Craig Knowles

Hello Golfers,

Welcome to another edition of our weekly newsletter, where we keep you up to date on everything you need to know going on here at Arbroath Golf Club.

This week we take a look back at what was a very busy weekend at the club in terms of competitions, look towards the 10th hole in our course management section, recap on what a successful 8 weeks of coaching the juniors have had, see what latest offers are on in the shop, give you an update on Connor playing in the Young Professionals Event at West Lothian and much, much more!

Enjoy the read!

Club news

James Kirk Championship Qualifying

What a busy weekend on the Links just past and another busy week ahead! This past weekend saw the Club and James Kirk Championship Qualifying Round 2 take place on Saturday in some cracking conditions, well done to all of the qualifiers and best of luck in the match play stages.

I have put a copy of each draw below.

The Links & Cadman Semi-Final

On Sunday we had the Links & Cadman semi-finals taking place in extremely tough conditions, there were some tight matches but we are now down to the final 2 in each competition. In the Cadman Final will be Paul Murphy & Jason Parker and in the Links Final will be Paul Teviotdale & Gary Pyott.

The finals take place this coming Sunday 7th July with the first rounds teeing off at 10.30 and the afternoon rounds starting around 2.45pm, what better way to spend your Sunday than coming down to watch some of Arbroath’s finest in action!

The Arbroath Gent's Open

We have a full field for Saturdays Arbroath Gents Open! 195 players will tee it up this Saturday in what should be a cracking day. The Pro Shop will be open from 5.30am and we will be ready to set you all off on your day.

Click here to view a list of the draw, in case you need to check your time!

The Scottish Young Professionals Event

As mentioned last week Connor was away playing in the Scottish Young Professionals Event at West Lothian Golf Club.

Playing in his first full tournament as a Professional and also playing in his first 72 hole event where there is a cut after 36 holes, Connor had rounds of 73 and 69 to comfortably make the cut. In round three Connor scored 70 to be 1 under par for his three rounds, in the final round Connor scored 76 to finish the tournament on 4 over par and in 18th position.

In my opinion, a fantastic effort given his little experience. Connor now has a busy schedule ahead of him for the rest of the season and I’m sure like myself you all wish him the best. I will keep you up to date with his progress.

Course news

Course Management - 10th Hole

At 407 yards from the Medal tee, the 10th is one of the longer holes, there is just one fairway bunker to contend with and one you definitely want to avoid! The burn is yet again in play on this hole and the decision is whether to lay up and play as a 3 shot hole or take on the carry to go for the green in 2.

My advice is simple, if you don’t think you can make the carry for the second shot at least 8 out 10 times then layup.

You still have a chance at a par from a pitch 3rd shot as opposed to taking a drop from the burn and bringing a double or triple bogey into the equation!

The 10th green is another very undulating green so it is key to bearing this in mind when playing your shot, the beauty of links golf is allowing the colours to do the work for you so make sure to use the slopes to your advantage when playing not only the 10th but you whole way around the course.

Junior news

Junior success!

Our 8-week coaching block has now concluded and it is fair to say it has been a real success for our first effort. We have a total of 13 kids coming between the 2 weekly classes and by the end of the summer each of these kids will have hopefully participated in the “Junior Golf Sixes” League.

We will be running a Summer Coaching camp over the Summer Holidays, details of which will be in next week’s newsletter, we will then be running another block of coaching running until the kids come off for the October holidays.

Our team of 6 were again in action this past weekend this time at Strathmore Golf Club, where they had a great time and Connors words of wisdom saw them score a higher points tally than they had previously achieved.

Shop news

Experience the benefits...

We have some new campaigns which have just started both of which are designed to show you the benefits of your Local PGA Professionals knowledge, expertise and advice!

Firstly is the “Free 18 Hole Trial” of our rental Motocaddy Trolleys, this lets you test drive the latest Motocaddy has to offer and see for yourself the benefits of using an electric trolley with a lithium battery.

All Motocaddy Trolleys bought from myself come with a 2 Year Warranty on the frame and a Full 5 Year Warranty on the battery. Pop into the shop to see the various options and take one out for a test drive!!

Click here to register your interest!

Putting things right

This time we are focussing on the most important part of the game… Putting!!

We have a great selection of putters from both Odyssey and TaylorMade. We can take you onto the putting green watch you in action and fit you for the putter to best suit.

If that wasn’t enough we then give you a Free after sales lesson to make sure you have the best chance of holing those all-important putts out on the course!

Click here to find out more!

Stand out from the crowd!

We have a cracking selection of Logo Goods currently on offer in the Pro Shop. Not only do we have shirts and pullovers but we also have a great selection of caps, headcovers, towels, markers and pitchforks.

We have a short term offer on the shirts which are £34.99 each or 2 for £60!

Hurry whilst the offer and stock last!

Reading between the lines

One of the hardest things in golf is green reading; it is also something that the majority of golfers never learn how to do properly. So, without giving away all the secrets, here are some handy tips to help keep you on track and hole more putts.

High and low

Prior to reaching the green, take note of the high and low points of the surface and where your ball lies in respect to these. This will help you to build a general picture before reaching your ball.

360 picture

If you’re struggling to read which way your putt breaks from behind the ball, try walking around to the other side of the hole as this can often highlight any breaks you may have missed or reaffirm your original read.

Utilise our expertise

To really master the art of putting, book a coaching session with us and benefit from our years of experience as PGA professionals. Here we will teach you the in-depth steps to improving your green reading skills.

message the team >

Are you focusing on the wrong thing?

As soon as the ball has left the putter face, we know whether it’s going to be good or not. It’s like a sixth sense, right? But what constitutes a good putt? Many golfers let the final outcome decide this – i.e. whether the ball ends up in the hole or not – but that is arguably well out of our control. So, perhaps it's time to refocus on what we can control?

There are only two things we can really control when it comes to putting. The first is starting the ball on the correct line. Take Tiger Woods for example; the 15-time major winner focuses on a blade of grass he wants the ball to roll over immediately in front of him, which brings the intended target much closer to impact.

The second is getting the ball rolling correctly, which means imparting top spin as quickly as possible after impact rather than having it jumping and skidding in the air.

One way to control our putting is by utilising the technology in TaylorMade’s stunning Spider X putter.

It features an improved Pure Roll insert that has 45-degree grooves to help generate the aforementioned top spin as quickly as possible. The updated insert also produces a better sound and feel at contact, which many of you will love.

This is by no means the only putter available within TaylorMade's line-up, so click on the link below to view the entire range.

view TaylorMade's range >

Shop online | Collect in-store

We understand the convenience of shopping online from the comfort of your own home. We also appreciate that we can't stock every single product in-store due to limited space.

The answer to both of these is our fantastic Click & Collect service, which allows you to browse a huge range of products online and order to pick up from our shop the next time you're down the club. Have you given it a try?

shop now >

Video of the Week

In the final video of this three-part series, world class putting instructor Phil Kenyon talks us through how to improve our focus on the greens. Could the secret really be this simple?

I hope you enjoyed the newsletter. If you have any thoughts or queries please contact me in the golf shop.

Arbroath Golf Links
Dundee Road
Elliott by Arbroath
DD11 2PE

Phone: 01241 875837

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