Hi everyone,
This week sees me focusing on some awesome talent we have here at Bristol & Clifton. Yes these golfers are really something special. What is remarkable is that they are under 11 years old!
Finn Ellis
One of our Junior members, Finn Ellis, competed recently in the Wee Wonders British Championship at St. Andrews a few weeks ago. Finn has always shown a lot of talent and promise, and he is also a really lovely little boy with the cutest little face. Well he went to St Andrews and he showed them what's what, and he was runner up! What an incredible achievement Finn.
But not satisfied with this fabulous result, Finn then took it to the next level and won, yes Ladies and Gentlemen won, the EZGO Gloucestershire tour for his age group and for ALL the age groups last weekend.
How amazing is this lad? Our Academy are so proud of you little buddy! It goes to show that hard work and determination can do amazing things, and if you are a little lovely as well, it certainly helps!
Harry Kennedy
Paul also coaches a wonderful little guy called Harry Kennedy, whose talent is also a big shiny thing! Harry has won our Race to the Easter Egg competition in previous years, and now regularly sees Paul to hone his skills. He recently teed off the first on a summer afternoon and many, many people commented on how awesome his swing is and how well he drove. He is another lovely little lad, and we wish him many successes in his bright future.
Finnian and Leo Smith
We also have a pair of lovely little Smith's playing here regularly! Finnian and his brother Leo are very keen to play and have worked really hard on their games. Finnian has participated in the League and been a great ambassador for our Junior Section here at Bristol & Clifton. Little Leo comes to our Junior Golf Passport sessions and has made great progress. These are also two well mannered, polite little guys. I am proud of their hard work and very glad they are members of our blossoming junior section.
There are many young people who play here at Bristol & Clifton and they really do us proud. Annabel Pring joined us from Long Ashton, and hopefully she will play for teams as she is very good. We have our Junior Captain James Robinson, we have Elliot Kay and James Dun, Nick Uren, Harry Buchanan and many many more really brilliant young people here. We wish all of these lads and lasses the very best as they represent our academy and club.
Hare Cup Medal
On Saturday the Hare Cup medal was played here at B&C. New member John Tugman shot an awesome nett 66 to run away with the competition. In second place came David Mitchell (OCB). Great golf guys!
The other major coup of the day was
Stuart Palmer's only two of the day! Woo Hoo! Stuart actually won 30 balls for being the only two of the day. How awesome is that?! Well done Mr Palmer.
Singles Summer Knockouts Final
The singles summer knockouts final was contested over 36 holes on Sunday. After a tight match in the morning, it was all square at lunch. However Jeff Pickering won handsomely in the afternoon to take the match from David Mitchell playing off his new handicap of 9. Well done to you both and congrats to Jeff, summer knockout singles champion.
What else has been happening at the academy?
We started our disabled sessions again last Friday and again had a full house. The disabilities ranged from stroke sufferers to severe autism, but once again my boys really excelled themselves. We had been pre warned that four pupils from St Christopher's School may not want to actually participate, and that they could display challenging behaviours. By the end of the session, all of the attendees were enjoying it and all had tried to hit the ball! I am so in admiration for all the carers, they are something else. It is immensely heartwarming to see people with such kindness, patience and care help those who are less fortunate.
The next disabled group will take place on Friday, 26 September, and I am pre warning all you lovely keen practisers that we will be using the range for that session at 10am. I thank you all for your support and understanding.
Now on to the promised article from Luke Fraser, who incidentally has now been informed that he has passed his final assignment and is ready to qualify and put traineeship behind him! Congrats Luke, no more exams or assignments for you!
5 Secrets on how to play a green side bunker shot
In the last few months I have been doing quite a few bunker lessons and I thought I would share with you five secrets that will help improve your bunker shots.
Before I start, a bunker shot (also known as a splash shot), is the only shot in Golf where the club and ball should not make contact with each other. To do this, we have to make some adjustments at address.
1. Open the club face to your target and then take your grip, just like picture 1. By doing this, it does mean that the leading edge of the club is pointing right of the target and that the ball will spin right as well. However, the main purpose of this is that it increases the loft of the club which will help increase the height of the shot and make it easier to clear the lip of the bunker.
2. Aim your body to the left of your target, just like in picture 2. This is to counteract the ball spinning to the right and will give you a better chance of getting the ball to finish on your intended target.
3. In picture 3 you can see that the ball is towards my left foot. This will help you hit the sand first instead of the ball and make it easier to get more height.
4. Again in picture 3 you may notice that I have moved my weight into my left side. This will encourage a descending blow, therefore making you hit the sand before the ball and as mentioned earlier, will help get more height.
5. Swing along the line of your feet. Like point number two, this is to counteract the ball spinning to the right and will help the ball finish on your intended target.
I hope this will be helpful for you and if you have any questions or want me to have a look please come and ask me in the shop.
Luke
Just one more week until fashion show ladies! Please sign up before the list comes down. All welcome, it's FREE to come along and you can also have dinner for just £8 if you sign up on the separate list. You will get a FREE drink, golf ball, catalogue and discount voucher if you come along on the night, so it's well worth attending for your goodies. Men can also attend you know! Bring your man, or someone else's man if you like, we're not fussy!
So I wish you all a super dooper week and I will see you all next week!
Caren, Paul, Luke, Andy and Kris