Hi guys,

Hope you're all having a great week so far. This weather is definitely putting a smile on people's faces (even Andy's!)

I am once again taking over the newsletter to fill you all in on events around and about the golf club. My husband would say it's because I have a big mouth but I say it's because I have more topical information to impart (actually it's because I have a big mouth really!).

So what's been happening away from the club firstly?

Paul took his game to Hadley Wood golf club in Hertfordshire in the week. This wasn't an overall success, but it is nice to see my husband play some golf. There are often so many commitments that actually playing is not always possible. Sometimes it is nice to just get out there and whack a ball and the end result is not important (76, on a par 72).

Within the golf club there have been some good results this week. In the Wednesday medal on 30th April, the winner was Chris Rowe with 66 points, followed closely by Jack Pring on 67. These are really fabulous scores and show what everyone can aspire to achieve.

The Ladies also had a successful Bowmaker on 29th April and it was won by Paula Crabtree, Dorothy Bastable and Liz Hale. In 2nd place were Ali Vyas, Karen Smith and Sue Wilson. Fantastic news ladies, you are all really playing well.

The May Medal saw many red and sunburnt faces, as the weather was amazing on Saturday. We sold such a lot of suncream! The victor of Division 1 was Andy Smith with a nett 69, brilliant round Andy so well done. Division two was won by Andy Hawkins with a nett 65. Our May Medal was also hosting the County qualifying medal, and the winner of this was Ben Butt. Ben will now travel to Minchinhampton to play competitively against May Medal winners of other golf clubs, to win the County Medal. We wish Ben all the luck in the world as he competes for B&C against tough competition. Congratulations Ben.

Finally, Alex Saunders fought her way into the final of the Ladies county championships this weekend. Alex played fantastically well and we are very proud of her. She was sadly defeated by Victoria Wakely-Jones from Minchinhampton, but she should be thrilled with her achievement. Alex is a great golfer and a lovely girl, so well done Alex.

Get Into Golf Day

We are moving ever closer to our Get Into Golf Day on May 29th 10.30-2.30 in Clifton opposite the Mall pub (no reason for being near the pub whatsoever....honest). Please come along and tell your friends, children, grandkids etc. It is not often we get the chance to use a giant inflatable net, SNAG velcro golf set, putting target and golf Xtreme. Many have never tried this, and we are running this event as part of the national Get Into Golf month initiative, so we would be more than happy to see you all. I am hoping we get lots of interest locally, myself and a friend have already been delivering flyers, and Luke and I will be posting leaflets in the village on Friday, so we look forward to seeing familiar faces and new ones. If you have twitter, like we do, please tweet our get into golf day. It's completely FREE to all attendees and will benefit our golf club and academy greatly. The rest of you, could you please all pray for good weather...?!

We have also been teaching Kris about club repairs this weekend. I gave my lovely assistant Andy the job of cutting down some clubs for a customer and demonstrating the art of club modifications to our new assistant. They did well, although Kris did have to put up with us laughing about his goggles! (Health and safety is vital in a workshop full of chemicals and heat guns but they ain't pretty)

European Tour and EuroPro tour results

This week saw a resurgence in the legend that is Mr Chris Wood. I am so excited that he came fifth in the Singapore Championship. Woo Hoo, Woody baby you're back! Actually this is Chris' third top ten of the year, so he has actually been doing fabulously!

Paul Reed also had a good week, but just missed out on his first victory of the year at Montrose Links Golf Club. He narrowly missed a three way playoff by one shot, with a cracking four birdies in the last 6 holes he played. Reedy baby, you're also fabulous!

Paul also had good news from the Burnham Salver on Saturday, where his long time pupil Tom Burley played really well and came second. This competition is a Somerset county event and is recognised by England Golf. Tom plays off +1 at the age of 45 (sorry Tom!) and has previously been the English Mid Amateur Champion in 2012. Paul has worked with Tom for a while and he has a fantastic ethic, and this shows in his very good results. Well done Tom.

This weekend has been very exciting for some of our players and great for B & C! The Ladies County Championships were held at Henbury.

Six members of B&C entered the championship - Karen Price, Karen Rix, Alexander Saunders, Su Worthington, Alison Leatt and Paula Crabtree.All played 36 holes stroke play on Friday to determine the players who would qualify for the match play. 5 qualified from a total of 40 players; Karen Rix, Su, Alex and Paula  went into the flight 1 match play knockout draw, and Karen Price went into the flight 2 match play draw. Paula won the 2nd gross for the over 50's on the Friday.

Karen, Karen, Su and Alex all won on the Saturday morning, so they all went into the afternoon match play. Unfortunately only Alex won in the afternoon.

On the Sunday morning semi finals, Alex beat Becky Gibbs to go into the final on Sunday afternoon after a hard fought game, unfortunately she lost to Victoria Wakeley-Jones who became the 2014 County Champion.

Ebonie Lewis was the winner of the 2nd Flight trophy, Karen Price lost in her semi final to Alex Giles.

Congratulations to all, but particularly to Alex Saunders for getting to the final.

Su Worthington and Karen Rix were in action again on Monday, playing for the club at home against Knowle, in the Alliance Scratch foursomes. They lost on the 17th after a hard fought match. 

Sunday saw the biggest Junior Golf Passport session we have held for a while. Twelve little people joined Luke and I, the big kids, in the sunshine to participate in this week's putting lesson. Luke started with a warm up, so their muscles were ready to take part in physical activity, and he followed this with our super junior course. The children love this and I have to admit, I was impressed by the programme and the delivery of it by Luke. He is like the pied piper of Hamelin with all the little ones following! I am very proud of the way we hold our sessions, and we welcome everyone, so please ask for a list of our dates.

My very special Caren Mitchell Trophy was also fought on Sunday, and the winner was Finnian Smith. Finnian has recently won our Race to the Easter Egg Order of Merit, so he is really achieving some amazing results. He works hard and deserves it. I am thrilled Finnian!

Just a quickie! Our FREE FlightScope custom fit and demo day on 31st May is filling up. Sign up today to guarantee a FREE Flightscope custom fit. We are also running a FREE putter fitting day on 31st May, and both Paul and Luke will be there to help you choose the right putter for you! All these services will be available from 9am, and although the Flightscope fitting will be appointment only, for the putter fitting you can just turn up on the day. Book your Flightscope appointment now on 01275 393031, or click here to get in touch.

Now over to Paul!

Hi all,

A pitch shot is a shot near to the green, when you have to use more of a swing than a chipping action. It requires a perfect strike on the ball to achieve height and control and is possibly one of the most difficult shots to play when approaching the green.

Many people get confused as to what club to use when pitching into the green. My answer would be to use whatever club you feel comfortable with, as most people would give a different answer as to how to play the shot. Use your most lofted club when you need the ball to stop quickly and if you like, why not use a seven or eight iron to run the ball up to the flag. It totally depends on the circumstances, but what is most important is that whatever you decide to do, that you have an exact plan of what you would like to do. This creates a positive image in the mind and allows your body to commit to a shot.

Impact is the most important aspect of any golf swing but how you get there is going to be different from person to person. When you make contact with the ball, the hands need to be slightly ahead of the clubhead so that the ball is compressed into the face of the club and a divot can be achieved with a downward attack into the ball. This is why the ball should be positioned in the centre of the stance or even a fraction back of centre as this allows the hands to be positioned in front of the ball. This setup mimics the impact position and is vital for good contact, controlled flight and consistent distance control.

With a good impact you can then work on varying lengths of backswing which will produce differing lengths of shots. It takes a lot of dedication and practice but I guarantee it will save you bundles and bundles of shots!