Hi all,

Caren's back to take over the newsletter once again this week!

We had a fabulous response to our Get Into Golf Day on May 29th in Clifton Village. The weather was variable and it could've been drier, but we still attracted lots of people to come and see what we do. I am so proud of my team, including our junior captain and honorary member of the pro shoppers James Robinson. I am also indebted to Debbie Casling, Gloucester County Development Officer, for her help and her equipment. We all worked hard to ensure everyone had a nice time and we did what we set out to do by encouraging people to try it for themselves. We taught everyone from a beautiful little 18 month old girl called Ishan to a bus load of people from Newcastle! It was also fab to see our Captain Azim, Vice Captain Geoff Clements and B&C members Tim Richmond & Jane Davidson. Thanks to everyone for your support. We will be doing this all over again in August, so please do keep an eye out for our adverts.

Click here to view all of the photos and videos from the day. 

We have been looking at beginner golf and groups to attract people to come together and support each other whilst learning how to play. We are running four special ladies only beginner groups taught by Paul, FREE to all participants, during June and July and they start on Friday 6th June.

We are also running mixed beginner groups during the summer taught by Paul and Andy, £5 per person per session. These are both bookable by calling us on 01275 393031. More details and dates are available from the pro shop.

If you are a beginner or looking for refresher coaching, or even a new member who wants to join a group and have some lessons with other likeminded people, please do come along. We have leaflets detailing the schedule for the summer, so please ask us in the shop.

As most of you know, I am passionate about charity fundraising and helping special needs charities. This is largely due to my own personal situation, and as Cam grows up it enables me to spend more time helping others as well. I have always been aware of the lack of sport activities available for disabled people and I myself have struggled to find things suitable for Cam to participate in. Due to the lack of supply meeting the demands of the inclusion, I decided that it was about time I put our Academy out there to help disabled and special needs children and adults find something they are good at.

I have been inspired reading the story of a blind golfer who follows our Academy on twitter. The man's name is Colin Chandler, he has lots of videos on youtube and he is playing golf blind due to choroideremia. I find the courage and determination of this man really incredible. Because of the obvious pleasure he gets from playing golf, it made me think that I too can provide that for another person who is in need. I also know how much my own lad loves to be out in the open air, and he gets such great feedback from hitting the ball. This is helpful for his body, his fitness, his sensory processing and his self-esteem.

I subsequently set up four FREE coaching sessions solely for special needs and disabled people, to be held this July in the driving range at Bristol & Clifton. Within a week we have managed to fill 40 spaces and all the groups are full, and we have organised even more sessions for September. It made me a bit tearful to think that we can help that many people, and I am so lucky to be in a position where I have been granted funding to further develop our provision for disability.

I have also been in talks with North Somerset Council's Sportivate team, to provide workshops for disabled children in the county. I am honoured to be proudly supporting inclusion at our academy and golf club. Wouldn't it be awesome to see some disabled people playing golf with us? I can't wait to do it, and I thank all of you for your support of our academy. I wouldn't be able to do what I do if it weren't for you all, so big kisses all round!

We also ran a successful academy demo day on Saturday, with Andy custom fitting using FlightScope and both Paul and Luke doing putter fittings. Our fabulous reps from Titleist, TaylorMade and PING dropped off their own demo packs so we had all the latest equipment to supplement our own extensive demo stock. I hope everyone who attended have a fab experience and we look forward to running another later in the summer.

So what's next for the Paul Mitchell Golf Academy? We (meaning I!) have taken on the slightly bonkers task of running a Tri golf festival for 16 schools here at Bristol and Clifton on 10th June (weather permitting). The festival attracts schools who are already playing Tri Golf as part of their sports curriculum, and they compete to be able to come to B&C and take part in the festival. I am a little terrified by the volume of schools coming but I am resolute that this will be the best festival they ever had! I am lucky enough to have secured the help of the Golf Roots South West Development Officer so I am sure all will be fine. If not, there's always the Priory. Or Rioja.

Kris spent two days away last week doing his PGA admission review programme at the Belfry. He has already passed his level one coaching exam and is ready to start training as a PGA assistant in September. He is a lovely guy and I have a soft spot for him as he works so hard, so he is a welcome addition to the team. I will be working closely with him to get him ready to start coaching in the autumn.

Andy passed his level two coaching exam last week too, so he is well on the way to starting year three after the summer. It is always a reflective and sad time when the boys near the end of their courses. This of course affects Luke first, as he finishes his course this year. I wish I could keep all my "babies" but I know they will fly the nest eventually!

The boys this week have also been coaching Tri Golf in Butcombe pre prep school, part of Clifton College. Twelve little lovelies attended and learned how to hit foam balls with giant plastic clubs! Awww so sweet to see!

It's been a manic week and will continue to be so next week, so whilst I collapse of exhaustion in the corner, here's the week's results round up!

The Reid Quaich (or Red Quiche according to the academy staff…philistines!) on Sunday 25th was won by Matt Windo.

Bank Holiday Monday, 26th May was the Founders Day Trophy, won by Mark Walker and David Whitaker.

Tuesday 27th May saw the Ladies' Stableford, won by Janno English with 37 points, closely followed by Liz Hale with 35 points (OCB).

Great results this week so well done everyone. It is nice to hear that the 9 hole roll ups with curry supper continue to flourish, well done Azim. Please do come along and enjoy meeting new members.