Richard Whitford

Hello Golfers,

I hope you all had a fantastic week on and off the golf course and welcome to a new edition of our weekly newsletter, keeping you up to date with the latest news within the walls of Knock Golf Club.

Enjoy this week's read!

The Open

What a week

What an Open Championship our ‘wee country’ produced. Below are some images from a few days I spent up the North coast. I spent a lot of time watching the World’s best.

Have a look at the pictures of the players on the putting green, they either have their coach with them or using some sort of training aid.

If you would like to have a look at your putting, learn how to practice better or to have a look at various training aids, pop in and speak to a member of the team.

What a great win for Shane, I wonder if he has sobered up yet.

Competition news

Club Sweep

With it being ‘Open’ Weekend, we decided to change my Professionals Prize for the men to later in the year. We played a Club Sweep on Friday and Saturday with Richard Fulton storming to the top of the leaderboard with 42 points.

Paul Kelly snatched second with 41 points and Tom Anderson took third with 40 points. Chris Berry finished fourth with 39 points. The Best Gross with 68 (-2) went to Matt Welsh and the Anno Domini prize with 38 points went to Norman Johnston. The Best Back 9 prize went to Jonathan Finlay with 21 points.

Category 1 winner - Gary Boyd - 38 points
Category 2 winner - John Cairnduff - 38 points
Category 3 winner - Paul McNaughten - 37 points

The twos paid out £11.25 each. Congrats to Richard who has been working hard on his game.

Sunday Sweep
Sunday, 21 July

Matthew Perry shot 38 points to win first prize this Sunday beating runner up Tim Linter (37 points) by one point. Alan Murray took third prize on countback from Gareth Howes, with both men shooting 36 points.

The twos paid out £14.00 each and all monies have been added to your Pro Shop accounts.

Junior news

McMullan Cup

Matthew McCrossan claimed silverware on Monday with a great 41 points, Robbie Davidson took runners up spot with 38 points on countback from third-placed Charlie Park.

Ladies news

Professional's Prize

On Tuesday the ladies played for my Professionals Prize in wall to wall sunshine with young star Katie Poots taking the top spot with 36 points. Runner up with 35 points went to Joan Sinclair and Sharon Crozier came third with 31 points.

The Best Gross went to Alison Sinnamon. Congrats Katie, I look forward to teeing it up with you later in the year in the Regional PGA Finals at Warrenpoint Golf Club.

Social news

Social events

- Saturday, 27 July - Bob's Steak Night

- Saturday, 17 August - Gourmet Dinner and Tutored Wine Tasting

All bookings please call 02890 480915.

Course news

We're on a roll

Not only are we cutting millimetres shorter but also ironing the greens to help smooth out the surfaces and ultimately make them run faster.

We hope you're enjoying the fantastic playing surfaces at this current time.

Shop news

Play the clubs Shane Lowry won The Open with

Pictured below is the Srixon Fitting Cart I have in the Swing Studio. Shane used Srixon woods, hybrids and irons last week. I have got many Demo Srixon clubs for you to try, just pop in and have a look.

Srixon is the number one selling iron in the world (due to the Asian market) they are full of quality, consistency and perform amazingly well.

Click here to book a fitting.

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. Click here to get in touch.

Have you tried our Click & Collect?

Whether you're after a product that we don't stock in-store or you simply prefer to do a bit of shopping online, our fantastic Click & Collect service should be your only stop.

We have a wide range of men's and women's products available - in addition to what we have on the shelves - that you can browse, order and pick up from our shop at your convenience.

Why not take a look? click here.

Mind over matter

You've probably heard the saying golf is 10% physical and 90% mental. If this is true, a change in mindset when playing could easily lead to better scores and a lower handicap, but how do you overcome those mental barriers that you've been struggling with for so long?

Stay in the moment

It's easier said than done but don't dwell on bad shots or previous negative experiences of a hole.

Likewise, if you're playing well and on for a good score, it is important that you don't look too far ahead at the same time.

The '10-yard' rule

When you hit a bad shot, take a leaf from Tiger's book by giving yourself just 10-yards to vent.

Once you've walked 10-yards it's time to banish that shot from the history books and look ahead to what's next.

Coaching is key

It's equally important that you work on all aspects of your game, including your mental side.

With our years of experience, we can really guide you through the best way to manage your emotions through a round of golf.

message the team >

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.

Thank you for reading and have a great weekend. Richard

Knock Golf Club
Summerfield
Dundonald
Belfast
BT16 0QX

Phone: 028 904 83825

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