Welcome to this week’s newsletter. We have a Fourball Better Ball Captain's competition on at the club tomorrow from 7am onwards. Entry is £5 to be paid in the pro shop before your round, we can only accept cash, and the entry fee will go towards the Captain's charity and prizes. |
Village Comp
Here’s a picture of the best-dressed men in the club, who happen to be a bunch of good team golfers as well.
Congratulations to John, Paul, Steve and Ossie for winning the Inter Village competition, and not for the first time either. |
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Junior Captain’s Day
Josh Izod kicked off the Captain’s Weekend on Friday night with the Junior Captain’s Day. The event is always well supported and gives the parents a chance to come out and see the kids playing golf and socialise at the halfway house. Well done to the Izod’s and the Captains for their organisation.
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Captain’s Day
Last Saturday saw a cracking turn out for Tony's Captain Day. The format had a twist to it to get everyone involved, a progressive Team Stableford. I was signed up to play with Ron Rushforth, Robert Register and Patrick Ray.
After the first tee shots, Patrick was happy it wasn't a singles competition but he soon came good and we got off to a flyer. We came undone on the 5th but managed to get ourselves onto the halfway leaderboard as we enjoyed a well-earned beverage and sausage. We had a steady back nine and came in with a respectable 106 points. This put us near the top but not good enough for the prizes as the winning trio all finished on 113 points.
Well done to Mike, Bryce, Gary and Matt. The limelight was nearly stolen from Tony on the day as Michelle got her first hole in one on the 5th. What a time to do it!
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Mixed Captain's Day
Those who survived the dancing and entertainment on Saturday night played in the Mixed Captain's Day on Sunday. The winners with a whopping 48 points were Andre and Charlotte Pienaar.
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Lady Captain's Day
On Tuesday the weekend festivities continued as Dee held her day. She hasn't been very well over the past couple of weeks but thankfully she was able to attend and looked a lot better. Another great day was had and the winners of the team competition were Jenny, Rosie and Sue.
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Seniors Captain's Day
Last but certainly not least was the seniors day held by their Captain Nick Rouse. 80 players played for this inaugural competition and winning the rather fetching trophy was Ian Greig.
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Centenary Ball
Centenary celebrations continue through the weekend with the Centenary Ball being held tomorrow evening in the marquee, I'm looking forward to being part of the crowd with my pro shop assistants too! To top off a great week, I'm proud to be caddying for Sarah on Monday in the Ladies British Open Qualifier at Sandy Lodge Golf Club, she's told me to catch up on Love Island & Hollyoaks this week and not for too much 'golf talk' whilst going round!
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County Victory at Southern Counties Seniors Qualifying
The county seniors set off to Bedfordshire GC in the annual qualifying to reach the finals of the Southern Counties Seniors Qualifying. In the mix, besides Cambridgeshire were Bedfordshire, Suffolk and Norfolk for one place to go to Devon in September.
After the morning foursomes, Cambridgeshire was second behind Suffolk. The scores were Norfolk 3.5, Cambridgeshire 2.5, Bedfordshire 2 and Suffolk 2.
For Cambridgeshire Graham Goodman and John Yuill won 2&1 - being consistent as ever against Bedfordshire. Bringing up the rear Kevin Diss and Neil Hughes won 1up. In this game, Suffolk took an early lead with a birdie at the second and they maintained this lead until the 16th where a big drive from Hughes set up a birdie. A missed putt from Suffolk on the 18th green after Cambridgeshire bogeyed gave them a 1up victory. Gaining a half were Keith Moore and Terry Ryan.
The afternoon provided a big team performance by Cambridgeshire - Keith Moore and Terry Ryan halved their game against Bedfordshire and Mick Heron and Steve Plumb halved with Bedfordshire. Jeremy Baldwin and David Hayns won 2up against Bedfordshire. Graham Goodman and John Yuill won 2up against Suffolk, with Yuill hitting the shot of the day 4 wood to 10 feet on the 18th and sealing the victory. Kevin Diss and Neil Hughes were again in a tight battle in the afternoon. The Cambridgeshire ground out the pars and finally won the important game on the 16th when Hughes played an exquisite bunker shot stone dead to close out the game 3&2. |
So Cambridgeshire won and will meet the winners of three other Southern Counties in the finals in Devon in September.
Thanks must go to Bedfordshire GC for hosting and setting up the course in immaculate condition.
The final result was Cambridgeshire 6.5, Suffolk 5.5, Norfolk 4.5 and Norfolk 3.5.
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Sarah Smith - Ladies British Open Qualifier! I'm very pleased to announce I have been given a place in the Ladies British Open Qualifier 2019. It's being played at Sandy Lodge Golf Club on Monday 15th July (funnily enough my birthday!). I'm very excited to play in this prestigious event and now training hard to hopefully get through to the final qualifying stages and perhaps the real thing too! If you would like to come and support, you are more than welcome to. They'll be plenty of big names playing and it will be a great day out to come and watch some great women compete - you may pick up some advice along the way too! My tee sheet, my tee time is 11:56am.
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Aaron Howard - Northants County Pro-Am
This past Monday I played in the Northamptonshire County Pro-Am with Jonathan Jenkins, Jamie Price and Olly Jones. The course is Open Qualifying standard and is well worth a visit. It was playing hard and fast with some tricky pins. I finished on 4 over and inside the top twenty by birdieing the last hole. Our team collectively finished on 9 under but were 5 shots away from third place.
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| Friday's free swing advice |
Long Backswing Over the last few weeks, you may have seen a few videos on my social media with me practising with resistance bands around my knees! Working alongside Rob, I've been making a couple of swing changes ready for next week’s Ladies British Open Qualifier.
This training aid, links in nicely with this week’s free swing advice...
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When someone swings long on their backswing it starts to become less controlled on the way back down to the ball, swing paths and club faces can change resulting in shots left and right (The long backswing is a common fault that I usually result in if I miss out gym sessions on my legs!)
The long backswing is caused by the right leg straightening during the takeaway, left knee coming forward, therefore, the top half of the body can swing longer as there’s not much resistance. |
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Fixing It
Gym sessions are important to me, strengthening my legs will help with stability throughout the backswing. But also the use of the resistance band keeps my legs quieter as I take the golf club away during the backswing.
As a result of these changes, you will notice a square clubface, leading to a better strike and more control on the way down - straighter shots!
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Short Game & Slope Practice
At Great Chesterford Science Park Par 3 Course
Saturday 17th August, 1:30-2:30pm |
The Get Into Golf afternoons at Chesterford's Par 3 Course is back for 2019! This hour will be a coached short game session ran by PGA Professional Sarah Smith, aimed to improve your chipping and also increased your knowledge on how to play shots on slopes. The practice on slopes is a NEW objective for this group!
After the hour is complete, you will be allowed to continue around the par 3 course, playing as many holes as you wish, on your own! It's a fun afternoon, meeting new people, improving your game and you will be refreshed on the skills of improving your golf game.
ONLY 15 for an hour (Optional free play after the coaching, equipment & balls provided.)
Book now to secure your place, a maximum of 8 in a group:
Email - sarah@smithperformancegolf.co.uk OR Telephone - 01799 522786
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Improve Your Short Game
At Saffron Walden Golf Club Chipping Green
Monday 29th July, 7:00-8:00pm |
This short game session is run by PGA Professional Sarah Smith. It's aimed to improve your chipping and also increase your chances of holing that birdie putt by getting the ball closer to the hole! You will learn what all your wedges are useful for around the edge of the green & also play some more complicated shots
from in the dips!
After the hour is complete, perhaps go test it by playing on the course with the people from the group!
ONLY £10 for an hour! Book now to secure your place, a maximum of 8 in a group: Email - sarah@smithperformancegolf.co.uk OR Telephone - 01799 522786 |
Aaron Howard - Junior Summer Camp 2019 - ONLY 3 SPACES LEFT!
August 14th & 15th (10am - 3pm) A 2 day junior course covering all aspects of the golf swing from start to finish. Whether you are a complete beginner or an experienced junior player come along and improve your game. There are fun practice drills and games combined with structured teaching to help you progress individually while enjoying a group environment.
Lunch is included to break up the informative yet fun experience. If you want to hit it longer, strike it straighter, pitch and chip it close, and have lots of putting success then book your place. Finally an on-course session (subject to availability) practicing all the new skills you have learnt rounds the camp off with prizes at the finish line. |
£65 per person
Please contact Aaron Howard on 07768 686865 or aahgolf@googlemail.com to reserve your booking. There are only 3 spaces remaining so please book now to avoid missing out. |
Playing out of the sand is tricky enough without complicated rules getting in the way. Fortunately, golf’s hierarchy rewrote the rule book (literally) and from January this year we've been able to do a few things in the sand that we never could before. |
So, what are these new-fangled rules and what do you still need to watch out for in order to avoid a penalty? |
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