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.

Last Saturday night we hosted our annual Burns Supper at the golf club. There was a full turnout in attendance and every one seemed to have a good night even if they couldn't hear any of the speeches!!! Unfortunately we had some microphone trouble on the night and so had to try and speak a tad louder than normal for everyone to hear. Thanks again to everyone who came along on the night to support the club and the guest speakers.

On the note of speakers, if anyone has a passion for Burns or speaking for that matter and would be happy to take part at next years Burns Supper, then please click here and let me know what you would be interested in doing. It's always difficult getting speakers for these events and you really don't want things to get to the stage that you have the Captain JB Thomson and myself repeating ourselves every year.....believe me!! I was trying to drum up speakers on the night, so if I spoke to you about this and you're up for the challenge then please give me a shout.....not naming any names....Mike Williams....Haha!!

Unfortunately as I was speaking I forgot to take any photos on the night and so this is all I've managed to scramble together!!

We have been busy giving the shop a slight facelift this week. Derek and I made the most of the poor weather and lack of customers to put our PGA training to the test by laying some new carpet tiles!!! We have also freshened up the glove and golf ball area in the shop so it should now be easier to find your perfect glove type and size or your preferred golf ball. If you want your golf balls cheaper, remember it's better to buy dozen boxes rather than individual sleeves. However the choice is yours, and as before we will be stocking balls from Srixon, TaylorMade and Titleist.

On the subject of golf balls!!

Some of you may have seen the new Titleist Pro V1 adverts on the TV during the commercial breaks in the golf over the weekend. The new ball has some new packaging (this doesn't improve the balls performance!!) and Titleist claim that the ball is even softer and more durable than the older model.

This will be available at Moray GC very soon!

Pick up a bargain on the current Pro V1 at only £10 per sleeve or £32 per dozen. I only have a small number of these left so be quick!!

Odyssey Putters Arrived

We have some of the new Odyssey Works putters just arrived in the shop.

Most of the putters are also fitted with a super stroke grip and will retail at £149.99 . All the putters are available with a standard grip from £129.99 and there are also some Tank versions which are much heavier options for those that like some weight in your putter.

The new Fusion RX face has a combination of their best feeling insert (White hot) with an ultra thin stainless steel mesh which produces a faster roll and less skid. Click here to check out a video that will show you more.

Click here to find out more about our Odyssey range

MGC put the latest Drivers to the Test!!

Last week I took to the driving range along the road and put some of the new Drivers to the test myself. I basically took a 9.5 degree stiff in the following clubs:

TaylorMade R15
PING G30
Titleist 915

I hit 10 shots with each club and then deleted my worst 3 and best 3 from each club to give me the results seen on the right.

The results with each club were pretty good and would all fall between the ideal parameters of launch angle between 12-14 degrees and a spin in between 2000-3000. However the TaylorMade Driver certainly came out on top for my swing. This was mainly down to the fact that I launched the ball higher, but had less backspin on the ball thus maximising my carry distance. You can see that I actually averaged 1mph more ball speed with the PING G30 and yet still managed to carry the R15 on average 10 yards further (higher launch with less spin).

However TaylorMade say that the ideal launch conditions to maximise distance is 17 degrees launch angle with 1700 spin rate. However this is pretty difficult to achieve for most golfers, and in my opinion different golfers will generally have different launch angles and spin rates that would maximise their distance. Generally the slower the swing speed, the higher the initial launch angle you will require. Launching the ball high doesn't mean the ball will necessarily fly high and this is where the spin put on the ball has a huge bearing on the ball flight and how it's affected by things such as the wind (which we are pretty used too!!)

Many Links players like to see the ball launch low and so tend to hit down on the ball off the tee. This will certainly initially launch the ball lower, but will usually increase the spin on the ball which will lead to the ball rising towards the end of its flight and very little forward roll (if any!!) If you actually hit up on the ball slightly, although initial launch will be higher, you should reduce the spin put on the ball and improve your ball flight and distance. Just think about tennis.....an upward swing produces more of a top spin shot whereas a down ward slice shot produces a lower flying, higher backward spinning shot.

If you would like to book a session so we can look at your own launch conditions click here. We will be offering these sessions for £25 to members.

January Sale Becomes February Bonanza!!

Our January Sale has been a little slow with all this poor weather over January. However that is good news for members and friends of Moray Pro Shop. From this weekend we will be further reducing some of our clothing with all current stock on display at least 40% discount . We will also have a clearance rail with items available with discounts between 50-70% .

This is a great chance to pick up a bargain or use up some of your lying credit in the shop.

Winter Cup Results

Having seen no winter cup play on Saturday, we did manage to get some play on Sunday with 30 players taking part. However as a result of the low field there was only weekend prizes paid out in one handicap section as follows:

1st - S Murray - (17) 38pts - £20
2nd - M Williams - (7) 37 pts - £15
3rd - I Cardwell - (14) 36pts - £10 bih
4th - WB Johnston - (10) 36 pts

2's

4th - S Murray
6th - R Denning

Well Done to Stephen Murray who put his newly fitted TaylorMade R15 driver to great use in recording the lowest score of the day with 38 points. His new purchase is already starting to pay for itself with £20 credit going to his account.