Gareth Hardy

Hello golfers,

Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly newsletter. In this week's email, we discuss all the latest from the club, we have our final video from Ian Poulter looking at hitting a hybrid from the rough and we explain why we stock a particular brand in-store. Enjoy the read.

Pro's news

Message from Mark

Hi folks,

There’s been a few better golfing days this last week compared to last but still not perfect golfing weather.

This past week I was asked to play for the greenkeepers in the annual committee match and we all got a good day for it. I was partnered with Bill Rae who was also asked to help out the greenkeeping side and we had a tough fought match against John Errington and George Tindle. Myself and Bill got off to a fast start as we were 4 up through 6 but John and George slowly chipped away at that for the rest of the round until the match finished all square so well done to them.

My apologies to my Captain John as we found out we needed our point to win the match but it was a well-played draw in the end between both teams, a good point for myself was I had my lowest gross score around the course with a 67 which was a personal highlight.

Myself, Gareth and Jordan also attended this year’s prize giving dinner this week and had a great night as well. An excellent meal was put on by Grant and his team as always along with some great speeches by the prize winners, I won’t go into detail about having to open the shop on Saturday morning though.

Congratulations from the Pro Shop go to the Ladies Greenlees Team for a fantastic season and returning to Division 1. The ladies had a fantastic season at home and away to gain them promotion, you can read more about this later on.

Lastly our End of Summer Sale is still running and there are plenty of faces we haven’t seen in the shop taking advantage of the fantastic deals that are on offer so hurry on down and grab yourself a bargain while you still can.

Hope you all have a good week.

Mark

Ladies news

Greenlees team 2017

Having won the 3rd Division last year our ladies won 8 out of 8 matches this year to take the 2nd Division title and they look forward to returning to the 1st Division next year.

This is a prestigious West of Scotland league which started in 1931 by Ysabel Greenlees who was in fact a member of Prestwick St Nicholas Golf Club. The number of clubs involved has grown over the years and there are currently 28 teams contesting the 3 Divisions. St Nicholas were winners in the first year and followed that up by wins in 1933, 1934 and 1935. The last time they won the 1st Division was back in 1977 although they came close as runners up in 2007.

Greenlees Secretary Ann Wallace is pictured here with fellow team member Moyra Withycombe with their trophy which was presented at the League lunch and prizegiving at Old Ranfurly on 18 October 2017.

Winter Trophy results

Last Thursday was the Ladies Winter Trophy which is the last trophy of the year. The top three are as follows;

1st - Irina Bauba 68, 2nd - Margaret White 75, 3rd - Eleanor Noble 77

Congratulations Irina for winning this year’s last piece of silverware.

Shop news

Now in store

This week we have taken delivery of something that’s become a high demand product in the shop, waterproof golf bags.

The bags in questions are fantastic for keeping all of your equipment dry through the winter months (and summer months).

They are also the perfect size to even fit into the smaller lockers so you don’t even have to worry about the storage.

Have you taken advantage of this yet?

Right now, we’re offering ½ price spikes in the shop, and we’ll fit them for free, too! When was the last time you checked the condition of your spikes? At this time of year it’s more important than ever to have good traction when you take to the course. It’s not just for during your swing either, but also when you’re walking up and down slopes as well as to and from raised tees. Come and see us in-store before it’s too late.

Get in touch

Rule of the week

Do you know the rules?

Dylan’s ball comes to rest against some TV cables running to a nearby scoreboard. Without marking the position of the ball, Dylan moves the cables, causing his ball to move. What is the ruling?

A. Dylan incurs a penalty of one stroke and must play the ball from its new position.
B. Dylan incurs a penalty of one stroke and must replace his ball.
C. There is no penalty and Dylan must replace his ball.

Find out what the answer is in next week’s newsletter.

Did you get the answer to last week’s rule?

Rachel’s ball finds a fairway bunker and as she enters the bunker to play her next shot she loses her footing and slips. To prevent her from falling, Rachel steadies herself using her sand wedge but in doing so she touches the sand in the bunker with her club. Although some sand in the bunker is moved, nothing is done which would improve the lie, stance or area of her intended swing. What is the ruling?

A. Rachel is penalised one stroke.
B. Rachel is penalised two strokes.
C. There is no penalty.

Answer: C

Provided nothing is done which constitutes testing the condition of the hazard or improves the lie of the ball there is no penalty. (See Exception 1 to Rule 13-4)