It was great to see the sun this weekend and so many members especially after such a dismal day last Wednesday. I am led to believe it is going to stay dry all week, but cold, I think we can cope with that.
The Masters is only 3 weeks away and our Masters Draw is now up and filling up fast.
Who are you tipping to win?
It's easy to go for Rory McIlroy, but I think I would certainly put a bet on Adam Scott. If you're not sure then why not enter our Masters sweepstake. Only £5 per ticket for your chance to win the 1st prize of £150 to spend in the Pro shop. This would certainly knock a dent in the new driver or trolley you may be considering purchasing.
We will also be running daily prizes of £10 each for the best and worst scores, and the main prizes will go to 5th place.
New In
The waterproof, spikeless VersaLuxe shoe from FootJoy, made from a premium leather with a versatile grippy spikeless sole which will help give you the necessary traction and stability on all kinds of surfaces, will allow you to wear them on and off the golf course. They also have well-cushioned cork fit bed insoles for enhanced walking comfort.
Click here to find out more about the VersaLuxe shoe
A tip from FootJoy:
For comfort, the opening at the top of your shoes should be about a thumbs width apart.
Special Offer 
Perfect for the weather we are having, we have got 2 pairs of Oakley sunglasses with 30% OFF their RRP.
The Prizm Road pictured on the top with 2 lenses ideal for cycling - RRP £175, Now £122.50
The Jet Black Iridium sunglasses - RRP £125, Now £87.50.
Click here to get in touch if you would like to reserve either of these pairs at this special price.
April Masterclass
After another popular session yesterday on bunkers and putting, our next Masterclass will be on Tuesday, 19 April from 9am - 10am.
This time we will be covering 'Faults and Fixes'.
Again, only £10 per person
Click here to book your slot.
This week's tip focuses on pitching from those awkward middle distances which causes quite a few issues for golfers.
Click here to view Chris' tip.
Two big matches this week, little did Adie and I know we were going to beat one of the winning winter league duo, Jo Russell.
Standing on the 1st tee finding out we had to give Monica Finlayson and Chris Stephens 17 shots! And Jo and Jonathan Russell 4 shots, we were not feeling confident.
After 9 holes we were up on both pairs, however Jo and Jonathan started to make some fantastic up and downs to stay within a hole of us, and with Monica and Chris staying close, with all those shots we couldn't ease up.
Over the next few holes our fortunes changed in each match, moving ahead against Monica and Chris, but falling behind to Jo and Jonathan.
On 17 our match with Monica and Chris finished with Adie and I winning 4&2, but after Adie rolled up his putt to gimme distance we got back to even with Jo and Jonathan with 2 to go. We all parred 18 so onto 18a (exciting stuff!). On this occasion we made a steady par to nick a win from a game that could have gone either way.
On Saturday we had some different challenges, giving 2 shots to John Clark and Glen Clements, but none to Alan Carpenter and Pat Lawson. Both games stayed tight most of the way round and were even after 9.
Although some of the golf was scrappy we managed to edge out John and Glen on 17 after Adie played a fantastic chip shot stone dead to save par, unfortunately Pat holed from 5 feet for a half to remain 1 up on us. Adie then holed from 15 feet for birdie on 18 only for Pat to hole from 10 feet for another half (annoying!). We then made a steady par on 18 to win the hole and take the match down the first, to decide the match it's now nearest in 3 and Pat rolled his putt up to a foot and we finished just outside to lose match number 6, a great record so far with only 6 to go.
Hockley were well and truly beaten 5:1 away by Barton on Sea. Only Gordon Dewis and Dave Davies (2) managed a win. The course was in excellent condition, as was the weather. Seniors Captain Alan Pinkney (pictured with Steve and my partner Tony Crawford) had been a professional soccer player with Crystal Palace; his eye for a ball undiminished!
Let's hope we have better luck on Thursday v Lee on the Solent at Hockley!
Geoff Charnley
Seniors Captain
Another reminder to dig deep and sponsor Ed Player, who in April will be running the London Marathon on behalf of Cancer Research UK. His challenge is to raise £5000 through donations from work and friends. You can donate on his Virgin Money page, 100% of donations go directly to CRUK. If you get a moment, please donate!
Click here if you are interested in donating to a great cause.
Thursday's Short course results were:
Division 1 - Nick Bell with 39 points
Division 2 - Andy Gorman 37 points
The weekend competitions attracted a larger field, mainly due to the improved weather.
Saturday's results:
Division 1 - Tom Hobbs with 41 points beating John Brickwood on a countback. Both players had two's on their card and luckily had entered the sweep, although John did have 2, so gained double the prize.
Division 2 - John Knezevich with 38 points.
Sunday's results:
Division 1 - Nigel Bray with 37 points
Division 2 - Steve Davis with 39 points.
3 two's were scored but, Mike Andrew was the only player to enter the sweep so he took the 2's money.
Sunday saw the final of the Winter League and played in spring like conditions, the winners were Joanne Russell & Nigel Noke who beat Andy Eley and Dave Morgan 4 and 3.
The Captain Adrian Nicol presented the prizes and thanked the Pro team for co-ordinating the event, also to Jack and Chris for keeping the results up to date through the winter.
Nigel said 'as a new member he thoroughly enjoyed the event as it is a great way to meet other members and looks forward to playing again later in the year'.
Please remember to enter the summer knockouts by 29th March.
Thursday, 17 March - St Patrick's day stableford, open to Men and Ladies, enter on the day in the Pro Shop
Friday, 18 March - Callaway Demo day from 12 noon - 4pm, now full.
Saturday, 19 March - Men's short course stableford and Ladies Stableford.
Family Foursomes on Sunday, 20 March, the tee is reserved from 10 am - 12 noon. Click here to view the start sheet.
Tuesday, 12 April - Cobra demo day. Click here to book your time slot.
