Barney's April 2025 Newsletter
- Barney
- Apr 21
- 4 min read
Hi Everyone,
I hope you're all had a great Easter full of golf, gratitude and just the right amount of chocolate!
I was going to write this newsletter after the Masters, but after that emotional last day of " will he won't he" and Rory's eventual play off triumph, I must admit I needed to lie down in a darkened room for a week!
Each year all golf fans look forward to the Masters and the first major of the year. It really is a festival of golf starting with the Women's Championship moving on to the Juniors with the wonderful Drive, Chip & Putt contest (I must admit every round I play it's a contest to try and master my driving, chipping and putting). The Past Champions gather for their dinner on the Tuesday evening, and for those interested last years Champion Scottie Scheffler went for a menu featuring appetizers of mini cheesburger, starter of Texas style Chilli and a Ribeye Steak for main course, suffice to say Scottie isn't becoming a vegetarian any time soon.
The Wednesday is the fun Par 3 contest and has a real family feel as players bring their children along. The highlight was dear Poppy, Rory McIlroy's daughter holing a huge putt to capture every one's heart. It proved to be an omen for her father and the incredible events that followed.
To me Rory is pure Box Office, his easy swing, incredible touch, boyish demeanour as he plays makes him golf's number one attraction. How the golf world wanted him to achieve the career grand slam, but we all knew it wasn't going to come easily. After a couple of late hiccups in round one, normal service was resumed with a splendid 66 on day two. The Saturday start to his round was breath taking opening up with 6 straight 3's. For those of you of a certain vintage you may recall the Sunday Express ran a competition on Club Medal Days to keep a 6 off your Card to win half a dozen balls. For a while it looked liked Rory was trying to keep a 4 off his card! Inevitably Golf's inherent difficulty reasserted its self and a few bogies started to appear, however Rory showed a resilience and a strength to get back on track. Clearly his work with renowned Golf Mind Guru Dr. Bob Rotella paid huge dividends and was to prove the difference on the final round. Understandably even for a seasoned campaigner nerves were at the fore front and within two holes his two shot lead had evaporated. However, former pantomime villain Bryson DeChambeaux succumbed to the pressure and his hopes sunk along with his ball on the 11th.
What makes Rory so endearing is his ability to hit shots no one else can hit, like this one! https://www.facebook.com/reel/1014243434224533
and then play one that the rest of us would be embarrassed by. Dunking an easy wedge shot into Rae's Creek looked like the beginning of the end, but he summoned up his new found mental strength and despite a last hole mishap, won the day with a stunning playoff birdie against perhaps the second most popular man in golf, Justin Rose.
Clearly none of us would blame Rory if he decides to put his feet up, but my feeling is he's on a mission to add to this tally of Major's and as ever it will be box office entertainment to watch.
This year's Masters was my hero Bernhard Langer's last playing appearance in the event. It was a shame as a very un Bernhard like finish to the 2nd round meant he missed the cut by one stroke. He is an exemplar of dedication and true grit when competing. One practice tip of his which I always follow and recommend to all my students is to start each practice session by hitting some shots with your feet together. This simple drill helps our balance and gives us a great feeling of the correct swing path. I actually think it's a useful practice swing on the course to feed the muscles the right feel prior to the actual shot.
Finally, closer to home I wanted to highlight a great performance from Mid Herts in the Herts County Junior Champion Club Event, played at Redbourn Golf Club. They finished second on countback to Aldenham and our very own Tom Norman was the individual with a marvellous score of 42 points. Congratulations to him and team members Lily Wrangle and Seth Grant on representing Mid Herts with such distinction.
I always consider it such a privilege to spend time with these and other juniors at the club and within the County. We are blessed with fantastic girls and boys who are smart, dedicated and a real credit to themselves and their families. I have to say I blame the parents!
The weather is now turning and longer light evenings stretch before us and golf is fully back on the menu. Enjoy the next few weeks and in the unlikely event of a poor shot, remember even Grand Slam Champions have them!!
All the best
Barney
Fellow of the PGA
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