My favourite major is still The Open, but I must admit only just. The Masters is so special, Augusta so sacred and with its timing right at the start of the golf season it is a very close second. If watching the Masters and some sunshine doesn't motivate you to get out and play I don't know what will! Jordan Spieth has made a fantastic start and I can't wait to watch the remaining three days action.

If you didn't see Jack Nicklaus' hole-in-one in the par 3 competition click here to view what is well worth looking at. At 75 years old, Jack has achieved most things in an illustrious career, although this is his first hole-in-one at Augusta.

Thank you to everyone who entered into the draw to win the two limited edition Masters prints. We barely blinked and it was full so thank you. The draw will take place on Sunday so I will announce the lucky winners next week.

Thank you to all the people who have booked in and taken advantage of a FREE 10 minute introduction to my new Swing Room. It is absolutely fantastic and I am truly delighted with it. In truth, 10 minutes is barely enough to even scratch the surface of what this amazing piece of technology can do, but please book in your free 10 minute introduction so I can show you what it is and how it works.

Club Fittings

I have also conducted numerous lessons in there as you would expect, and already fitted three players for new sets of irons this week. Each of the three players fitted for new irons had either not been fitted, or had been badly fitted for their previous set and the GC2 launch monitor really showed it. Remember, I am not a salesman on a commission based salary who wants to steer you into what clubs have the highest profit margin.

I will give you unbiased professional help and advice to ensure you receive the best clubs for you!

If you still don't believe me you can see all the performance data for yourself! I find lots of players come with a preconceived idea of what clubs they like and what they think will help to improve their game, but the GC2 will always show which clubs are better for you and it isn't always the one you thought.

The GC2 measures the ball flight, shows how far the ball carried and how far it finished, it shows the distribution. All are key factors in finding the perfect club for you. Don't settle for second best, get equipment that will push your game to the best it can be. We also have the full PING Fitting Cart to enable you to get the perfect combination of shaft and head.

    

Book in now to get your clubs custom made for you.

Nick and his team have completed a massive task this winter with their improvements to the fourth hole. The design itself has vastly improved the playability of the hole as there is now a wider mouth to the green and a bail-out area on the right which can also be more easily maintained. If you wish to take on the flag you will still need to play along the line of the green and flirt with the out-of-bounds left.

Hopefully the hole will play more like the stroke 17 it is, and I will do a report later this year to see if this is the case rather than being the 11th most difficult hole as it has played over the last five years. The bunker looks excellent, especially from the tee and I hope that Dr Alistair MacKenzie would agree. The 4th is officially open tomorrow for the April Trial Medal, the first 18 holes of the year. Well done to Nick and his men on this fine job.

Sat 4 Apr - Saturday was our first Individual Stableford of the year. One of our many new members, Nick Carroll, won his first individual competition on his first event, finishing with 36 points pipping both Phil Harrison and another new member Keith Pownall on a countback.

Easter Weekend - We had a gorgeous Easter weekend and it brought 120+ out to play in the Pro's Running Stableford. The course was busy which was great to see, well done to all the winners at the weekend. Click here to see the comp results.

Ryan Jackson starts the season off to a flier; Ryan (pictured here) shot a gross 65-2=63 to win Division One. Division Two was won by Ian Doyle with a 75-11=64 to beat Tony Barnes on a card play-off. This is rumoured to be the one and only card play-off Tony has ever lost! Recent new member Sam Phillips won Division Three with 84-21=63.

The Wednesday Section has three prizes for the winner of each division; the winners will receive £30 on their account in the shop, instantly.

We can't seem to ever get a home draw in the Dunham Trophy which is such a disadvantage. Again we were drawn away this year, this time at Sale in the first round. I went for a practice round with Swifty on Good Friday and it was so wet it was difficult to actually get around the course! Thank you to the excellent members of the team that played on Sunday and put up a valiant effort with many close matches, and thanks also to the other members who turned up in support. The team was myself, Dean Martin, Ryan Swift, Gary Hill, Vaughan Stott, Ivan Kennedy and Keith Seaton. Unfortunately we lost 6-1 with only Vaughan Stott winning his match.

Personally, it is frustrating not playing enough golf these days and I always seem to be playing an assistant who plays far more than me! I just need an eighth day in the week to play golf. Anyway, this year I played a lad who plays on the Tartan Tour, although after five holes and him 3 under par I thought they had brought in someone from the US Masters. I got a couple of holes back but not enough.