Hello golfers,
Unfortunately, we start with the sad news of golfing legend John Jacobs OBE, described as the father of modern day golf, who died on Friday, 13 January at the age of 91.
John, who lived locally in Lyndhurst, attended many of our HPGA dinners and who wrote the PGA's first training manual from which I trained. His legacy is that of a true sporting visionary, a player, a teacher, an innovator, all born out of a passion for golf that consumed his life. To this day, his influence can be felt in every aspect of the sport and across the globe, through coaching schools, best-selling books, videos and television series. His methods were known in the UK, across America and around the world. Everyone, from the best to the worst could understand his teaching. "Make it do-able," he insisted. "Keep it simple."
Moving on with some lighter news from Hockley, this fantastic picture was taken out on the course early morning by Glenn our course manager, followed a few hours later by the picture on the right!
January Sale
Our sale continues until the end of January with more lines added to make way for the new stock coming soon, including shoes and clothing from FootJoy, Puma and Under Armour and hardware from PING, Cobra and Titleist.
New Arrivals
The Titleist SM6 Vokey wedges are now in, we are just awaiting the demo stock, but hopefully by the time you read this they will have arrived. The wedges feature:
- 'TX4' grooves, a new parallel face texture that creates a more consistent groove edge for more spin.
- Each wedge aligns the centre of gravity with the impact position of each loft throughout the wedge set, to produce precise distance and trajectory control with exceptional feel.
Tour Validated Grinds
Enhanced shot versatility to fit your swing type and course conditions. More details on the grinds available are as follows:
L Grind - Narrow crescent sole with small forward bounce surface and minimal camber. This low bounce grind is designed for the slider swing type and firm conditions.
S Grind - Full sole with straight trailing edge ribbon and moderate heel relief. This mid bounce grind is designed for the slider/neutral swing type and medium/soft conditions.
M Grind - Crescent sole with narrow forward bounce surface and moderate camber. This mid bounce grind is designed for the slider/neutral swing type and firm/medium conditions.
F Grind - Full sole with moderate camber and small trailing edge ribbon. This mid/high grind is designed for the slider/neutral/digger swing type and firm/medium/soft conditions.
K Grind - Wide sole with increased bounce and enhanced camber. This high bounce grind is designed for the neutral/digger swing type and medium/soft conditions.
Cobra Fitting Day
We will be holding a Cobra Fitting Day on Saturday, 25 March from 10:00am - 3:00pm. Come and try the new F7 range and the 'single length' irons from Cobra.
Click here to book your slot now.
Looking for a new car?
Many of you will have seen my 'Pompey' blue car in the car park over the past 10 months and I am very grateful to The Winchester Motor Company for the recent upgrade.
Managing Director and Hockley member Mark Mills-Goodlet (pictured right) handing the keys for the Octavia estate over to me said 'We are very pleased to sponsor Gary as he is recognised as one of the best club professionals around and we are also pleased to be associated with Hockley Golf Club which is on course to being one of the best downland golf courses in the country'. Thank you Mark.
Click here to see what they have to offer. Tell them Gary sent you!
Captain/Pro Matches
A bit of a struggle this week, our worst scoring matches by far and we paid for it. Our opponents were Ian Harvey and Mike Black with Ross Garfitt and Daryl Williams. However, because we all struggled the games stayed tight with perhaps the 14th showing all teams at their worst. Ross hit his tee shot out of bounds (happy days) so after Nick topped our second shot we were still in a great shape, that was until I hit it out of bounds! Nick then hit a 3-wood from 220 yards to six foot which I holed for a half. Not many highlights, but we managed to overcome Ross and Daryl, but lost to Ian and Mike on 17.
On to this week and another double header, Thursday we are against Nick Bell and Chris Boswell with John Platt and Merrick Denton-Thompson and a Sunday game against previous winners Derek Noyce and Roger Broadgate with Mike Henry and David Bannell, hopefully we will play better this week.
Pat's New Year Challenge
I mentioned Pat's challenge last week in support of this year's Captain's Charity - Naomi House and Jack's Place, Pat has decided to take on a personal challenge to help raise money. His challenge, is to lose two stone in weight by Friday, 31 March.
More sponsors are needed, come on dig deep!
Located in the foyer of the clubhouse will be the donation sheet, if any of you would like to donate, please sign-up on this sheet and then pass your donations behind the bar.
On a final note, if you see Pat around the club, he will be trained, but please do not feed!
Nick Goater,
Club Captain.
Special Offer
On Sale - The Ladies PING Rhapsody driver and 3-wood. Driver now £189 (saving you £50) and 3-wood now £89 (saving you £50).
New Arrivals
Ladies enjoy shoes from FootJoy, these shoes are super lightweight, washable and spikeless, an ideal summer shoe.
Defibrillator Information
I have been asked to put the defibrillator information in again as several you missed it last time. You will have all seen our defibrillator located on the wall just to the left of the clubhouse entrance, but will you be confident to use it in an emergency?
The manufactures have made some excellent training videos (click here to view). This link takes you to Zoll's Training Video Page and then you need to scroll down to the 'Training Videos' themselves No. 1 - 5. We would encourage you all to take the time to look at these videos - someone's life may depend on you!
Make sure you first dial 999 and then the clubhouse on 01962 713165 to get the machine sent to you if you are on the course. One further point, if the machine prompts you to press the button to administer a shock, make sure no-one is touching the patient and then press the button without delay. The machine decides if a shock is required and hesitation could cost a life.
Dr Tony Crawford and Dr Peter Betts.
On the Course...
Another small entry into the Stableford on Saturday and no entries on Sunday due to the wet weather. Saturday's results are as follows:
Division One winner - Brad Barber with 39 points and runner-up - Tony Davies with 38 points.
Division Two winner - Jonathan Mills with 44 points and runner-up - Crispin Weidmann with 40 points.
Merrick Denton-Thompson was the only member with a 2two and he wins a sleeve of Pro V1 balls.
Several of you still have Winter Leagues matches to play, can we remind you that first round matches must be completed by Tuesday, 31 January.
Upcoming Events
We have a number of events coming up at the club, including:
Captain/Pro - Thursday, 19 January, tee reserved from 11.55am - 12.05pm.
Men's Short Course Stableford - Saturday, 21 January and Sunday, 22 January.
Captain/Pro - Sunday, 22 January, tee reserved from 11.55am - 12.05pm.
Cobra Fitting Day - Saturday, 25 March 10am - 3pm.
Click here to get in touch for more details.
