Mollie Gapping Session

After her disappointment, losing out in The Kent Ladies Championship semi-final, Mollie Lawrence sought some guidance on how she might improve and asked for my thoughts on her game. I had been lucky enough to escape the shop's confines and watch Mollie play a few holes on each of the three days. I told her I thought her technique was exceptional across all departments and it's a pleasure to see how much she has progressed under the guidance of my fellow PGA Professional Jeremy Bennett. From what I'd seen I felt poor club selection had been the cause of most of Mollies errors, Mollie was hitting the ball fantastically and ultimately the club selection was the difference between winning and losing her match.

Mollie and I headed for the range the following day with Matt Haines and our trusty GC2 in hand, ready to discover Mollie's golfing problem. As the session progressed, it become apparent that Mollie didn't know how far she hits the golf ball. At her level that is a major problem.

Once we had completed the gapping session and had Mollie's yardages duly recorded we headed for the golf course to play a few holes. I let Mollie to hit a few 8 irons into the 12th green, the perfect club going by the results from the GC2, two of these ended very adjacent and about two foot apart, but the third shot was over the back of the green. This had me scratching my head until the eagle eyed Matt Haines noticed that the third ball was a rock hard Callaway Warbird...designed for extra distance!

We then played round to the 14th where Mollie hit a couple of wedge shots into the green and once again they were in such close proximity to each other you could throw your hat over both golf balls.

Hopefully this new found information will stand Mollie in good stead for the rest of the season and can only lead to her bringing home a truck load of silverware!

Matt also used the GC2 to get some yardages and had this to say:

'Really good for golfers to find out distance control I wouldn't know one professional that doesn't know their distances. Not being gapped is costing shots. I now have a full range of distances in preparation for the season ahead'.

On the image you will find the exact distances for both Mollie & Matt which will stand them in good stead for the season.

Sunday brought around the Course Backwards Texas Scramble, one of the few days of the year where the course planner and GPS system gets left at home. As more and more people arrived at the Club a more jovial atmosphere was beginning to build. The usual confusion as to which hole people needed to make their way to in time for the start of play ensued, but as ever, the pro shop rose to the challenge.

A fun day was had by all, especially the winning team, made up by, Ross Peters, Terry Fogerty, Hugh Martin and David Ford returning a magnificent score of 55, 18 under par. This season is shaping up to be a very successful one for David Ford after adding this victory to his triumphant Easter weekend.

In a world dominated by health and safety regulations, two holes required spotters as the second shots were blind; the morning shift saw Jeff Wakelin guiding people from the top of the hill by the ninth tee into the eighth green, Jeff was then substituted out for David & Marjorie Jones who took over the remainder of the day. On the other side of the course The Captain, Peter Goodsell was guiding people into the 14th green from the 15th fairway and like a trooper Peter stayed out for the duration with only the passing golfers and his flags for company.

TaylorMade Fitting Day -  In previous weeks we have mentioned the second coming of the TaylorMade fitting day. If you feel any last minute substitutions need making in the bag there are still a few spaces available to be properly fitted and find the right club for you. Alternatively, you are more than welcome to walk up to the range and test drive any of the clubs, but a full fitting may not be available. The demo day will be taking place on Friday, 1 May, between 2.00pm and 7.00pm, with bookings being made in the pro shop.

On Thursday, 2 July we will be hosting our annual Pro-Am. Last year this was a very well supported and organised event and we are looking to not only match last year's effort, but improve upon it. You will get the chance to play with some of the finest PGA Professionals the South Region has to offer. In recent years we have had the likes of Benn Barham and Richard Wallis play our event, both of which have had stints on The European Tour.

For the full luxury experience we have the VIP package which includes hole sponsorship, reserved car parking and champagne breakfast on arrival, all for just £400 for the whole team. Please click here to get an entry form.

Rob's Shoe Review

We've a wide range of shoes in the pro shop so I tried and tested three pairs to see how they fared against each other.

The first pair that I tried was the adidas adipower boost and I have to say they were extremely comfortable as soon as I put them on; it was like walking on trampolines. I made a few swings with them on and found them to be very supportive around the ankle, they are padded which also adds to the comfort. I'd say it's a good all round shoe.

The next pair I test drove were the ECCO Biom Hybrid 2 spikeless. The first thing that I noticed was that the thinner sole meant I felt lower to the floor, which helped me feel more grounded when I made a few swings and I also felt that the arch of my foot was more supported. A common question about spikeless shoes is whether or not they grip all that well and after trying to swing fast enough that my arms would come off I can assure you my feet weren't going anywhere, the grip was phenomenal.

Finally, I tried the FootJoy HyperFlex and the moment I put them on, like the adidas shoes, I felt total comfort which gave me confidence making swings. When I was swinging I felt the most stable out of the three shoes, due to the heel on the sole unit I believe. The wider heel meant I couldn't feel any movement within the shoe.

The HyperFlex was a winner in my opinion but I would recommend trying all three brands, comfort and stability were big features across all three styles. So why don't you pop in to the shop to find out which is your favourite shoe.