Rob McNicholas

Hello Golfers,

Welcome to this week's newsletter. As you will see it's been a busy week for the pro shop staff, some in this country whilst others have been abroad. Yesterday Tony Brown and I ventured up to Nottingham to play in the SkyCaddie Captain/Pro Challenge hosted by Coxmoor Golf Club. It's a lovely traditional golf course, just outside of Nottingham that has hosted Open Qualifiers and big amateur tournaments. The course has changed since I last played it close to ten years ago, they've undergone a project of removing a lot of trees, taking it back to how it used to look. This follows on from other courses like Woodhall Spa doing the same. They have also replaced the clubhouse from a flat one-story building which was looking dated to a new three-story modern building which manages to fit well into the local backdrop.

We turned up to see the course presented in great condition, the greens arguably the best I've played on this year running close to 12 on the stimp. By the time we teed off the wind had picked up making the conditions tricky to say the least. We got off to a steady start paring the first couple before we both birdied the third. For the next seven holes we failed to make the most of the opportunities with a few missed putts from Tony and a few missed fairways from me making life harder than it needed to be. The back nine fizzled out a bit as we gave a couple back and picked up a couple to finish on one under, not bad in those conditions round a difficult golf course but nowhere near the winners , Notts Golf Club, who were the first on the course and posted an impressive 10 under to lead from start to finish. Thanks to Tony for a nice couple of days and to our playing partners from Celtic Manor who were good company on the course yesterday.

Club news

Match Reports for Semi-final and Final of the St Ives Cup

On Saturday afternoon the junior team had to play Newmarket in the semi-final of the St. Ives Cup at home. Newmarket were the favourites, their A team not having lost in a number of years. Josh Izod and Will McKernan went out first against their strongest pairing, of Teddy Hall and Tyler Weaver, 2 and 3 handicaps. After the first nine holes our boys were one up, but unfortunately gave way at the end. Leo Bonser and Alex Sparrow had a tough match and pulled out a win on the 18th hole. The last pairing of James Hamilton and Matthew Nichols won their match convincingly, so we were in the finals!

We had to play the final the next day at St. Ives against Gog Magog. When we arrived the Gogs team were a bit shocked to see us, they thought that they would be up against Newmarket...

Josh, changed the pairings around for this match and sent Alex Sparrow and Will McKernan out first, they both struggled against a strong Gogs pairing and lost on the 13th. The second pairing of Leo Bonser and James Hamilton (who have previously played well together in other matches) our boys never went down and overpowered the Gogs pairing on the 15th. This left it up to the last pair to get the win. Josh Izod and Matthew Nichols went out last and like the middle pair never went down and proved too strong for the Gogs pair and won on the 17th.

William Bede Carter 100th Anniversary Tournament

Tuesday saw the club hold the William Bede Carter competition to celebrate the founding of the club exactly 100 years ago. The day was started by the honours drive-in with hickory clubs by Ken Wood and Greta Collins. The hickory theme continued with nearest the pins on five and eighteen and many turned out in splendid clothes of yesteryear. The winners were Tony Brown and Linda Latchford. Well done to everyone for the efforts on the day, here's to the next one hundred years!

Mary Cole Rose Bowl

Sixteen golf clubs took part in the Mary Cole Rose Bowl competition on Monday 2nd September at Royston Golf Club.

The Rose Bowl was given to Cambs & Hunts Ladies County Golf Association in 1959 in memory of Mary Cole and is an 18-hole team, stroke-play competition off handicap, the team consists of three players with all nett scores to count. I am pleased to report that the ladies representing Saffron Walden, Justine Voss, Alex Sparrow and Lynda Minton came fourth. However, home course advantage won the day with Royston taking first place and one of their players, Sandra Williams winning the best individual prize with a nett score of 74.

Results are as follows:

1st Royston: 231
2nd Ely City:234
3rd The Links, Newmarket: 235
4th Saffron Walden: 237

Pro's news

Sarah's trip to Las Colinas Country Club...

Sunday-Wednesday this week I had a quick few days off normal work to jet off to Las Colinas in Spain with my prize draw winners, Debs Bowler, Charlotte Pienaar and Sara Walsh. With the resort only 40 minutes from Alicante, it wasn’t too far from the airport, greeted by warm sunshine, this always tops off a break in September!

The whole experience was something special, greeted by friendly staff, a great golf course, amazing accommodation and good food, it's definitely a trip to remember. Whilst there, we were lucky enough to have been invited to play in the Cupa Las Colinas which 40 participants took part from countries all over Europe. It was great to meet fellow competitors, myself and Sara being teamed up with two guys from Gurnsey and Charlotte and Debs with two guys from Centurion Golf Club. We played best two scores from four in our teams over two days alongside being spoilt with a fantastic range and on course BBQ half-way round. Tuesday evening we took a ten minute coach ride to the resorts private beach club where our evening Spanish tapas was cooked for us during the sunset over the sea.

We stayed in a villa accommodation where we had 1 for the 4 of us but on site there are apartments too for a smaller group or couple. The golf course was in superb condition, such green fairways and quick greens with hand measured the amount of sand in each bunker - definitely some hard work behind that with the amount there was! The weather was around 28’c-32’c each day so buggies were a godsend, the course is quite undulating but is walkable, watch out for the few longer walks between greens and tees.

To top the whole break off, I’m so proud of Debs and Charlotte, coupled up with two from Centurion for winning the competition by one shot against second place! Here’s what they have to say:

‘We couldn't believe that we had won such an amazing trip with Sarah. Las Colinas has a great course, lovely villas, super friendly staff and the food was amazing. Nothing was too much trouble. The icing on the cake was winning the golf with Deb and two new friends from Centurion Golf Club. Could a trip get any better?’ - Charlotte Pienaar.

‘What a wonderful opportunity we had to go to Las Colinas with Sarah. Everything about our few days there was just perfect - such generous hospitality, a fabulous golf course, super accommodation - and to crown it all - Charlotte and I won the competition (with two great team members from The Centurian Golf Club). What a treat!’ - Debs Bowler.

Overall I loved every minute of this resort, it was never to much trouble to ask a question, the staff were excellent and the hospitality was special too. Moving forward we are hoping to make an agreement with Las Colinas on breaks/holidays to the resort, if you would be interested in visiting - please contact me or the pro shop.

Academy news

Aaron Howard - Saturday Junior Development Groups

Thanks to everyone who has got in contact regarding the group coaching blocks starting this week. They are now fully booked.

Please don’t delay in registering for the next ones starting on Saturday 2nd November. The 11am and 12pm classes are both available. There are only 10 spaces available in each class. Please contact me here to book a junior place and to discuss which class is suitable.

In the meantime, I also run the weekly 10:00am Saturday rollup class for all juniors. Please contact me if you would like to guarantee a place in the roll-up.

Email - aahgolf@googlemail.com.
Call - 07768686865.

Fitting centre news

Titleist Fitting Day

We are delighted to announce that we will be hosting a Titleist Fitting Day on Friday 11th October. The day will run between 11am - 4pm.

A representative from Titleist will be on hand to take you through the very latest Titleist equipment. There will be drivers, fairways, hybrids, irons and wedges in both men's and ladies.

If you are interested in seeing how the latest equipment can benefit your game, then book yourself a slot for the day.

Click here to book your slot.

Mizuno’s new irons have landed

Sit back and hold on tight as we guide you through the latest family of irons that are sure to set the standard for the remainder of 2019. Introducing Mizuno's MP-20 range...

MP-20 HMB

It stands for Hot Metal Blade and is a club that has traditionally been used as a long-iron replacement. However, you can now get a full set of performance hybrid irons that look fantastic at address and are incredibly easy to hit.

MP-20 MMC

This second generation multi-material concept (MMC) iron boasts a 12g tungsten weight in the 7 to 4 irons, as well as a thinner topline and improved feel, for better forgiveness where you need it the most.

MP-20 MB

One look at this muscle back and it's easy to see why people fall in love with Mizuno irons, but it's the copper plating behind the face that makes the MP-20 MB a real winner in the feel and workability departments.

explore Mizuno's range >

Just landed: autumn/winter clothing

Golf at this time of year can be hard work if you're not prepared for the elements, so cast an eye over these great new options from Galvin Green that are now available in-store. If any tickle your fancy, click on the image to learn more or come in-store to try one on for size.

Miguel Polo

This polo is all about the stripes and it looks simply resplendent because of it. If you're after something bold, we couldn't recommend anything else.

Dwight Pullover

Insula fabric comes to the fore with excellent thermal insulation in this soft and stretchy garment. We also love it's disguised chest pocket, perfect for your scorecard.

Marty Tour Polo

The Marty Tour polo will certainly bring out your brighter side thanks to this striking colour and smart detailing. As far as classic polos go, this is right up there.

shop Galvin Green clothing >

Video of the Week

We are often left amazed at some of the shots that the world's best golfers manage to pull off, but sometimes the stars aren't aligned and things can go wrong. Enjoy this week's video as we take a look back at some of the unluckiest shots ever seen on the European Tour.

I hope you have enjoyed this week's update.
We hope to see you soon
Rob

Saffron Walden Golf Club
Windmill Hill
Saffron Walden
CB10 1BX

Phone: 01799 527728

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