Don't push your trolley up the 18th

You can be safe in the knowledge that a trolley bought from your Pro Shop is a good investment. Not only will it will save precious energy and enhance hours of happiness on the golf course, but you can be sure of the following service;

Your new trolley will be unpacked, constructed and the battery charged prior to its first outing. No delivery or transport issues as it will be here at the club waiting for you.

Peace of mind - If you ever have any problems with the trolley while on the course you can ring me and I shall bring you a replacement. You can always bring it back to me for repair. The companies I deal with are all reputable with service agents in this area. If it's a motor, a battery or a charger - within warranty I will get it fixed and you use of my hire trolley Free of charge until yours is back. So you will never be without power or pushing your clubs up the 18th!

On the other hand

The nightmare stories I still hear of golfers who saw what they thought was a bargain online and end up left high and dry when the thing fails. Only last week there was an online company advertising new Motocaddys and taking payments - except they didn't have any trolleys!

Chasing companies yourself, waiting for pieces of trolley from China which don't arrive, just try posting a faulty battery back to an online company! It is not worth the aggravation!

What ball will you be playing in 2015? - Penfold Commando

Christmas day is a mere 20 days away now and here is an opportunity to actually receive something you really want. Rather than keeping quiet and receiving Penfold Commando's or a sponge ball cleaner you need to look pleased with on the day, I recommend you act now and ask for golf stuff or gift vouchers to spend here! Play a Titleist or a Bridgestone instead.

Christmas draw

Someone is going to be very happy this Christmas when they win a £300 Motocaddy trolley! And failing that, you could win one of the other nine excellent prizes. The Christmas draw is filling up faster than ever this year thank you, so to have a go come into the shop and buy your squares.

Practice

Practicing over the winter can really transform you game for the start of next year, with regular lessons and the correct training aids you can practice the right things. I am always happy to show you how to use the products and show you the most effective way to help improve your golf.

The practice area is open, and I am teaching as normal so don't forget to book your lessons when you're next in the shop.

4th hole

Nick has made very promising progress with the 4th hole this week. I am pleased to report that not only has the gradient of the bank been reduced for health and safety purposes and ease of maintenance, but in addition the opportunity is being taken to significantly improve the playability of the hole. We know the 4th hole as being very punishing with the right hand side offering little or no refuge from the OOB so perilously close on the left.

Removal of earth from the bank on the right hand side has significantly opened what was previously a very claustrophobic area which from the tee is obvious.

I have heard the right hand bunker (which was only created about four years ago) be referred to as something of a 'cat scratching pit'. It was too shallow, difficult to maintain as you could tell by the condition of the lip, and encroached into the front of the green reducing its width to a mere eight paces.

Reducing the severity of the bank has allowed a new deeper bunker located further to the right and into the bank. The bunker will look both more imposing and more natural than the previous bunker, and be in the right place. If there were to be no bunker at all, the obvious place to land the ball so you took no risk with OOB and so the ball would land, kick left and roll unobstructed to the centre of the green is pretty much where the new bunker has been positioned.

So if you thought you were going to play a shot anywhere on the new bank and watch it kick down onto the green, you will need to think again and make a decision of how best to avoid a more penal bunker. So while it will be more spacious, the right side of the hole will ask more questions than it did before. There is also a shelf in the bank, so balls hit too high up the bank can lodge there and a new array of short shots will be necessary.

The mouth of the green will be wider by several feet making the hole play a touch easier and fairer in my opinion. The desired line of play for the majority of players has not really moved. Previously this was at the right hand bunker (with a touch of draw (for right handed player) to be exact) but for most in the bunker would do. The same shot will now skirt the lower side of the new deeper bunker, and will finish on the green. Anyway, have a look at it and you will get the idea! Note how the line along the top edge of the new bunker runs on a similar line to the bank behind.

The new bunker is difficult to construct due to a large seam of sand running throughout the bank, but Nick has some soil that he is sure will do the job. At present the work with the big digger and the majority of earth moving is complete. The small digger will be in action next week shaping the finer contours on the bank and in and around the new bunker. The area will then be turfed and will look much better! As you can see some of the spoil will be used to increase the size of the second tee so that hopefully we can play off a grass tee in winter in future.

Saturday's Trio's stableford has resulted in a trio of victories now for Alex Wigley who leads the order of merit. The winning team consisted of Malcolm Wells, Alex Wigley & Richard Howard who won with 72 points. The next presentation is on Saturday 13th December at 5.00 so we look forward to seeing them there. Malcolm had missed the previous two weeks after a painful encounter involving a finger and a jigsaw, but concentration was 100% on the golf course and Malcolm was deadly accurate holing his second shot on the 8th - 2 for five points.

Second were Ali Cairns, Nick Hayward & Gary Inman with 70 points, third Tony Barnes, John Schofield and Gareth Jones with 68 on countback from Steve Bardsley, Simon Mulvey & Andy Hart.

Click here to see the order of merit.

Well done to Scott Millington, Scott is another recent new member who is doing well. Scott scored 41 points to win Sunday's stableford and have his handicap reduced to 18.

Paddy Weadick has successfully defended last week's title and won this week with 39 points, 10 points more than last week. Bill Coll finished second with 37 points.

There were still no two's, therefore a double rollover next week.

Click here to see all voucher winners, values and 2's.