Summer Clubhouse And Bar Closing Hours
From Tuesday 4th May:
Tuesday - Friday's Clubhouse closes at 9.00 pm with last orders at the bar 15 minutes earlier.
Saturday, Sunday, and Monday - Clubhouse closes at 7.00pm with last orders at the bar 15 minutes earlier
Until 4th May the current 7.00pm closure will apply.
Please note that if you have a locker you will not be able to access it after the clubhouse has closed, and you are advised to use your car if you do not have a locker.
On Monday's the kitchen is closed all day. On all other days the kitchen is open for hot and cold food until 5.00pm
Clubhouse Opening Hours
Monday to Friday 8.00am
Saturday and Sunday 7.30am
The Pro Shop opens at the same times
If you use a locker and want to play earlier than the clubhouse opens you are advised to put your golf kit in your car in advance.
Now is the time to get your equipment checked for the forthcoming season, including the lofts and lies of your clubs. If you have one or two clubs within your iron set that do not perform as well as the others then it could be that the lie angles have moved over time. You may also have poor distance gaps between your irons so it is worth having the lofts checked too.
We can check and change your set for £20 on our Loft and Lie machine. At the same time we can check your grips to see if they are worn and shiny. A worn grip causes you to grasp the club tighter, causing arm and wrist tension that inhibits proper swing mechanics and leads to a loss of power and control.
Are you playing with the correct thickness of grip? Please come and take a look at our Grip bar, we can measure your hand for the correct grip thickness and then select from our large range of grips. If you have 10 or more clubs re-gripped I will give you 10% discount.
Bookings are filling up for our Cobra fitting day on Friday, 8 May from 11am -3pm. Your chance to try all the new equipment from Cobra, Chris will be on hand as well as a trained fitter from Cobra.
Book your time with any member of my team or click here to get in touch.
Even the 'Greats' sometimes need a little look at, two of Hockley's finest members had a putting lesson recently, Howard Gleadow (pictured) and Chrisitine Quinn. With both of them I covered their basics and found alignment was the root to their problems. Chris went out to have several birdies and Howard I am awaiting the result!
Click here to get in touch with Chris or I to have your Putting set up and stroke checked.
I am looking for a 'game improvement champion" where I will take a member looking to improve their game through a series of lessons documenting their journey to "better golf" through my newsletter, your first assessment lesson will be FREE with further lessons offered at a discount rate for a block. Ideally I am looking for a 14 - 20 handicapper who is also looking to upgrade their equipment.
Contact me if you are interested.
Learn To Coil
For Power, use my opposing-forces drill to add energy to your swing.
Winding your upper torso during the backswing is essential for power and solid ball-striking. You don't need to make a huge turn off the ball or swing back until the shaft is parallel to the ground. The feel to strive for is that your upper body is loading up energy as you take the club back-just like medieval armies cranking a catapult into firing position. Your goal should be to build and store this energy on the backswing so you can unleash it toward the target as you start down.
Here's a good exercise to feel this loading-up process. Stand in your address position without a club. Let your arms hang, then cross your left wrist over your right so the backs of your hands are touching. Now, keeping your lower body stable, rotate your right side away from the target while trying to resist with your left arm (see photo).
These opposing forces will help you feel a coiling action in your core and back muscles.
A second benefit to this drill is that it teaches you to keep your left arm extended. Many amateurs let the lead arm collapse during the backswing, and that makes it tough to hit the ball solidly. This combination of left-arm extension and upper-body coil will put you in position to hit the ball flush and with power.
The Ladies April stableford winner was Polly Church with 39 points.
The BUNCH BOWL, presented by R H Bunch was first played in 1987 between the Ladies and Seniors as 9 singles. The Ladies received 3 shots prior to adjustment of ¾ difference using the men's card. The present format has been changed to Greensomes with the Ladies given 5 shots each! This year the Seniors battled through to a 2.5 to 1.5 win.
Danny Francis and Steve Flowers gave 17 shots and only lost 2&1. Seniors Captain Graham Light partnered Henry Cooper against Nicky Stilwell and Carole Cullen, winning 4&3, but hidden behind their score Nicky and Carole managed 2 under gross on the par 3's (3 pars and a HOLE IN ONE)!
SCOOP!!! - Nicky duly celebrated back in the clubhouse with drinks all round; her biggest thrill texting to Bob to inform him that she'd beaten him to their first hole in one!
UP-N-COMING - are friendlies away against Broadstone, Stoneham and Hayling.
OPENS - If any of you are participating in other clubs' Seniors' Opens please let me know how you get on. Remember Hockley Seniors' Open will be on Tuesday, 1 September.
Geoff Charnley
Seniors Vice-Captain
Mixed Match
The 2015 season kicked off with a home fixture against Tidworth. Hockley were victorious 5-2 with some very interesting well matched pairings (in a golfing sense) winning 6 & 5 and 8 & 7.
The next match is away at Basingstoke in early May where we hope to continue the good start.
Kindred Cup - Players required
Duncan Barlow still needs players for the Kindred Cup match, the first round match is 10th May away to Bognor Regis 11am tee off.
Please contact the Pro team who will put you in contact with Duncan.
St George's Day Stableford
The St George's Day Stableford held on Thursday 23rd, winners were:
Division One - Mike Kelly with 43 points
Division Two - Jeff Ashord with 41 points
Saints Day Trophy
The overall winner of the Saints Day Trophy and a great competition supporter was Mike Andrew
Saturday's Men's Medal
Division One - Phil Ratcliffe with a nett 66, beating Shane Rose on a countback
Division Two - Laurie Tennant with a nett 70
Sunday's Men's Stableford
Division One - Pete Crowe with 38 points
Division Two - Trevor Luckman with 37 points, beating Scott Ingram on a countback.
Now the Knockout matches are under way can I please ask you all to record the results on the draw sheets, but more importantly on the psi, this will enable all players to keep up to date will the results on line.
Saturday, 2 May - Men's medal played from the white tees.
Sunday, 3 May - Men's Long Course Stableford Millennium league match v Brokenhurst - Tee reserved from 2.00 - 3.15pm.
Wednesday, 6 May - Men's Short Course medal
The Delhi Cup - HELP REQUIRED
The Delhi Cup on Saturday, 16 May is a 36 hole scratch open event for those with handicaps of 9 and under, Hockley members are eligible to play, please complete an entry form available on the website or in the foyer and hand in to the office. Closing date of the 7th May is fast approaching and entries from non-members are now coming in thick and fast.
The Delhi Cup is a prestigious event which attracts a quality entry from Hampshire and some surrounding counties, and the Golf committee are keen that the success of last year's event can at least be equalled if not surpassed. So a significant number of volunteers are required to assist with registration, starting, ball spotting as well as flag waving on the 6th and 13th fairways, the response from members last year was superb and the Golf Committee hopes that the members will be as generous with their time again this year.
A sign-up sheet has been posted in the foyer or please contact Adrian Nicol or Howard Gleadow for any further information.
Your support is appreciated and thank you to those that have already signed up.
Our Pro Am will be held on Friday, 29 May and Hockley members are more than welcome to play, why not invite a colleague to play in a team with you? For further information please contact one of the Pro Team or click here to get in touch.
Also, we are after some Lady volunteers to operate the refreshments on the 11th for the day. Probably starting about 10.30am through to 4pm, on a rota basis. Please let Tracy know if you are able to help. Thank you.