Junior Club Championship

A superb -1 round of 70 took the top prize for 17 year old Ellis Cameron in this year's Junior Club Championship played on the East course. Starting with a bogey was not the start Ellis wanted, but a blemish free -2 under back nine saw him secure the win by 5 strokes. Ellis is now down to an impressive 2.8. Runner-up was 13 year old Charlie Reynolds who was level par with five to play but four bogeys meant he had to settle for second place while reducing his handicap to 7.8.

Charlie took comfort by winning the handicap trophy with a nett 66 with Louie Cameron beating his brother on countback to the runner-up spot with a nett 67. Some great golf from our juniors, the future looks bright!


Ladies Guest Day

Debbie Tennant from West Malling with her Sundridge partner Helen Kennedy scored an excellent 42 points to win our Ladies Guest Day. Eleven pairs took part and there were some excellent scores. Second on countback with 42 were Gilly Holmes from Chislehurst with her partner Fiona Bischoff, and third on 41 were Debbie Brady from Nizels with our Ladies Captain for 2017, Christine Ross.

Click here to view the pictures from the day.


 

Callaway Epic Irons Fitting

This morning Simon Wood came to test the new Callaway Epic irons. Simon has been custom fit in the studio before so we already had a good idea what Specs work for him. 

We began by recording a good number of shots on our launch monitor with his current 7 iron (a Mizuno JPX900 forged). Next we built an Epic Pro 7 iron to the same specifications and repeated the process. The results were very impressive. With his own iron Simon produced a club head speed of 82.0mph, an average ball speed of 107.4mph (maximum 110.5), an average height of 92 feet and an average carry of 150 yards.

With the Epic Pro iron the club speed was 82.6mph (virtually identical), an average ball speed of 112.1mph (nearly 5mph extra), an average height of 100 feet (8 higher) and an average carry of 159 yards (9 longer).

We were also able to capitalise on a new shaft available similar to Simon's which was lighter (which he preferred the feel of) but also stiffer (for more consistency)

To achieve longer carry with more height, plus a tighter dispersion is the holy grail for equipment manufacturers and club fitters. Could your game do with the same? 

Book a fitting by clicking here and find out.


 

HNA Open de France

Thongchai Jaidee will defend the HNA Open de France against a strong field this week at Le Golf National outside Paris. An impressive field will assemble at Le Golf National near Paris this week for the 101st running of the HNA Open de France. Thongchai Jaidee defends HNA Open de France and Alex Noren, Jon Rahm, Tommy Fleetwood and Martin Kaymer will all play.

As the second event in the inaugural Rolex Series, this event carries a large purse and this has attracted some star players to Europe. 2015 French Open winner Bernd Wiesberger's name is on the start sheet, as are those of Russell Knox, Lee Westwood, Danny Willett, Thomas Pieters, Matt Fitzpatrick, Chris Wood and Andy Sullivan.

The French Open is the oldest national open on continental Europe. It was first contested at La Boulie in 1906 and was won by home player Arnaud Massy. He took his national title three more times, lastly in 1925 when he was 48-years-old.

The tournament has been a fixture on the European Tour schedule since 1972. It's one of the most prestigious events on the circuit and has been won by Seve Ballesteros, Nick Faldo, Greg Norman and Colin Montgomerie amongst others. Last year, Thongchai Jaidee won with Francesco Molinari in second place. At 46, Jaidee was the oldest player ever to win the Open de France. Italy's Molinari has been second in the French Open on three occasions. He will be hoping to go one better this time out.

The course at Le Golf National was designed on flat farmland near the Palace of Versailles. The layout is the work of architect Hubert Chesneau and construction began in 1987. In 1990 the course was open for play. This will be the 25th time the course has been used as the venue for the Open de France. L'Albatros Course at Le Golf National will play host to the Ryder Cup in 2018.

Player Watch: 

Tommy Fleetwood - Currently second on the Race to Dubai, Fleetwood has been enjoying a fine season. He won in Abu Dhabi, was second in the WGC-Mexico Championship and fourth in the US Open. He was tied sixth last week in Germany. 

Francesco Molinari - He was runner-up in the BMW PGA Champs at Wentworth and recorded a top-25 in the St. Jude Classic on the PGA Tour. He loves this event and has three times finished runner-up, including last year. He'll look to go one better this time around. 

Bernd Wiesberger - Enjoying a supremely solid season with no missed cuts on the European Tour to this point. He has five top-five finishes to his name this year, including victory in the Shenzhen International. He won this event in 2015.

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