Spring is now well and truly here coupled withthe absolute definition of April showers. Therain has not deterred our spirits though and thegreenkeepers have worked extremely hard topresent the golf courses in their currentcondition. Feedback has been very complimentaryfrom those that have played at other courses. Wegreatly appreciate your comments, however, I dosympathise with other courses, we have all facedextremely challenging weather conditions throughthe winter months.

On that note, having 'broken ground' on our new10th green three weeks ago, we havenow had to wait until ground conditions dry upagain. Here's hoping we can resume that projectnext week. Once we finish the build (andassuming near ideal grow in conditions) thegreen could be playable after three months. Ourgolf course consultant, Greg Evans, isoverseeing the project and has completed a nearidentical green construction at his home course,Ealing. Pleasefollow this link to view the case studyand method of using cores from existing greensto retain an indigenous grass type. Our onlydifference is that we will use a less intrusive8mm core rather than the 12mm core as used inthe case study.

The tennis courts arecurrently undertaking a pre-season spruce up.Both courts have been thoroughly pressure washedand treated for moss. Surface repairs of anycracks and wear have now been completed and thefirst two coats of paint have been applied. Allbeing well the final coat and white lines willbe finished by the end of the week. The top coatrequires time to cure so we aim to re-open thecourts on Saturday, 23 April. This will ofcourse offer members the opportunity to hit topform on the courts before Wimbledon begins on27th June.

All the very best for the week ahead.
Johnny Porter

Following on from their third place in theCounty Team Championship, big congratulations tofour members of the Cottesmore JuniorElite Team who won the County JuniorFoursomes Championship - The Parsons Trophy -last Thursday at Ifield Golf Club. County under14s players Josh Greig and Josh Dance, alongwith Peter Thomas and Benedict Carter,outperformed the opposition with a 147 pointtotal, winning by a whopping eight points fromtheir nearest challenger. The two Joshs startedthe day with a tremendous 39 points in themorning with their team mates close behind with37 points; both fantastic scores in the toughestof formats, foursomes. With Pete and Benedictscoring 37 points again in the afternoon, thetwo Joshs had 34 points and there was no doubtabout the winners being Cottesmore. Well doneboys, your practice is paying off and we alllook forward to seeing your golf continue toprogress.

Itis not just the juniors that have been flyingthe Cottesmore flag, as both ladiesdivision 1 and division 2 teams wontheir opening matches away from home last week.Well done ladies and we hope you continue withyour early form.

Place your orders with the HealthClub today for any Zoggs products.We will be placing a large order within the nextcouple of weeks for goggles, swimmingcostumes and other Zoggs merchandise.

Fast-Classes(Monday & Tuesday at 12:30pm - 12:55pm)- These are small group exercise classes in thegym. They are suitable for all levels ofabilities.

Exerciseof the Week - Cable Wood Chop

With manygolfers dusting off their clubs due to the goodweather and Danny Willett's recent Mastersvictory, we have chosen our exercise of the weekto be the wood chop. The cable wood chop is anexplosive, multi-joint exercise that developsstrength and power throughout the core andobliques. This exercise also improves hip andshoulder stability and strength.

Followingon from Cottesmore's win in the Parsons Trophy,Pete Thomas continued histremendous form in the Junior Members Easter Cuplast Sunday. Pete scored a gross 80 (nett 65) towin by three from Connor Barnes who had a nett68. This win puts Pete at the top of the Scratchand the Nett Junior Order of Merits for 2016.

Bigcongratulations to Joseph Byrnewho, at 9 years old, beat the rest of the JuniorAcademy players to win the Junior Academy EasterCup. Joseph won by two shots from the 2015Junior Academy Champion Lucy Pigram who finishedin the 8th hole in the 36-shot format. Therewere many great performances from the youngplayers last Sunday but none were as happy withtheir achievements as Joseph was with his. Welldone Joseph - we hope there is more to come.

Age Group Winners were:
Under 15s - Yusuf Hussain
Under 13s - Will Pirie
Under 11s - Joseph Byrne
Under 9s - Leo Cahi
Under 7s - Freddie Hopkins
Girls - Lucy Pigram
Easter Cup Champion - Joseph Byrne

Well,what a Masters that was. No one could havepredicted this year's Masters prior to itstarting. Another British Major winner - welldone Danny Willett - whowouldn't want to see Danny and Jordan goinghead-to-head in the Ryder Cup now?

Alot of people have asked me how a world classplayer like Spieth can collapse like that and tobe honest it is easy. It was very clear that hewas struggling with his swing. For those thatwatch the PGA Tour you will be aware that thisstarted two weeks ago during the WGC MatchplayChampionship. Clearly this had not been fixedand the doubts in Spieth's mind was growing andgrowing. With the pressure also mounting, thiswas just way too much for the young man. Tostand there on the brink of history, with aswing that he knows is not working and that hewas finding harder and harder to trust, justbecame too much and the implosion was just amatter of time.

Thisweek its the RBC Heritagewhere the world number one, Jason Day, leads thefield. After the wind and pressure of theMasters, I am not going to make any predictionsbut obviously we expect Day to be there or thereabouts come Sunday - he is, in my book, the bestplayer out there by some way and I do not thinkthat he has hit full stride yet. What interestsme this week is how DeChambeauwill perform now that he has entered the paidranks.

Readthe Ladies and Vets' Captain reports here.