COURSE MANAGEMENT

There are two main rules the average golfer should be taught in regard to plotting strategy on the golf course.

1. Plan to avoid the worst trouble
2. Do not plan on hitting perfect shots. Just take one at a time and not get ahead of yourself.

It is well known that is is not the quality of your good shots, but the quality of your bad ones.

If your predominant shot is left to right try teeing up on the right hand side of the tee box.
If your predominant shot is right to left, tee up on the left side of the tee. This will open up your landing area and you will be giving yourself a chance of playing away from the trouble.

FOR ADVANCED PLAYERS

If the flagstick is on the left side of the green, then the tee shot should be on the right side of the fairway. If the flagstick is on the right side of the green then plan your tee shot to be on the left side of the fairway. This will give you a nice route into the green.

APPROACH SHOTS

If the flagstick is on the front of the green, aim for the middle of the green. There are two reasons for this.

1. Most golfers under club and leave the ball short.
2. You may not strike the ball solidly.

With the pin on the right side of the green well guarded by a bunker, the ball should be played to the middle of the green or left, avoiding trouble and keeping the bunker out of play.

At the end of the day, you have to use your own strategy and stick with it, for good course management.Play to your strengths and not your weaknesses.

HAVE FUN

Plan for winter

I hope 2014 has been a great year for all of you.

This time of year is a great opportunity for all you golfers to look at your highlights from last year and find what area of your game could be improved and what you can work on during the off season.
It's worth jotting down on a piece of paper what you did well, good rounds, good holes, situations you handled well, good attitude anything positive you can think of. It is very important to have great reminders from last season.
Take a hard look at areas of your game that you might be struggling with. For example, quality of practice, short game, fitness anything you feel you could improve on this winter. Once you have done this you could set up a monthly plan for the next 3 months. This should give you a focus on the particular aspect you want to work on. You might seek guidance and advice with your coach. If so, get cracking!
Once you've decided, it is important to keep things simple and not complicate your development with gimmicks and quick fixes. Apply yourself to the simple methods of improvement and look forward to the new season armed with your new skills

Carla's Society - the Cowboys Roundup 2014 Season

After a long wet winter, it was nice to roll into Frodsham Golf Club in March, on a beautiful spring day. The cowboys were raring to go and we had a new member join us, singing cowboy Nick! The winner on the day was Tumbleweed Jeff with 35 points.

In April we played Upton-by-Chester Golf Club, a shorter course but much tighter, lots of par 3’s but there wasn’t a 2 in sight that day. I played with Steve who had a bucket of pars and J.C. who could have had a bucket of pars if he only could chip! He must have told Steve and I that there was no sand in the bunkers on every hole. We get used to it after a while! As we started George was limbering up on the bench on the 1st tee with his bum in the air like a praying mantis stretching out. Steve was shouting “you could get into trouble doing that!” Bagpipe John loaded the longest drive and nearest the pin, smiling like a Cheshire cat! Tumbleweed Jeff just wanted to know what was for dinner! Fast Talkin Bill was having a senior moment on the rules. The usual mayhem! Despite this the scores were good on the day, especially for Julie who won with 39 points.

Played a beautiful golf course in May, called Grange Park at St. Helens, it was a real gem and can’t wait to go back. The greens were fantastic and highly manicured with beautifully designed holes. Not played a course of this calibre for a long time. I had a great day with Jeff and Sundance Stephens. We played as well as we could despite the weather. Talk about the wheels falling off, they literally did for Sundance! Twice it happened “flipping brand new power trolley” he said. The rain was steady all day and it still looked beautiful. We watched our groups come in from the conservatory and as we looked on Jesse James shanked his ball on the 18th, followed by another shank by J.C. Off they marched into the rhododendrons. J.C. was complaining that too much talking was putting him off. Gee up George was a little giddy and put on his card “THE PITTS”. We had a lovely steak pie meal and the chips were great! The winner was Cool John O’Connell with 34 points.

Hawarden was our next outing. This is where Bob is Captain for the year, which is a lovely course and no easy task, the first 12 holes all seem to be uphill. It was a beautiful day for us, perfect weather for golf. We were all itching to go on the 1st tee. Mal was warming up in the nets like a man on a mission, then Jeff decided he would warm up too. I was about to take my tee shot when I heard this almighty CRACK! Cries of laughter rang out as I turned around and saw Jeff looking up into the sky, he had lost sight of his ball, totally perplexed after hitting it through a hole in the net up into the trees! Typical cowboy style, then I tried to settle myself down for my tee shot with not much success. You want to try hitting a golf shot when you have got the giggles! Off I went with Dixie and Bill and Bill played a blinder. He kept his rhythm beautifully all the way round and putted like a demon on those lovely greens. The course was in great shape. Dixie was getting a little frustrated to the extent that the s… word was used once or twice and the b……. word in a tone that threw us a bit. “It’s only a game” we whispered. “It’s supposed to be fun!” It obviously didn’t put Fast Talkin Bill off as he won with 40 points. Best score of the year so far.
It was a true links course in July, St.Annes Old Links and British Open qualifier. All the cowboys were looking forward to this one. Unfortunately it was a true links test with the breeze blowing hard crossing left to right and right to left with at least a 4 club wind. By the scores it was playing very difficult, with deep rough and superfast greens. Patience and perseverance was the order of the day. It was a question of keeping the ball as low to the ground as possible. I played with Jesse James who started with a couple of pars but rapidly went downhill in the testing conditions. Only his red trousers and turquoise shirt kept him in the game! George also struggled to keep the ball on the fairway. The winner of the day was Bronco Brooks who was the only player in the 30’s with 34 points so well done to him!

Aldersey Green was in August, slightly lower on cowboy numbers, with holidays etc but still 10 rode out. I was away also on the Amalfi coast and had a wonderful time, no golf clubs came with me this time as you can see by the coastline, mountainous! When I got back and saw the scores for Aldersey they were quite low so the course must have been a little tricky for folks. There was only one score in the 30’s which was Trixie Dixie with 34 points, obviously had a strategy! Well done Brian.

The John Biss Memorial Trophy was played at Sutton Hall where John was a member. Those of you who knew and met him will all think of him fondly and know how much he enjoyed playing with the cowboys on a Wednesday. We had a good turn out for the windy conditions but it was dry. I played with Bob and Bagpipe John. John played brilliantly but was not so good on the putting surface (if only). He did chip in for a birdie though and I got thrown around a bit after that! With tricky, fast greens and pins in difficult places along with a 2 club wind the scores were down. Cool John O Connell just got his name on that trophy with 30 points!

Just thought it should be brought to your attention that one of our members was banned from a driving range. Basically just for being there! He had to gallop out of that range! None of you use it so you are quite safe. It is rather a funny story so I will let George fill you in if he can bear it. As far as I know it is the first time that a cowboy has been banned from anywhere!

Last competition of the year was at Pryors Hayes, it was a pleasant day and we had our new bright yellow society shirts! The colour was absolutely perfect with George’s shoes, so that was a nice touch! I had the pleasure of playing with Julie and Bronco Brooks who had the ‘swoosh’ of a practice swing that sounded like an express train. It was making my hair part and I could see Julie was positively petrified! Jesse James was feeling good about playing his home course as he proceeded to score 22 points on the front 9 but sadly crap on the back 9! The winner of the day was Bagpipe John with 34 points who was shocked! (as shocked as a Miss World winner!) Great stuff!

The player of the year for 2014 is Julie O Belt It! Well played to you, Julie works very hard on her golf and deserves it. Congratulations!

It just leaves me to wish you all a great Christmas and new year and happy golfing in 2015. Remember what G.O.L.F means? Great Opportunities, Lifelong Friends.


Very Best Wishes from Carla xx

REPETITIVE PRACTICE

Most people hit the same target with the same club on the driving range and never vary their practice, rarely challenging themselves with different shots. It would be more beneficial to practice with a lot more random shots, changing clubs and aiming at various targets. Also, practicing with a partner adds a little pressure as there are no two shots the same on the golf course.

So, try and practice with a purpose and continually challenge yourself. This will help you perform better when you are competing. Quality practice is what you after.

JOHN BISS MEMORIAL TROPHY

The John Biss Trophy was played at Sutton Hall Golf club, Weds 24th September.

Here is John O' Connell, the winner with the trophy.

(Carla's Cowboys Golf Society).

VISUALISATION

Whether you consider yourself as a visual person or not, the fact is we are continuously responding to and acting upon, mental pictures.
When you are making changes to your golf game, being able to visualise is so important. Once you have visualised what is required, it is not too difficult to imagine what it will feel like. Then once you can physically see and feel the correct move in your golf swing you need to own that move by constant repetition.
Golfers are almost mesmerised by the golf ball that's why the players practice swing is usually much better than the real swing hitting the ball. The focus has to be on the action and the ball then gets in the way! Using a swing path aid when practising will distract your thoughts from the golf ball so give it a try and watch that ball fly!

Coaching and Club Fitting Testimonial

The secret.... An excellent teacher (with the patience of a saint), regular lessons and a proper set of custom fitted (Tom Wishon) clubs. No surprise – just common sense I suppose.

I always wanted to play golf and just before I was 50 made a decision to take up the game in preparation for retirement. A good friend and work colleague, who is a well known local amateur playing off a 1 handicap, recommended that I go and see Carla at the Sycamores golf range. Here I was provided with a 7 iron complete with training grip and the first lesson in “throwing the ball”.

Within a few months I had progressed to a beginners set of clubs procured from Carla for under £100 (which she got most of back for me later by re selling) that I proudly thwacked round some local courses, and even some prestigious venues such as Macclesfield (under the watchful eye of Carla) in the illustrious company of all who make up CCGS. (The members epitomise what the game is about – fun, sticking together to further enjoyment and improving our standards as a group).

After a couple of years Carla was reasonably satisfied that my swing had developed and stabilised sufficient to warrant an investment in some new custom fitted clubs, which would last me a lifetime. Various options were discussed but I had seen the response of others at the range that had selected Tom Wishon so it was an easy choice (and surprisingly one of the least expensive).

A custom fit form (which is golf’s version of anthropometrics) is produced, but luckily all you have to do is stand, be measured and drink coffee as Carla completes all the entries, and at the same time notes preference for grips and so forth, aided by the wide variety she holds in stock. Then it is onto the range where swing speed , angle etc etc (all technical stuff) is determined. Two weeks later a club arrives for trial and approval. In my case it was a seven iron. Once Carla is happy you are striking consistently bits of tape are attached to the head and various measurements taken for adjustment. About 2 weeks after that the full set arrives. They then become part of you and would never consider changing. However if the worst should happen Carla and Tom Wishon retain a copy of everything and an exact replacement can be readily obtained.

Since starting I have undertaken a regular weekly lesson – or in my case corrective therapy. This is something I would do anyway as it makes sense, and when the weather is unfavourable you will always turn up for a lesson whereas can easily put of going to the range or the course to re- enforce the bad habits that I naturally (to Carla’s despair) seem to pick up. In hind sight it is also probably much more cost effective than aimlessly hitting 400 balls to try and correct something that is not happening but you don’t know where it is going wrong. Many a time I have had a lesson where a minor issue has been corrected that I would not attribute to the cause and hey presto away we go again until the next lapse. On the positive even my bad shots I now regularly get lucky. With lessons you also get to try all the latest training aids (and there are many of them).

I actually look forward to the lessons as Carla is an excellent coach and they are undertaken in a relaxed and friendly atmosphere with plenty of laughter, and you always leave feeling you have achieved something. Not so sure Carla shares this experience, but the above shot was only possible because of her dedication to her profession and her proven teaching skills.

So thanks again Carla,

John S.

Nearest the pin and I even managed make the putt to take the “two’s.

Look at that - July 30th 2014, St Annes Old Links, Hole 9, Par 3, 164 yards, wind blustery, with a headwind at approximately one o-clock direction.