Welcome to the new edition of the Reddish Vale weekly newsletter. We hope you're having a fine week both on and off the course.

Enjoy the read.

Golf course

Thankfully, the rain has stopped for now and the course is recovering quickly. We have had only one temporary green for most of this week, that being the 18th. We have had visitors from Sale and Withington who couldn’t believe how good the course is.

Phil ‘Porkster’ Houghton

A week ago, I would never have thought I would be writing such sad and unexpected news like the passing of Phil ‘The Porkster’ Houghton. This has come as a real shock. Several people have rung and asked me to confirm this news because they just couldn’t believe it.

Phil was a life member and had been a member here for 41 years since he was 11-years-old. He was always good company, he was a good player and I will remember many of the things Phil said.

Our thoughts are with Phil’s family at this time.

Gapping session - what is it?

If you would like to learn exactly how far you hit each club in the bag you can. Book a gapping session - it takes about 45 minutes and will cost you £25.

Bring all your clubs and we will go to the swing studio. We start with the shortest and work through the set to the longest clubs. You only need to hit a couple of decent shots with each club to gain an average length of the shot.

This will also show up if there are any gaps in your set or if you are carrying multiple clubs doing the same job. I will make you a laminated gapping card with all your distances recorded on it for you to keep.

Grip size

Correct grip size is crucial for holding the club correctly and being relaxed. If you have small hands or short fingers, you may well benefit from narrower grips such as undersize ones.

If you have larger hands, you may need midsize and we can create any width of grip in between by applying extra layers of tape.

New stock

Vokey SM8 wedges in now - £129 - cheaper than any I can see online!

FootJoy shoes - new Pro | SL’s are now in.

Skechers shoes - new range looks great in now.

Cleveland drivers, fairways and putters in now.

Srixon balls are back!

Who won what?

Saturday’s competition did not even start due to flooding.

We did manage to run a Pro’s Stableford on both Sunday and Wednesday.

There were victories for Alastair Nadin and Les Oates this week and you can see all prize winners and voucher values by clicking below.

Pro Shop Stableford - Sunday, 1 March 2020

Pro Shop Stableford - Wednesday, 4 March 2020