The annual Drive in for Mr Captain and Lady Captain took place on Sunday 3rd January in scenes more fitting for a Christmas card than golf.

Both made very good attempts given the conditions but Lady Captain's drive was the pick of the bunch splitting the fairway with a drive of 91yds.

Mr Captain's ball had a little more of an arc on it and finished in the left rough making it 152yds before coming to rest.

The traditional 'sweep' for the combined distance of the drives was won by Mark Osbourne, and all the proceeds will go to the Captains and Presidents selected charities.  

From January through to June you will have the chance to win 12 months free membership by introducing a new adult playing member. 

The catch? There isn’t one really, just introduce an adult playing member to Baildon Golf Club and you will be entered into a draw where there will be 1 prize for every 10 new members received. Better still you get one draw entry per member you introduce giving you a better opportunity to play for free.

So what are you waiting for, introduce your friends, family or colleagues to golf at Baildon.

Terms & Conditions available from Club

Over the Christmas period the majority of us will have put on a little bit of extra weight from all the rich food and the drink.

January is the month where most of us promise to shift that extra weight, but the thought of visiting the gym or pounding the streets in the cold and dark strikes fear among many.

However, with the help of the Titleist Performance Institute (TPI) you can prepare for the golfing season from the comfort of your own home through simple stretching and strengthening exercises.

MyTPI.com is the largest free information website on golf-specific fitness, golf health and golf swing biomechanics.

By signing up, free of charge, to the website you’ll be able to take advantage of an expansive article library, video tips from pros, equipment reviews, hundreds of printable video exercise examples and much more.

For more information visit www.mytpi.com

The start of this year saw the introduction of a new rule from the R&A limiting the depth and sharpness of clubface grooves.

There has been a little bit of confusion as to how this new rule will affect the club golfer – in truth the answer is ‘not a lot’ as at the moment the rule only applies to professional golfers. The ban will be extended to top amateur level and in other professional events from January 1, 2014, while the blanket ban will only come into affect in 2024. One of the issues with the ban is that club manufacturers are not allowed to build any new designs with the old grooves. This means that amateur golfers can still take advantage of the 'spinny' grooves, but only until stocks last!!!!

The new rules have been introduced after research showed that modern groove configurations can allow players to generate as much spin from the rough as they do from fairway, resulting in a reduction in the value of accuracy.

The revised rules will significantly increase the spin differential between shots from the fairway and shots from the rough, by limiting groove volume and groove edge sharpness.

The rule limiting groove volume will be applied to all clubs (excluding drivers and putters). The limit on groove edge sharpness will be applied to clubs with loft greater than or equal to 25 degrees (generally a standard 5-iron and above).

For more information visit the R&A website by clicking here.

Welcome to the Fantasy Race to Dubai 2010 game - offering you a chance to select a team of your favourite 15 golfers on the European Tour, enter our Baildon Golf Club League and/or our TGI Golf League and win some fantastic prizes in the process.

This is free to enter, is run by the European Tour and at the same time as competing for prizes in our competitions, you can also win prizes in the Official 2010 Fantasy Race to Dubai.

To enter please click here and register with the 2010 Fantasy Race to Dubai website, select your team and then join our private leagues which are:
Baildon Golf Club League PIN:789 
TGI Golf 2010 PIN: 298

Please include your Golf Club Name with your Team Name.

We will publish both leader boards every month so you can keep an eye on how your team is performing.

Good Luck!

Those of you who drove over the moor on Boxing Day may have thought you were seeing things due to the strange sight of 12 golfers trying to play golf in deep snow!

This was the annual Boxing Day event which has been running for over 40 years now, and those playing weren't about to let knee high snow drifts halt this tradition.

Due to the heavy snow they were forced to make 4 temporary greens on the 1st, 18th and practise ground fairways, stick the flags into the ground and play with tennis balls.

This is a great example of the never say die spirit we have at Baildon, but the whiskey between each hole must have helped!

The team Captains Brian Midgeley and David Mann were both proud of the effort everyone made, but were unable to comment afterwards (due to the whiskey!)  

This year we will be stocking the very latest wedges which are used by the tour pro's, the Titleist Vokey Spin Milled Wedge range.

Vokey Design Spin Milled wedges are available with an unmatched number of choices for loft, bounce and sole grind, and are now available in two different groove configurations to meet every shot requirement, swing-style, course condition and rules governing tournament play.

Spin Milled grooves produce a medium trajectory and high spin and conform to the Rules of Golf until 2024, except in tournaments governed by a Condition of Competition.

Spin Milled C-C grooves produce a higher trajectory with medium spin and conform to the new 2010 Rules of Golf for grooves and can be used in events that adopt the new rules as a Condition of Competition.

 For more information on the Titleist Vokey wedges please click here.

The short game is the most important aspect of golf as this is where you will score.

Stop the ball near to the pin and you’ll have an excellent chance of making a single putt, rather than the dreaded three-putt.

Each month Sean will look at a different aspect of the short game and how it can help you walk away from the green with a decent score to write on your card.

This month we look at the chip shot.

Chip shot
The first thing to decide before you play a chip shot is not what club you’re going to use – it’s where to land the ball.

Remember the club ratios, a wedge will travel through the air 50% then roll 50%, while an eight or seven iron will travel 25% in the air, 75% roll. So choose the area to land the ball, then watch it roll.

The recent snow fall didn’t stop the ‘OUBO’ers enjoying their annual Winter Order of Merit Christmas fuddle at Baildon Golf Club in December.

Now in its third year , the event is usually a chance for Baildon golfers to have a bit of fun out on the course dressed as a variety of festive characters and z-list celebrities. Due to the snow they were forced inside but this didn't stop the fun and games and some of them were even spotted dancing the night away in the Malt Shovel!

This year Santa and his elves were joined by 80s Kajagoogoo popster Limahl and X-Factor phenomenon Jedward.

The day also sees the presentation of the Order of Merit Trophy , which was picked up by Kev Woodhead who won it by a nose with a late burst of form in the competition.

Well done to everyone for making an effort on the day, we look forward to your new costumes next year.

This month Mr President Geoff Dixon is in the spotlight 

Handicap: 10

How long have you been a member at Baildon GC: 37 (that's 37 years not 1937!)

Favourite Club in the Bag: Wedge

Usual Golfing Partners: Nick Redman & Rick Cockcroft

Favourite Course: Hillside GC in Southport

Best Golfing Acheivement: Won the Bradford Clubmans Championship twice in 1981 & 1985

Favourite Golfer: Greg Norman

Dream Fourball: Me, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman & Frankie Dettori

Predictions for 2010 Majors:
US Masters – Sergio Garcia
US Open – Lee Westwood
British Open – Henrik Stenson
USPGA – Phil Mickleson