5th Hole - To be, or not to be?

Join Rhys ap William, Eryl Williams and Matt Dearden for Episode 5 of Golf Pod Cymru, the podcast dedicated to golf in Wales.

This week, the team rounds up the latest news and performances from Welsh golfers, both professional and amateur, highlighting the players making headlines at home and abroad.

Topic of the Pod: Golf Membership – To Join or Not to Join?

Golf club membership remains one of the biggest decisions golfers face. Is membership still good value? What are the benefits beyond simply playing golf? And how do flexible memberships compare with traditional options? The team discuss the pros and cons, who membership suits best, and whether joining a club is the right move for today's golfer.

Special Guest: Nick Daniels

We're joined by Nick Daniels, Resort Manager at Machynys, who gives us an insight into managing one of Wales' premier golf destinations. Nick discusses the challenges of hosting large-scale events, how the team prepares for major competitions, and the aspirations for bringing even bigger events to the venue in the future.

Golf Pod Cymru Bacon Bap Leaderboard

The competition is heating up as we bring you the latest standings in our very own Golf Pod Cymru Bacon Bap Leaderboard. Who's climbing the rankings and who's in danger of falling behind?

Matt's Update

Matt gives us an update on his game and preparations for his upcoming tournament at Slaley Hall next week. Recorded while out on the course at Machynys, it provides a unique opportunity to assess his game first-hand in real playing conditions and hear how he's shaping up ahead of a big week.

Ask Matt

Following our round at a breezy Machynys, this week's question for Matt focuses on one of golf's toughest tests – driving into a strong wind. Matt shares his thoughts on club selection, ball position, swing adjustments and course management to help golfers keep control when the conditions get challenging.

Comedy Golf

A brand-new section makes its debut! Comedy Golf is your chance to share the funny side of the game. From golfing disasters and missed putts to unforgettable clubhouse moments, we'll be featuring listeners' funniest golf stories. If you've got a tale that will make fellow golfers laugh, we'd love to hear it.

Golf Pod Cymru – celebrating the people, courses, stories and humour that make golf in Wales so special.

Transcript

SPEAKER_02 0:14

Hello everybody and welcome to episode five of Golf Pod Kamri, the fifth tight dog leg left into the wind, and we're going a bit off course, or maybe I should say on course in this step. Eril Matt and myself headed west to the fantastic Machanis Resort in Teneffi. So some of the bits are on the course as we got to play the links, and we even got to sit on the Hino sofa on S4C to talk about the pod. A busy week, wasn't it, guys? Very busy week. Need uh need a beer after that. How did you find uh playing alongside Eril and myself, Matt?

SPEAKER_01 0:49

Thoroughly enjoyable, yeah. It's nice to see um well, you know, I was done another way, perhaps. It was a long tolls before you answered that one. What was worse? Playing with us or being on the sofa and hein or um being on the sofa, 100%. I wouldn't say I'm camera shy, but uh certainly looking back at it, I've I've aged a few years since I last looked at myself, I think, in the mirror. So uh I've just ordered myself a big box of collagen just to see if that helped. Live television in Welsh. Hats off to you, mate. Well done. Yeah, it's probably been the best part of 30 years since I've uh attempted a conversation fully in Welsh. So uh yeah, it was uh great, great experience and uh you know thanks to everyone involved getting us on the show. It's the shadow to die on Matt.

SPEAKER_02 1:34

Yeah, dieow and if you want to see us on there, you must probably can look at our Instagram or hear not Instagram then you'll you'll see little snippets of us. But what have we got on the pod then? Well, we're gonna cover the amateur and pro results. Our topic in this pod is membership, to be or not to be, that is the question. We grabbed a word with resort manager Nick Daniels at Mechanis, nice chat with him. Matt's challenge. Well, we did that on the course, so that's a little bit different. And then we'll have that to Ask Matt section as well, and the all-important Bacon Bap leaderboard. Denby, Glen Abbey, Portcall, Radder, where will Mechanis sit on the big leaderboard? We also got um a new little section as well, funny golf stories. And we'll come to that right at the end of the pod where you potentially might hear one of mine. I've got a few of them. Right, let's crack on then. Amateur and pro results concentrating as we do on golf podcamri, on the Welsh players, the Welsh talent that's out there. Matt's what happened and where?

SPEAKER_01 2:34

Yeah, so uh another couple of busy weeks for our players all around the world. So um, you know, we're we're focusing on on both amateur and professional results. So I'll I'll start with a few of the uh professional results. Jack Davidson, he was once again playing on the Sunshine Tour in South Africa. He participated in the Sunbet Challenge at Humewood Golf Club. He ended up tied fourth uh with a total of 13 under par, uh finishing two shots behind winner and experienced tour player Justin Walters, who's played on the DP World Tour for many years. It shows sort of the you know the quality of the field that you know these players are up against over in South Africa. Jack's next tournament is actually underway now as we record this podcast. So he's out in Switzerland, he's playing on the Hotel Planetors. He's actually shot one and a par today. It he's in a tie for 41st position, so good luck to Jack for the for the rest of the week. Is he leading the Sunshine Tour? No, he's actually um I'm glad you asked that, because that was my next bit. He's he's now up to eighth on the rankings list, and I believe there's a a separate ranking list for new players on the tour. So I I believe he's actually first on on that particular one. So that you know if you've seen anything on social media sort of suggesting that he's in first position, it's uh the actual rookie rankings as opposed to the the full rankings there. So again, Jack's moved up in the world rankings.

SPEAKER_04 4:05

Errol, do you know exactly where he's got the yeah well he's leaped above Toby Hunt now, so he's 888 in the world ranking. So it's I think it's great that we have now two fighting and you know getting up that rankings board. So we got Toby Hunt at 942 and James Ashfield at 1040. But a lot of the listeners probably listened to the chipping forecast as well. And on their episode last week, they similar to us, they they kind of highlighted where we are in terms of um Welsh golfing. Pinching our stories, are they? Pinching our stories, are they? Well, uh, they they were kind of highlighting the demise of Welsh golf and um it wasn't a great listen for our nation to be honest, but um yeah, but maybe they are taking some content from us. But yeah, that you know, our aim is to give these players uh some spotlight and hopefully get them up that uh world ranking board.

SPEAKER_01 5:00

Yeah, you know, exactly like you said, I think you know there's a you know there's a a healthy battle now is forming between Toby and Jack, who I think we can call it that, you know, for become the highest rank ranked Welshman in the world. So uh yeah, we'll we'll keep a close eye on that. Moving on quite nicely from that, Toby Hunt. Uh he participated in uh uh the Hotel Planetor Spanish challenge uh last week. Unfortunately, Toby missed the cut after rounds of 71 and 73 left him in uh 94th position. So again, you know, good scoring. 71-73, you know, not a not a million miles off, but again, you can see the standard of play on these tours, you know, where cut lines are falling at sort of you know four or five under par. It's difficult to uh to win a tournament, you know, it's it's difficult to make a cut in the first instance. We'll uh we'll look at uh you know those results over the next couple of weeks from Toby and and Jack and see how they're getting on. Moving on to China, our sort of favourite Welshman playing out in China is Tom Froom. Never met Tom. Uh actually, it would be great to get him on the podcast. I think we mentioned that before. He was again, you know, he's in action in in China. His latest result came at the Nanjing Open. Uh Tom finished tied 44th with rounds of 69, 72, and 72. So again, you know, really good scoring. And to finish in in 44th position, he's uh he's doing very well over there. So again, it'll be great to see uh you know his progress over the season. On the LET Axis tour, uh Austria was a venue for the Allegria Open. Fionne Tynan finishing in 23rd position there. I think I got the pronunciation right of her surname on this pod. Is that correct, Daryl? Is it correct? Ion T. Excellent. And moving on to the ladies' European tour. This was staged in Morocco at Royal Golf Deret Salam. That was in Rabat. And for those of you who don't know, Rabat is actually the capital of Morocco, not Marrakesh, as what most people think. Uh that's another course that I've played. Uh that's a very difficult golf course, actually, but uh, you know, a great uh a great venue. Darcy Harry, uh, she finished in the tie for 47th uh position, and uh Luca Thompson finished in 68th position there. Sticking with the Ladies' European tour, more recently we had a great, great performance from Lydia Hall. She was competing in the French Open at the Evian Resort Golf Club. She shot rounds of 71, 68, and 69 to finish on five under par alongside two other players, seven shots behind the eventual winner. Yeah, so Lydia finishing in uh a chair for second place there, so another fantastic result for the ladies. Well done, Lydia.

SPEAKER_04 7:39

Yeah, and in in terms of the ranking for the women, the girls are doing really well. Uh ranked 161st is Darcy Harry. And and with that, a great performance from Lydia Hall, she's jumped 50 places to 271. And then we got Chloe Williams at 355 in the world. So the girls are doing really well then. Yeah, brilliant. Uh brilliant from the ladies, to be fair.

SPEAKER_01 8:01

Moving on to regional news. Uh, the latest PGA Chrome series tour event was played at Peterborough Milton. Uh, Welsh player Andrew Pestel finished in a tie for 10th on 300 par. The previous event uh to that one was contested at Motram Hall. A great few days there for Matt Mosley from Tembe Golf Club. He finished in a tie for third there on 5 under par, so congratulations to Matt. The Clutch Tour visited St. Melion in Cornwall for the Rhapsodau Championship. Welsh player Jake Hapgood finished a tie for 23rd, and Luke Harry's in 38th position. On to some amateur news. The Welsh Open Youths Championship was held at Newport Golf Club. Brodie Lewis came out on top following rounds of 66, 70, 73 for a seven and a par total winning by one shot from English golfer Ezra Hartland. Other Welsh players to feature included Isaac Jones from Oswald Street in fifth, Ryan Williams from Bargoyde in ninth, and the leading ladies' player or girls player was Rebecca Del Sol Gonzalez in a tie for 10th position. So again, overall a great week there for Welsh golfers in Newport.

SPEAKER_04 9:09

I think that was the first Welsh winner of that event in four years as well. So fantastic for Brody to get that over the line.

SPEAKER_02 9:17

And uh I was gonna ask about uh about Brody because he's in um Odessa College in Texas. He'll he'll go back there. But I think I'm right in saying, Eril, that both winners, the boys and and the the girls, qualify for the final of the Faldo series, do they?

SPEAKER_04 9:33

Yeah, correct. Yeah, the Faldo series is uh the final of that junior kind of series is held at Abu Dhabi. So both uh Rebecca and Brody qualify straight away to play in that prestigious event over there, so fantastic.

SPEAKER_01 9:45

In other amateur news, Welsh golfers Jonathan Bale from Royal Puth Cole Golf Club and Tommy Bowen from Welshpool Golf Club reached the final of the 11th US Amateur Football Championship. Wow. The uh the impressive pair uh qualified for the prestigious USGA event held at Desert Mountain Golf Club in Scottsdale, Arizona. And by reaching the final, the duo earned silver medals and exemptions into the next three US amateur football championships. So a a a nice accolade there, real good performance overseas from two Welsh players. Yeah, fantastic. Really good. That pretty much rounds up our news for the week. So in summary, still plenty of results pouring in uh from across the globe, with uh a healthy percentage of Welsh golfers competing at every level, with the exception of PGA Tour and DP World Tour events. Uh I think you both agree the ladies are definitely flying the flag for Wales at the moment. Hopefully the men can keep up.

SPEAKER_02 10:42

Okay, well, uh thanks Matt for that round up of uh the Welsh talent around the globe. Our topic this week is membership. It was a a bit of a a drama quote, really. Uh to be or not to be, steal it from Mr. Shakespeare. That is the question. I'm not a member. I've not been a member anywhere for uh most probably around thirteen, fourteen years. You know, I was a member at the Pathleg Golf Club for for donkeys, but with with work and family it it doesn't make it cost effective for me. So let's get talking about being a member somewhere or not being a member, and what are the other options that are out there? You know, what's everybody's thought on membership? Our stat man is Errol, you know, will tell me uh how much the average cost of of membership in Wales or the UK is, I'm sure, Errol, won't you? Well, if you want the stats first, then we'll start. Come on then, fire them in. Come on.

SPEAKER_04 11:38

Well, in Wales we've got um sixty thousand official um members, members of golf clubs, and um that's broken down to 45,000 uh men, five and a half thousand women, um just under six thousand uh juniors, and there's about one thousand two hundred flexi golf members, so they they're kind of they're not official members of a golf club, but but they have an official handicap where they register all their scores when they play different courses, so it at least they have that ability to have an official handicap. But membership comes down to uh a lot of things, doesn't it? If you've got time to play golf, how close you are to a golf course, um, your background, if you've been brought up like I was as a junior member. There's not many years I w I haven't been a member of a golf club because I know the benefit of being a member through having, you know, your praxis facilities, the course, the competitions, um getting to know people as well. And but it it's different for every person and it's down to budget, time, family, uh commitments. But the best thing is the the best that is that there's actually a hundred thousand adults playing golf uh in some some form, and whether they turn into members eventually, well we'll see.

SPEAKER_02 12:57

It's a tough one for you, Matt, isn't it? Because you're a professional golfer, so membership really was was never an issue for you, was it? You know, you'd be affiliated to a club, would you?

SPEAKER_01 13:07

Yeah, that's correct. So if you're the pro at the golf club, you you you don't automatically become a member, but you get to use the facilities there. If you're a touring professional, normally you're attached to a golf club. So with that, you know, you're allowed generally to play and practice at that particular golf club. And also another perk of being a PGA professional, it also allows you to play at other golf courses at the discretion of the home professional or the all or the manager. So you never really need to be a member of a golf club as a golf professional, but you definitely need to be somewhere in order to practice.

SPEAKER_02 13:44

So you'd you'd advise me just to turn pro then. I can play anywhere I want then.

SPEAKER_01 13:48

Yeah, well, I'm I'm sure that there's definitely a couple of golf clubs out there with that that would have you attached there. Nothing springs to mind just yet, but I'll uh I'll I'll think I'll think of somewhere. But uh all joking aside, um the burning question for a lot of people is should I or shouldn't I become a member of a golf club? It I get asked it a lot when I'm coaching. You get a lot of new players and they they M and R about whether they should join. And you know, there's a lot of circumstances that you've got to sort of consider when it comes to joining a golf club, like Errol said. You know, it is it financially viable for that player or that person to join a golf club for however much money it you know it is, versus you know, how many times do you play golf and how many green fees are you gonna pay? Does it sort of stack up in your favour that therefore you don't become a member and you just go and pay and play?

SPEAKER_02 14:36

Yeah, that's pretty much what you've explained there, is me, you know. You you get a total, it's gonna cost you X amount of money. Well, how many times are I gonna play? Divide that figure by the amount of rounds I've played, and what do you get? You know, and and for me it doesn't make any sense, you know. I play in a couple of societies with with Great Days Golf, I play with the Vagabonds and then the Wedges Society as well. So it just doesn't make it cost effective for me, you know. So I'll I'll I'll go and play.

SPEAKER_04 15:02

Would you play more if you were a member? Would that kind of push you to, you know, all right, I need to get value for money, even if you go play five, six holes, use the practice facilities. The other thing is is the use of the uh you know the the clubhouse, the the catering, you get a discount in the bar or the or the food and the golf clubs they're they're trying to entice the members to to come and support the club. But you know, it's a it's a good family evening out.

SPEAKER_02 15:26

I I l I also like the variety of playing different courses, you know, so I I'll go somewhere that I've never played before. What is the average price of of a membership in Wales there?

SPEAKER_04 15:37

Well the average it obviously differs on on where you are in Wales and you know the the type of golf club. But the average is around £750. There are clubs which are £500 or less.

SPEAKER_02 15:48

Not not in Cardiff.

SPEAKER_04 15:50

Um maybe on the outskirts, but not in Cardiff, no.

SPEAKER_02 15:53

But that's what I'm that's what I'm saying though. You know, if it's a for example a thousand pounds, right, for membership, and I play ten times a year, maybe, you know, so that's a hundred pounds around. So I'm thinking, well, I'd rather pay £50 around and and go and play with a member in different courses or join one of the society days that I can I can make or something. So I you know you you experience a new course all all the time. Don't get me wrong, I loved being a member, you know, but then that I was younger and I could finish school, drive up and play, and then spend the weekend playing golf, you know. It was it was brilliant. So I I can see the flip side of being a member and not being a member, you know. And there are some courses that offer different types of membership, like a a midweek one, you know, because sometimes I work a lot on the weekends, so then like a midweek membership or a county membership, if the course, you know, is far enough away, then you can have that kind of membership as well.

SPEAKER_01 16:45

The the landscape in golf, you know, in in terms of membership has changed over the last probably thirty years. It was almost a case of if you wanted to go and play another golf course, you actually needed to be a member of a golf course in the first instance with an official handicap. I mean when I first started working in the professional shop at Lantrescent, we we would issue the handicap certificates for the members there because they were going to play another golf course. And that golf course required that handicap certificate. These days. I mean, when was the last time you were asked if you were a member of a golf club, if you had a handicap, if you can play golf even? Are you ever asked those questions when you go to a golf club these days? Only only after I bit my first shot. Then they question you. Yeah. Have you ever played before?

SPEAKER_04 17:27

Ten years ago, golf clubs were struggling for members, so even the ones around Cardiff, they they were dropping their membership price, and it became like a price war to get the cheapest uh deals out there. So there was a lot of club hopping, so players would jump from one club to another to to find the cheapest deal. So there was no kind of loyalty towards one golf club, they were just chasing cheap golf. And we've spoken a lot about the impact of COVID had on golf. That has totally flipped now. Um majority of golf courses now are full, but they're they've got um waiting lists, they've got join-in fees, their their membership fee is going up every year rather than down. So, you know, that just shows as well the membership family is growing because you know the sport is growing. Another stat, an interesting stat, from the tr traditional member, the average age is fifty-five. Compared to what you call an independent golfer, so you're a flexi golfer or a playmore golf member, the average age is about 44. So that shows as well the the the younger golfer wants that flexibility, you know, family and stuff. It it's good to see that there are options for everybody now.

SPEAKER_02 18:37

Well, let's talk about the options. You mentioned it a couple of times. Flexi golf, and and this is something that uh I've been looking at thinking, well, instead of getting uh my my handicap from my society, you know, let's let's join Flexi Golf. And Flexi Golf is something that's run by by Wales Golf at WalesGolf.org and it it's it looks it looks great to me. You know, it's something that you get you get your world handicap index there and everything, and it it costs £55 for a year, so you are a member of a of a club then. It looks like a great option to go if you're like me, haven't got the time and to go to go and join somewhere and justify paying a full membership for a for a year's golf.

SPEAKER_04 19:16

Well that also allows you to do is is play in certain competitions where obviously you need an official handicap. Um but if you've met the the criteria required through Flexi Golf, that allows you to play some competitive golf as well, which otherwise you wouldn't be able to do.

SPEAKER_02 19:31

Well I'm actually looking at there it is, Wheelsgolf.org. I'm looking at FlexiGolf now and I'm thinking, I'm gonna sign up for this. I know you have to play with someone who's also registered to kind of officially get your handicap and it you know it's not mark your own card and you know give pets from six foot and this and that, but it you know it's it's there, like you said, Errol, to to give you an official handicap. So when you go to courses, use the index and everything and you can work it out properly. So it looks a really good thing to be a part of, which I think I will join later on. Have we answered the question? Is you know, to be or not to be a member? That is the question. When I'm kind of sitting on the fence, really.

SPEAKER_04 20:10

It's a question of choice and um the the kind of lifestyle you have and the time you have. But that's like I said, it's the golf now is so much much more accessible through driving ranges, all these kind of flexible uh membership, which it can only be good for for the sport.

SPEAKER_02 20:26

Well, if I did have an option of what course I was going to join in Wales and in sort of a 60-odd mile radius from where I am in in Cardiff, I'd certainly head west and have a look at the course that we went to play uh at Mechanis. We had a great welcome there. I didn't make it till till later on because I had to take the dog to the vet, but you guys had a a fantastic welcome and a great chat down there.

SPEAKER_04 20:49

We did, and we managed to eat your bacon bap, which they'd given us as well.

SPEAKER_02 20:52

So yeah, I was gutted about the bacon bat, but let's have a listen to what the resort manager Nick Daniels had to tell the boys.

SPEAKER_04 21:00

We're here with Nick Daniels, a resort manager of Machenis. Thank you, Nick, for your time. Myself and Matt were talking on the way here, and we believe this is the youngest club in Wales, is that right?

SPEAKER_00 21:11

Yes, one really. Uh 20 years old. So we celebrated our 20th anniversary last year. So yeah, young club, and it's it's going really well. It's the only Nicholas course in Wales as well. Yeah, yeah. So we so it it's a it's a really good title or showcase for us, really, to have the Nicholas design and the only one in Wales, you know, is is fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 21:35

And obviously, this is a championship course, obviously set up and built as a championship course, and you've held a lot of big events here across the years. And is that the still the the aim is to have big tournaments here?

SPEAKER_00 21:46

Yeah, so we've we were one we were the youngest club to host uh an RA event back when we were when we first opened. But we you know we at we try to hold something uh every year if we can. Um Twenty twenty four, we we managed to hold three big ones um over a period of probably two months. With they bring a they bring a great vibe. The members support them really well. And we have fantastic feedback really of the players, the organizers, and it just everything snowballs then, doesn't it? Um so so we're hoping now obviously we've had a senior open qualifying for next year. So that's already in the diary. So we're already preparing really for that for that. And yeah, we you know we're we're always looking for the hosting bigger and better things.

SPEAKER_04 22:35

Well as a as a podcast, we've been discussing how to elevate, you know, golf in Wales and stuff, and we discuss quite often that we haven't got a Welsh open. If that was to, you know, some investor were to come in or something was to happen.

SPEAKER_00 22:48

We'd love to. We like we would love to to hold much bigger events, having something in the diary, something big, something really it's exciting for all the staff. And in particular, the Greens team, they've got something to really work towards. We're hosting the R ⁇ A, we're hosting Wales Golf, we clutch were here uh two years ago two years ago. You know, they're all stepping stone um you know to that bigger thing, and and hopefully one day we will get that opportunity to to host something bigger than what we've than what we have done so far, you know. The members they help out so much during these tournaments. Like even the ladies, the IG and Porthcole, we sent sixty volunteers from from the club there to go and help them. Our our membership really supports the the the the championship golf, you know.

SPEAKER_01 23:45

So just on the the membership side of things, in terms of how holding these big events here at the golf club, how do you deal with the fact that the members can't play golf while these championships are on? Have you got anything in place with reciprocals with vocal clubs or something similar?

SPEAKER_00 24:02

We've got um we've got a great connection really with um with many clubs. As long as we give the members the notice and the the time where they know, right, we're gonna be closed for four days because we are hosting this event. Now we we obviously really try and um promote them to help, and a lot of them will. They might help for two days and then maybe go and play golf somewhere else then for the third or the fourth day. Um as long as you give them that notice and they can plan in advance, or you know, I can go and play another golf course as a bit of a change at no cost because we're we're hosting that, and that's and that's it's pivotal really to have that relationship with the other clubs. Um and it works really well.

SPEAKER_04 24:47

This year that you won Wells' golf club of the year, congratulations on that. It's a great achievement. What what did that come down to, do you think?

SPEAKER_00 24:55

Um it was first and foremost, it was a it was a massive accolade for the club. We had fantastic coverage over it. But it c it came down to the team effort of every department, all the staff, the the F and B, the Spa, the golf team, the green staff pulling together. We've had a really good couple of years. And it just goes to show then when we when we when we had the application, we had the opportunity to to write about everything we do. It was a long and hefty document and that we that we put together, but to to reflect on every department's success and and what we've done and what we what we what we've brought together then as one one golf club, like what we've achieved over the last not just the last year, over the last 10 years, over the last 20 years, you know?

SPEAKER_04 25:45

Yeah. Yeah, it's just fantastic. Uh as you mentioned, it's 20 years and I guess there's a lot of development been here over the over the last 20 years, the range has been developed. Any other plans for the for the course?

SPEAKER_00 25:58

Obviously you've both driven in, you've seen the the big diggers on the right hand side of of uh of the 10th T-box. At the moment we're we're shaping some of the lake edges. Jim, the owner of the golf club, he's really maintained standard. Um and just you know being 20 years uh I say 20 years young, really, but the things do overgrow and they get a little bit out of control as golf clubs mature. Um so he's he's been working on really re-edging some of the lakes and and to to keep them uh crisp. Uh big investment with Trapman Range. Um that was in 2023. Uh we've just started the groundworks really for three paddle courts. Um, but that's just adding another sport to the to the golf club, another option for our members or visitors to use. Um and then we've got like we've got other small projects going on, and we're halfway through a ladies' changing room refurb, um, which is part of our plans when we had the ladies and legacy grant from Wales Golf. Massive support, really, a huge help for us because we, you know, promoting ladies' golf and really sort of improving the facility. So that's finishing next week. We do a lot with Wales Golf, uh, in a sense of their national team after you know a couple of meetings with with Gareth, and he wants to continue to develop the driving range and the practice area. Um, so we've uh improved the winter section of the um grass range, stage one. Stage two now is adding additional target greens out there. But they were foc they're focusing on players from 130 yards and in. So for us to have the short game facility, what we have is fantastic. But it's more of to have some really nice target greens for them to actually work towards but when they're here. And it benefits everyone then, doesn't it? It benefits our members, benefits our visitors, benefits us as a place.

SPEAKER_04 27:56

Well, for the ones who haven't played Mechanis, it's it's a must-play course, it's a beautiful part of the uh of Wales and the the the facilities are fantastic. But on the course itself, what are your statement holes, do you think? What the holes that people talk about the most?

SPEAKER_00 28:10

You know, the the back nine is the is the big one. You know, everyone, not to say that the front nine, the front nine's fantastic, but when the tide's in on the back nine and you're playing, you know, you've you're coming off par 513, going down 14 up to 17th T-box, just the view over over over the Gower really is just fantastic. We opened up the T-box up on 17 to really benefit from that, but from a whole's point of view, you know, 15, 16, 17 is just the feedback we have is fantastic.

SPEAKER_04 28:43

No, it is a great finishing stretch. Uh it just touched on one men talking about the members earlier, and uh membership is something that we'll be talking about on the pod as our topic. How many members do you have, and have you seen a change in membership um, you know, demographic over the last 10 years or since COVID?

SPEAKER_00 29:02

Yeah, so from a from a demographic point of view, uh we class ourselves as a quite a young golf club. We've got overall with all the different categories, and we've got 650 members. I say we're a young golf club, it's our senior section is unbelievable, but since COVID, you know, we we have definitely become a far more younger, focused sort of club. Um with a lot of people my age, you know, I'm 32, so it's between 25 and 35, we've seen that grow drastically. You know, it's such a modern and such a nice place to come, even just for a beer, to be honest. Um social media helps. You know, everyone within maybe that age category on social media, you know, we really promote ourselves across all different platforms.

SPEAKER_01 29:57

I I I think it's great, you know, um having worked at private members' golf clubs. I think you know, one of the stumbling blocks is if golf isn't on, there's nothing on. You know, because that's all they've got is to offer generally is golf or maybe a bit of pool or darts or something. But certainly somewhere like here, you know, if if the weather's bad or you know, you sort of you don't fancy playing golf, you've got the range, you can have a bit of a practice, you've got short game, you've got the gym, you've got a brilliant restaurant, you know, which no doubt attracts non-golfers as well because it's so good. And with the addition of what you're talking about with the paddle, you know, element of things, now you've got a a real good package in terms of attracting everybody, even if they're not interested in golf, I suppose.

SPEAKER_00 30:39

You know, it's like in the winter, you're looking forward to your golf on Saturday morning, you've you know, you you've been working all week, looking forward to your golf and it's hammering down with rain. Your options are then you either go back and you go shopping for the day, or you go to the gym, you jump in the jacuzzi, and you go hit some balls on the driving range. Yeah. And that's when we put Trap Man Range in, that was a game changer for us. You know, you you go down there on a rainy Saturday, it's full.

SPEAKER_04 31:04

Uh just two parting questions, Nick. Um the first one is obviously you're a PGA um member as well as a proper golfer, as I call them. Um what's your favourite course in Wales? You can't say Machanis.

SPEAKER_00 31:15

I can't say Machanis, okay. From my point of view, I think you can't knock Abadovie. I think when you when you head up, head up that way and you're walking across the railway track and the weather's nice. The golf course up there is always in fantastic condition. You have a you have a fantastic welcome there, um, and they look after you.

SPEAKER_04 31:35

And the last question uh this is one face uh would be excited to hear if he was here. Um what's the price of a bacon bath?

SPEAKER_00 31:43

The price of a bacon bath yeah is six ninety-five. So you tell me, is that on the higher end of the scale or is that on the lower end?

SPEAKER_01 31:51

It depends on the quality of the bacon. So are we talking quite a thick bit of bacon?

SPEAKER_00 31:55

That was something that we've worked on really over the last five years, because you know, gobl furs want to crap bacon roll, do they? We do little things like refillable coffees and stuff to to sort of minimize damn. But yeah, bacon roll, 6.95, but it's a good bacon roll.

SPEAKER_04 32:12

Well, thanks, Nick. Thanks for your welcome here today. Um I think we're gonna have a few holes as well, which uh I can't wait because I love playing down here. Um but thanks for your time and um good luck for the rest of the season.

SPEAKER_00 32:22

Yeah, I appreciate you having me, guys. Really enjoyed. Thank you.

SPEAKER_02 32:25

Well, there we have it, Nick Daniels and uh Machanis the Machanis Resort. That's it, that's an important uh bit of information there because it's more than just a golf club. $6.95 for a bacon roll, high quality bacon, I was told though. Did it taste good, guys?

SPEAKER_04 32:41

It did. It was uh premium bacon, put it that way. I tell you what did taste better. Reese's bacon roll that we had. Not ours.

SPEAKER_02 32:50

It was it was buy two, get one free. No, but you know, you you you you pay for what you get, didn't you? You know, looking at our leaderboard, £5.350s, £4.20 with a free coffee, another £3.50. £6.95, it is pricey, but it's quality. Let's get on to Mechanis, then. I as I mentioned it's called the Mechanist kind of resort. It's got the the links, but it's got a lot more than that, like like we heard in your chat with Nick, they they diversified, and then that brings more people into to the to the venue itself, doesn't it?

SPEAKER_04 33:22

Well, while we were there, the restaurant was was so full. You know, this was kind of midday on uh on a Tuesday, it was full. Not golfers, but people coming out there to to eat the the the clubhouse and the views they have from that clubhouse and that the restaurant is is amazing, and you know that's why I guess that the price is a bit more premium because you you're paying for the view and the and the ambience of the play place, which is fantastic. But you you mentioned the resort and what Nick said. They've got these paddle courts being installed, and you see a lot of courses now where they did have a tennis court or a few tennis courts attached to the club. They're now totally unused, um, and paddle is uh the next thing. I think you're even getting paddle and golf trips to to Portugal and Spain happening. So it's a new sport uh coming to the UK big time, and and golf is you know in a good place to kind of make the most of it as well.

SPEAKER_02 34:17

Yeah, piggybacking on onto it, really. That's a that's a great idea. They've got a gym there, sauna, a health spa there. Like you said, about the vista you've got over the Lachrestri, you're looking over to the Gawa there. It's absolutely beautiful. The practice facilities, let's talk more about golf, Mac. They've invested in those as well.

SPEAKER_01 34:34

Yeah, superb practice facilities there. Obviously, the uh the track man range that they've got at the one end, and the opposite end of the range is what used to be a a a grass practice area there with now AstroTurf as well. So, you know, that's multi-purpose for both summer and winter. You've got the short game area to the right and also, you know, a a nice big putting green in front of the clubhouse there. So, in terms of facilities for practising and improving your game, there aren't many better facilities, certainly, in the area than uh than what's available there at Machanis. It's got the capability to hold a fantastic event, hasn't it? Absolutely. The good thing about the golf course is there are multiple tees there. So you haven't got to play off the back tees, you can play off forward tees, which obviously makes the go the golf course a little bit easier, if you like. But certainly off the back tees, you know, I've I've had the uh well, I call it a pleasure, it actually wasn't at the time, because it was really painful playing off the back tees in wind at a EuroPro event there, and it was brutal. But, you know, nevertheless, a very good test of golfs. But there's no reason why we couldn't have a a big event there, maybe the Wales or Welsh Open.

SPEAKER_02 35:44

Yeah, it's a topic that's come up a few times in our conversations. The Welsh Open, you know, where is the Welsh Open? We need the Welsh Open. Let's start something, let's get some momentum into something to to get the the Welsh Open back on the map in the calendar again.

SPEAKER_04 36:02

Yeah, definitely. Does a Welsh Open need to be sanctioned by one of the tours? You know, w what's stopping us as a nation having a collective group of companies who put some money into a a prize pot and have a Welsh Open and start from small and build that up again to hopefully one day get in an event on on the on the challenge tour on the DP tour. But we've got to start somewhere, so maybe it's a it's a good conversation starter.

SPEAKER_01 36:29

Yeah, I um I watched the Austrian Open at the weekend, I watched the the last couple of rounds, and there were three Austrian players in the top ten. Crowds were huge, lots of youngsters there, you know, watching the golf. So the next big name in Austrian golf might actually come from somebody who's in the crowd there. And you know, you've got the Scottish Open, you've got the Irish Open, you've got DP World tour events in England. There is no English Open currently, but there are plans afoot to actually get that back onto the schedule. So you've got our home nations all all representing themselves at you know at very, very high levels there. And unfortunately we're not. It's quite sad, really.

SPEAKER_02 37:10

Yeah, well, you know, if no one else is going to do it, we've got to do it ourselves. And like Eril said, you know, you need a pot of money, and then it becomes an open invitation, you know, and you pay your entry fee and come maybe champion of Wales, you know, and uh go head to head with players from around the world. Let's get the ball rolling on this one. But Machanis, uh, a fantastic place to go for lunch, a fantastic place to go and play golf, easy access, top-notch facilities, highly recommended. But we're not quite ready to leave Machanis yet because Matt's challenge is a regular section on the pod, and we usually do it when we're together like this. But we did it on course at Mechanis. It was blowing an absolute gale down there. We had our mics on, our windshields on, but we started recording around the around the fourth hole. So bear with us sound quality wise. It's it's pretty good, but it's not perfect, a bit like my golf.

SPEAKER_03 38:03

So Matt, we're playing Machanis. Yeah, we're on the what are we, the fourth hole? Fourth hole, yeah. Enjoy this course.

SPEAKER_01 38:11

Oh, it's great. Yeah, I mean, um in terms of condition-wise, you very rarely do you come here and play it in in bad condition. They always do a you know a real good job, you're the green keeping staff, and uh yeah, it's always always a pleasure to play, even in uh 30, 40 mile-hour wins. It's a test for your game no matter what level you're at in terms of how you're playing. Uh obviously the scope to move the tees back, it makes the golf course you know incredibly difficult, but uh, you know, a very a very good challenge. You know, you you've got holes like we're playing here at the moment, where obviously you're playing off the front tees or forward tees today. So some of the troubles are in play, but going further back, you've got some bunkers and water hazards, you know, you'd have to sort of navigate yourself around these off of you know the the back tees.

SPEAKER_03 38:56

You know, this is a tough part four with a ditch, probably about 250 yards down the middle. You're about 20 yards shorter of the green, so this wind suits you then.

SPEAKER_01 39:06

Yeah, it must have been a lucky bounce to be honest. But uh no, yeah, it it down wind suits everybody, doesn't it, generally? But uh yeah, it's uh it it's a tough hole and yeah, it's it nice to get close to the green. We'll have to see what happens from there, won't we?

SPEAKER_04 39:20

Okay, don't get we're on the sixth. You did get up and down for the birdie on the fourth year, two under. So how's your game? Have you played much in the last couple of weeks?

SPEAKER_01 39:29

Uh in all honesty, no. Uh been busy again, sort of coaching. Um had nothing uh competitive to uh to sort of get my teeth into. So you know it's been a combination of work and and practice again, just trying to keep on top of things on top of my game, but it's it's difficult when you're not playing competitive golf to you actually get the well the motivation, but it's the you know, you you're trying to practice for an event which is you know three weeks away. You know, you you you try and build up to it if you can, you know.

SPEAKER_04 40:02

I know you know the your big event is in Slayley Hall next week. So are you are you gonna take everything out of today? Are you are you gonna hope for 40 mile an hour winds in Slayley Hall?

SPEAKER_01 40:13

Uh not at all. No, I'm hoping that actually it's gonna be quite benign. And uh I know uh from what I've read about the course it's gonna be tree lined, so there's a chance that the the wind will sort of be at the minimum, if you like. So yeah, today is just a battle of the elements, really. And uh you know, a nice way just to obviously have a game with you guys and sort of get out on the golf course and get you know a couple of swings in, a few reps in. So yeah, that's that's a fan thing.

SPEAKER_04 40:36

Okay, we'll we'll continue the chat in the next couple of fairways, but this is a par five in the into the guts of the wind. Are you looking uh are you looking to make birdie here?

SPEAKER_01 40:46

I'd love to, but I think I probably need a bazooka to get up in two years. So uh there's a lot of uh there's a lot of things that need to go my way in order for me to make a birdie, I think. I'd settle for a par to be honest. Right, to be continued.

SPEAKER_04 41:01

So on to the PGA championship next next week, Matt. Um obviously you've qualified for that. How many how many qualified does that?

SPEAKER_01 41:10

How many is going to be playing? I think the field is is is around 156 players. So we've had qualifiers throughout the country in different regions, so obviously we've got ours at the uh at the players' club over in Bristol. So you know there'd have been I think eight or nine, I think, different qualifiers.

SPEAKER_04 41:26

So and this is uh obviously one of the big uh championships of the PJ.

SPEAKER_01 41:30

So what's the what's the price for that? So the um if you end up winning it, you it's it's £15,000 first prize, which is obviously not to be uh not to be sniffed at in uh in any way. And you know, the the I I suppose the good thing about this event is is that uh you do get paid whether you sort of make the cut or not, you know, there's a a normal amount of of money that you receive just from qualifying and you know the the entry fee, I suppose is probably the next question you're gonna ask.

SPEAKER_04 41:57

I was gonna say, yeah, because you've you know you you you've obviously paid to enter, you're gonna be up there for three, four days. It's Slaley Hall, it's a long way up, hotel fees and stuff. And you know, so what does everybody get for turning up for for qualifying?

SPEAKER_01 42:11

Yeah, so you know, for qualifying, you get it's it's £150 just for actually qualifying and getting into the event. And you know, if you were fortunate, fortunate enough to sort of finish in the top five at qualifying, then you'd pick up pick up a little bit of money as well. I was sort of a tied fifth, so I ended up picking up uh £62.50 at the qualifier, and you know, to to enter the tournament, we're probably talking around about you know £100 entry. You know, I'm actually up there on Sunday, potentially to Friday, so I'm gonna be up there if I make the cut for you know four or five nights and you know six days. So you know, you can do the math ahead, it's gonna cost me £100 a night for accommodation and sort of eating as well, so you've got to do a bit of that. So keep you. So is there a position in mind that you need to be in to break even?

SPEAKER_04 42:57

You know, a lot of people think, oh, this is professional golf, they're gonna make a lot of money, but uh there's a lot of strain there on there, is it?

SPEAKER_01 43:04

Yeah, and I again, you know, financially you've got you've got to look at it from my point of view. Uh you know, I'm a freelance golf coach, so if I'm not working, I'm not earning any money at all. So again, like we've discussed previously, you've got to you've got to take in the fact that you you gotta pay to go there, and also you're not earning money at home by by coaching. So yeah, the answer to your question is there is a you know uh a position that you need to finish in, but at this moment in time I'm probably thinking about playing well first before I think about the sort of monetary aspect of it, just because it sort of tears up that way, you know. If I start thinking about the money and all of a sudden I've I've I've forgotten about how I'm gonna play and get the money in the first instance doing added pressure.

SPEAKER_02 43:43

Are you doing it? You're not doing it for the money. You know, you you're you're doing it because you want to get somewhere in two years' time on the tour, and you want to get ready for that. Because if you were really doing it for money, you'd you'd be teaching golf, wouldn't you?

SPEAKER_01 43:55

Yeah, and or you know, with the flip side of it, if I was doing it for money, I'd be playing full time golf, you know, trying to make a living. In that way. So, you know, for me it's you know, uh it isn't about the money at all, it's about competing, and you know, it that's it it goes hand in hand with my coaching as well. I'm a massive believer in terms of you know, being a coach, I think I should be a good player as well. So I think that sort of then filters down into my pupils in that they can look at me and go, Well, you know what, you know, he he can play a little bit and you know therefore he's probably got a good idea what he's on about.

SPEAKER_02 44:25

Matt, you know what you're doing next week, but what about uh the next months coming, the next years, as you prep to get onto the senior tour? Have you mapped out what that looks like yet?

SPEAKER_01 44:37

Yeah, so the remainder of this year is uh it it's got a it's been quite sparse for me to be honest in terms of tournament golf. Uh I've got the best part of maybe four or five uh events left after next week. So there's not that many, if you like, in terms of uh competitive uh uh tournaments left. But uh you know, this year is all about me uh sort of getting back into golf a little bit more, playing a little bit more, uh obviously playing competitively, but uh you know putting the hours in practice in as well. So not just all about competitive golf, you know.

SPEAKER_02 45:14

You're carrying your bag today. Yes, I am.

SPEAKER_01 45:16

Yeah. Uh is that something you've always done? I enjoy carrying my bag. Uh just purely for the reason is uh I I find it a nice form of exercise. Uh I've got an electric trolley which I'll use in tournaments to uh help me conserve energy because uh it's not yeah, it's not entirely feasible for me to take a caddy with me when I go and play golf because that's an additional expense, unfortunately. I can't I can't really afford uh so I'll use an electric trolley when I've got multiple uh rounds and you know I'm I'm still working on my fitness, you know, with my the knee operation, so I find it quite useful to sort of carry and maybe get you know a couple of extra steps in, a little bit of weight on the back, you know.

SPEAKER_02 45:55

So does it change your swing at all to carry and not to carry when I you know me as an amateur, I just got used to carrying a bag. I feel different when I swing the golf club. If I haven't been carrying anything, it's weird.

SPEAKER_01 46:07

Okay, yeah, no, I mean that's something I've never really been asked before, but uh yeah, it's a good point, really. It it it will you know, undoubtedly if you're carrying a bag incorrectly your posture's gonna change, but if you carry correctly, then it should actually do your back the world of good. I would have I would have.

SPEAKER_02 46:21

So my bag carrying technique is wrong, my swing is rubbish.

SPEAKER_01 46:24

God Bennett, I'm gonna give up. I wouldn't say your bag tech bag carrying technique is that bad, to be honest. Don't mention my swing.

SPEAKER_04 46:35

Right, Matt, we're on the 12th hole. Um you birdied the seventh at part three down the wind, and we turned into the strong breeze. Um you bogeied eight. Uh part nine, part ten, and just bogeyed the part three until you're back to one and the par, which is in my eyes amazing, and considering the the conditions today. But how how are you taking uh what are you taking out of this today?

SPEAKER_01 47:00

Uh I've got I've got some areas of my game that I need to work on, and you know, I'll I'll take today, you know, as a as an example, if you like, of of maybe the areas that perhaps I need to sharpen up on before before next week. So a bit of short game, you know, a bit of eye and play. Putting seems okay, driving is uh is okay as well. So yeah, just you know, trying to analyse the round and you know go back through it and see perhaps where I can you know just improve by maybe a couple of percent or something, you know.

SPEAKER_04 47:27

You mentioned all those parts of your game, driving, putting, you know, short game and stuff. But what about the the mental game, the psychology behind your golf? Uh do you kind of uh assess yourself on that side of the game?

SPEAKER_01 47:40

Yeah, so you know, over the over the years I've I've tried uh I've tried everything, to be honest, in terms of you know the mental aspect. I I own pretty much every uh golf psychology book that's ever been published. Uh I've read all of them and and you know, in theory they're all great, and you know, there's there's definitely a few I you know I recommend to people that I coach. You know, the the Bob Roteller stuff is brilliant. I've got those on audiobooks as well, so I can listen to them in the car on the way to tournaments. Uh a particular favourite of mine is uh Zen Golf. Uh I really like that book. It's it's sort of hits home in terms of you know what you really need to be thinking about when you're playing golf. Um you know, so that you know that's the way that I sort of take care of my uh sort of mental approach to the game.

SPEAKER_04 48:22

See if you were in tournament now, you you were three in the par and now you've dropped a dropped a couple of shots, would that kind of affect you in the way that you'd be playing the the last seven holes? Or do you try and forget about are you good about forgetting the bad hole?

SPEAKER_01 48:36

Yeah, I think you've got to, you know, you've got to sort of count yourself lucky that you, you know, you were three in the par in the in the first you know the first instance. So, you know, the fact that you drop a couple of shots, I mean, you know, I'd rather do it that way than sort of drop a couple of shots early on and then after try and make a load of birdies toward the end of the round, I think that's a lot more pressure than maybe the way round that I've played today. But you know, people who look at it in a you know in a different way. Maybe making a bogey early on is a little bit of a settler for some people.

SPEAKER_03 49:04

You know, whereas never birdie the first, they say.

SPEAKER_01 49:07

Well, yeah, well yeah, I'd I'd probably argue against that. I think you want to birdie the first, second, and every other roll until you finish, to be honest.

SPEAKER_04 49:16

Right, we're coming up 16. Um Mark, you've had well since we last spoke a couple of pars, a birdie and a bogey, so he's still one and a par. Um I don't know how you take in this your score, but as amateurs here me and Reese are struggling a bit into this wind. A bit, a bit, as we try and go find Reese's ball and a heavy graph again. But you know, do we as amateurs we beat ourselves up when playing conditions like this?

SPEAKER_01 49:43

You know, you you've gotta you've got to give yourself a little bit of grace in terms of what score you're likely to have on a day like this. You know, if look if you play to your handicap, then you've you've obviously played very, very well, and you know, the vast majority of people who play on days like this don't get anywhere near the handicap. You you you've gotta be realistic, you know, in terms of your goals. And you know, if you're if you're a 10 handicap and you know today you you know you have your 15, 16, 17 over, but I don't I don't particularly think it's uh you know it's a bad day. No. You know, and uh you've your scores will reflect the way that you you've played, but you've also got to take into consideration the you know the conditions that you're playing in as well. You know, if uh you know if a tour event was being played in you know this type of wind, you know, the the leading score at the end of the day wouldn't be sort of ten and apart. So uh you know it if you're playing casual golf, it's very difficult then to sort of benchmark yourself against anyone. But in terms of you know if you're playing a tournament around the golf and everybody's over their handicap and you're over your handicap, then it goes to show that the course and the conditions are quite difficult. Are you happy with your score and your how we play? Delighted. Delighted, absolutely delighted, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_04 50:55

Right, okay. We'll see how we get on. I'll have a couple of holes. Good luck.

SPEAKER_02 51:00

Well, Matt, that was on the 16th that we last heard from you. I I know what happened, but tell our listeners what happened on uh on 17 and 18.

SPEAKER_01 51:08

Yeah, so 17. That was quite an interesting hole, actually, because that was the uh the venue for our nearest to pin challenge, which uh you'll all see on social media very soon. Is it a bit of a giveaway to tell people sort of what the result of that was? I think the listeners need to know. Oh yeah, I bet you yeah, you do, yeah, yeah, I bet you'd say that. So how did you get on in the uh nearest to pin challenge on 17?

SPEAKER_04 51:32

Yeah, it was a tough pin position, that was really tough pin position over the bunker on the far on the far left. Well, not necessarily over the bunker because I never got over it.

SPEAKER_01 51:41

It was tough, and you you would you would say it was tough though, wouldn't you? Because you had hit two how far? Well, it it was about six f six foot. Yeah. Well, as they say, even a blind squirrel finds a nut. It was a good shot.

SPEAKER_02 51:55

It was landed on top of the just on top of the bunker, and you had softly landed and r released down where I just went flat into the face of the of the bunker. And then on eighteen, so you what do you you you you you parred that?

SPEAKER_01 52:08

Yeah, par on uh par on seventeen, so that was that was two putts. Um and then uh down the last uh a little bit of a skew if drive, you know, sort of um just had a bit of context in terms of how windy it was. I hit an eight iron into the green there. It did come up a little bit short, but only only just short, and uh managed a nice little up and down for a birdie there.

SPEAKER_02 52:29

Yeah, so you shot one at one end apart in really tough conditions. Granted, it was off you know the um the average Joe's T's, not the the big boys that are right at the back. But it was uh it was a great knock, you know. First time I've played with you, and great to see you hit the hit the golf ball in complete control of it in the wind. You know what you wanted to do, you just reproduced it where I was just all over the place on some holes, but uh I enjoyed it. Errol's game. The last time I played with Erl, I think was where do we play? Up in Saint Pierre, maybe I think we played, you know, and Errol's game has come on leaps and bounds. I've got I've got to be honest, it hit the ball lovely on on lots of holes, and a long way, Errol, as well, you know. So I think I'm gonna venture down to Brigand and have some lessons with you, Matt. Tongue wind, long way, but different story into it. But it's great to hear about your challenge and you know what's what's coming up next for you and that progression over the next sort of two years or so, you know, before you you make it onto the tour. Because I'm not gonna say if or but you're gonna make it onto the tour, and we're gonna still be talking about it on golf pod cumri. Thank you. Right, okay.

SPEAKER_04 53:34

Let's uh move on to the next section which runs neatly to it, is the ask Matt uh section, which I'm gonna ask a question. Like you saw when we played Matt. Um I wasn't too comfortable hitting the ball off, especially with a driver into to wind. I seem to spin the ball far too much into the wind. Downwind or slightly across wind is fine, but got a mental block when it comes to hitting the driver into the wind. I prefer to hit a three-wood. Um I find it I've got more control and probably goes the same distance, but I notice you were hitting the driver every time, and I notice your swing is slightly different. So, what's your thought process when driving the ball into wins like we had?

SPEAKER_01 54:15

So, yeah, great question. A lot of amateur golfers tend to struggle certainly into the wind, especially with the driver. I see it quite often whereby the player will generally try to put a little bit too much effort into actually hitting the golf ball because it's in the back of their mind that the golf ball isn't going to go that far anyway. So they'll then try and hit it a little bit harder. Unfortunately, um more often than not, that leads to uh a higher spin rate on the golf ball, which sends the golf ball up in the air. In turn, obviously into the wind, that golf ball is not going to go quite as fast. Uh a couple of little sort of tips, a couple of things that I do that you know they may or may not work for you know yourself or anybody else out there listening. I tend to tee the golf ball down you know a little bit lower than I normally would. That obviously helps to keep the launch angle down, you know, into the wind, so I'm not sort of flighting the ball up too high. I will grip down the club a touch. Uh that depends obviously on how much I want to keep the golf ball down. So if I want to keep it very, very low, I will hold down the handle a little bit more than usual. Optional here, I don't actually do this, but you could also place your golf ball back in your stance by about an inch or two. You know, that again, all of these things are designed to help to keep the golf ball a little bit lower. But um my main focus, as we talked about during the round, was that I am actually not swinging the golf club at its full pace. I'm probably more around about 75 to 80 percent. Uh, the reason why they do that is exactly as I just explained earlier. I find that when I swing the golf club a little bit smoother and slower, it actually takes spin off the golf ball, so it keeps the golf ball lower in flight. So, yes, you know, you're gonna lose distance, and I'd certainly lose distance in terms of if I was hitting downwind using that technique, but actually into the wind, I'm gaining distance versus losing it by doing all of these small little adjustments, if you like, just to help me try and keep the golf ball a little bit lower.

SPEAKER_02 56:11

My tip for you, Erl, is just don't play in the wind. Wake wake up, do the test. No, too windy for my driver today. But I've got to be honest, you I I wouldn't I wouldn't bother with the driver in the wind because, like you said, it's a mental block for you. But I would say you hit your three-wood into the wind a coup a couple of times. No need to grab the driver at all. You know, you get the same distance almost from that three-wood as you would out of your driver anyway. So don't bother, leave it in the bag.

SPEAKER_04 56:38

Yeah, but yeah, I I tend to I I do what Matt's telling me not to do by hitting a three-wood really hard, trying to keep it low and negate the wind by power, which I shouldn't be doing.

SPEAKER_02 56:49

I did that a couple of times. I I just topped it and it went about 170 yards, you know, straight down the middle, not affected by the wind at all.

SPEAKER_01 56:55

Well, I'm I'm about to analyse your golf swing, so I took a couple of videos of your swing tonight when when we were playing, and my intention is when I've got a couple of minutes spare. Minutes minutes. Minutes. Minutes, yeah, yeah. But all I can say is is the one video that I did take of you. Your swing, by the way, is superb. You've got a really, really nice looking golf swing. However, your shoulders were aiming towards the flag and your feet were aiming towards sort of pont of the lice. You're in a different postcode with your feet. So I think that your alignment is slightly out. Uh, I'm gonna have a look at your swing and uh I'll send you the uh the answers to uh to everything.

SPEAKER_02 57:29

Yeah, well uh that'll be a a long read for me to to ingest and and change. But I uh you know I'm I'm ready, I'm up for the challenge. I w I want I want to get better, but it uh was really enjoyable being being on the course with with you guys and especially with no disrespect to Errol, but it was great to see Matt hit the golf ball, you know. Yeah. Well, we want to get some more interaction on golf pod Cymru, and we uh well not I say we, Errol came up with an idea of of funny golfing stories, you know, so that's what we thought. Well, get get involved, send us your your stories of funny incidents on the golf course or golf related stories. So what about us? Have we got any funny stories? Errol, Matt, have you got any?

SPEAKER_04 58:08

Yeah, I've got quite a few, but um we'll tee you up with this one, Freeze. I think you've probably got more comedy moments on on the course. You you shared one of them with us on Tuesday, but I'm sure you've got some stories that you can tell.

SPEAKER_02 58:21

Well, just about tell, you know, some of them are unrepeatable, you know, a bit a bit like my golf shots at times. But I remember I played at the Patleg, boiling hot weekend, club championship, and I think I shot 78, 79 on day one. So I'm I made the cut, you know, being like twenty-four, twenty-five. I went out on the sauce in Swansea in the night and ended up sleeping over my mate's house in in Lacha. I woke up in the morning, all the boys are still there, like, oh Christ, I I've got my tee off now, my tee off. So I quickly got up got up, got into the car, I had basically the same gear on that I wore the day before. So off I went, you know, played quite well. And then somewhere around the eighth, maybe ninth, I started to feel some irritation in um in in my buttocks, and I was thinking, what the heck has happened last night? You know, I'm like, I'll be alright. But coming up like 15, 16, it was like seriously kind of squelchy and really painful, so my game had gone to pot, you know. I was dropping shots all over the place and you know, just kind of waddling my way up 18 and thanks boys, thanks very much. Just just into the room, and like, what's happened to my buttcase, you know? And I had two red lines either side where I've been chaffing all the way around the back nine in the heat. But I'm thinking, what the heck has happened? Yeah, you know. So I just had a pint of the club and then waltzed back down to Swansea to meet the boys again. And they were like, oh, right, how was it then? Why are you asking? Well, I was just asking, uh, would you play? Everything okay on the course? Well, no, no, you mentioned it, there wasn't, you know, because I have prob problems with uh with my buttocks rubbing against each other. Oh right, okay. Why what what happened then? Oh well, you know, you had a bit of a KO and a face plant, and we put fairy liquid down your buttocks. So then me not having a shower before starting, the fairy liquid had had been there all the way through the round. So, you know, I I I shot 85, my club championship hopes are out the window, but my buttocks were very clean, but painful. Do you think fairy might sponsor this podcast after that? My golf was terrible, but my pants and my buttocks were very clean. And if you wanted to follow me around, uh you didn't need any tracking or GPS, just follow the the bubbles coming out of the top of my shorts. But that that was my fairy liquid experience on a Sunday in the club championship at Pat Feg, thanks to my mates down it down in Lacha.

SPEAKER_04 1:00:43

Fantastic. Go call the section comedy golf, because you know, we can be a bit serious about golf in terms of where we are and the results that's coming through. But everybody's got stories that they have on on golf trips or days away with with friends, so it'd be good to hear some stories from our listeners and we can read them out.

SPEAKER_02 1:00:59

Yeah, uh maybe a little bit cleaner than mine. No pun intended, but you know, it'd be nice to get a a few funny stories because everyone's got them on on the golf course. Well, uh, that is the end of the the fifth haul of golf podcam match challenge. Well, you're kicking off to uh to Slaley Hall. So can we actually follow you, Matt? You know, and your your progress anyway?

SPEAKER_01 1:01:18

Yeah, you can. Uh we'll put a link on Instagram and uh you can follow the live scores there. Uh obviously, providing I'm doing well. If not, we'll just take the link down. But uh yeah.

SPEAKER_02 1:01:28

A big thanks to Machanis as well and Nick and the and the team down there. We've got to mention Glen Abbey as well, because we offered a four-ball up. We announced the winner on on Instagram. Who won that? Was Jonathan Moore. So, Jonathan, get in touch with us on on social media and you'll have a four-ball to enjoy at the fantastic Glen Abbey. Well, that's it for golf podcast. Hold six will be in a couple of weeks. And as I always finish with, something that I didn't have to do because I didn't hit many greens. Remember, everybody, enjoy your golf, but repair your pitch marks.