Paul O'Reilly

Hello Golfers,

This week, I would firstly like to thank everyone who has supported the NHS Prize Draw so far in which this nationwide initiative promises to donate 50% of the proceeds to the NHS.

As you may not have known, along with myself many other professionals up and down the country have come together to form our own individual Prize Draws for our members to take part in to raise as much money as possible.

In this Prize Draw, 50% of all money collected from each Professional, including myself, will be donated to the NHS to show our appreciation for the relentless time and effort each member of staff dedicates to us not only throughout this pandemic but for all the times in the past, present and future.
Not only this, but it is also a time where fellow golfers up and down the country can come together to make a real difference as a collective group of people.

The perfect amount for each club up and down the country is to each get to £1000 (or more if possible) so that we can each donate £500 to a great cause at such a critical time. With almost 100 fellow professionals taking part in this initiative, the realistic target is to collectively get to £30,000! The other 50% of the money generated will all be contributed towards some fantastic prizes to give everyone who enters a chance of winning, just like any other prize draw we would typically run in the pro shop. It’s very easy to enter this Prize Draw, just follow the five simple steps below:

Choose either 1x Square for £5 or 5 Squares for £20 (you can also buy 2 or 3 squares if you wish at £5 each)
Payable via Bank Transfer to Mike Vipond Golf Ltd of your chosen amount.
Account Number - 12998591
Sort Code – 55-91-00
IMPORTANT - Don’t forget to tag your name as a reference so I know who you are! With plenty of prizes up for grabs as well as contributing to a fantastic cause, this is your chance to help us, help the NHS.

Also we have had a good response to the top up + 10% offer on your accounts. Easy to do just log on to the newsletter and click the 10% top up tab and leave a message with the amount you’d like to top your account up with and we’ll add a further 10% free of charge. Alternatively just give me a shout at pauloreillygolf@manx.net and I can chat about how to proceed.

Stay safe thanks for your support.

Paul
Douglas GC
Pro-Shop

Club news

Golf Report - The Grousebeater

I don`t have much reason to check my emails at the moment so it was about 1.45pm on Sunday before I opened one from the golf club, it stated that due to the fact that the Government may be lifting the restrictions on playing golf in the near future, they were opening the locker room to allow us the chance to collect our clubs, so if the rules were relaxed we would be able to play even if the club house was still closed. I must report that I had them in the boot of my car by 2pm.

I am sure I am like everyone else and I am desperate to play some golf again, much as I enjoy it, it is not the same just chipping balls in the garden, one thing I cannot understand about my time practising is that although I am only chipping from one end of the garden to the other, I have still managed to lose six balls in the process, some of my playing partners might say that this is normal for me.

We must all hope that things will return to normal soon, one thing I can`t wait to do is go and get my a haircut, but one thing I won`t be doing is following the lead of some of members of the club and shave my head, some of the pictures posted on Pully 19thremind me more of “the most wanted” pictures you used to see on Crimewatch. It is strange to be able to actually run my fingers through my hair, it reminds me that I used to actually have lovely curly hair when I was a lot younger. I have to say I am getting a bit worried about myself as I seem to be spending a lot of time seeing if my hair is getting long enough for a comb over. My dog also needs a haircut, she is beginning to resemble a Yeti. I have ordered a grooming kit for her; I am hoping I won`t be tempted to try and use it on myself before the restrictions are lifted.

I am sure we are now seeing the light at the end of the tunnel, It was nice to see that some of the rules have been relaxed, and whilst I out walking the Yeti, I noticed the “Corpy” have started cutting the grass again, and in talking to people it feels as though we are beginning to get through this, so hopefully it won`t be long until things get back to normal.

Keep safe,
The Grousebeater.

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 >

adidas Spring Summer Clothing Collection

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 this week. If you need any help or advice with regards to your golf, please pop into the shop or send us an email. Paul and the golf team.

Douglas Golf Club

Douglas
IM2 1AE

Phone: 01624 661558

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