Saturday was our President's Day. It was a lovely day with great weather, unlike a lot of out other majors this year. We also had some good golf played as well. First of all a special mention to Nick Baglin who shot a great score of nett 70 but just missed out on the prizes. Simon Bolam also shot a nett 70 to come in third place.
Simon also hit the lowest gross of the day of 71, a very impressive score, he is here pictured on the top right with the president collecting his prize.
Matthew Sorrigan also scored nett 70 but managed to come just ahead of Simon on a card play-off. But out in front with a fantastic score of 68 was Garry Titchen. Garry also won Captain's day about a month ago and has now won the Presidents day. In my many years at Prestbury I can't remember this happening before.
A big congratulations to Garry, here he is collecting his prize from the president.
PGA Championship
Just as we have barely got over the spectacular event that was The Open Championships at Royal Troon, just around the corner we have the PGA Championship at Baltusrol Golf Club. Baltusrol Golf Club of Springfield, N.J., the home of many of the most memorable U.S. major championships, has been named the site of the 98th PGA Championship in July 2016, which will be a part of a year-long celebration of The PGA of America's Centennial. Considered one of architect A.W. Tillinghast's finest designs, Baltusrol Golf Club has hosted one or more major championships in all but one decade of the 20th century, which is unmatched by any other U.S. facility. Baltusrol has been the site of seven U.S. Open Championships on three different courses, which is another unique record. Baltusrol's Lower Course, where Phil Mickelson triumphed in the 2005 PGA Championship, is the second New Jersey course to host the Championship, following Seaview Country Club in Atlantic City, where in 1942 Sam Snead earned the first of his three PGA Championships.
This time round I think that our winner will be coming from one of the big guns. As he performed well at The Open, but got unlucky with the weather and that Stenson and Mickleson were in another world with the golf they put on show, I think Rory has a good chance of winning. I picked Stenson for The Open, which I was very pleased about, let's see if I can make it 2 out of 2!
Win a trip to Woodsome Hall
Our ladies recently had an exchange day with Woodsome Hall and we are also having a Captains away day there. Coincidently they have kindly offered us a B&B plus one round of golf for 2 as a prize for a Day Out. This will be done as a raffle to raise money for the Captain and Lady Captain's charities Breast Cancer, East Cheshire Hospice and NW Air Ambulance.
Woodsome Hall Golf Club was founded in 1921 and has a 16th Century Grade 1 listed Club House with a recently added Dormy House with 8 twin bedrooms with en suite facilities.
Tickets on sale in the pro shop for just £5 , draw will be later this year.
Dates for your Diary
I will be receiving all the best putters from Odyssey and wedges from Callaway to have a go with for a week. Now, during that week I want to run 3 different events, all to do with the short game. So one day we will do gapping, another day we will do lofty shots and another putting. All will be free to take part in and will include prizes for any winners of the events, so it's something to look forward to.
Each session will have only 6 people involved so get down to the pro shop to book your slot as soon as possible.
This will take part on 23rd, 24th and 25th August and possibly for the rest of that week. We will be running a putting competition with a chance to win a brand new putter as well that week, so make sure you know when it's happening to give yourself a chance. We want to find out who the best putter in the club is!
Another couple of days we've got booked for you in the Cobra experience on the 5th August and the Callaway demo day on 13th August. We've got the Cobra and Callaway reps coming down with all the latest drivers and irons you should all have a go with. Come into the pro-shop to book a slot!!
Big Grips
This week we were supposed to be starting our tutorials on course management, though bad weather has stalled this. Instead, as we are doing our putting competition soon, we thought we would talk about the benefits of having a bigger grip on your putter.
Thick putter grips have soared in popularity over the past few years thanks to the likes of Phil Mickelson, Sergio Garcia and Jason Dufner all using them to win on tour, but how do they work? Well it's all to do with making your hands less active and getting your shoulders level at address. One of the chief benefits is that your fingers don't wrap all the way round a thick putter grip and so naturally relax more than when using a traditional grip. This means they are far less likely to manipulate the face angle as you make your stroke, leading to better accuracy.
It will help any of you who struggle with putting yips, alignment on short putts or who regularly three putt. We have a great selection of thicker putter grips in shop, mainly from the brands SuperStroke and Winn. Come and have a go with one and see if it improves your putting stroke!
Finally, are you insured?
We have a great golf insurance deal on at the moment. If you buy a piece of golfing equipment (eg. a driver) for £249 or more you can now get half price golf insurance! Visit my website www.nicksummerfield.co.uk for more details.
