Jordan Spieth - US Open Champion

Another great win for Jordan Spieth at the US Open and another Major in the bag. For all the controversy that the Chambers Bay golf course layout created last week, it certainly kept golf at the top of social media discussion. 

In the run up to the tournament, I saw many images of the golf course, which looked absolutely fantastic and immaculately presented. Now, for every US Open the USGA decide how the golf course should be set up and it appears they wanted it dry and burnt. 

For most of the golf course this is fine, but unfortunately the Chambers Bay greens could not handle this drought and the evidence was clear to see for everyone. 

I think the course layout is fantastic and it really made the players have to use their imagination and shot making skills to get the ball close to the hole. 

Unfortunately the dryness of the course made some of the holes ridiculous and unplayable.

The saving grace for the USGA is that Jordan Spieth lifted the trophy and is a very deserving champion, and arguably the best player in the world at the moment. 

So all in all the best players still shone through and it showed that Spieth can win both when comfortable in front and also when he's got to battle and scramble his way to victory. This bodes well for some McIllroy vs Spieth show downs! 



Custom Club Fitting at Noah's Ark 

Does lie angle really matter in my irons? Yes it does! 

Lie angle is one of the most important aspects of custom fitting a set of irons and has a considerable influence on the direction that your golf ball travels. Through technologies such as our FlightScope ball tracking radar, we now know that it's the clubface rather than the swing direction that has the biggest influence on the initial direction that the golf ball travels when it leaves the club face.

How does that relate to the lie angle of my irons? I'm going to try not to get too techy now, but it's to do with something called 'face pane tilt'. When you take a flat surface (clubface), that has some degree of loft (all golf clubs) and then tilt that flat surface 'toe high' or 'toe down' this changes the direction the clubface points. A toe high club head will send your golf ball left and a toe down club head will send your ball to the right. 

The simplest way to explain face plane tilt would be to talk about what happens when you play the golf ball from above or below your feet. When the ball is above your feet, your ball will fly to the left and a ball that's below your feet will cause it to fly to the right.

To put this into perspective, a clubface that point 1 degree left or right on a shot that carries 170 yards, will send the golf ball around 3.5 yards offline. This means that a clubface that points just 3 degrees offline can send the ball over 10 yards offline!! Now do you believe that lie angle is important….? 

If you are interested in being custom fitted for some new golf clubs, then please give us a call on 01738 440678 and speak with one of our team. 

If you'd like to become a member of our driving range, then check out our website, give us a call on 01738 440678 or email info@noahsarkgolf.com 



Play Better Golf - Bump & Run 

If you watched the US Open last week at Chambers Bay, you will have no doubt noticed that it was not your typical US Open. Gone was the lush thick rough and heavily watered greens and in was what looked like an Open Championship course on steroids! 

With a course set up like last week and with the extreme sloping greens at Chambers, the high floaty pitch shots were not going to get the players very close to the hole. 

It was time for some old school tactics!! It was time to get out the 7 iron out and play some good old fashioned bump and run shots. When the greens are dry, heavily sloped and fast running, it is much easier to judge both distance and direction when the ball is kept low to the ground. 

You can use almost any club in your bag, and the ball will simply bump more or run more depending on your choice. Your feet should be quite close together with the ball towards your back foot and your weight favouring your front foot. 

With a light grip pressure you should now rock your shoulders back and through keeping both sides of your swing equidistant. The length of your swing and NOT by how hard you hit will determine how far the ball travels. 

Give it a go and you should be pleasantly surprised. If you have a hybrid club in your bag then try giving it a go for this shot, as the wider sole will help prevent the leading edge from digging in. 

Junior Summer Camps

We're going to be running three weeks of Junior Summer Camps during the school holidays. Each camp will include 4 hours of coaching, covering all aspects of the game, including on course play. The camps are open to all junior season ticket holders who have not already received their 4 hours of Free group golf lessons. 

For more information on our summer camps, including dates and information on how to become a season ticket holder, please click here. 

Wednesday Junior Night 

Well done to our 11 juniors who came along this week in what was a very 'damp' evening! Although we managed to start in the dry, the weather very quickly deteriorated and by the end, we had some rather wet children! 

But, as we said on the night. If you are going to learn to play golf in Scotland, you had better get used to getting wet!! Our Wednesday sessions are Free to all junior season ticket holders and if you haven't yet signed up, then you can do so for just £20 .

   

Season Tickets

If you're not yet a Season Ticket holder, then it couldn't be easier to sign up. Application forms are available from the starters box or can be downloaded from our website. If you'd like more information on this or on becoming a junior season ticket holder, email nmcgill@pkc.gov.uk