BEAUTIFUL WEDDINGS AT ROYAL ASHBURN!

The Future of Golf

GOLF, WHAT NOW?

What are golf courses and business owners thinking now? Well firstly, we are astonished that it took a pandemic to bring the opportunities and benefits of this amazing game to fruition. The overwhelming response to tee time bookings, membership enrolment, returning players, newcomers and lesson inquiries has been extraordinary. This is all considering it has been years, since many clubs have seen this type of action and engagement.


SO WORTH IT!

When the green light was given by government authorities that golf courses would open for the 2020 season, it was imperative that new policies and procedures be implemented in order to ensure a safe and positive experience for employees, golfers and guests. We’d like to take a moment to commend all industry staff on adhering to safety policies, while working tirelessly to constantly sanitize, disinfect, check-in guests, serve guests, perform their employee duties and provide the utmost outstanding customer service. It wasn’t easy, but it was worth it! It was an honour to help give our communities an outlet to enjoy the game we all love so much and provide a safe way for people to come together during these unprecedented times.

 

FOR THE LOVE OF GOLF!

The pandemic has definitely played a major role in the resurrection of the golf industry. There’s no denying that 2020 was an amazing year for golf, but can we expect the same for 2021? Most golfers will tell you, once you’ve acquired a taste of an amazing golf experience, there’s really no removing yourself from this game. It becomes a lifestyle and part of who you are. It’s the only game where you can have a completely unsalvageable hole, but drop a massive 40 foot putt for a quadruple bogey and celebrate like you holed it from the tee deck.

With that being said, we are most definitely preparing ourselves for another year like 2020! We are gearing up to create more amazing memories for our golfers and we believe we are not alone in our thought process.

 

Royal Ashburn Golf Club designed unique memberships that give golfers the flexibility of pay as you play with the Royal Ashburn Member experience. There’s so much golf to be played, we want you to have the opportunity to experience it all!

(VIP MEMBERSHIP & ASSOCIATE MEMBERSHIP)

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SO WHAT NOW?

Where do we go from here? Now we continue to grow the game of golf like we’ve always planned. We welcome the newcomers, we stay grateful to our loyal and returning members, customers and guests and we find ways to improve our teachings so that those who love this game can continue to play it as long as possible.

At Royal Ashburn Golf Club, we are continuously discovering new ways for golfers to enjoy the game of golf. We are evolving with the game and designing new lesson programs that utilize the most innovative technology. Our goal is to continue to help golfers grow their game potential and provide a safe and comfortable environment for those interested in beginning their golf journey. We have no doubt that you will fall in love with the game of golf but at Royal Ashburn Golf Club, we want you to fall in love with the entire experience that golf brings with it. We are looking forward to an amazing 2021 and can’t wait to see you out on the course.

 

PHOTO CREDIT: PHOTOGRAPHS BY CLIVE BARBER

 

CONTACT US

 

More about Royal Ashburn Golf Club and our Golf Services can be found on our website. We’d be happy to answer any questions regarding this post or any questions or concerns you may have in regards to golf operations during the pandemic. Take care!

 

Why Buy Custom Golf Clubs?

Investing in custom golf clubs is a great idea if you are focused on improving your game and maximizing your experience on the golf course. However, there are numerous advantages that come with custom-fit golf clubs that go much further than simply enhancing your performance. We highlight three of these advantages below.

Custom Golf Clubs Feel ‘Right’ 

Did you know that the professional who handles your golf club fitting pays attention to your height, swing and unique playing style not only to ensure that your golf clubs feel ‘right’ but also to allow you to manoeuvre the ball with a greater sense of precision and ease? The clubs have been specially tailored for you. So, of course, they are going to feel a hundred times better than any regular golf clubs that you can buy at a store. 

Custom Golf Clubs Could Save You Money 

The chances of having to buy more than one set of golf clubs when buying them at a golfing store are quite high. This is because you will not know how they are going to adapt to your game until you try them. Finding a good set that works for you could involve trial and error, and this might even end up costing you more than investing in a set of custom golf clubs from the start. You are already planning on buying a set of clubs, so why not make sure that you are making a wise, long-lasting and fool-proof investment?

Custom Golf Clubs Will Help You Feel More Confident 

Knowing that you are approaching a game with a set of clubs made especially for you is certain to give you a hearty confidence boost, which could further help to boost your performance. 

Keen to get your own set of custom golf clubs? Contact Royal Ashburn Golf Club today to organize your custom golf club fitting with one of our experts!

Buying New Golf Clubs? Why It’s More Important to Get the Right Equipment Rather Than the Newest:

At this time of year, many manufacturers launch their new lines. While it’s exciting to get new equipment, it’s important that you get equipment that is right for you and not simply the newest. Here are a few tips from a golf fitting centre to make sure you get the golf clubs that are right for you:

The Price

Consider how much money you are prepared to spend on changing your irons and what you are hoping to gain from buying new irons. Questions to ask yourself include:  

  • Am I hoping to gain more distance and is the money going to make a difference? 
  • Would I be better off spending that money on a series of golf lessons? Many times, people set out on a journey to upgrade their equipment when they could have improved their game through training.

The Type Of Equipment

The equipment people play should depend on the capability of the golfer. Golfers new to the game or who would classify themselves as an intermediate or novice golfer should consider looking at game improvement irons. Game improvement irons typically have a lower center of gravity and are perimeter weighted to help the golf ball fly higher and allow for off centre hits to fly farther and straighter. Golfers who would classify themselves as intermediate to advanced may prefer to play irons that have more feel and allow the golfer to better shape shots into the green. Nowadays, there are plenty of clubs designed for both playability as well as feel and consulting an expert can help narrow the decision making process.

Distance

While everyone wants to hit the golf ball farther, there may be a trade-off between the feel and workability of the golf club and how far the ball will carry. Instead of focusing so much on distance, focus on the dispersion of golf shots into the green. Having the right combination of both shaft and iron head can allow you to not only hit the ball farther but also hit it closer to the hole. Once again, a proper club fitting can get you into the sweet spot and allow you to lower scores, which is far more important.

Looking for a golf club pro shop? Then visit the Royal Ashburn Golf Club today.

Choosing A Set of Golf Clubs: Hybrid, Fairway Wood, Or Utility?

There are many different considerations when choosing the makeup of a set of golf clubs. With so many options on the market, it can feel overwhelming. These days more and more golfers are moving away from the standard set makeup of a driver, one or two fairway woods, maybe a hybrid, then their iron set. Instead, golfers are picking equipment that suits their swing type and playing preferences.

Some may choose to have only one fairway wood or even none at all. Instead, they may elect to use a hybrid or a low lofted utility iron because of their increased playability or flight characteristics. For some it’s a preference, for others it’s because they simply have a harder time hitting one club over another.

As a rule of thumb, a player with a steeper angle of attack may find that a hybrid or long iron is a better option for them, while a shallower player (or sweeper) may find it easier to hit fairway woods. Whatever your swing; your set should be chosen to enhance your game and limit your frustration.

The pros at Royal Ashburn’s Pro Shop can help walk you through the differences and even schedule a golf club fitting to measure your swing and recommend the perfect clubs to optimize your game.

Which Driver Should You Choose?

Every driver on the market today is regulated by the governing bodies of golf on its allowable performance as far as ball speeds off the face and size of the head. However, these varying drivers perform very differently from one another when put in a head to head scenario. Some spin more than others, produce more ball speed, are more forgiving on off-center strikes, have larger sweet spots and aerodynamic properties to name a few of the many differences.

So, how do you choose a driver then?

Firstly, It begins with how it looks. If you don’t like the look of a driver it should be crossed off the list right away. A good looking driver promotes confidence while a driver doesn’t fit your style and aesthetic feels wrong and instills doubt.

After that, overall performance is the next major consideration and is of paramount importance. A golf club that spins more or less for the golfer that needs it, produces the most ball speed, mitigates the golfers most common misses, and feels the best are all measurably different amongst the top manufacturers wood lineups.

The best and most efficient way to get the optimal driver for you is to test them all in a comparison based golf club fitting session. Launch monitors today let us clearly see these performance differences and choose the correct equipment for your particular game and achieves your goals for your new club.

If you are in the market for a replacement driver, give us a call for a golf club fitting. This will help recommend the perfect club for your unique swing!

Understanding Spin in Golf

Until recently, spin in golf was an often misunderstood concept amongst the general golfing public. With the advent and improvement of launch monitor technology and the subsequent distance and control gains seen by golfers with new low spin drivers, it is starting to be on more people’s minds when looking at the proper equipment for their games.  

It was in the early beginnings of golf that players began to realize that their new smooth golf balls didn’t fly as far or as true as their used balls that had been nicked and scuffed through their use. It wasn’t long until golf balls were then intentionally beaten up to improve their performance. This was the early beginnings of what later became the dimples on the golf ball.

Dimples are important because they rely on the same aerodynamic principles that allow planes to take flight. The principles of lift and drag, and a physics phenomena called the Magnus Effect which, without trying to get too technical, is the result of a spinning object in a liquid or gas (called the medium) that has the object pull the medium (air) in one direction and has the medium (air, again) push the object in the other. This creates both high pressure and low-pressure environments around that same object. In the case of a golf ball or airplane wing, it creates high pressure below and low pressure on top which produces lift. Too much spin, therefore, equates to too much lift and soars the golf ball too high in the air and significantly decreases the distance.

Managing spin rates is a key fundamental in modern club fitting and is a sure way to increase both accuracy and distance.

Come visit our pro shop and we’ll be happy to discuss which set of balls might work best for your shot.

When Should You Take Lessons Versus Get A Golf Club Fitting

After being golf fitted, the result is clubs that are sized correctly and perform in such a way that they control a golf balls flight. Whether it’s to manage various missed shots or in order to alter launch, trajectory, and control spin, a golf club fitting identifies your needs and the most appropriate equipment is recommended to achieve the desired result.

A golf club fitting is a process that attempts to make the best out of the swing you currently have, while lessons set out to improve your swing. Both are valid strategies for playing better golf.

This is most effective when a golfer has a somewhat repeatable golf swing (not necessarily a perfect one) and a consistent miss or ball fight. Golfers with a two-way miss or erratic club delivery may benefit more from lessons in order to groove in a more consistent swing. There are few things more frustrating or penalizing than a golfer thinking a shot will go in one direction but having it end up flying in the total opposite one.

If you think you’d benefit from a gold club fitting, give us a call and we’ll make an appointment for you to make the most of your game!

How the Dimples on Golf Balls Make Your Shots Go Farther

Among all the different shapes and sizes of balls used in many different sports, golf balls are unique in their use of dimples. And most golfers know why the dimples are there. They give the ball lift which helps the ball travel farther.

But that’s not the full story of how dimples help your shots go as far as they do.

The Story of How Golf Balls Got Their Dimples

In the mid-1800s golf balls were made of a leather cover stuffed with chicken or goose feathers and coated with paint. Known as a ‘featherie’, they were difficult to make consistently round, which made their flight irregular. They also became heavier when wet, which reduced distance. To top it all off, they were very time consuming to make. That made them very expensive, each costing between two and five shillings, or about $10 to $20 dollars today.

In 1848, Dr. Robert Adams Paterson invented the gutta-percha ball, which became known as a ‘guttie’. Made from the sap of a sapodilla tree, gutties were easier to shape consistently, they were not affected by water and they were cheaper to make.

And then golfers made perhaps the greatest discovery in golf. They noticed that their shots travelled further when they used older gutties that were dented and nicked. It didn’t take long for ball makers to catch on and they began producing golf balls with textured surfaces.

While other major breakthroughs happened in golf ball design over the years, including improvement to the core of the ball, those initial textures were refined over time into the dimples we know today.

The Combination of Lift and Aerodynamic Drag in a Golf Ball

The dimple pattern on golf balls today is there because of the two major influences the dimples have on a ball’s flight.

The previously-mentioned lift is the result of backspin on the ball. Backspin makes the air pressure higher underneath the ball and lower over the ball to create upward force on the ball. Dimples help to optimize the effect.

But the greatest contribution dimples make to the distance of your shots comes from their reduction of aerodynamic drag.

If golf balls were smooth, air would flow around them relatively unimpeded during flight. Air flow contacts the front, leading surface of the ball and detaches from the surface as soon as it passes the farthest outside edges of the ball. That leaves a relatively large pocket of air behind the ball. A pocket of air that the ball must drag with it as it travels. That’s aerodynamic drag.

Each dimple on a golf ball creates a tiny pocket of turbulence in the air that travels around it. Instead of slowing the ball down, the turbulence pockets keep the air flow running along the surface of the ball further around the back of the ball. The result is a smaller pocket of air behind the ball and less aerodynamic drag.

How much further will your shot go using a dimpled ball versus a smooth ball? According to Steve Quintavalla, an equipment standards engineer with the USGA, a dimpled ball will travel almost twice as far as a smooth ball. So now that you know your shots are traveling twice as far, why not put them to work by booking a tee time here at Royal Ashburn!

4 Reasons to Use Golf Club Head Covers

The jury is out on the benefits of golf club head covers. You’ll get as many points of view on if, how and why to use them as the number of golfers you ask. In the end, it’s up to your personal preference.

The Benefits of Golf Club Head Covers

Whether you choose to use them constantly, regularly or just occasionally (like for travel), here are just some of the benefits that golf club head covers offer.

1. Protect Your Clubs

This is the basic reason for using head covers. When woods were actually made of wood, they were easily bruised and scratched. Head covers not only protected them from that damage, but also from the elements.
Still, even today’s metal woods can benefit from head covers. The graphite shafts on many woods are susceptible to damage that can be prevented by covers that feature longer necks for the shaft. Covers will also reduce damage to the face of your clubs; damage that can affect the shots you make.

2. Stop the Clanging

Golf is a game of etiquette and consideration for others on the course. The clanging of clubs, whether you carry your bag, use a pull cart or even a power cart, is silenced when you use head covers. Remember, every single clang you hear from uncovered clubs is potentially another bit of damage to them.

3. Club Identification

Simply put, you can choose head covers that let you quickly spot the club you need for your next shot.

4. Add a Bit of Personality

Considering the variety of materials and designs used for club head covers, many golfers put covers on their golf clubs to reflect a bit of their personality on the course.

You Don’t Need to Use Them Constantly

Like we said, the jury is still out on the benefits of head covers. Even if you are not convinced of their benefits and like to play without them, you can still protect your clubs between rounds and remove them before you head out on the course.

If you’re looking to get a set of golf club head covers to protect the investment you’ve made in your clubs, be sure to visit the Pro Shop here at Royal Ashburn Golf Club.

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