As we all look ahead to playing more competitions, here's a little help for anyone suffering with first tee nerves. Did you know cricketing legend Sir Don Bradman used to practise batting with a golf ball and a cricket stump? He knew that if he made his practice sessions tougher than the game itself, that hitting a cricket ball with a bat would feel relatively easy.
Compare that to the golfer, who typically spends his practice sessions standing on a nice, level lie at one end of the widest fairway in the world! It's hard to miss a practice ground, though I dare say we've all achieved it at some stage. No wonder so many golfers feel twitchy on the first tee when those wide, open spaces are suddenly replaced by sand, water and timber.
It's important to make your practice count. Toughen up your range work and you will become better-prepared for the challenges of the course. There are many effective ways to do this, and we'll be only too happy to explain them to you. Be sure to ask us about them the next time you are in; as well as sharper scoring, you'll feel a lot less jumpy on the course. Click here to contact me about how we can make your practice more effective for your game.
This week I want to concentrate on a couple of areas of the shop as they both compliment each other. The first is the short game area and the second is the golf balls. The short game area has the latest putters by Odyssey, PING, Scotty Cameron and Nike. Plus the new MacDaddy 2 wedges by Callaway, SM5 Vokey wedges by Titleist and the VR x3x groove wedges by Nike.
My inspiration for this area is to help you score better!
Question 1- How many of you are using a putter which is over 5 years old?
No doubt a number of you but in this time ball technology has moved on and know doubt the loft has changed on your putter.
Question 2 - How many of you are using a wedge system?
Probably not many. By using properly lofted wedges ie 45-47, 50-52, 54-56 and 58-60 degrees it is much easier to hit the right shot.
Question 3 - Are you using a wedge that have worn grooves?
If the answer is yes then you are limiting the amount of spin you can create which in turn means that you will have less control around the greens.
If you would like to score better come for a chat about an MOT on your scoring clubs. I use 4 wedges myself and am slightly better at the short game than most members!
Next week ball technology and your game plus I would like some testers as well! Click here if you would like to get involved.
The shop (or is it me) is slowly coming into the 21st century!!! If you want to keep up with what is happening at the club I am using Facebook and Twitter to inform of problems on the course, what is happening at the club and new stock arriving or special offers I am running in the shop. To become a friend of the shop go to Facebook and look for Prestbury Proshop and Twitter is Prestbury Pro Shop @PGCProShop. As an incentive I am going to run a competition for everyone who joins the shop on our social media platform and 1st prize will be a dozen Titleist balls!
Finally this week due to unforeseen circumstances I have had to reschedule my Callaway fitting day. The new date is SUNDAY 11th May between 10am and 2pm. To book your appointment, see me in the shop ASAP.
Hire before you Buy
When you are playing golf it is easier to hit a good shot if you know the distance to the green or how far it is to reach a bunker or stream and with new technology it doesn't have to take any longer. However as there are a number of distance measuring devices on the market I would like to give you the opportunity of trying either a Skycaddie SGX which gives a detailed map of the hole being played or a Nikon Coolshot which you put to your eye to get the distance. I find that it is personal preference as to which you like.
Also if you practice and have an iPhone you could have a go with the Skycaddie Skypro which is an ingenious small piece of kit which pops onto the shaft of any club and allows you see your swing along with data that will help you improve your consistency. All 3 items can be hired for £10 each and this will be taken off the price should you decide to buy one!!
