Hi everyone,
I am writing this on a most beautiful start to the weekend, sun and blue skies, come on spring.
Poor Weather
This week saw lots and lots of depressing fog and unfortunately the ladies' competition last Tuesday was cancelled due to the pea soup. It has certainly improved a little since then, so next week's March stableford should be a cracker if the weather holds for us! I will report on all results next week.
What's on the way?
- Saturday, 4 March - March stableford and ladies' stableford - book online.
- Sunday, 12, March - Mills Wilkie shield (junior competition) - normals start.
- Tuesday, 14 March - Ladies' Captain's charity flag - book online.
So, let's move on to the pro shop latest!
Experio Life
This week has seen another shift of activity here in the shop. Despite the poor weather we have kept ourselves busy and this year we are continuing our work with Experio Life, providing coaching to overseas students who come to Clifton College for the summer. We have already signed up four foreign students, thanks to awesome member Tony Evans who runs the company. This gives us a chance to work with some very talented youth golfers from other countries. Last year we coached a Japanese student, alongside a young girl county player from the Ukraine, and in previous years we have coached students from Germany and France.
It is a pleasure to introduce them to golf in the UK and help them with their golfing journeys and all of my staff will be given the chance to teach the students this year, which is a great opportunity for all. Thank you to Tony for selecting us as his coaching team of choice, we are honoured to help.
Please click here to see the Experio life brochure.
Fosseway Special School
Andy had another extremely successful session this Tuesday at Fosseway special school in Radstock, and there are sadly only two more of these sessions before our six week stint there comes to an end. Luckily we have now committed to four sessions at Hotwells Primary School to follow, as well as Andy's next session at New Siblands special school in Thornbury on 16th March to keep us going along. I have also heard back from Kingsweston who are keen to continue the three years work we have been doing with them.
Never a moment to sit back and relax but you only live once so live it well. Four sessions booked for them to the club in May and June, which is great for them and makes us even more busy which is great! Whilst I am on maternity leave (that's the afternoon off!, only kidding. In reality it will be six weeks off) we will be slowing a little (ha ha that'll be the day) with only the three festivals in May and June! Anyway I will be back in June as usual so you can't get rid of me that easily.
Andy has his next session with his county academy squad on 12th March, so you can read all about it in the week following.
Gloucester Under 18's Squad
This week I once again put the Gloucester under 18 squad through their paces with a fitness session on Sunday morning. Two weeks ago the lads were screened to see how well their bodies moved and how this might help or hinder their swing. Some of the results were impressive but there were also some alarming limitations. These came mainly in the form of poor postural habits which then have a huge negative effect on how your body is able to move. We're all guilty of it but the main contributor to these poor habits is everyday sitting, leaning or hunched over our computer, phone or tablet. If we do this everyday it soon becomes habit and we all know how hard it is to break a habit.
After having their eyes opened, the lads really got on with the session on Sunday. We did some correctional exercises that look very simple but are far from easy to perform, along with some strengthening exercises. The great thing about working with a squad is it can get quite competitive and you could see some of the lads pushing themselves a bit more, so as not to get left behind or keep ahead of another in the group. In a nutshell that's pretty much what we're doing. Strength and conditioning is just another facet of their game that they can work on in order to have the edge over their competition or keep up with the competition. The most obvious example being Tiger Woods. He revolutionized the way top golfers approach their strength and conditioning, and now just about every top player playing on tour has a trainer or uses the gym as part of their everyday practice and tournament schedule.
I'll be back with Paul and his squad in a few weeks where we'll be working on more of the same and start to look at hydration and nutrition, another small thing that could give them an advantage of their rivals. Often making an improvement in your game can come from many small changes over time instead of making big changes immediately.
B&C Pro Am
We are also starting to consider our Pro Am teams, not only for the fabulous B&C Pro am in July but also for the other Pro Ams in the summer. If you are interested in being part of a Pro Am team, or looking for a Pro to head your team, the lads are always looking for players. Come and have a chat with us.
On that note, have a great week!
Caren, Paul, Andy & Nick