Pro Am delight at the Royal…
Earlier this week I took a team to play in the Essex PGA inaugural Royal Pro-am around Royal St Georges and Royal Cinque Ports. They are two of the best courses the South of England has to offer and as many of you know, Royal St Georges has held the Open Championship on numerous occasions.
Monday at Cinque Ports was played in 25 -35 mile an hour winds, with holes of 380 yards playing a driver and long iron/hybrid (no I`m not a short hitter) and although we only scored level par (best 2 scores) and Steve Faulkner hitting one of the best hybrid shots ever seen off a downhill lie, it was more than acceptable we thought. Leading though after 18 holes was 9 under par!!So a bit off the pace.
Tuesday brought lighter winds but a tougher course, not that Cinque Ports is anyway easy (6,500 yards from our tees). St Georges lived up to its reputation but we managed to put together a day winning score of 5 under par without any luck on the greens. Russell (Trigger) Fields did hole a 30 yard pitch on the 17th for a timely birdie after hitting his "Sunday best" on the 415 yard par 4 and not reaching! Everyone contributed throughout the event .Overall we finished 5th just off the podium again, with the winners being 11 under, but what a great event to play in. Thanks to my team for playing and keeping a smile on their faces even when the going got as tough as the rough.
Just a thought if you have issues with bunkers these may not be the courses for you. As you can see, Tom "The Bomber" Drake found one of the deeper ones at Royal St Georges.
So who thought the European Tour title was all over? Most of us I suppose, but not Danny Willett. His final round of 62 in China at the WGC event has narrowed the gap to just 73,000 Euro on Rorys lead. Willett plays this week in the BMW, whilst Rory has a week off to do other things. Willett could be leader by the time they get to Dubai, something unthinkable 2 months ago. At least we could see the best of Rory and whether Willett has the game to play against the best which would serve him well with the Ryder Cup on the horizon.
Alongside him Scotsman, Russell Knox held his nerve to win the event. It's his first win on Tour and what a win. Great golf all the week, could he be the saviour of Scottish golf? He too will be on Darren Clarkes Ryder Cup radar now and with some of the "old guard" coming to an end, new blood will definitely be needed next year to compete with, Spieth, Reed, Fowler et al. America looks strong already so Europe need to keep up with them.
First tee taking shape…
As you can see from the pictures, the new Championship 1st tee is really taking shape. Perry and the boys have been hard at work shaping and developing the first thing players will see when they "walk around the corner ". With the creation of a new path way and dry garden the whole area will get the lift Orsett wants to reflect to members and guests alike. So sometime next year it should be in play.
Elsewhere drugs have had a huge say in the world of sport. Athletics has been rife for many years and now the whole of Athletics is in meltdown, thankfully golf has kept virtually clear of it and if it has been blighted, the culprit has been moved off the Tour pretty quickly and out of the public eye. It has no room in the game and can`t enhance anyone's performance on the course. How Sebastian Coe will deal with this problem, we will have to watch. Could this be the end of the Olympic Games? Time will tell.
The Christmas draw is well under way. With so many great prizes and extra special first prize as always don`t forget to have a go next time you are in the shop. Winners of my first 2 draws had great days out, so it could be you if you enter.
ProQuip going down a storm
This seasons range of ProQuip rain and winter wear has caught many an imagination already. With temperatures at amazing numbers for the time of the year, it hasn`t stopped you from renewing or buying into the latest products from the Ryder Cups teams official supplier. As you can see it looks good and is extremely light weight. Recent purchaser, Barry Sutton bought a Pro flex suit and stayed "absolutely dry through" during a whole rain battered round recently. "Best rain suit I`ve had and great value for money as well "he admitted. So if you want to stay dry and remain out on the course this has to be for you.