David Wood

Hello Golfers,

Welcome to another edition of our newsletter, in this week’s mail we recap on a very successful Open Championship, we have the results from Open Sweepstake, and the Thornton Cup side have a big quarter final match this weekend. Enjoy the read!

Tour news

The Open – Royal Portrush

If you believe in fate, then only an Irishman was ever going to win last week at Royal Portrush. Of course the total dream would have been Graeme McDowell, the "home town boy" being the man or maybe even Rory or Darren.

Well it was close enough with probably one of Europe's most popular players in Shane Lowry bringing home the Claret Jug to County Offally in the South. Lowry had the big smile to match his undoubted personality, took the tournament by the scruff of the neck with a sublime 63 on Saturday to take a 4 shot lead into Sunday. With the weather closing in, the signs were looking better all the time. A nervy opening hole which would be expected with the whole of the nation willing an Irish win allowed Tommy Fleetwood to close the gap briefly. The leaders played in the worst of the conditions, the strongest winds and the expected torrents of rain and with no one was able to surmount a charge, the Irishman played strategically all the way around giving him an unassailable lead of 6 shots playing the last. He savoured his walk down the 18th to a hysterical celebratory roar from the home fans, louder than anyone had probably cheered before.

So here are some interesting facts, if you believe in fate. The average age of an Open winner in the last 15 years is 33, the average world ranking of The open winner over the same period is 32 .Guess what? Shane Lowry is 32 and was ranked world 33 last week. He is also the first man to win The Open with a beard for over 125 years!

What of the others? Koepka had a bad week, finishing a lowly 4th.The worst position all year in the Majors. Rory, he admitted to being overwhelmed by the occasion and missed the cut by a single stroke, oh for that missed putt on Thursday! Tiger suffered in the conditions, cool and damp not much good for a man playing with a bad back. Sadly all but McDowell of the other Irish players went before the weekend. The weather was too much on Sunday for Rose and Stenson (one of my choices) as they both hit amazing shanks from the fairway. Rose`s shank was caught on TV followed by a big cheer in the clubhouse, which unusually wasn`t replayed and Stenson who put the guilty club over his knee.

Lowry embraced his audience, and with the support they gave him, he looked to enjoy every minute. His caddy was also a big factor on Sunday as Lowry admitted to not being able to keep in the present and continually saw himself holding the Claret Jug. His caddie kept prompting good thoughts of the here and now or the trophy may not be his. Just goes to show how important the caddie can be! Rory are you listening?

The players loved the course, The R&A set it up fairly whatever the weather, no idiotic flag locations, on rock hard greens and enough rough to pose plenty of questions should the players attempt to take risks. I can see it staying on the rota for a long time to come. If you think you know how to party take a look at what it meant to Shane a little later after the presentation!

Did you spot our man?

Our Assistant Head Greenkeeper Ian Nichols worked at The Open this year. It looks like he had a great time, here are a few pictures from his week.

Shop news

Pro Shop Open Sweepstake Results

For those who entered, here's a list of all the winners from the week's play:

Overall
1st - LOWRY - Chris Callaway = £125.00
2nd - FLEETWOOD - Daniel Johnson = £100.00
3rd - FINAU - Chris Callaway = £75.00
T4 - WESTWOOD - Ron Wilkes = £57.50
T4 - KOEPKA - Roger Burder = £57.50
T6 - MACINTYRE - Owen Carney = £28.75
T6 - HATTON - Mark White = £28.75
T6 - WILLETT - John Charlick = £28.75
T6 - FOWLER - Jacqui Callaway = £28.75

Halfway leader
LOWRY & JB HOLMES - Chris Callaway & Rob Costen = £25.00 each

Best score each day - £20.00 each day
First round - LOWRY (67) - Chris Callaway

Second round SCHAUFELLE, HARDING, STREELMAN, MCILROY (65) - Chris Callaway, Dean Archer, David Chegwidden and David Spencer

Third round - LOWRY (63) - Chris Callaway

Fourth round - MOLINARI (66) - Darren Crudgington

Worst score each day £20.00 each day

First round - DUVAL (91) - Martin Mahoney

Second round - MEESAWAT (81) - Graham Dunn

Third round - APHIBARNRAT, SHARMA, TURNER, OLESEN (77) - Lee O`Donnell, Dennis Mayes, Michael Hepting and Michael Titcombe

Fourth round - JB.HOLMES (87) - Robert Costen

First hole in one
GRILLO - Pat Purcell = £25.00

Congratulations to all the winners and many thanks to all who entered.

Competition news

Thornton Cup quarter finals

Orsett have a match against Hainualt Forest that is being held at Benton hall. So if any of you would like to give the boys your support then that’s the place to head. We host Rochford versus Chelmsford. It too will be a good match but get to Benton Hall if you can!

Fitting news

It's now or never...

Well, maybe it's not that drastic, but this fantastic promotion is coming to an end very soon!

We all know how important putting is when it comes to shooting lower scores, so take advantage of our FREE putter fitting and FREE aftersales lesson this week before it's too late.

Come and speak to a member of the team in-store and we talk you through the rest.

message the team>

Rated: Garmin GPS watches

How many times have you stood on a tee-box and wondered what yardage it is to a specific point down the fairway, such as a tree or bunker? Likewise, how helpful would it be to know how far you have between the back of the green and the pin? This is where a GPS device comes in, and here are our top three picks in 2019.

Garmin Approach S10

All the key distance information you need without the frills in this simple and easy-to-use watch.

Our verdict – Superb budget option boasting incredible practicality and style

Garmin Approach S40

1.2 inch colour touchscreen that allows you to easily move the pin for more accurate yardages.

Our verdict – Our top pick for a combination of on-course info and smartwatch functionality

Garmin Approach S60

The very best GPS golf watch with a bird's-eye view of the entire hole and a large numbers setting.

Our verdict – A premium option that offers so much tech it is actually something of a bargain

watch our review >

Cut yourself some slack

It makes sense that the closer the ball is to the hole the more chance we have of holing it, but how much easier is a 5-foot putt than a 10-foot putt? Well, here are some stats taken from the PGA Tour's website the week after this year's PGA Championship, which we think makes for interesting reading…

Percentage of putts made from various distances

Bear in mind these stats are from the top 20 putters on the PGA Tour, you can bet your bottom dollar that the percentages would be a little lower for us mere mortals. Either way, they really do highlight the importance of accuracy with our approach shots, not to mention distance control with our lag putts.

Improve on the greens

Hopefully, you're feeling a little better about your putting and beginning to reassess your expectations when on the greens.

Although you have no divine right to hole any putt, improving your stroke and having a putter that is suited to your technique will help to improve your percentages.

Odyssey's range of stunning putters for 2019 has been designed to produce a better roll on every putt. They've combined two of our favourite technologies - Microhinge and White Hot - to produce their best putter face to date, not to mention its innovative Stroke Lab shaft to improve consistency on every putt.

Be sure to utilise our expertise and professional advice if you're in the market for a new putter.

explore Odyssey putters >

Video of the Week

Shane Lowry may have won the Open Championship at Royal Portrush last weekend, but who came out on top in the European Tour's Nearest the Pin Challenge with a twist? Don't try this at home.

Putting passion into your past time

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