Hello golfers, 

Welcome to another edition of your pro shop newsletter. In this week's issue we bring you an update on 9th hole bunker progress, shine a light on a member's success, and review the state of play in the Winter Order of Merit as we head into the final event.

Enjoy this week's read.

Not January, but a February SALE

Now January is behind us we can look towards the golfing season which is, hopefully, not too long away. So to help you get ready for the upcoming season, I've put together a February SALE. 

Check out our February SALE offers below:

• Titleist 917 Drivers – Minimum of £60 part exchange for your old driver and FREE FITTING in the swing studio.
• 4 for the price of 3 on Lessons until the end of March
• Swing Studio – 5 x 1 Hour Hires for £50 – The 10 people who took this offer at the start of the winter can have as many hires as they like at these rates but there are another 3 such packages available now, however, they must be used by the end of March 2018.
• Any uncrested FootJoy shirts in stock £15 OFF marked prices
• Selected PING putters £129 reduced to £99
  

9th hole update

Three weeks ago I featured the remodelled or ‘new’ bunker to the right of the 9th. These pictures will give you an idea of how the bunker has taken shape over the winter and how much effort has gone into it. This bunker has also been fitted with the new type of lining as used in the bunker on the practice ground.

Nick and the lads have made another great job.

Junior Open 2018

For the first time in a long time (I don’t know when or if there has ever been one?) we are running a Junior Open this year. The date is Monday 13th August and although this is a completely new event, we are hoping to attract a field of juniors from across the north of England.

The competition is open to juniors with a CONGU handicap and are members of golf club. At the moment we have twelve junior members who would be eligible to play, and we are confident that by then there will be more.

Thank you to the kind member of Reddish Vale who has already offered to supply a trophy and sponsor the first prize.

Upcoming Junior Coaching

This Sunday we continue with Junior Coaching on the practice ground, please see the schedule for the next four sundays below:

Sunday 4th Feb – Practice Ground (Intermediate 1pm -2pm & Beginners 2pm-3pm)
Sunday 11th Feb – Putting Green (Intermediate 1pm -2pm & Beginners 2pm-3pm)
Sunday 18th Feb – Practice Ground (Intermediate 1pm -2pm & Beginners 2pm-3pm)
Sunday 25th Feb – Top 5 – (Intermediate 1pm & Beginners 1.30pm)

Saturday – A,B,C + Another Stableford

1st Team: John Devenney, Chris. Byrne (again) & Vinny Costello – 74 pts (CPO)
2nd Team: Dave Pilling, Jack Schofield & James Blease – 74 pts
3rd Team: Duncan Cheslett, Ken Moodie & Paddy Weadick – 73 pts
4th Team: Paul Bruckshaw, Andy Humphrey & Simon Pearson– 73 pts

Twos = £2.33 each.

Order of Merit

Chris Byrne has been in amazing form over the past few weeks, and I’m glad Chris made it to Saturday’s presentation meeting as he was up for a prize in every comp! Chris was also in the winning team on Saturday and has come steaming through to lead the Winter Order of Merit. I think most of you are familiar with how the Winter OOM works; this is a league system that I introduced and have run for the last three winters. A bit like a Formula One, you accumulate points for finishing in the first six positions, and every week it is updated and the print-off displayed on the competition board.

So, now that we are counting down the weeks to the start of the season, and The OOM is getting interesting.

Click here to view a snapshot of the leading players with Chris Byrne leading the way on 325 points.

The final qualifying event in the OOM is ‘The Pro’s Cross-Country’ on Saturday 31st March – a date to put in your diary. Certainly the most different and hopefully your most fun round of the year and we always manage to devise something different.

Our thinking caps are on.