I hope you've all had a fantastic week on and off the golf course and welcome to another exciting edition of the Moray Pro Shop weekly newsletter, bringing you up to date with all the latest news and gossip from within the walls of MGC.

It's been a mixed week weather wise but this hasn't stopped the course from being in great shape with lots of positive comments from members and visitors alike.


 

Next week is another busy one, with Derek flying down to the Belfry for his 2nd year PGA residential week at the PGA training Academy. 

I will also be making a 16 hour round trip to Gainsborough to visit the PING factory along with Kyle Godsman and Jeff Wright. Both Kyle (1st) and Jeff (3rd) will be visiting the PING factory and through Moray GC and Forres GC (Sandy Aird) accounts with PING, we have managed to get them both full playing contracts for the 2016 season in recognition for their fantastic efforts in last year's SGU Order of Merit. 

I look forward to visiting the PING headquarters (not the 16 hour drive!!) for the first time where both Kyle and Jeff will be fitted out for their new equipment for the coming season. I'll be sure to take plenty of photos and will give you a full roundup of our road trip when we get back!

In the mean-time, if you are interested in PING's latest hardware releases, click here to find out more.


 

Saturday's winter cup saw 41 players take to the New course for week 13 of the competition. Unfortunately those planning to play on Sunday were frustrated with the courses closing after an unexpected flurry of snow overnight. 

   

In Division 1 Alex Miller took top spot comfortably with 40 pts. In the chasing pack was John Dawson (36pts) and one behind was Stephen Herd with 35pts.

Division 2 saw Calvin Moors shoot an impressive 41 pts to pip Anthony Blake by one point. Sarah Harding did a fantastic job in her first winter of golf to shoot a great 38 pts and claim 3rd place.

Division 1 
1st - Alex W Miller - 40pts, 2nd - John Dawson - 36pts, 3rd - Stephen Herd - 35pts, 4th = Mark Jones - 33pts, 4th = Colin A Young - 33pts 

Division 2 
1st - Calvin Moors - 41pts, 2nd - Anthony Blake - 40pts, 3rd = Sarah Harding - 38pts, 3rd = David Lampkin - 38pts, 5th - George Sutherland - 37pts

Click here to view the latest aggregate scores.

This weeks 2's were worth £5.42 to the following players: 

John Petrie, Kev Douglas, Terry Scholefield, Iain Meggatt, Kenneth Walker, Sandy Bruce and David Lamkin.


 

Adams Makes it Number 6!! 

Moray member Bob Adams made it ace number six last week while partnered on the Old Course by Ian Campbell. Bob hit a sweet 3 wood into the 4th hole and while they had initially thought it must have rolled through the green, they eventually found it in the middle of the cup! 

This is Bob's 6th hole in one in total, his 3rd at Moray and his 2nd at the difficult 4th hole. 

I would be very interested to find out which member has had the most holes in 1 at the club!! Click here to tell me about your own hole in 1 stories (attach a photo if you can)......can anyone beat 6??? 

I've only managed 2 holes in 1 so far, so ive a long way to catch up on Bob!!


 

Seniors Winter Cup 

Bob Macpherson pipped Alistair Neish to top spot in this week's senior's winter cup with both scoring 37 pts. Jim Rae and Alan Lees took 3rd & 4th places with 36pts. 

This week's senior's winter cup scores were as follows:

1st = Bob Macpherson (6) - 37 
1st = Alistair Neish (10) - 37 
3rd = Jim Rae (13) - 36 
3rd = Alan Lees (8) - 36 
5th - Roy Crane (7) - 35 
6th = WF Thomson (11) - 34 
6th = John Macgregor (10) - 34


 

We have had a busy week in the shop with plenty of boxes arriving to keep us all busy!! This week we have taken delivery of our new seasons adidas and ECCO shoes. Come down and check these out. 

I've thought about taking ECCO in for a few years now and have always held back as they aren't the world's cheapest shoe!! 

However they are extremely comfortable, made with real YAK leather and waterproof too. So if you're going to spoil yourself this year, why not be comfortable when doing so!!

Click here to find out more about the ECCO footwear line up for 2016


New Fitting Wall Complete 

We have been busy working on creating a space for all our club fitting equipment, and as you can see have a huge array of iron and wood heads and even more shaft options!!

As part of our custom fit proposition we have just received this years TaylorMade M2 range which compliments the current M1 range which many of you will already be aware of. 

This range looks very similar to the M1 but has a lower pricepoint and a little less options from an adjustability point of view, but I think will be a great driver this year.

 

We have also taken stock of the new PING G Series Range of woods and irons, and these also look amazing with 3 different heads available in the Driver....the SF Tec (draw Bias), Std and the LS Tec (low spin) models to suit every golfer out there. 

This really tightens the range from PING with no I model of woods coming out as in previous years.


So, do you fancy giving any of the new woods or irons a trial?? 

I will be running a mini demo day for members and guests on Sunday, 28 February between 2-4pm at the practice area. If anyone wants to come along for a FREE test of the product then just turn up, or if you would like a little FREE independent professional advice then click here or call the shop to make a 30 min booking for me to test your current equipment against the new TaylorMade and PING products. 

There is no pressure or commitment to buy on the day, although there may be an added incentive for anyone who decides to take the plunge!

We look forward to seeing you.


 

I am also still looking for product testers!! 

If you would like to put your Driver or irons to the test against the latest technology by trying them on the course over a round of golf then click here or contact me in the shop. All we ask in return is that you give us a couple of paragraphs of feedback which we can include in the newsletter.


 

We also have a few company demo days booked in for the start of the season.

TaylorMade - Friday, 25 March - 3-8pm 

PING - Wednesday, 30 March - 3-7pm 

Callaway - Thursday, 31 March - 4-5pm (only 2 slots available)

Click here to visit my website where you can find out more about each of these brands hardware line up's for 2016.

If you would like to book a slot for any of these fitting events, click here to get in touch, or come and have a chat with us in the pro shop.


Moray Bonus Ball Golf Lottery 

Thanks to everyone for supporting the Bonus Ball Golf Lottery page on Facebook. We now have over 700 followers.

This week's winners were as follows: 

Titleist SM6 Wedges - Stephen McIntosh 
adidas Shoes - WBJ (Bill Johnston) 
PING DLX Cart Bag - Gavin Fisher

The lucky winners chose the correct bonus ball number on Wednesdays draw....lucky number 7!!

We have 4 different draws running just now at different prices to suit everyone. 

- Choice of Driver, Fairway & Hybrid - £12 per ball 
- Motocaddy M1 Lithium Trolley - £9.50 per ball 
- Personalised Titleist 9.5" Staff bag - £5.00 per ball 
- 4 Dozen Pro V1 Personalised Balls - £2.50 per ball

Come in past the shop and have a go or click here to visit our lottery page on Facebook and have a go that way.


 

We are offering members a pre-season MOT! 

This is the time of year to start thinking about getting your equipment and your game serviced before the season kicks off.

We are offering the following: 

- Regrip of your 7 Iron - Any Grip (7 iron only) - Try before you Buy!! 
- Respike your Shoes (we will respike them for you) 
- Loft & Lie check (make sure your lies and lofts are consistant through your set) 
- 30 minute swing check lesson (on any aspect of your game) 
- Srixon All Weather Glove 

Package Value - £80 

MOT Special Price - ONLY £45

Just drop into the pro shop if you are interested in giving you game some TLC before the season starts.


 

Donald was playing 11th New and found his ball to the left of the green in an unplayable lie. He didn't measure out his 2 club lengths but used his judgement to gauge this distance and dropped his ball. Bert, his marker, was watching from the other side of the green and was concerned that Donald had taken too much relief so he took his driver over to him and they measured out 2 club lengths. Donald's ball was lying outside his permitted distance. He now wished to change his relief option and drop his ball behind the point where it lay and in line with the flag. Was Bert happy with this change of option?

Yes. Under the Unplayable ball Rule he was permitted this change of option.