On The Course...

Let's start with the ladies again this week and I'm not sure if somethings gone in the white wine, but the scores of late have rocketed up and this week was no exception! This week's competition was The Holliday Cup Stableford and the winner a massive seven points out in front with 44 was Dena Shah. Four ladies sat behind her on a very commendable 37 points, Margret Laverty, Eunice smith, Kay Briggs and Jean Roberts, but a great round from Dena to earn her a three shot handicap reduction.

For the men this week on Easter Sunday was the three man team event, The Florida Scramble. This is a supposedly faster version of Texas Scramble and this week's speed demons were the team of Malcolm Field, Rob Jones and John Cresswell with a cracking score of 58.2. Apologies as no photo this week, but I'll grab the three of them next week for a snap as everyone should have their 15 minutes of fame!

 

Course Update

Craig, our new Head Greenkeeper, has just been and informed me that he is to carry out some essential course maintenance next week. He will be scarifying the greens on Sunday afternoon, readying them for over-seeding and a light top-dressing on Monday. This process is to maintain the quality surfaces we come to expect at Epsom and creates a far truer roll and therefore will create more pace in the greens which is one of our goals this year.

 

Derby Day Event - Saturday, 3 June

This has traditionally been a fantastic day out, our own Derby Day held at Epsom Golf Club in the comfy and relaxing surroundings of our own clubhouse, overlooking our wonderful golf course. Order of the day from 12.00pm is as follows:

• Bubbly on arrival.
• Lovely buffet.
• Lunch.
• Races.
• Raffle.
• Afternoon tea.

All of this for an amazing £35. Look out for the sign-up sheets and enjoy a fab day of 'fillies, fun and frolics'.

New Date For The Captain's Summer Ball - Saturday, 17 June

Enjoy a splendid evening with our Captains who will greet you with bubbly on the lawn by our 18th green, followed by a three course meal and a little boogie on the dance floor. This will be a great event so keep an eye on the entertainments board for further details.

Coaching Corner

A couple of you have taken me up on learning Sergio Garcia's now very famous 'Claw' putting style and if you are still interested please call the shop to book a session. However in the meantime, if you'd like to have a go by yourselves then below I've listed some instructions for you to follow. Please email me here to let me know how you got on with it and if you're a convert?

• The left hand (for a right handed putter) grips the handle in its lifeline producing a mirror image with the clubface.
• The left hand is often the leader of a putting stroke, keeping this solid can produce an excellent face-to-path relationship.
• The right hand (claw) becomes a guide, literally guiding the left hand into position during the stroke. 
• On fast greens and from short distances, this grip becomes solid, alleviating any movements of the hands during the stroke.
• This lack of movement can stop a sudden acceleration of the right hand, often seen as almost a twitch (can feel like a yip).

It creates a very solid rocking motion during the stroke, taking out wrist movement and creating a leader in the left hand. However, it can lead to a loss of feel on the longer putts, finding it hard to gauge distance from 30 feet and out. This is generally because the right hand is the feeler of the stroke, something which Tiger Woods advocates with his one handed putting drills before he plays.

Next time you're on the putting green, give it a go from close range, see how it feels. If you would like more advice from the team on this technique, please click here to book a lesson.

 

You Have To Try These…

I took delivery of my new FootJoy Pro/SL shoes this week and wow… possibly the most comfortable, supportive and good looking shoe I've had on my feet ever. Available in a range of styles/colours and width fittings so please pop in and test drive a pair. They're not a cheap shoe at £129.99, but I think their worth every penny and I'll even throw you in a pair of FootJoy ProDry socks as a sweetner.