Walden reach Goddard Cup semi-finals

Saffron Walden scratch team beat Ramsey away 6.5 to 5.5 to reach the semi-final of the Goddard Cup. This was a hard fought victory for Walden, as Ramsey were beaten 12-0 in the final last year and wanted revenge.

The morning foursomes did not go Walden's way. Only the foursomes pairings of Duggan and Macdonald winning 4and 3, and Brown and Southall halving their game, after winning the last two holes put points on board. At lunch Walden were trailing 2.5 to 1.5.

So it needed a big effort by the boys to pull the match off in the pouring rain. Out first Cam Brown lost to Muir 3 and 2. Mark Reeve playing blistering golf with a number of birdies ran out the 4 and 3 winner over Shakespare. Olly Tuck came up against fellow county colleague Hodgkin and fought hard but lost 3 and 2. Tom Duggan then started the winning streak for Walden beating Cripps 3 and 2. His power game was on song and he out shot his partner. Ian Macdonald continued his morning form beating Wright 3 and 2. Captain Goodman being out driven by Gear by more than 100yds slotted home birdies at the 1st 4th and 11th to win 3 and 2. To seal the win, Richard Southall out muscled his opponent Hollands 4 and 2 with a winning birdie on the 14th. In the last pairing, James Goodfellow lost to Hull 3 and 2. So after a tight battle, Walden won 6.5 to 5.5.

Graham Goodman said:

"We thought it would be a fight but not that close. Again the will to win in our team at the moment is there to carry us through. A special mention must go to Tom Duggan and Ian Macdonald who scored maximum points today - Ian completed a dawn to dusk challenge for charity earlier in the week. What a performance"

Walden now play Bourn away in the semi-final.

I would like to congratulate my assistant Aaron on passing his final year PGA exams. It's been a tough three year degree programme achieved whilst also putting in a lot of shop hours and coaching time. He has completed in-depth training in Golf Coaching, Sports Science, Advanced Custom Fitting, Equipment Technology, Managing a Golf Business and Rules of Golf. He is now a fully qualified PGA Professional.

Titleist Demo Day a Success

Last Friday afternoon saw Titleist come down to Saffron Walden for a demo day. Thankfully the weather was great allowing Jack from Titleist to use the Trackman launch monitor to record peoples flight data.

It's a fantastic piece of kit showing club and ball speeds, launch angles, spin rates, smash factors and many more stats that influence the ball flight. From this he was able to recommend shafts which would suit the individual and improve their flight.

The day was fully booked, everyone who went on it learnt something different and specific about their own ball flight and how technology can help or hinder them depending on what loft, shaft and head type they are using. We will be holding more in the future with other brands so watch this space for future updates.