Last weekend saw Miguel Jimenez emerging victorious at the Spanish Open strengthening his cause for the Ryder Cup team. He became the first man over the age of 50 to win on the European Tour with victory in a three-man play-off.

The 50-year-old Spaniard finished tied on four under par with Richard Green and Thomas Pieters. Par on the first extra hole, the 18th, was enough to give him the title. Moving on we have Wentworth this week where our own Jamie Donaldson has been drawn with massive names Rory Mcllroy and Ernie Els. Fingers crossed that playing with these players can spur him on for a big win. Luke Donald has experienced success at Wentworth a couple times before so may be confident of a third title.

Other favourites include Rory himself though he has had a hard week so may be distracted which could hinder his chances of success. Martin Kaymer has also been playing some wonderful golf recently so maybe this could be his tournament. However the competition in recent years has mainly been won by English players, with Justin Rose and Lee Westwood playing so well at the moment, they have to be the favourites.

The Saturday comp was a PGA qualifier in which we had 107 entries and coming on top of the pile with a terrific score of 62 was Eamonn McGrath. Eamonn and myself will now represent the club in a regional qualifier at Dunham Forest and with a bit of luck if we win that then he will represent at the grand final in Glen Eagles in September! Hopefully his new handicap won't hinder his chances too much!

In 2nd place with the lowest gross score was Neil Shepard with a 74 gross giving him a 67 nett. In 3rd was Andrew Holt, 68, and tied for 4th was our Captain and Graham Keys, 69.

On last Tuesday, 13th May, we had a ladies Stableford. 60 players played in the 18 hole comp and 3 in the 9 hole.

Division 1 winner and overall runner-up was Debbie Barber with an impressive 38 points, Alex Forbes came 2nd in division 1 with 33 points. The over-all winner and winner of division 1 with a very respectable 39 points was Helen Bolam, Pamela Johnson came 2nd in division 2 with 37 points.

Well done to all our winners in this competitive field.

On Saturday 17th we had another ladies Stableford with slightly less players than the Tuesday comp. only 8 players took part but this did not stop the good scores coming in.

The competition was won by Wendy Mosley on a card play-off against Margaret Simons, both players scoring 38 points. On this Tuesday, 20th May we had another ladies comp. It was the ladies invitational day with ladies from 20 different clubs taking park, though the victors making us proud were our own Jane Campaigne and Celia Stanley with a very good 48 points. The Runners up with 45 points were Lady Captain and Rosemary Mason and in 3rd with 44 were Jill Morris and Penny Clark.

This week in the shop the main focus is on putters. It is important to understand what happens when a ball is putted. This helps in the putter fitting process and ultimately to help golfers putt better.

First of all every putt skids before it begins pure roll regardless of what advertising says as the video shows.

When you analyse what happens to a ball after it is putted, you would come to the conclusion that a minimum percentage of skid and maximum percentage of roll would be the best situation to control direction and especially distance. This is only true if the ball is putted correctly, so therefore you need the correct putter for you. The main focus this week is on Odyssey putters.

Odyssey is considered one of the leading putter companies in the world and was among the first to introduce mallet-style putters, which helped revolutionize putting. Odyssey makes traditional blade putters, mallet-style putters and hybrids, most with their patented "White Hot" technology, which makes the putters more responsive as there is more give in the clubface and putts come off the putters straight and true. The company offers a range of lengths in its putter shafts, including several belly-putter styles. Prices range from below £50 up to nearly £250.

Just a quick update on Bel Wardle one of our rising stars. Over the past few weeks Bel has won the Northern Ladies 4'somes Championship at Ringway with partner Emily McBurney of Royal Liverpool. The pair are believed to be the youngest winners of the title. Bel then played in the Cheshire Ladies County Championship at Wilmslow and on the way to the final Bel beat our own Gill Mellor, +3 Styal player Charlotte Latham and current County Junior Champion Poppty Finlay of Vicars Cross. Unfortunately Bel couldn't beat current reigning Champion Emma Goddard of Royal Liverpool. However with all this good play her handicap has come down from 4.7 to 3.0 with all of the summer to go

A couple of date for your diary:
5th June 12-5pm a Wilson Fitting Day
27th June 12-4pm a Lynx Fitting Day
Both days are a great way to try the full range of equipment with a technician who knows the clubs inside out. I will also be on hand throughout the day to help but I would advise you to book an appointment by coming into the shop or click here to book a slot.

Finally this week it is with regret that I announce the death of Dr Jimmy Gardner at the age of 90 years. He joined the club in 1974 and was greens chairman when Anthony was appointed as Head Greenkeeper.