Welcome to this week's newsletter, where we have all latest news and events from here at Laytown & Bettystown Golf Club. Enjoy the read. |
Classy Koepka Shows Mental Grit What a tournament we had last week with Brooks Koepka showing all the determination, power and finesse of a real seasoned winner, up to number two in the world and surely set to dominate the sport for many years to come. His story is very similar to our Open winner Francesco Molinari, only much more meteoric, as it is only a few years since he was plying his trade on the Challenge Tour and lower ranking events on the European Tour. He now looks like the real deal and without us even noticing is quickly becoming a player that looks the way Tiger did in his prime. On Saturday as Brooks climbed the leaderboard other players around him saw what was going on and pushed harder than they should resulting in unforced mistakes. It goes to show you that the influence that others can have on your game and how much mental strength is needed to reach the top of a leaderboard no matter what level you are at. Golf is such a selfish and individual sport that it requires a deep belief, and almost arrogance, in what you are doing to achieve the results. This is where the method that you use becomes the most important tool in your game. No matter how much you want to believe you are doing the right thing, no matter how much you think your shaft is influencing your game, if you know you have a flaw in your swing, success can be a very lucky and short-lived event, you have to believe in your method to play all aspects of this sport. No sports psychologist, mind guru, massive ego can fix a fault in your swing that causes a destructive shot and the very moment you don’t need it to pop up. Golf has become simple in method with a better understanding of your body’s basic movements and the rise in technology in the clubs and balls that we use. What remains a constant is the need to have rock solid fundamentals in your game and most of us do as Bobby would not have let you away with a bad grip, or ball position or posture and these will always be with your game which gives you a massive head start in developing the consistency that we require.
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Time to prepare... It has been a great summer for golf although the weather probably stopped us a bit from getting as much played as we would normally with the lure of the beach, BBQs and the world cup to distract us, but I hate to mention it, winter is coming and this should be the time to get everything right for next season and we can help with that in the shop.
It is a year since we brought in the latest in TrackMan technology and we have only scratched the surface of its capabilities but this winter will have a full swing studio available, when we can get in the hall with all the activities, which should really add value to your winter golf as I will be running coaching programs designed to build from exactly where you are at to where you want to go. We have great facilities around us for winter golf with the range in Piltown and over at Pats range over in Drogheda, so there is more than enough places to home your skills if you can pull yourself away from the Winter TV with the Jungle and X Factor and Aaron's favorite Strictly Come Dancing. You should see him practicing his moves when you’re not watching. And lets not forget our wonderful course that is available all year round, although last year the weather made it somewhere we did not really want to go. It will also be the perfect place to custom fit properly with without getting blown away and dealing with the rain and dodgy lies. We will have more details of what is available over the coming weeks.
Click here to request a lesson or fitting. |
Leinster Under 15 Final This is a big weekend for the juniors in the club with the return leg of the Leinster Under 15 Final being played at our course against Edmunstown. The boys were beaten away in the first leg, but put up a real strong fight at home and the advantage won through, but I would have to think we can turn the tables completely on the home leg as home advantage is huge. I would like to wish the team all the best and we will be out in force to cheer these young stars on Saturday afternoon. The U15 team has been put together this year through the hard work of junior boys co-ordinators Aiden and David and all the parents that have put in the hours on Sunday afternoons all year round. We have real good boys and girls coming through and in a couple of years will have a really strong set of teams at all age groups in the junior section. Over the years Mary has worked tirelessly with the junior girls and this has been rekindled in recent weeks so all is bright for the junior section.
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Junior coaching I will be back to look after the junior coaching next week as normal and I know that Cian and Elle have been doing a great job in my absence. Coming into the winter we will keep the lessons going on Tuesday and Thursday as well as adding the Saturday sessions at 1pm once the schools go back. Same thing for the juniors we are coming into a time when golf changes from play to practice and planning for the season ahead in 2019. We all need to set goals to really focus and get the most out of our own golf.
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What ball do you play Going back to opening of our chat, we talked about Brooks, but we all know his win was slightly overshadowed and underplayed by the play of Tiger securing his second spot and a move into the top 30 in world rankings. Like him or loath him he makes golf more exciting when he is in the field and our focus will turn towards the Fed-Ex Cup play offs next. We had a real close up of his plugged ball on 17 when he pushed his drive to the right into the water hazard and there it was for all to see the tour ball from Bridgestone. It goes to show you that they can all play with different products and get the same results. This ball however is a break from the norm as it is tour premium at mid range price. The Callaway Chrome Soft has been a big player but this is bigger and believe it or not it is cheaper, why not try in store as we are selling this ball at €40 a dozen or two dozen at only €70…well worth a look.
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The latest clubs we offer… Coming into this time of the year we have to look at what has been really hot and what has not during the year as I plan for next season. I am not one to be swayed, and have never been a big fan of PING, but what they have done over the past few products has been unbelievable. Their irons and drivers just seem to out perform everything in the mass market. They are not the most eye-catching, not the very longest, not the very best looking, not the most appealing to the traditions of our great game, but when you add up all the scores they are the best by a mile and the new i500 and i210 fit into the range with ease along side G400. Why not have a look at one of these products over the coming months as you will not be disappointed in the slightest….. There will also of course be the big metal launch from Titleist towards the end of September we are led to believe.
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This will be the new TS range, we all expected 919 but believe it our not, legalities have stopped the name in its tracks. There is a 919 driver from Wishon Golf and Titleist thought about the risk and decided it just was not worth the risk, after all what would there to be gained by a company like that suing a manufacturer like Titleist, apart from being able to scrap their plans for market domination and the shareholders being able to retire. The world is a poor place for these sorts of things and Titleist actually played out all eventualities and legal routes in mock situations before deciding to change the series name of the driver, and that is a big one as just like PING they rely on the consistency in production to gain consumer confidence. TaylorMade just must not have cared about M3 and M4 in BMW colours when they launched their products or more likely a big deal was done behind closed doors, and the only person that has paid for it is the consumer, in what has turned out to be a very average product compared to its previous M1/M2 range for the club golfer. It does look to perform at high speeds but this is of no real use to 95% of weekend golfers.
But as always if you are looking to upgrade and would like a fitting please click here. |
Introducing Cleveland RTX 4 |
Trying to hit your wedge shots the same way as the pros can be frustrating, especially when you see the amount of spin they achieve from all sorts of lies. Yes, technique plays a part, but so does having a set of wedges that you can trust in every situation. |
A wedge fit for tour Available in September, Cleveland's latest wedge incorporates feedback from some of the world's best golfers, such as Graeme McDowell, to make this their most tour-authentic wedge to date. As the name suggests, the RTX 4 is the fourth generation of the RTX family, with each seemingly better than the last. Cleveland says the RTX 4 will provide ultimate short game control, thanks to increased spin generation from their sharpest grooves to date. So, if you're serious about improving around the greens, come and speak to us about a custom fitting. |
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