Gareth Hardy

Competition news

Almost £1400 now raised so we are getting closer to my £1500 target. Entries have slowed down this week for the NHS draw to a trickle of entries coming in. This I believe is down to the fact that you have all been so exceptionally supportive of the draw and a huge majority of you have already entered. So once again thank you for supporting the draw and cause. I am going to leave it open for another week or two as I am hoping that we might be back at the club by then which will allow me to do a video draw at the golf club. If you haven’t entered yet or simply want to better your chances of winning by entering again, please drop me an email on the email address below.

To enter simply email me on: garethhardygolf.7@yahoo.com with how many numbers you would like to purchase and I will supply bank details to enter. Numbers cost £5 each or 5 numbers for £20

Winter eclectic

Ladies first prize

Gents first prize

Over the course of the winter, we ran our first Winter Eclectic competition. The uptake was great with 52 people entering and therefore a prize fund of £520. The best four Stableford rounds per player over the winter period counted towards the winning scores.

The results are below. Well done to all the winners and a huge thanks to everyone who entered this past winter.

Gents results:

1st David Grant 176 points / Titleist Club 14 cart bag

2nd Stewart Campbell 173 points / Dozen Callaway Chrome soft balls & Logo shoe bag

3rd Alastair Stevenson 172 points / Dozen Supersoft balls

Ladies results:

1st Maria Carling 146 points / Callaway Hyperdry carry bag

2nd Susan Dumigan 138 points / Dozen Chrome soft balls & Logo shoe bag

Thank you all for participating

Coaches corner

Quiet this week on the video front for my lockdown challenge. What’s going on everyone??? Either you are not practising enough in the yard or you can’t bare recording yourselves? A prize is at stake so get your videos sent in!!

Due to the fact that I didn’t receive any videos from members this week, I am adding in a video from a friend in South Africa. I will apologise in advance for the swearing at the end (please make sure that there are no kids close by when you watch the video) but to be honest when I watched it for the first time I was literally in tears of laughter for a good half an hour.

I just thought that it was too good not to put it in this week’s newsletter. For those of you that are not fluent in Afrikaans the translation at the end of the video to English is ‘F+@* NOT AGAIN!!!!’ hahahahahahaha

Click here to watch the video.

Keep them coming in, please.
To submit your video please send it to: garethhardygolf.7@yahoo.com

Assistant news

Here's a little news from Jordan this week to keep you posted on how he's been handling lockdown.

'Hi everyone

As Gareth mentioned last week I was going to let you know how life in lockdown was for me. Unlike mark, I’ve had no exams to prepare for, which I’m sure has kept him focused over the last few weeks. Fingers crossed he gets the results he wants, I’m sure he will!

This brilliant weather we’ve been getting over the last few weeks has made me desperate to get out on the golf course. I’m sure we are all in the same boat. A makeshift net in the back garden to keep the swing going will have to do for now. And yes Gareth, I am practicing my chipping!! Let’s hope this weather continues long past lockdown so we can all get back onto the course and make the most of it!

I’m definitely looking forward to getting back to work and seeing everyone when we are back to normality. I hope everyone is keeping safe and well during these strange times.'

Keep up the good work Jordan....

Looking forward to getting back to golf

Custom fitting

I have had several enquiries regarding custom fitting sessions when we open again and as a result, I have started up a call list which will be dealt with on a first come first serve basis. This means that I will be booking people in for custom fittings in relation to when they got in touch with me and I will make every effort to see everyone as soon as I possibly can. If you are interested in getting custom-fitted when we open again then please drop me an email so that I can put you on my call list.

Please get in touch: garethhardygolf.7@yahoo.com

It is in these times that you sit at home, start searching for everything golf and bursting to get out and play. Do not let that be the reason you go online and purchase a club that you have never hit or been fitted for!!! You are going to more than likely waste your money. Be patient! Come and see us once we are back to work for a custom fitting session and you will walk away with the correct thing for you.

Please also remember that if you are looking to buy something that you can contact me, and I will try to either price match or try to beat the price of the product you’re looking for. Patience is key in times like these, impulse purchases are purchases that you will often regret and more importantly, you can’t get out and practise as such or hit balls on a range so hold off and get custom-fitted.

Special offer

Thank you once again to all who have taken part in these promotions to date. I really appreciate it.
If you have a birthday coming up or have someone you would like to purchase a voucher for, please get in touch. I am able to take payment and to post this out directly to you or your friend/family member. Or if it’s simply to put a little money onto your shop account to save up for something this season please get in touch.

All transactions will need to be done by bank transfer. If you are interested in any of the above, then please drop me an email and I will forward on bank details to you and record what is either purchased or transferred.

On course 9-hole playing lesson £50
Only 3 now available on a first come first serve basis - usual cost £60

All account top ups and voucher purchases will receive an extra 10% to the amount credited up to a maximum value of £200.

Please email : garethhardygolf.7@yahoo.com if you wish to make any purchases or top ups.

(Terms and conditions: all lesson purchases are on a first come first serve basis, according to the time your email lands in my inbox. All voucher purchases and account top ups will receive the extra 10% if your account is either sitting at zero or in credit. No discount will be applied for accounts currently sitting in debit.)

Course news

6th Fairway

8th Green

A little work done by me and Mark this week around the course, one of which was going over the 6th fairway again. Look closely at the picture of the 6th fairway and have a look how many divots we filled in. Incredible how many divots there were out there and with the amount of play we have at St Nicholas I can’t see this changing. I reckon that taking a divot bottle in your future rounds should definitely be something we should all consider if we want to keep our course in top shape.

Mark has been helping a little more this week due to the fact that his exams are over so a huge thank you to him for helping John and Davie out. I am still trying to design a device that allows me to help John and his team whilst Lyla’s on my back hahahahaha. Lauren works Monday to Wednesday at home at the moment so it’s daddy day-care for me on those days.

9th Tee

10th Green

Golf's greatest rivalries

We want to hear from you

There’s much debate as to golf’s greatest rivalry. From one era to the next, elite players have gone head-to-head and produced some truly memorable moments on the course.

At this current time, there’s a whole host of young talent jostling for position at the top of the rankings: McIlroy, Koepka, Rahm and Thomas to name just a few. However, in terms of a rivalry between two golfers, we don’t seem to have that right now.

So, we want to know what your favourite golfing rivalry has been through the years. Click the link below to head to our website and take part in our poll.

Enter our poll here.

Did you know?

Fact of the week

In 1971, Alan Shepard – the first American astronaut in space – became the first person to hit a golf ball on the moon. Here’s what he said to the USGA after landing back on earth:

“I shanked the first one; it rolled into a crater about 40 yards away. The second one, I kept my head down. I hit it flush and it went at least 200 yards.”

It's quiz time

What can you remember from the last decade?

We hope you enjoyed last week's Silhouette Challenge; some were certainly easier than others.

The end of 2019 also marked the end of a decade, but how much can you remember - on a golfing front - from those 10 years?

Put your memory to the test with this week's quiz as we challenge you to recall some amazing feats in the world of golf. Good luck!

take this week's quiz >

Weekly challenge

Much like the pitch shot that fizzes onto the green and stops dead on the second or third bounce, the flop shot always looks spectacular when you pull it off. It’s the inspiration behind this week’s challenge, so grab your highest lofted wedge and take to the garden for our Flop Shot Challenge.

The set-up

Like the images above, place a garden trug or bucket on top of a table facing away from the house with the aim of landing the ball inside. You can also play this game by putting something tall in front of you – garden fork or washing line – that you need to get the ball up-and-over.

Not confident?

Flop shots aren’t the easiest shot to play, which is why they do look great when executed to perfection. If you’d rather attempt something different, you can modify this challenge by placing your garden trug on the floor and see how many you can chip in – but it can’t bounce first!

send us a message >

Golf at home

Hopefully, you’re finding our Golf at Home drills useful in keeping your golf game ticking over during lockdown – maybe, even improving it?! For this week we’ve gone back to basics and have found an effective way of checking one of golf’s key fundamentals…

Alignment is key

Getting your set-up spot on is easier said than done, but getting it right more often than not will certainly help your golf game on the course.

One part that often changes over time is our alignment, which incorporates far more than just where the clubface is aiming.

How to check

Find some flooring in your house or garden that runs in straight lines. Place a ball down and set up as if you’re hitting a straight shot.

From here, check whether your feet, hips and shoulders are running parallel to each other by using the flooring as a visual cue.

send us a message >

Video of the Week

If you're a watcher of golf on TV then you'll be fully aware of the brilliant Wayne 'Radar' Riley. In this video from PING, we take a look at the best bits of his 'A Round with Radar' series, including cameos from Lee Westwood, Tyrrell Hatton and Miguel Angel Jimenez. Enjoy.

Prestwick St Nicholas Golf Club
Grangemuir Road
Prestwick
KA9 1SN

Phone: 01292 473904

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