What have you gone and done Rory?!

With the Open Championship due to start next week, world number 1 Rory McIlroy has gone and injured himself during a kick about with friends. It's not looking good for next week and just yesterday Rory has announced that he will not be fit in time and has withdrawn. 

Things have now become just a tiny bit easier for Jordan Spieth!

Total rupture of left ATFL (ankle ligament) and associated joint capsule damage in a soccer kick about with friends on Saturday. Continuing to assess extent of injury and treatment plan day by day. Rehab already started….. Working hard to get back as soon as I can." 



Neil McDonald's Charity Golf Day

Congratulations to Neil McDonald and friends on a successful 54 hole Charity Golf event. Neil is in the middle of a yearlong fundraising challenge in aid of SAMH (Scottish Association for Mental Health). 

Last Friday's golf challenge saw Neil play 3 rounds of golf in the same day, starting at King James VI, followed by North Inch and ending up at Craigie Hill, before a BBQ and disco at Craigie Hill. 

Neil's fundraising efforts for the year have now reached almost £4500, which is a fantastic effort. 

Well done Neil.



Custom Club Fitting at Noah's Ark 

This week I want to talk about the shaft flex in your driver and how your swing speed influences the flex you should be using. Contrary to common belief, a golf shaft does not 'whip' at impact. It does however 'bend' which is often mistaken for whip. This bending has an effect on both the balls direction and trajectory, with shafts that are too flexible and too stiff having detrimental effects. 

The flex of the shaft also has to deal with the force that is applied to the club head when it impacts with the ball. If a shaft is too flexible for your club head speed, then it will not be able to deal with the impact and valuable distance will be lost as the club head speed will not transfer fully to the ball.

Below is a list of club head speeds and the shaft flexes that tie into those speeds. Although there is more to selecting shaft flex than just club head speed, this is a great starting point.

>70mph = Ladies Flex 
70 - 80mph = Senior/A Flex 
80 - 90mph = Regular Flex 
90 - 100mph = Stiff Flex 
100+mph = Extra Stiff 

If you are interested in being custom fitted for a new driver, 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 - Stop flipping

If you are a player who is prone to blocking or hooking the ball, then today's swing tip is for you. Blocking right and hooking left is quite a common fault, especially amongst mid to low handicap players and we affectionately refer to them as 'flippers', due to the over activity of the wrists through impact. Being a bit of a flipper myself, I know just how destructive this can be, especially with the longer clubs.

Today's exercise will help you control your clubface through impact by pacifying your wrists and result in straighter more controllable shots.

Set your ball on a low tee and using a mid-iron, swing back to around chest high. As you swing through to waist high, focus on keeping your left hand above your right and working your hands to the left post impact. When you do this correctly, you can still see a little of my left hand showing above my right just post impact.

When your wrists flip, you will find that the club releases too much down the target line and that your left wrist is really showing under your right hand. When this happens, you risk hitting the ball with either a very open or very closed clubface, sending the ball far offline. 

Please do not try this drill if you slice the ball. It could ruin your game!!

Open Competitions

Senior Open

Our Senior Open for Gent's and Ladies, is being held on Tuesday 4th August. For more information on this event and on how to enter, please click here. 

Mixed Foursomes 

Open Our Mixed Open is being held on Sunday 9th August, this is open to couples and will be a great way to come and play at the North Inch. For more information and to place an entry, please click here.

Mid-Year Season Tickets 

We have now reached an amazing 90 new season Ticket holders this year, which is we are so happy about. In many golf clubs, once you reach mid-year, it's not as good value to take out a membership as you have lost the first part of the season but are still charged the full annual fee. 

Thankfully, at North Inch we have thought about this and we have introduced a 'Pro Rata' season ticket rate. This means that you will now pay only 9/12th of a full year ticket, meaning that it's as great value to join in July as it was in April!

For more information on becoming a Season Ticket holder, click here.

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.  

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