Hi everyone,

I saw a joke on a social media site this week saying that we should mourn the passing of summer in 2016 which apparently occurred between the 5th and 9th of May. Well I don't think it's quite that bad as I'm pretty sure we'll get some more sun this year, but from what I saw yesterday our greens definitely need some more rain. Typical that I have just got back from my latest soirée to Vilamoura where they have just had one of their wettest periods in May on record and the greens were receptive and beautiful.

Before that happens we may have to play a few more rounds on hard greens, so what can we do to cope with them?

The first thing to understand is that it IS difficult, for everyone. You need to keep your head in conditions like this (and when the weather is really difficult) and understand that everyone will be finding it hard. A few dropped shots might be pretty good so don't let your head drop or get frustrated.

We need to get into a US Open type mentality. Basically, there are times you need to know that getting the ball close is going to be very difficult so you need to play more for the centre of greens. A front flag is still difficult to get close to if you leave your approach short as you can't stop a chip that lands on the green, so you've wasted a shot. A back flag is one you need to play short of for the same reason so think about what club you're taking and hopefully you'll keep those unnecessary dropped shots to a minimum. The greens are starting to recover so pretty soon they'll play a lot truer. Again, at the moment, everyone will miss the odd short putt so don't panic!

So, in short, play more for the middle of the green. If you do short-side yourself then make sure you have a putt for the next shot, take your medicine, and don't lose your head.




Having said all that, of course someone goes and throws the whole thing up in the air, don't they?! Stand up Vince Kohler who, when everyone else struggled in the first round of the Spring Meeting, trashed the field by six shots with a brilliant nett 64. A nett 69 in the second round comfortably gave him the overall win but the second round saw some equally brilliant scores. Peter Welch made the best round of the weekend with a nett 62 (were these two actually playing the same course as everyone else?) but I have to mention Mike Wilson. Mike dusted of his clubs, made a practise swing on day one which equalled his year's practise to date, knocked it round in 75 (gross) and then, clearly having now got the hang of things, popped in a little 69 (gross) on day two. Apparently this meant he took £5 off his dad and £15 off Barry Shepherd who told him he couldn't shoot under par - so sweet you can almost taste it! Impressive stuff from a Chestfield legend. Well done to everyone who got in the prizes on a tough weekend for most.




Our summer offer continues - 3 x 30-minute lessons and a 9-hole lesson for £99. This would normally cost around £150 so it's great value. Moreover I have always believed that a lesson on the course is where we can gain the most so take advantage of this while you can.

Junior lessons on a Saturday are very busy with Simon but please bear in mind that we both offer vastly reduced rates for juniors on a one-to-one basis. I coach juniors for £17 and those that I have seen have come on in leaps and bounds.

Simon is also holding two group lessons over the next two weeks so please check out his booking sheets in the goldfish bowl. Please contact myself or Simon to book any lessons.




As mentioned last week, I'm currently offering a FREE fitting and a FREE lesson with selected PING purchases. Watch my video here for more details.

Our offers continue on trolleys, batteries, shoes and balls. You name it we have a special offer on it at the moment. The Srixon UltiSoft is flying out of the door but it's worth reminding you all that Titleist's new TruSoft is very similar, and cheaper.

More importantly I have a vacancy coming up at the end of May in the shop. I will be needing someone to do only around 16 hours a week including a day at the weekend. If anyone knows anyone, or is interested themselves, please let them know and get them to contact me.