Hello and welcome to this week’s newsletter.

As you read this I should be testing the lightning and other late summer conditions on the Captains Away Day at Kings Lynn. Gary and I are making a habit of playing on Fridays as last week we were at Wellingborough playing in the SkyCaddie national Captain/Pro challenge.

The weather was mixed but we came in with a good score of 40 points. I played steady managing 3 birdies and just the one dropped shot and despite not been happy with his game, Gary was never too far away to back me up and even managed his own birdie on 16 (we won't go over what happened with his second shot into 18 from prime position with a wedge in his hand!)

Normally in these competitions 47/48 points comes in and blows the field away. To our astonishment when we got in we were leading having beaten our playing partners on countback. It took a while but some of the later starters came in with better scores and the day was won by Holme Hall golf club and their Professional, one of my ex county teammates, Paul Bradshaw. We came a very respectable 7th out of 56 teams and I'm looking forward to try and improve on this next year with Mr. Jones, no pressure Graham.

Thanks to Gary for a great day out, I thoroughly enjoyed it and it was good to get back to playing some competitive golf.

One In One Out

Some of you may be aware that Callum Brookes is leaving the pro shop staff. Callum has been with me for two years working part time alongside completing his college work. Now that's finished he's going to put all his efforts into his golf to see if he can take it to the next level. He's well on the way to doing this and is nearly at the magic plus two handicap which will open more doors into prestigious national and European top amateur events.

This left a space open in the shop for a new member of staff, as we look to take on more coaching and development rolls in the area and this has been taken by Fabian Bartschi. As you've probably guessed he's not a local lad and as I write this he should be boarding a flight from Basel to get here. He's dual nationality, Swiss and Australian but does have some things going for him, mainly his golfing pedigree. He's starting the PGA course in October and will be a full time member of the pro shop staff giving Aaron and Sarah more time to coach and play. I'm sure you'll all welcome him and I know he's keen to get started and get to know the club and members.

Saffron Walden vs Girton

We played Girton away in May on a particularly wet day. It had rained all night and this continued throughout our match. We lost by 5.5 points to 2.5 points.

When it came to the rematch at home (6 Sept), only 8 of the original team were available due to holiday plans and illness (Bryan Lewis - heart attack). So the Match Captain Clive Walker brought in new blood and fabricated a story that he had told many of the original team to take a holiday in early September. Many duly obliged by flying to Turkey for a golfing holiday.

Introductions for the new team "Graham - Club Captain for 2018, Bill - Seniors Captain for 2018, Mike Price - Club Captain in 2012 and current Chairman of the Green's Committee."

Hugh Paton had missed the away match due to an operation for a hip replacement. This story was somewhat embellished to liken him to Colonel Steve Austin who was rebuilt to become the 6 million dollar man and possess super powers. Hugh now has a built in GPS system and a laser range finder.

These introductions obviously helped as the team played brilliantly to chalk up an impressive win and avenge the away defeat.

There were a few stories/incidents:

Graham Jones and Bill Sandford had never played together on the same side. Their partnership was described as "a marriage made in heaven" - which is very promising for next season.

In the first match, Tony Johnson of Girton hit many excellent tee shots with his 3 wood. Exceptions were the first hole where his tee short finished on the ladies tee and the 17th hole where he switched to a hybrid to hook his drive. His second shot hit the old oak tree and disappeared down one of the big holes. Undeterred, Tony tried to climb the tree to search inside the holes. He eventually found his ball, along with several birds’ eggs.

In the same match, Clive Walker was accused of deliberately hitting balls into the trees so that he could check on the health of the trees. In actual fact Clive found it difficult to focus on his own match, and was constantly looking at the other matches to assess how the team was performing

There were notable wins from John Stewart and Mike Price 7 and 5. Also from Alan Seymour and Keith Peacock 5 and 4. The returning Hugh Paton with Roger McNaught won 5 and 3

The result was a win of six and a half to one and a half.

The Girton Captain, Malcolm Crisp was very complimentary at the quality of the course, the difficulty in reading the greens and the excellent lunch provided by Debbie and her Catering Team.

Saffron vs Haverhill

Match Captain Roger Cowen took a team to the return match against Haverhill last week.

It was a very pleasant warm cloudy day with the occasional rain shower. Haverhill GC course looked in fine condition. Our team had been carefully selected but we still lost 7 to 1. Three games lost by 1 at the eighteenth. However we had won 6.5 to 1.5 at home which is some compensation. I was not informed of any recorded incidents.

Lunch was a carvery (pork and beef) with a bread and butter pudding and custard. After thanking Haverhill for their hospitality I told a joke about a man who was shipwrecked with a goat and a dog which went down very well I think. We all then went home.

Together they played very steady golf, avoiding bunkers and finished the morning 18 holes with 35 points. In the afternoon their good partnership continued, and despite not scoring on one hole, a birdie on the 5th hole in the when Watson holed a 20 foot putt enabled them to add a further 15 points. Their total of 49 points was too good for the rest of the field.

Jan Wiseman and Marian Balaam finished in second place with 47 points with Jeannie Ratcliff and Marjory Smith in 3rd with 45. Madeline Walker won nearest the pin on hole 5 and Marjory Smith on the 18th.

A Coaching Story from Sarah

After completing the level 2 disability in coaching course, I really wanted to use the qualification to push my coaching skills & use the qualification to help those who may not always come to a Golf Club for individual lessons. With the armed forces being close to home for me (my partner being in the army) I found the Battle Back Golf Programme is a military initiative designed to use golf to support wounded, injured and sick. The programme has proven to be a great success for over 200 serving & veteran personnel, supplementing the physical, psychological and cognitive rehabilitation through golf.

I was introduced to Paul (32yrs old) in July 2017 by this Programme, he is a single right leg amputee, with other injuries to his back, neck and shoulders. Paul has never picked up a club before injury, then whilst in Headley Court he got involved with Battle Back Golf when it first started and played for a few months. Due to work commitments, golf had to be sacrificed, fast forward a few years, and in Sept/Oct of last year he started to take it up properly and joined his home club Langdon Hills. Paul can play to a 28 handicap and working alongside myself hopes to bring his handicap down and become more competitive.

Paul had his first lesson in 8th August, as it was the first time I've seen his swing it was more about getting the basics of the set up right than a huge swing change. Paul struggled with getting the ball in the air and always hitting the ball off to the right. We worked on grip, making sure this was more neutral, setting the clubface to be square at half way on his back swing & trying to feel as though the club worked more on the inside on the way down back to the ball.

In picture A you can see Paul's club is closed on the way back, the toe of the club faces sideways instead of to the sky, on the way down Paul would come across the ball and cause the side spin to go left to right. In lesson 2, picture B, you can now see Paul has worked hard on his half way back move to correct the clubface. He has also worked hard on feeling as though the club was inside on the way down to try to improve his swing path- helping the ball fly straighter & in the air.

Keep an eye out on Pauls coaching improvements through the months going forwards. He's competing in the Battle Back Golf Championships the first week of October, wish him luck!

Junior Coaching Programme

Saturdays 10:00,11:00 & 12noon
23rd, 30th September

Sundays 10:00 & 11:00am
1st, 8th, 22nd, 29th October | 5th, 12th November

6 Week Programme At Saffron Walden Golf Club

The first 5 weeks will involve learning, long game, short game, putting & skills based challenges. The final week includes an exciting competition!

Only £40 For 6 Weeks! £8 per session for roll up on the day.

Book Now To Secure Your Place, Maximum Of 10 In A Group:

Rob McNicholas, Aaron Howard & Sarah Smith, PGA Professional’s Email- rob@swgc.com | sarah@smithperformancegolf.co.uk | Telephone- 01799 522786