Up until a matter of weeks ago a new breed of young guns looking to claim the Green Jacket – Rory McIlroy, Camillo Villegas and a revitalised Ian Poulter, dominated the build up to the Masters.

Now it is about one man…Tiger Woods.

The World Number 1 - yes he’s still there despite his second long lay-off in the space of two years – has picked Thursday, April 8, as the date of his competitive comeback and who would bet against seeing Angel Cabrera slipping a fifth Green Jacket over Tiger’s shoulders?

Woods has immediately been installed as 3/1 favourite to win at Augusta National, with his old nemesis Phil Mickelson close behind at 8/1.

Lee Westwood, Paul Casey, McIlory and Poulter signify the best challenges from these shores.

Having recently contested the final of the Accenture World Matchplay Championship, both Poulter and Casey have showed a renewed determination, while McIlroy has continued to impress since his Silver Medal winning performance at the 2007 Open and you can never dismiss Westwood’s chances.

Could 2010 finally provide us with a British winner, the first since Nick Faldo claimed first place 24 years ago?

To visit the official Masters website click here.

The precisely milled and spaced grooves on Rife putters, grip, hold, and release the ball into an immediate forward roll without any skipping or skidding.

With the unique Two Bar Alignment System your aim will improve without making any changes to your setup. The Two Bars frame the ball and create a railroad track effect right to your target.

The Two Bar Hybrid’s Adjustable Speed Weighting System allows you to adjust the weight of your Rife Putter to match the speed of any green … or you can simply adjust the overall feel of your Two Bar Hybrid.

SSP: £129.00

For more information on the Odysey White Ice range please click here.
 

The newest forged model from YES! Golf is the Abbie-f. It is a traditional cavity back blade with the soft, responsive feel of 1025 carbon steel.

Abbie-f combines forged material with C-GROOVE technology offering the purest roll with the purest feel in golf.

SSP: £189.00

For more information of the Yes Golf Abbie putter please click here.

The shorter putts can sometimes be the trickiest. Here’s a quick drill that will help you make more putts from five foot and in.

Place five or six golf balls around a hole, all within five foot of the cup. If you putt the first one, move on to the second, if you sink that, move to the third and so on. But if you miss one, go back to the beginning and start again. See if you can get all six in a row.

To add a bit of spice to the drill try to find a hole that is on a slope so you have to take the break into account as you go round the circle.

If you would like to discuss any part of your game please drop by the proshop to book a lesson time.

 

Have you tried.......

It may seem unconventional but your hybrid can be a great weapon in certain situations around the green.

The hybrid is perfect if you find your ball up against a collar of rough as having a broad sole helps it to glide through the grass where sometimes the leading edge of an iron can get caught and stop the club, resulting in mishit shots.

The trick is to use the hybrid like a putter, coming in from a shallow swing, keeping the club low with a pendulum movement, and pop the ball out of the rough and rolling along the green towards the pin.

Beginning in April The Captain will be at the club from 8pm on the 2nd & 4th Thursday in each month.

This time has been set aside to give the members a regular opportunity to let Mr Captain meet more of the membership and help answer any queries that any member may have.

So if you have any questions or issues about the club then please feel free to pop along and speak to Craig.

On the April 13th Glenmuir will be bringing their Spring Summer Collection to Baildon Golf Club. The Fashion Show will begin at 7pm and we would like to welcome all to attend and browse the new seasons fashions.

You will be able to order any item from the range on the night, and all orders will be entered into a special prize raffle.

This is open to members and non members so bring your girlfriends along and have a fun night at the golf club.

Along side the April Monthly Medal we ran the PGA Trophy Qualifier.

This is a competition where the best score on the day will qualify to play with the club's professioanl at a regional and then hopefully a national final.

The winner with the best nett score in all 4 divisions was Ian Willis with a nett 61, after a fantastic gross score of 68!!

Ian will now play in the next round at St Annes Old Links on the Wewdnesday 19th May with our new Professional Sean Wright with a chance of winning a place in the finals in the Bahamas.

We are in the process of updating our mailing lists for the club. In the next week you should receive an email to the account we have details for you on. We would be grateful if you could respond to the instructions in the email to help us improve the way we keep in contact with members.

WHY DO THE CLUB NEED THESE DETAILS?

1. To keep you up to date with forthcoming events and news.

2. To contact different categories of the club swiftly.

This month is the turn of our long serving Professional Richard Masters

Handicap: 0

How long have you been at Baildon GC: 24 years

Favourite Club in the Bag: Driver

Usual Golfing Partners: Dave Delaney, Sean Wright

Favourite Course: Fulford

Best Golfing Achievement: Leading The Open for a short time

Favourite Golfer: Ben Hogan

Dream Fourball: Ben Hogan, Bobby Jones and Tom Watson

Predictions for 2010 Majors:
US Masters – Rory Mcilroy
US Open – Ernie Els
British Open – Tiger Woods 
USPGA – Paul Casey

As you are all probably aware this will be my last newsletter as I am retiring from my post as Professional at Baildon GC at the end of April.

I would just like to take this opportunity to thank you all for the fantastic support and friendship you have all showed me over the 24 years I have been fortunate to call myself your professional, and I am truly honoured to be able to call so many of you my friends.

And I trust you will all be as supportive to Sean as he begins his life as Baildon’s Professional. The changes you have seen in the shop over the last 12 months are mostly down to him, and when you add his exceptional coaching philosophy and style to his obvious retail skill then Sean will certainly be more than capable of serving you well for years to come.

So thanks again, and I will be in and around the club as much as possible so I look forward to possibly playing a few holes with you all over the next few years!

Ricky