Hi everyone,

The scoring in all competitions, yet again, is quite incredible and although it makes me sound like a broken record, it does make me wonder what the exact reason is. Lots of people keep mentioning the pick and place rule and that certainly has some impact but my own favourite now is that the soft conditions make it easier for everyone as the ball doesn't bounce around, especially on the greens.

Whatever the reasons, yet again it seems that high 30s (points) won't do it at the moment. On Saturday, Dean Brabon and Tim Roberts scored 43 and 46 points to win their respective sections. Moreover, whilst I witnessed Ash Evans' hole-in-one last Sunday (his first I believe - congratulations Ash), incredibly I have been informed that there were two more during the week during a friendly match! Considering the odds that really is incredible. Incidentally, I witnessed Ash's ace whilst playing in a captain/pro match against Del Clark and the Vice-Captain, Richard Punyer. All I can say is after seeing how well Richard hit the ball (much better than me although we scored very similar and halved a great match) I don't envy any of you wanting to take us on next year!! You have been warned!

Lots of people have been commenting on how much they are appreciating my course run-through. This week we continue but the first hole in question provides a slightly different challenge.

Hole 15 - 387/372 yards (Par 4)

380 yards straight downhill shouldn't cause too many problems - but it does, doesn't it?! In the case of the 15th the main problem is not course management or miss-clubbing, it is simply the knowledge of how to play the dreaded downhill lie. I have seen more heavy and thin shots on this hole than on any other on our course in all the matches I have played.

So a quick run through of the downhill lie - firstly you need to move the ball back in your stance. Not all the way back to your back foot but certainly a few inches back from where you normally would have it. This is because the natural reaction to a downhill lie is to not move your weight forward during the shot because of the hill and we tend therefore to ground the club further back than we think. We also need to lean down the slope to try and make ourselves perpendicular to it. That way we make sure the bottom of our swing is where the ball is. If we lean back slightly to counteract the slope we effectively make the bottom of our swing a long way behind the ball and again we will hit it fat. Just make sure that you keep your weight forward during the swing and effectively hit the ball 'down' the slope.

So move the ball back and lean onto your front foot - easy. Well, no - it's still not an easy shot and there are other things to remember: you will hit the ball lower and further than you think so watch your clubbing and you will tend to cut the ball as well but remember that's not a definite (I sometimes turn this shot over as my hands try to compensate). Lastly, we all know the 15th green is an easy one to have your ball run off on the left. DON'T make the mistake of aiming too far right to guard against this. Because the green runs from right to left it is much better to miss left than right. Go for the flag and take your chances!

Hole 16 - 168/133 yards (Par 3)

Underestimated! It may be playing short right now with the winter mat out and the soft conditions but this is not an easy par 3 in summer play from the normal tees. The bunkers always look threatening and there is something about the lie of the land, with the hole sloping right-to-left in front of you, which seems to upset many of us. I've seen huge blocks towards the pond and big hooks over onto the 17th. So it is not dissimilar to the 4th - we need to imagine we're somewhere else!

Like the 12th, have enough club so that you can swing within yourself and try to hit a shot as if you were on a flat hole. As on the 12th we really do need to hit the green - there isn't really a bale out other than short but then the chip isn't easy as the green slopes so much. If you can be accurate from the tee then a shot left of the flag is best as anything above the hole, particularly in the summer will be very tricky. As you can see from my tips, although three of them aren't that long our par 3s are a tough part of our course and help to make Chestfield a much better test than the scorecard suggests.

Our FREE grip offer in conjunction with Golf Pride continues in the shop this week - we have already supplied a number of people with free grips and it is not surprising how many of them immediately look to do their other clubs once they realise how much better their clubs can be. It really is like getting a new set of clubs so I cannot stress enough how important your grips are. Take advantage of this offer while it lasts! Click here to learn more about the importance of re-gripping.

We have just received our first supply of new shoes from FootJoy for the season so this would be a good time to come in and view the new range, in particular the new Contour Series including the Contour Casuals. We sell more of this shoe than any other mainly, I believe, because of just how comfortable they are. Hopefully we will have dry conditions soon although the weather keeps annoying us at the moment. We have several version of the spikeless 'Casual' shoes in stock as well as the spiked range so feel free to come in and try them on. You can view FootJoy's 2015 range of men's and ladies' shoes on my website - simply click here.

We still have the amazing deal on Srixon Z-Star balls - £29.99 per dozen including the yellow ball that I use! And a note about a golf ball subject that is very talked about at the moment - compressions. Many of you will be aware that Bridgestone, in particular, are selling ball fittings as they have a number of different compression balls in the range, which suit different swing speeds.

Now, the fact is that ALL manufacturers have been doing this for a while but it is something you should think about. Most of you will have a driver swing speed between 80 and 90 mph. That is actually too slow for optimum performance from most of the top balls (Pro V1, Z-Star). You can still use them, of course, but the new technology is for you to use a softer compression that optimises the 'spring' effect of the ball off the face.

Too little compression and the ball doesn't compress enough to spring its maximum and too much compression and it can't spring back fast enough for optimum speed. So, just for your information - the NXT Tour and S have a compression that is quite a bit softer than the Pro V1 so it is better for most people. The AD333 is incredibly popular mainly because it feels soft - because it has a softer compression! The Nike PD Soft has a very soft compression, which is why people love it and we sell hundreds!

So if you want to maximise distance, spin rates and so on or if you just want a softer feeling ball then we have them in stock and it might be worth trying a softer compression ball. I'm always here if you want any more advice.