Hello and welcome to this week's newsletter.

The snow doesn't seem to want to leave us at the minute, but speaking to the green staff this morning they are quietly confident we should be fully open by the weekend. Fingers crossed then for that! They did manage to get 9 holes opened on Wednesday afternoon, and there were some hardy souls who took to the back 9, but the weather God's dumped some more white stuff on us and by Thursday morning we were closed again.

The Open Championship

This week saw the announcement from the R and A that they are to end their live to broadcast viewing for the Open with the BBC and have sold the rights to Sky. I was very surprised and disappointed with the decision as indeed were many tour players such as Lee Westwood who have have publicly criticised the move. This all comes on the back of national publicity that numbers in golf are falling. The PGA, EGU and the R and A are having a big look to see what they need to do to increase participation within the sport and broaden its appeal, so it's beggars belief that in one room in the R and A you can have a team brainstorming with ideas of how we are going to find the next Rory, Lee and Luke, and yet down the corridor some bright spark has just sold the crown jewels to a non-terrestrial broadcaster.

Personally I have fond memories of the Open and it's one of the reasons that I'm a professional now. From 1988 to 1999 I went with my family every year to watch the golf and soak up the atmosphere. I can remember the exact moment when deciding that I was going to drop other sports for golf when following Seve and Vijay Singh on the Saturday at Birkdale in 1991, so it saddens me that from 2 years' time this will no longer be on free to view television. I'm all for progress and I have nothing against Sky, apart from perhaps Robert Lee, in fact I actually believe that they do a better job than the BBC, but it doesn't get away from the fact that it limits the number of people able to watch the championship and therefore risks further lessening the appeal and lowering the participation in the sport. In effect, if people are watching on Sky you are preaching to the converted rather than finding new followers.

On a cheerier note at Saffron Walden we are bucking the trends both within county golf and nationally. This is not by luck but from the hard work the staff and committees of the past few years. First of all we have an ever improving course which is much the envy of the area, without trying to big you up too much, a great members section where there is something for everyone of any ability and newcomers are welcome. We have a forward thinking committee, management team and staff that are trying to promote the sport and club within the area. We have had good incentives to attract new members and in a lot of categories are full or close to. This year will see us branch out further with the start of the Junior Academy. Already we have formed links with a number of schools in town and Cambridge to try and promote the sport and get kids playing.

In the past week we have recieved the brand new 2015 TaylorMade hardware ranges, including the highly rated R15 and AeroBurner drivers, as well as the highly forgiving RSi irons. The new innovations brought into these new products really are driving the golfing industry forward, and a few members have already tried them out and are find huge gains in both distance and accuracy.

Be one of the first at the club to try them out and book your fitting today.

Click here to find out more about the new TaylorMade range.

We have also just recieved the latest putter models from Scotty Cameron which look great as you can see above. Pop in and see us for your putter fitting, as arguably this is the most important club in your bag!

Click here to find out more about our Scotty Cameron range.

Click here to request your fitting.