Hello golfers,
Welcome to another week and another month. I hope you enjoy reading this week's news from Hockley Golf Club.
Bar Notices
Please note the kitchen will be closed on Monday, 6 February for a deep clean, however, sandwiches will be available from the cold cabinet. The next roast will take place on Sunday, 26 February and Sunday, 26 March (Mother's Day), book now with any member of the bar team.
A date for your diary... A charity quiz night will be held on Friday, 3 March at 7pm, more details to follow soon.
Charity Games
The winner of the bonus ball this weekend was Kevin May. The football draw was not held due to cup games, but will resume as usual this week.
Upcoming Events
We have a number of events coming up at the club, including:
Friday, 3 February - Sunday, 5 February - John Simpson Fourth Card - Enter on the day in the pro shop.
Saturday, 4 February - Captain/Pro Challenge - Tee reserved from 11.55am - 12.05pm.
Sunday, 5 February - The final of the Winter Foursomes and the Plate competition. This will be a shotgun start at 8am using holes 15 -18 and the first, the course should be open at 10am. Please note the course is closed until 10am.
Thursday, 23 February - The PGA in Hampshire Annual Dinner.
Sunday, 26 February - Sunday Roast.
Friday, 3 March - Charity Quiz Night.
Saturday, 25 March - Cobra Fitting Day - 10:00am - 3:00pm.
New Promotion This Week
To make room for the new Puma spring/summer range I am offering 25% OFF all Puma clothing, excluding sale lines. With the launch of the new Pro V1 golf ball today I have the 2016 ball reduced to £34.99 per dozen. Hurry while stocks last.
TaylorMade Gloves Reduced To Clear
Save £2 on a single glove or buy two all-weather gloves and save £5.98. Buy two leather gloves and save £8.98.
Cobra Fitting Day
We will be holding a Cobra Fitting Day on Saturday, 25 March from 10am - 3pm. Come and try the new F7 range and the 'single length' irons from Cobra.
Click here to book your slot now.
Tip Of The Week - Up And Down For Par - Flight Control
Focus on the thumb! Controlling the height and spin of your pitch shots is a crucial skill if you want to consistently leave yourself makeable putts. Keeping an eye on your right thumb will give you an easy focal point to switch from hitting high shots to low shots.
For a high shot with backspin, swing through impact and hold off the rotation of your hands so that your right thumb stays on the right side of the handle. To produce a lower shot that has some run, make the same swing but let your hands rotate through naturally. Your right thumb will end up on the left side of the grip.
Clinics
There are a few spaces left on our Putting and Chipping Clinic on Monday, 13 February from 10.00am - 11.30am. £10 per person, limited to 12. Please sign up in the pro shop or click here to get in touch for more details.
Junior Coaching Sessions
Saturday and Sunday morning junior lessons return on Saturday, 11 February at 9.30am and 10.30am (full) and Sunday, 12 February at 9.30am. The cost for six 60 minute lessons is £48. Please contact one of the pro shop team if you have a youngster interested in taking up golf.
Captain/Pro Challenges
If I just give you some stats from one of our matches I think you might just guess the result, Vikki and Bob Kimber had five birdies and an eagle on the front nine, Nick and myself four down, back nine they had an albatross and four more birdies. Unsurprising we lost that one 5&3. As far as I can remember this is the best scoring in any Captain/Pro match ever! Many congratulations to both of you.
Now as for the other match with Clive Keywood and Dan Mould, this was a lot closer and nowhere near as good as far as scoring goes. The highlight was hole 10 in which out partners, perhaps foolishly, walked 200 yards down the fairway only to see what they described as a 'land mine going off', as Dan hit his tee shot. What actually happened was Dan hit it about two feet behind the ball and the divot then knocked the ball off the tee and rocketed the ball about a foot! To their credit, they still got a half. Our match ended up going down the last and Nick holed from 15 feet for a winning birdie (thanks Nick).
Next week is a match we can't lose for Nick, as we play four lads from Nick's playing group, so lots of practice and let's see how things work out.
PGA In Hampshire Annual Dinner
The PGA in Hampshire Annual Dinner is scheduled for Thursday, 23 February, after last year which was very poorly supported the decision was made to try something different. Consequently, The Oxford Brasserie restaurant in Southampton has been booked with a less formal atmosphere to appeal to more modern tastes, the food is going to be good and the cost is less than normal at just £35 per person. Please contact any member of the pro shop team should you wish to join me.
Burns Supper
On the evening of Friday, 27 January, a group of party hard fanatics assembled to celebrate the life of the Scottish poet - Robert "Rabbie" Burns. The event was certainly given a Scottish feel thanks to the magnificent bag pipe playing of Malcolm McKenzie and the wonderful blessing of the Haggis performed by Drew Gibson. As the night progressed, the dining room at Hockley transformed into "Live at the Apollo" with jokes firing in from all directions. We were also lucky enough to be joined by former member John Bull. John's jokes and entertainment rolled well into the night and I would like to thank him for helping to raise £160 towards the Captain's Charity - Naomi House and Jack's Place.
Although he could not attend, I would like to thank Richard Broughton for arranging the event and to Alan Drayton for overseeing proceedings on the night. Lastly, another big thank you to all the catering team and staff for making it such a great evening.
Nick Goater,
Club Captain.
Special Offers
The PING Rhapsody clubs flew out the door last week so here are some more great offers for you:
- The ladies Callaway XR 12 deg driver reduced from £249 to £179 (saving you £70).
- The ladies PING Serene 14 deg driver reduced from £199 to £109 (saving you £90).
Visit the pro shop this weekend and grab yourself a bargain.
Seniors' Friendly Matches
The 'sign-up' sheet is now on the seniors' noticeboard in the men's locker room, please add your name if you wish to play. These matches are open to all seniors (aged 60 and over) who have an active handicap. I will try to give everyone an equal opportunity to play, but priority will be given for away matches to those who sign-up for home games. The matches are friendly, but competitive and essentially fun and a great opportunity to play other courses and to meet other Hockley members. If you haven't played in one of these matches before I would encourage you to give it a try.
Tony Crawford,
Seniors' Captain.
Stableford Result
Another small entry into the stablefords this weekend, with Saturday's being a non-qualifier due to the large number of temporary greens.
Saturdays results - Winner - David Gillespie with 42 points and runner-up - Chris Ford with 39 points.
Sundays results - Winner - David Hampton Trim with 38 points and runner up - Ed Player with 36 points.
