Hello and welcome to this week's newsletter,
Slade Meeting
Wednesday saw the final Slade meeting of 2017 before next week's tour to Kent. 20 players turned up for an afternoon tee time and scores were quite varied. I partnered Simon Noakes and we were steady if unspectacular. If my putter had been working we could have been flying, I was level after 10 having missed 4 putts from inside 6 feet and not taken advantage of any of the par fives despite all being in range and even hitting the tenth in two. We plodded home in 35 points dreading that we might be in with a chance of winning the dreaded PPPP Pot.
Thankfully behind us there was some smelly golf and we needn't have worried at all. Propping up the field was the ever reliable pairing of Eric Fordham and Terry Wilby. Eric made the bold statement saying that he hadn't won the pot this year only for that to be undone a few hours later. Not for the first time I had the pleasure of partnering the winners, the only change this time was it wasn't Andy Fisher. Paul Wisbey and Kieran O'Reilly dove tailed brilliantly for 44 points including a two on the last from Wis to win it by one and treat everyone to a round of drinks.
Thanks to Nick Wombwell for a great year as captain and we are all looking forward to next week's tour.
Senior Matches
The Seniors now offer a nearest the pin in all matches with one for the home team and one for the visitors.
Friday, 7 April - Match Captain Colin Brown lead a Team against Gog Magog at home. The match was lost 5 and a half to 2 and a half. The matches were all very close and the NTP was won by Andy Barker.
Thursday, 13 April - Match Captain Geoff Woollerson lead a Team against Newmarket at home. As always this is a tough match but Saffron Walden pulled through with 6 and a half against 1 and a half. A notable game was Colin Murrant & John Stewart who won 6&4. The NTP was won by Malcolm Thorne - BUT there was a bit of a grumble as the card was not on the green for all the matches!
Exceptional Scoring Marks Ladies Spring Meeting at SWGC
The Ladies Spring Meeting at Saffron Walden Golf Club features 18 holes of medal play in the morning followed by 9 holes of foursomes and provides a stiff challenge at the start of the season. This year 56 ladies turned out in beautiful sunny conditions, and the leading contenders returned some exceptional scores. Lynda Minton won Division 1 with a nett 71, 3 shots under the Competition Standard Scratch of 74, and 5 shots ahead of Jean Black in second place with nett 76. Division 2 was won by Geri Still with a nett 69, a fantastic 5 under CSS, with Ginny Eley in second place with nett 74.
But the outstanding performance of the day was that of Caroline Peat, who carded a nett 67 to win Division 3 and the Dorett Salver. Caroline's long game has steadily improved over the past year, but she has struggled on the greens. In this round, however, Caroline said she was delighted with her golf, not only was she driving well, but finally her putter produced magic on the greens, leading to a number of pars. Apart from the salver, she sees her handicap cut by 4 strokes. In second place was Joanne Kerchiss on 76.
Nearest the pin prizes were won by Anne Cunningham on the 5th and Sue Funsten on the 18th. In the afternoon foursomes Claire Richardson and Caroline Peat won the front 9 with 19 points while Jan Rackham and Betty Williams were the winners on the back 9 with 20 points.
18th Hole Birdie hands Hall the Easter Handicap Trophy
The Easter Trophy Competitions at Saffron Walden Golf Club showcased the many talented juniors. Cold winds led to difficult playing conditions, but Louis Martin, age 16 and playing off a handicap of 3, shot an excellent gross 77, 3 over par, to win the scratch trophy.
The Easter handicap was a fight to the end with Richard Hall, in his last year as a junior, carrying off the cup on countback from Louis Martin as both finished with a nett 74. Richard shared how close he came to losing it on the 17th when a ball out of bounds led to a triple bogey. However he rallied strongly, narrowly missing a hole in one on the 18th, leaving an easy tap in putt to secure his birdie, and the trophy.
In 9 hole competitions for younger golfers, Jack Sparrow, 8 years old, won the red tee competition with 55, whilst in the 150yd competition for beginners Louis Yiannakau's 54 allowed him to carry off the Easter Egg.
Youth Club Golf
Last night Sarah went to Great Sampford's Youth Club to deliver Golf Xtreme to children aged between 8-18 years old. It was the children's first week back after the Easter Holidays and golf was a new activity for them to have a go at.
Around 30 children gave the Golf Xtreme a go, aiming at greens with flags using clubs and 60% balls and really enjoyed it, all asking if we were coming again next week!
Mizuno Demo Day
Our Mizuno Demo Day was a huge success, thank you to everyone who came down and saw the benefits of these days.
Keep an eye out for our future demo days, you don't want to miss out.
Swing Analysis
In the first photo note how the arm works under the shoulder plane. This is a danger of getting too flat meaning the club has to work over the top to get back to the ball.
In the second photo the arm plane is starting to get higher giving the club a more direct path back to the ball.
Sarah Smith - Women & Golf Article
My first article was released last week in the Women & Golf magazine. One of my goals for growing up in the golfing world was to get in a magazine with either playing or coaching, when the opportunity came along at Christmas time 2016 I said yes straight away to writing the tips & faults and completing a photoshoot. This is my first double page spread on the coaching article 'No More Putting Woes!' and I'm very excited to see the future ones too.
If you need help with your putting, buy a copy now from any major supermarkets or large WHSmiths newsagents - the other option is a yearly subscription to the magazine for only £14 for 6 magazines!
