Richard Whitford

Winners

Click here to check out the winners of the Pro Shop Draw!

I would like to thank everyone that entered the Pro shop sweep.

Q&A with our Junior Convenor and Fred Daly Captain Simon Swail

Q1. What do you miss most about the club during lockdown?

Just the general day to day banter, talking about the weekends golf both at the club and at Tour level. I also miss the Swing Studio. I have spent many an hour playing the great courses on offer over the winter... time flies in that room.

Q2. What is your favourite hole at Knock and why?

I love the 15th. I love how it looks from the back back tees. Having to thread a ball through the narrow funnel of trees.

Q3. When we do get back to golf, what's the first thing you will do at the Club?

I must admit i have missed Bobs ‘healthy fry’ on a Saturday morning with my Fourball.

Q4. Has this lockdown increased your appetite to play more when we reopen?

I have missed golf immensely. I did play my fair share of 9 holes during the week just to get my ‘head showered’ from work. I also loved hitting a batch of balls on the practice ground, especially in the mornings. For me its a great stress reliever.

Q5. Apart from playing the course what else have you missed about the club?

I miss popping into the Pro shop for a general chat to catch up on the latest News around the club. I also miss arranging club matches for the juniors, especially after last season as we won the Fred Daly plate. I was looking forward to seeing how the U18s had improved on the offseason as a number had been working very hard on their game.

Q6. Who is your dream Fourball?

Lee Westwood, Justin Thomas and Sir Alex Ferguson.

Q7. What have you been doing during Lockdown?

In a word, working. I run a family-owned Nursing/Residential Home (Limetree), so as you imagine it's been an ultra stressful time trying to keep the staff and patients all safe and well during this tough time. Working with PPE has been very strange and many of our residents do not really understand what's going on. It's difficult to explain why family members cant call to visit etc.
Apart from working I have been in the back garden working on the advice I get from Ricky on my swing. I love the challenge but it frustrates me massively. Working out, watching Netflix and sporting re-runs fills the rest of my days.

Thanks Simon for your time and let's hope we get through this period as soon as possible. I personally know a few residents in your care home and I can only imagine the stress and strain you are all feeling on a day to day basis at present.

New Grips for the 'Comeback'

Would you like to treat yourself to a set of new grips for when we get back to playing??

If so get in touch. If your golf clubs are at the club, just get in touch, let me know your locker number and I can re-grip your clubs and put them back into your locker. If your clubs are at home I can collect, regrip and deliver them back to you .... there is nothing better than the feel of new grips. Get in touch and let me know by replying to this email or
Rickywhitford@tiscali.co.uk.

To the right is my ‘grip wall’ in the Pro shop.
I have all the latest grips in stock from all the leading manufacturers including an extensive range of putter grips.

Vouchers available

Knock Pro Shop (Whitford Golf) gift vouchers available.

Vouchers for the Pro shop can be tailored to your needs be it lessons, fitting, goods, re gripping or Simulator use. I can deliver or post to any address. So if it’s a birthday or retirement present or just a gift get in touch and I can arrange.

Stretching with Nick

Click here for some pre golf stretching exercises with Nick.

Brilliant content from our assistant professional.

It’s good to stay in touch. If you would like to see more photos and information about the golf club you can follow me and the club on twitter

@rickytwhitford
@knockgolfclub

‘If we can winter this one out, we can summer anywhere’
This Seamus Heaney quote seems pretty relevant during this time eh.

If anyone needs to contact me or needs a delivery no matter how small just get in touch my e mail is

Rickywhitford@tiscali.co.uk

Quarantine Golf Quiz Questions No.6

1. You hit a good tee shot at 4th but it's slightly short and the ball finishes imbedded in the grass bank of the bunker at front of green - any relief/ what is the ruling?

2. The pin is at the front of the 18th green. You hit a great approach shot but it actually hits the Pin and bounces back into the river at front of green – where do you drop?

3. In a Match playing the 16th, both players hit their tee shots slightly short and right into the rough. “A” plays first on to the Green – then “B”.
“A” gets down in 2 putts - but “B” 3 putts. As they are about to walk off they realise they have played each others ball. What is the ruling?

4. Gerry and Linda are playing in mixed foursomes. On the fairway at the 2nd Gerry stands behind Linda and helps to line her up
a) he then continues to stand there while she hits her shot. Is this permissible – any Penalty??
b) If Gerry moves away and Linda steps away and then retakes her stance before playing. Any difference? Is this then OK? Any penalty??

ANSWERS No 6
1. Your ball is not in the Bunker The Bunker is only comprised of the sand – not its surrounds. Lift Clean & Drop, NO Penalty. If ball rolls back into Bunker drop again - then place.

2. a) Really hard luck but you must drop on Fairway side of river – not on the line the ball crossed the river in the first place - but back in a direct line from Pin through the point where it last crossed river as far back as you wish
b) Play again from where you last played

3. “A” loses hole – once he played the wrong ball the hole is over – it then doesn’t matter what his opponent does afterwards.

4. It makes no difference – in either or both cases it's a 2 shot penalty.
It is strictly not allowed for caddy or playing partner to stand behind player on the fairway while he or she takes stance – player stepping away and then retaking stance doesn’t correct it – the penalty is triggered as soon as stance is taken.

It's quiz time

This week we have a brilliant quiz for you to indulge yourself in.

'Guess Who' Quiz

We will give you three short statements, which you will need to use to work out who the golfer is. It's multiple-choice so if you can't work it out then you can at least have a guess!

From now on, we'll be doing these quizzes in our first newsletter of every month so be sure to keep an eye out!

take our 'Guess Who' quiz >

Thoughts for the course

When you get to hit your next golf shot, it's highly likely that you'll be battling with a little bit of rust that's set into your game during lockdown. So, to help you out when you do get back out on the fairways, here’s something important you might want to pay particular attention to.

Why is alignment important?

When we talk about alignment, we’re referring to where our clubface, feet, hips and shoulders are all aiming. If these areas are disjointed before we start our swing, hitting a straight shot is quite a bit harder.

For example, if a right-hander’s body is aiming left of the target with the clubface straight (as in the image above), it encourages a swing path to the left and will often result in a fade/slice that ends up to the right of where you want it to.

How to perfect yours

Playing lots of golf is something we all look forward to in the coming months, so make sure you have solid foundations at address.

If you ever see professional golfers on the range, they usually lay a stick or club down on the floor between their feet and the ball that aims at their target. By using this as a reference point, it ensures their alignment is spot-on. Try it the next time you practice - you might be surprised!

send us a message >

Visual aids are key

Carrying on with the theme of alignment, it’s really important to get it right when putting too. Golf brands have come up with some clever ways to help golfers on this front, from the original 2-ball putter to today’s intuitive colour-contrast sightlines, but there are also some things you can do on your golf ball to help.

Grab a marker

Lots of golfers draw a line on their golf ball with a permanent marker to use when putting (and driving in some cases).

This has been a popular method for decades as it aids alignment with where the golfer intends to start the ball rolling, taking into account the slope of the green.

Instant feedback

If the line rolls over itself and stays pointing at your target for the duration of the putt, it indicates you've hit a pretty good putt.

However, if the line ends up rolling towards the hole pointing elsewhere, it usually means your stroke was a little off - something we can help with.

Have you seen these?

TaylorMade calls it ClearPath Alignment, which is designed to give you the visual feedback mentioned before.

If this is something that interests you, these balls will be available from the pro shop when we re-open, but you can also find out more on our website.

learn more here >

Video of the Week

The European Tour has produced some brilliant videos in recent years and this is one of our favourites. Wondering what happened to elicit this response from Andy Sullivan? Watch the video to find out! Enjoy.

European Tour: Most frustrating video ever

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Dundonald
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Phone: 028 904 83825

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