Royal St Georges golf day

Playing on an Open Championship golf course is always a treat, so playing at Royal St Georges, which is one of the best venues to hold The Open, is about as good as it gets and a truly fantastic experience which cannot be recommended enough. Despite the time of year and an early start we had a fairly mild day and only a breath of wind. The greens were fast and true and generally the condition was every bit as good as you come to expect from such a class venue. After some tasty bacon rolls in the clubhouse 11 Royal Automobile Club members teed off competing for The Ziggy Trophy from St Andrews. Royal St Georges rarely gives up low scores and if anyone breaks into the 30s it is usually good enough to win. However, we had not one but four people managing this feat. In joint third place with 30 points was Gary Baker and defending Ziggy Trophy champion Dominic Brown, in second place with 31 points was Sean Gay, but in 1st place and the new Ziggy Trophy winner with a remarkable 37 points was Ian Richmond. 81 gross was very impressive so well done to Ian. A get well soon goes to Geoff Spriegel who was due to play but injured his back two days before the event and had to pull out. After the golf we had a superb dinner in the clubhouse, the full works Royal St Georges style and it never disappoints, just brilliant. Arriving back to the Royal Automobile Club by 6.30pm later that day. Many thanks to all who took part. Best regards, Will.

Winter Golf Lesson Offer

This Winter the Royal Automobile Club is pleased to offer it's members 3 x 1hr golf lessons for just £150. These can also be taken in the form of 2 x 1hr range sessions and a 9 hole lesson which is an ideal way to work on golf course management or to improve your short game. This offer is available from the 1st of December 2013 until March the 31st 2014 and can be charged to your members account for you to use at your convenience.
Please call the shop on 01372 229 248 to book, alternatively
email racgolfcoach@yahoo.co.uk or will@willmurraygolf.com

Royal St George's 2013

The annual Royal St George's golf day is on Tuesday December 3rd. For those of you yet to join us on this superb golf trip the format is early morning mini bus collection from the RAC Epsom to Royal St George's on the coast. Coffee and bacon rolls on arrival. 10am tee off for 18 holes of golf on the Open Championship course followed by dinner in the clubhouse (jacket and tie required) Then mini bus back to Epsom usually by about 6pm. This is a great day on a fantastic links golf course and the numbers are limited so please let me know asap if you are interested. Best regards, Will.

Royal Automobile Club golfing holidays

Dear club member, why not escape the winter weather this February by joining the Royal Automobile Club golfing holiday to Florida. This is a great way of getting some sunshine whilst experiencing some fantastic golf courses in the company of a group of like minded Royal Automobile Club members. As with all RAC golfing holidays this trips includes 2 hour coaching sessions every morning on the golf range and 18 holes of golf every afternoon. Each session is optional so if you want to golf one day and hit the beach the next then your schedule can be completely flexible to suit your needs. For more information on this and other golfing holidays click on the dates and venues options on the right hand side. To express an interest or for further information please email me on either racgolfcoach@yahoo.co.uk or will@willmurraygolf.com  Best regards, Will Murray.

Ziggy Trophy Winner 2013

Dear Royal Automobile Club member, this week saw the prize ceremony of the 2013 Ziggy Trophy which was received by the winner from Biarritz, Dom Brown. Congratulations to Dom who in his speech thanked the other competitors for a very enjoyable week of good golf and great company. Past competitors get the chance to enter again with the reigning champion automatically invited back to defend their title. Next venue will be at 'The Home of Golf' St Andrews in April 2014.

Dom Brown (left) receiving his winners trophy in front of the Royal Automobile Club, Epsom.

Biarritz Golf Holiday 2013

Another fantastic trip to Biarritz. We were blessed with good weather all week, almost too hot on the first 3 days. The golf courses were in great condition as ever and the scores were superb, even on the magnificent but challenging Seignosse. There were 2 members who slowly pulled away from the pack with consistently high scores and despite Geoff Spriegel scoring an impressive 34 on the last day leaving a final total of 122, which is usually enough to win, the Champion for the week was Dom Brown who scored a record 136 points. A well deserved winner of The Ziggy Trophy, formal presentation of the trophy will take place later this month at The Royal Automobile Club, Epsom. The Ziggy Trophy will again be contested for at St Andrews in April 2014 where the winner has the chance to defend their title.
   Many thanks to all who travelled and took part this year. Will.

From Left to Right. Serge Bajada, Dom Brown (Ziggy Trophy Winner), Geoff Spriegel, Jeremy Bowen, Jeremy Bard and Tim Barlow.

A pre round snack, Biarritz style! Jeremy Bard, choosing well, food envy all round.

Post training session drinks

Biarritz Training Academy

Solheim Cup stars

Dear RAC member, hopefully you watched the fantastic Solheim Cup in Colorado, the ladies from Europe were in the form of their lives aided by some young recruits like Charley Hull, who at the age of 17 must be set for goddess like status before long. She is fearless in her approach to the sport backed up by great ability and beat the fabulous Paula Creamer 5&4! Yet still asked the legend of ladies golf for an autograph afterwards! The photograph below was taken just after the Ladies British Open and are from my home town St Andrews with the teams posing on the famous Swilken Bridge.

New Swing software for 2013

Dear RAC Member, we have added some new software to our existing V1 swing analysis system. The latest teaching aid from Swing Smart is a portable device that clips onto your club and relays, through wireless technology, all your data from swing speed to path to angle of attack and even tempo. This is without doubt the best teaching accessory I have seen in a long while. As well as the teaching pros using this software it is now also available for purchase in the golf shop which will enable RAC Members to access all the important information within their golf swings for their own analysis or to forward it on to their golf professional remotely.

Hurricane fly past

Not golf this time but definitely worth a mention! To commemorate the crash landing of a Hurricane fighter nearly 75 years ago the Royal Automobile club staged a fly past on July the 3rd which was far more of an air display than any of the members had anticipated. The skilled pilot performing was Peter Kynsey, three-time British Aerobatic Champion. Most impressive to all present. Will.

The Old Head of Kinsale

If you have yet to play golf on the Emerald Isle then this is the place to start. On The Old Head of Kinsale just south of Cork there is thee most spectacular golf course. Despite not having held a major golf tournament this course has golfers from all over the world travelling to play it. Quite simply a stunning location on the South Coast of Ireland and a great golf course layout. The facilities are top notch and the Irish welcome and service is first class. Old Head is consistently on a par with the likes of Pebble Beach golf resort and The Old Course Hotel resort St Andrews. Simply magical.

 June 2014 is the next planned trip for Royal Automobile Club members, so get the dates in your diary now and don't miss out!

 360 degree views that leave you awestruck. And a great golf course.

Clubhouse heaven. Sit back and enjoy the view, maybe with a clam chowder and a pint of Guinness.

Rooms fit for presidents and major winners. Bill Clinton and Nick Faldo stay here when in Ireland.

Royal Automobile Club group classes

Dear Member, we had another great turn out for the April and May group classes which ran for 6 weeks and covered everything any aspiring golfer needs to know. The classes started at 9.30am each Saturday morning with a meeting over a coffee and a pastry or bacon roll, then at 10am we would head to the driving range for a one and a half hour coaching session and after each class the group would make their way to the 19th hole bar for a well deserved drink. The groups consisted of both existing and new member which made it an ideal way to make new friends whilst learning new golf skills and perfecting any existing ones. These 6 week classes are an annual event and can be found on the clubs website or you can register an interest by contacting the pro-shop on 01372229248 or myself on will@willmurraygolf.com
We look forward to seeing you on the next ones. Best regards, Will Murray PGA.

Teaching Studio

Dear Member, due to the fantastic weather of the UK we have decided to put up a Teaching Gazebo on the days that have a chance of inclement weather, more than likely that means it will be up almost every day but we live in hope that's not the case. Hopefully one day soon the club will see the merits of putting something more sturdy and permanent up for the PGA Teaching Professionals to offer the club members a better service and something more in keeping with the rest of the clubs facilities. Will Murray PGA.

US Masters 2013

Well done to Adam Scott for winning this year's US Masters in style over Angel Cabrera in an exciting playoff. Credit to the Argentinian for a courageous birdie up the last to take it to extra holes.


Adam Scott wearing his well deserved and much covetted US Masters green jacket

The US Masters never seems to disappoint, event when the weather was a little dull the quality of the golf was anything but. Some may say that justice has been done after Scott faltered in the closing 4 holes of the 2012 Open Championship and Ernie Els ended up taking the Claret Jug away from what looked like a dead cert victory for the man from Adelaide. Using the V1 software we can compare your golf swing to the tall Australian's great technique and see where we can improve your mechanics, so if you would like to make a start molding your golf swing to match his please book a session in now! Will.

RAC golfing couples trips

   Dear Royal Automobile Club Member, why not make 2013 the year to really lower your handicap by going on one of our bespoke golf holidays. These trips are aimed specifically at improving your game by having a week of intensive golf coaching every morning and 18 holes every afternoon. There are a range of destinations to choose from, St Andrews-Scotland, Biarritz-South West France, Almenara-Southern Spain and Milano-Italy and are also a great way of meeting other Royal Automobile Club members with similar interests. 

   The next couples golf trip is running from September 9th-13th in the south of France.

For more information please email will@willmurraygolf.com

Winter clothing for 2013

Dear Members, during one of the harshest winters on record the best advice for your golf this month is to get yourselves to the Caribbean! It's extremely cold golfing in the UK right now and the weather forecast is for it to stay that way till the end of March! However, if you really must get out on the course then some of the best clothing to keep you warm without bulking up under 3 pullovers is a range of thermal under layers from a company called Under Armour. Proving very popular with the tour pros this is an idea way to stay warm and retain your freedom of movement. Together with a good set of waterproofs from the likes of Galvin Green, as worn by the winning Ryder Cup Team, you will stand the best chance of success this winter. Good luck.