to that magical three up.
Nick and I then got our game faces on and reeled of a number of solid pars and when Nick slotted in a slippery four foot down hiller on the 17th we closed out the match two and one, phew!
Rick and Julian, thanks very much for the challenge it was great to spar against you.
PING Review
This week assistant Jack has been out hitting the new PING i200 irons. He gave a brief review:
"The new i range has more weight at the toe and heel to provide a more forgiving golf club, while aesthetically still looking like a stunning players type club. The irons are actually gapped differently to the preceding range, for example the 7 iron is now more lofted than it was in the I E1 range. This is to provide more well-rounded gappings. It makes sense to me… what's the point in continuously strengthening the longer irons and then filling the large gaps with extra wedges, or having larger gaps between the scoring clubs?
They felt nice and crisp off the club face and really provided a lot of forgiveness for the slightly thinned strikes, which were done intentionally… kind of. Distance wise they matched my current set, which was great, but these clubs aren't really about distance. They're built for consistency, forgiveness and reliability and they offer that. To book in for a fitting click here, or feel free to test out a demo when you're next down."
Wilson Fitting Day
I'm sure many of you keep up to date with the golf Youtube channels, and you'll no doubt have seen the awesome reviews of this year's Wilson range.
With this in mind… I have fantastic news, Wilson have sponsored the demo day on Wednesday, 12 April. This means there will be £50 vouchers won for the biggest yardage gains in the driver and iron categories! Naturally, these are to be spent against Wilson products, but if the distance improvements are as great as I think they may be - it'll be easy to spend.
There will also be a FOC 2-pack of balls for every demo-day participant, just make sure you book in beforehand.
Time slots are from 10am until 2pm. To book a 30 minute slot, please click here.