Matthew Galley

To kick things off, here's Matthew being interviewed by one of our new members, Clint Hibbert. Matthew gives us an update on how he's finding the lockdown, updates on the club, and some little tips that you can be doing from home.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Os9UnLA9gEo

A word from the Greenstaff...

Course Update

A quick update on what’s happening on the course.

On the course the Club’s first responsibility is keep the greenstaff safe, to which end they are distancing while working and following safe working procedures. The staff are working in two teams; one team being furloughed and the other working for three weeks and then changing around.

New rules from the R&A and BIGGA (British & International Green Keepers Association) say we are only allowed to do essential maintenance, of which they have a fairly detailed list. Clubs that do more than that are being reported, so we are not able to get on with some of the other jobs we would like to have done during this time. Essential maintenance defines how often we should do various jobs like cutting greens and fairways etc.

We are lucky some countries are not even allowing essential maintenance on courses, and there are only a very few places in the world where you can play golf at the moment. Surprisingly you can still play golf in Arizona, where the Governor has allowed courses to stay open for exercise, obviously a golfer!

As long as we are allowed, (the rules are subject to change), and also have the staff available, we will continue to maintain the course, so it is in excellent condition when you come back to play it.

Golf's greatest rivalries

Over the next few weeks, we’re going to discuss some of the game’s greatest rivalries but would love you to get involved too! So, let us know which rivalry stands out for you the most and why by getting in touch here.

Nicklaus vs Palmer

A lot of you will remember this one and it’s for far more than the fact they were the two best players on tour for most of the 60s.

It was trophies galore for both gentlemen, with nine Major titles between them from 1960 to 1964 and one of them winning the PGA Tour’s money list each year between 1962 and 1965.

However, whilst Jack is recognised by many as the greatest of all time (let’s save the Tiger vs Jack debate for another time!), he didn’t have the love of the fans that Arnie had.

If you read up on the pair’s rivalry, you’ll quickly find out that they were close friends too. From travelling together during their playing days to Nicklaus being by Palmer’s side when his wife sadly passed away, their friendship was a strong as their fierce rivalry on the course.

It's quiz time

What a response to last week's quiz! Hopefully, you all enjoyed it and learnt a thing or two on the way.

For this week, you'll need to match the golfer with their nickname.

It starts relatively easy with a few that we think the majority of you will get, but there are certainly a few curveballs in there that you may have never heard of before!

Click the link below to take part and, remember, have fun!

take our quiz >

Weekly challenge

If you’re a fan of archery or darts then you’re going to love this week’s challenge. It’s one for you and the family to try, or even have a go with your golfing buddies (at your own homes, of course) and see who’s at the bottom of the leaderboard!

The set-up

Once again, you’re going to need to get creative for this one. We’ve used bamboo sticks from the garden to create our target area, but it can easily be done using golf clubs or ties too.

Set your hitting zone (the mat in our images) as far away as you feel comfortable with – we’d recommend starting at 5 to 7 yards – before grabbing yourself a wedge and some golf balls.

How to play

There are so many ways you can play this challenge. In our example above, we’ve given each zone on the archery board a score with the larger score for the smallest zone in the middle.

From here, set yourself a target – say 100 points. You then take it in turns to hit three balls and tally up your score based on where your ball ends. The first person to reach the target score wins!

message the team >

Golf at home

Do you find that you putt better when in a practice game compared to competitions? It’s a common problem for many golfers and often stems from the fear factor associated with missing a putt during a competitive round that simply isn’t there when knocking it around for fun.

The idea

It all comes down to confidence and our gauge as to how quick the greens are. If we can be certain that any missed putt will leave us no more than a foot or two from the hole, we needn’t have any fear about missing and three-putting will (hopefully) become a thing of the past!

The set-up

In the image above, you’ll see we’ve placed two tealight candles on the floor about a hole’s width apart followed by four coasters one-foot past the hole. This drill requires you to hole the putt (putting through the tealights) and get your ball to finish within the inside square of the coasters.

message the team >

Video of the Week

How similar are we as golfers? Give this video a watch and count how many of these you say on a regular basis. We bet you say a lot more than you might think!

I hope you enjoyed my newsletter. If you need any help or advice please reply to this email or pop into the shop and I'll be delighted to help. Regards Matthew.

Bolton Golf Club
Lostock Park
Chorley New Road
Bolton
BL6 4AJ

Phone: 01204 843067

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