Thank you to those members who shared our birthday celebrations this weekend, Saturday was definitely a busy day. On Sunday the weather put a dampener on proceedings, but still enjoyable. We even gave away balloons to the Capt/Pro winners!
Ladies, this week should see the arrival of the Spring/Summer range of clothing from JRB and Catmandoo, so I am hoping the weather warms up soon!
As I mentioned last week the bag trade in was a roaring success, and we now have the Battery trade in and Shoe trade in to get tucked into. Actually we have sold 7 pairs of shoes already! So dig out your old worn out shoes and trade them in for a new pair of FootJoy or adidas shoes. They are guaranteed to make you play better!
Click here to find out more.
Only 8 days to go, until the Masters Tournament at Augusta National
A few squares remain in our Masters sweepstake, have you got your ticket yet? They are 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. We will publish the draw after the Shell Houston Open this weekend.
Thank you to those that donated Easter Eggs for local food banks and local children's hospices. I am sure it will help to put a smile on a few more faces this Easter.
I hope you all have an enjoyable Easter and don't eat too many Easter eggs, remember it's business as usual at Hockley should you need to walk off a few calories.
Get Fitted By Chris
If you are fitted correctly you can eliminate your bad shots.
Recently I was fitted for a new set of clubs which has had a dramatic change on the flight and distance I hit the ball. For me, my bad shot has always been to the right of the target, this is where my hips fire too early in the down swing, (left photo) leaving the club face open to the target and the club swinging too much to the right of the target, this motion was made worse the longer the club got.
With the new set of irons and woods, I have replaced them with a lighter shaft, this means I can now get my hands and arms moving faster in front of my body as the shaft is lighter (right photo). When the club gets too heavy it is easy to get it stuck behind you resulting in the bad shot I was hitting. I know have more confidence to attack the back of the ball.
My previous clubs were Callaway Razr X with a Project X 6.0 shaft which weighed around 120 grams. I now use Benross RIP Speed 10 irons which are a cavity back clubs, but have a light weight shaft around 85 grams so a huge change in weight, this will allow me to generate more club head speed a higher ball flight and greater distance.
What's In The Bag:
Benross Max Speed 10 driver 12 degree
Benross Rip Speed 2 fairway 14 degree
Benross Rip Speed 2 Rescue 17 degree
Benross Rip Speed 10 irons 4-pw
Benross Zip it milled wedges 48, 56, 60 degree
Benross Casino Milled putter
We have demo clubs in the Benross range so come and give them a try, or click here to get in touch if you would like to book your custom fitting.
We did 3 iron fittings last week and one driver fit, all resulting in members gaining more distance and consistency. Click here to read about Shafts: the dangers of too much or too little flex and contact us to book a fitting.
Winter Rules will be removed on Saturday, 4 April.
Put the note in your diary for the Centenary book launch on Easter Monday, 6 April, in conjunction with the Spring Texas Scramble.
The Ladies' North Hants Trophy team won their first round match last week against The Army away 3-0. Conditions were difficult as it was wet, windy and the greens had just been sanded. Our ladies (Chris Quinn, Helen Bailey and Jo Russell) played well and all the matches were won on or before the 15th hole. A good start to the season.
We all wish Helen well in her operation this month and hope to see her back playing golf very soon.
Jill Hoarton and Jo Russell won the first round of the Daily Mail foursomes match against Test Valley at Hockley 6 and 5. Alas, the winning streak ended on Sunday when the Ladies Mail on Sunday team were narrowly beaten by South Winchester Golf Club at Hockley. It was dreadful conditions they were playing in.
The Ladies Bronze Rose Bowl competition on Thursday, 16 April has been changed to a stableford to try and encourage more ladies to join in.
Hockley Seniors V Alresford Seniors
Dodging the rain, Seniors Captain Graham Light steered his team to a hard fought home win against Alresford Seniors on Monday, 30 March. 2 wins, one lost and three games halved from behind with slick Hockley putts on 18.
Tom McGrath (an ex Hockley member) played for Alresford; the on-course blarney only adding to another enjoyable Seniors' day. John Walton was unusually quiet after the match, but there's a drink for him (of the same name!) behind the bar to celebrate his umpteenth birthday on 31 March and cheer him up! Everyone agreed the course was in excellent condition for the time of the year over a Hockley haut cuisine, chicken New Yorker & yummy lemon posset meal after the match.
Geoff Charnley
Seniors Vice- Captain
Not a great weekend weather wise for golf, but a few braved the elements on Saturday for the Short Course Stableford and the winners were:
Division 1 - Martin Smith with 40 points and a handicap cut
Division 2 - Peter Fuge with 35 points
There were no entries into Sunday's competition.
The Knockout draws are now available on the website and will be published in the locker rooms by Friday. The closing date of the Junior and Ladies American Knockouts have been extended to the end of April due to a low entry. If more entries are not received the knockout will be cancelled.
The final was held on Sunday and what a tough day it was. We had rain, wind, Paul Mantell (fashion icon) and Pete Crowe to contend with.
Scoring as you can imagine was pretty high with 28 points being tied for second, but the winners with 30 points were John Clark and Glenn Clements. Their score was even more remarkable as they 'blobbed' the last 4 holes!!
If you take a look at this picture it seems difficult to figure out where it is. It's actually Pete Crowe playing his second shot to the 10th hole from about 50 yds short of the 9th green. Now stop and try and work that one out, not one of Damian's best drives, but the wind was very strong! Just remember Damian and Pete smashed Robin and I, so if any of you are considering playing in next year's Capt/Pro, hopefully this will inspire you to enter.
May I take this opportunity to thank everyone who took Robin and I on and for your donations to the charity. Every game was enjoyable and played in great spirit, with 12 of the 26 games going down the 18th or 19th, it did get a bit tough at times.
Good Friday, 3 April
- The Ladies Knight Cup v Wellow, tee closed from 10.25 am - 10.35am
- The Gales/Hockley v Basingstoke match, the tee will be closed from 2.00pm - 3.15pm
- Men's Short Course Stableford.
Saturday, 4 April - Men's Medal played from the white tees.
Sunday, 5 April - Men's Long Course Stableford played from the white tees. Ladies medal winners Salver and a Ladies Medal Easter
Monday, 6 April - Texas Scramble, a few time slots remain, please check with the Pro team for available times. Please note the course will be CLOSED until 2.30pm.
