Hallmark Hotel The Welcombe

We hope our weekly emails are providing you with a little bit of normality in these difficult times. We’re well into spring now and it’s been great watching the flowers bloom whilst being in lockdown, partly thanks to the beautiful weather we’ve e

Hello Golfers,

We hope our emails are providing you with a little bit of normality in these difficult times.

We’re well into spring now and it’s been great watching the flowers bloom whilst being in lockdown, partly thanks to the beautiful weather we’ve enjoyed over the past few weeks. Golf courses across the country will certainly be taking full advantage after a tough and wet few months prior.

Stay safe and enjoy the read. Andrew

A note from your Captain!

Dear members,

Firstly I hope you all keeping safe and well through this continuous lockdown, personally I have been amazed at how well the UK has abided by the rules, I am hoping that we do not have much longer to wait before life gets back to some form of reality.

As mentioned in my previous newsletter I'm in constant communications with Andy in regards to any decisions or communications from the Welcombe Hotel or the English Golf Union regarding next steps, there have been some encouraging rumours circulating, but we will need to wait for official advice and a plan on how to get us back playing Golf, safely.

I was fortunate to bump into Richard our head greenkeeper yesterday (27th) and had a long chat with him about the course and plans going forward, you would have seen his last report in regards to green and fairway preparations and I can confirm they are looking exceptionally healthy and with this week’s rain forecast are getting a good soaking which is perfect timing for the work being done. There are now two full time staff working on the course and the next challenge will be to tackle the rough grass which has shot up in these perfect growing conditions.

I will be reviewing the Golf calendar over the coming weeks and will work with Andy/Ben to reschedule the calendar based on when we get back playing and what restrictions will be in place, the aim is to play all the board comps and a mixture of Stableford/Medal comps, with the Captains “Drive in” and Captains Day mixed in, at this time all friendly matches have been cancelled up until the end of May.

So finally, I think there is some light at the end of the tunnel and with fingers crossed we will be hacking, sorry hitting the ball around the course very soon.

Keep safe everyone and I look forward to shaking your hand or bumping elbows in the near future.

Jake Day
Club Captain

Golf's greatest rivalries

USA vs Europe

Ryder Cup. Solheim Cup. PGA Tour vs European Tour. This cross-Atlantic rivalry dates back decades and has provided some of the most dramatic events in golfing history.

You only need to go back as far as last year’s Solheim Cup, where the Europeans won each of the last three games to regain the cup – including a clutch 7-footer on the 18th green in the final match left on the course. We salute you, Suzann Pettersen!

The Americans lead the Solheim Cup 10 to 6, whilst Europe leads 11-8 in the Ryder Cup (since 1979 when it was Europe rather than GB&I). The next contest is due to be played later this year at Whistling Straits in America, and is seemingly one of the few global sporting events not to have been affected by the Coronavirus outbreak. Would it be the same spectacle without spectators?

With golf being an individual sport 95% of the time for the world’s elite, we thought we’d round things off with a look at how many Majors have been won by golfers from either side of the pond. Some clever folk on Wikipedia has it at 126 European victories compared with USA’s 273. Ouch.

We'll be doing a poll on our website next week so let us know which rivalry stands out for you the most and why by getting in touch here.

Did you know?

Fact of the week

According to the Guinness World Records, the longest hole in the world is the 7th hole at Satsuki GC in Japan. It measures a meagre 964 yards and is a par-7!!

Rumour has it that there’s also a hole measuring over 1,000 yards in South Korea, but that hasn’t made it into the records – yet.

It's quiz time

Something a little different for you this week. The European Tour's social media team put this silhouette challenge up a while ago so we thought we'd share it with you too.

Each of the eight golfers below has won on the European Tour in the past four years; all you need to do is guess who each of them is by the outline of their swing. Easy, right? Send us your answers below (no cheating!).

*Answers can be found here.

send us your guesses >

Weekly challenge

What do you have left in your food cupboard? Baked beans? Tins of soup? Peaches? Whatever it is, grab six tins (or more if you’re feeling adventurous) and have a go at this week’s golfing challenge. We guarantee you some fun!

The set-up

Put the golf balls away and use a tennis ball or stress ball for this one – you do want to eat the food after all. Create a pyramid shape using the tins as in the photo above; we’ve balanced them on a garden trug so they’re almost at eye-level.

The challenge

Just like when you’re at a fair, knock down all the tins in three shots and you win a prize - well, maybe not in this case! If you want to play with the family, let them have a go chipping or they can always throw the tennis balls if you’re super confident!

send us a message >

Golf at home

This week’s drill is all about improving your strike when putting. With such a small stroke – in comparison to a full swing – it’s easy to think that you can’t go wrong when putting. Well, give this drill a try and see how you get on.

What to do

Measure a ball’s width on the centre of your putter face and place a piece of blu-tack either side, as depicted in the image above. Set up a 10-foot putt in your home or garden and hit a few putts – if your strike is off-centre you’ll certainly feel and see a difference!

Striking the Blu-Tack?

If your ball hardly moves or you barely feel yourself striking the ball at impact, chances are you’ve hit a piece of blu-tack rather than the centre of the putter face. Give this a few tries – as well as from different distances – and see if you can spot a pattern. Let us know how you get on.

send us a message >

Video of the Week

Some of you may have seen this European Tour impressions video before but it's one of our favourites and is perfect for a little bit of light-heart entertainment! Enjoy.

We hope you enjoyed the newsletter. If you need any further help of advice, please speak to one of the golf team.

Andrew Jones
Warwick Road
Stratford Upon Avon
CV37 0NR

Phone: 01789 413800

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