Paul Thomas

Welcome to another 'lockdown update' from the pro shop. We are now into week four of this unprecedented challenge we are all facing. I have spent this time trying to secure financial support from various government schemes to enable me to manag

Hello Golfers,

Welcome to another 'lockdown update' from the pro shop. We are now into week four of this unprecedented challenge we are all facing.

I have spent this time trying to secure financial support from various government schemes to enable me to manage my business in the most effective way possible. I have spend many hours filling out online application forms, making telephone calls and staying in touch with Scott and Nathan to keep them updated as much as possible.

I must say a big thanks to everyone who has kindly topped up their shop accounts via my 10% Extra promotion that I advertised via a special mail last week. If you missed this and would like to add funds to your account, there is a link towards the bottom of this newsletter with all the details. The continued support of the members and the golf club has been a great comfort during this time.

I've been popping to the shop once a week to keep it in good shape. It's very surreal walking in there and seeing all the new summer stock on display and the sun shining but no golfers! A special thanks to Jason and Nichola for the amazing fruit and veg box. I would highly recommend buying one!

In the 'Thomas' household, week four has seen me making herb racks out of pallets, painting garden furniture, having a major sort out of our attic and spending quality time with my girls.

Stay safe and take care.

Golf's greatest rivalries

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to discuss some of the game’s greatest rivalries but would love you to get involved too! So, let us know which rivalry stands out for you the most and why by getting in touch here.

Nicklaus vs Palmer

A lot of you will remember this one and it’s for far more than the fact they were the two best players on tour for most of the 60s.

It was trophies galore for both gentlemen, with nine Major titles between them from 1960 to 1964 and one of them winning the PGA Tour’s money list each year between 1962 and 1965.

However, whilst Jack is recognised by many as the greatest of all time (let’s save the Tiger vs Jack debate for another time!), he didn’t have the love of the fans that Arnie had.

If you read up on the pair’s rivalry, you’ll quickly find out that they were close friends too. From travelling together during their playing days to Nicklaus being by Palmer’s side when his wife sadly passed away, their friendship was a strong as their fierce rivalry on the course.

It's quiz time

What a response to last week's quiz! Hopefully, you all enjoyed it and learnt a thing or two on the way.

For this week, you'll need to match the golfer with their nickname.

It starts relatively easy with a few that we think the majority of you will get, but there are certainly a few curveballs in there that you may have never heard of before!

Click the link below to take part and, remember, have fun!

take our quiz >

Weekly challenge

If you’re a fan of archery or darts then you’re going to love this week’s challenge. It’s one for you and the family to try, or even have a go with your golfing buddies (at your own homes, of course) and see who’s at the bottom of the leaderboard!

The set-up

Once again, you’re going to need to get creative for this one. We’ve used bamboo sticks from the garden to create our target area, but it can easily be done using golf clubs or ties too.

Set your hitting zone (the mat in our images) as far away as you feel comfortable with – we’d recommend starting at 5 to 7 yards – before grabbing yourself a wedge and some golf balls.

How to play

There are so many ways you can play this challenge. In our example above, we’ve given each zone on the archery board a score with the larger score for the smallest zone in the middle.

From here, set yourself a target – say 100 points. You then take it in turns to hit three balls and tally up your score based on where your ball ends. The first person to reach the target score wins!

message the team >

Golf at home

Do you find that you putt better when in a practice game compared to competitions? It’s a common problem for many golfers and often stems from the fear factor associated with missing a putt during a competitive round that simply isn’t there when knocking it around for fun.

The idea

It all comes down to confidence and our gauge as to how quick the greens are. If we can be certain that any missed putt will leave us no more than a foot or two from the hole, we needn’t have any fear about missing and three-putting will (hopefully) become a thing of the past!

The set-up

In the image above, you’ll see we’ve placed two tealight candles on the floor about a hole’s width apart followed by four coasters one-foot past the hole. This drill requires you to hole the putt (putting through the tealights) and get your ball to finish within the inside square of the coasters.

message the team >

Video of the Week

How similar are we as golfers? Give this video a watch and count how many of these you say on a regular basis. We bet you say a lot more than you might think!

I hope you enjoyed the newsletter. If you have any questions or need help please pop into the golf shop. Paul and the golf team.

Newport Golf Club
Great Oak
Rogerstone
Newport
NP10 9FX

Phone: 01633 893271

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