The Medal

It was tough scoring conditions on the East course over the weekend for the competitors in the Medal, however it didn't stop there being a photo finish involving five players in Division One who shot nett 72's. It was John Heywood who just crossed the line first helped with a one over par back nine, from runner-up Andrew James, Paul Sampson took third with Simon Athwell fourth.

In Division Two it was Alan Hitchcock who took top spot with the best nett of the weekend 71, with Allan Robb taking the runner-up spot from James Horgan both having shot nett 73's. David Barnett shot a nett 74 to take fourth place.


Ladies Stableford

Kim Morris was on top form shooting 37pts to win the Silver section of the Stableford and simultaneously winning the Mcmillan Spoon with Lyn Baimbridge the runner-up with 33pts. In the Bronze division Wendy Yuen took top spot with 31pts with Rose Yazdani the runner-up with 28pts.


 

New set for a new season for Ray Redding

Ray came into the fitting studio this week looking for an update on his current clubs. Ray brought his current set in for comparison and using our launch monitor we recorded his ball flight data and made an assessment.

Next using our DNA shaft optimizer from Mizuno we found that a different type of shaft could be beneficial and coupled with an updated head he was soon hitting farther, higher and more consistently than before.

Ray was keen to test the Callaway Epic Driver in comparison to his current Driver, a Callaway Razr Fit. When struck well Ray's current driver produced a ball speed between 142 and 144 mph, with the Epic we recorded several over 147 mph! We also found that by adding a couple of degrees of loft Ray could maximise this extra ball speed and was hitting his driver more than 15 yards further.

Click here if you would like a fitting before the new season.


 

Arnold Palmer Invitational

The PGA Tour heads for Bay Hill this week and the Arnold Palmer Invitational where Jason Day defends. It will be an emotional week, as it's the first time the tournament has been held since Arnie's death last September.

Jason Day is defending champion at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill Club and Lodge in Florida. A strong field has assembled as many of the PGA Tour's best travel to "Arnie's place" to honour the great champion who died last September.

Australia's Jason Day won this event last year before going on to claim the WGC-Match Play the following week. He made a great par save on the final hole to finish one clear of Kevin Chappell.

Day is back at Bay Hill this week and will be joined by fellow top-10 players Rory McIlroy, Henrik Stenson and Hideki Matsuyama. Other notables on the start list include: Rickie Fowler, Martin Kaymer, Justin Rose and Bubba Watson.

The Arnold Palmer Invitational began life in 1966 as the Florida Citrus Open Invitational. In 1979 the tournament became the Bay Hill Citrus Classic and, by 1996, was known as the Bay Hill Invitational. From 2007 Arnold Palmer took over as host of the event. This will be the first time the tournament has been contested since Palmer's death last September. Hosting duties will be taken on this year by Annika Sorenstam, Graeme McDowell, Peter Jacobsen and Curtis Strange. A new bronze statue of Palmer is now in place looking over the first and 10th tees.

It's a tournament that's been won by some famous players over the years. Arnold Palmer himself, Lee Trevino, Hale Irwin, Payne Stewart, Fred Couples and Phil Mickelson have all been victorious. Tiger Woods won four times in a row from 2000 then again in 2008, 2009, 2012 and 2013. Last year, Jason Day was victorious.

There's been a big hike in prize money for this year's tournament - $2.4 million. The winner will receive over $1.5 million and a three-year exemption on the PGA Tour.

The course at Bay Hill was designed by Dick Wilson and Joe Lee in 1961. Arnold Palmer proclaimed it the best course in Florida the first time he played it in the mid-1960s and he later bought the club. In 2009, he completed a redesign of the course that added two shots to the par and re-positioned almost every bunker. The layout has hosted 34 PGA Tour events over the years.

Player watch:

Henrik Stenson - He was tied seventh last week in The Valspar and he has a great record in this event - his last four starts have been: Tied eighth, tied fifth, second and tied third. 

Rickie Fowler - He won the Honda Classic and showed some good form in the WGC-Mexico Championship. He has enjoyed good results in this event, including a tie for third in 2013. 

Wesley Bryan - He's been one of the form players in recent events on the PGA Tour; his last three starts have been tied fourth, tied fourth, tied seventh. He could be a surprise package this week.

Click here to keep an eye on this week's leaderboard.


 

Titleist Pro V1 & Pro V1x 4 For 3

Starting this week we will be offering 4 dozen Titleist Pro V1 or Pro V1x for the price of 3, this includes FREE personalisation as well as the option to customise your play number for a small fee. Our online ordering page can be found by clicking here, and orders will finish Sunday, 23 March, so you'll want to get in quick.

If you have any questions or queries then please come in-store or click here and we will be happy to help.