Liz Robinson & I met with the President Paul Scholberg a few weeks ago to discuss a number of things including the financial implications of the Ladies having our 2 tee start on a Tuesday. Paul flagged that unless we keep our numbers up around the 80 mark, it's likely we will have to move to a one tee start. Gosford Golf Club is a business and the Board of Directors has to look at the course as an income generator. By opening the 10^th tee they believe that revenue from the course can be increased substantially. The Ladies will obviously still have 2 tees for our big days, championships etc. The challenge is to try to keep our numbers up on a Tuesday to maintain our two tee start.  

Early March saw round one of the CCWGA Brooch & the first medal round. The Top Ten Shootout has also kicked off with 61 players registered which means we have a very generous prize pool. The competition to qualify is likely to be fierce.

We were fortunate to get St Patrick's Dice Day in before the torrential Irish weather set in. Hopefully everyone enjoyed the change in format from the usual Joker Day.  91 players turned up which was a wonderful & most wore green or orange which brightened the day. Thanks to Liz Robinson for all her hard work. She sold early raffles & while we enjoyed our golf she decorated the tables, organised the Irish music & set up the tea & coffee station with free muffins. The CCWGA 40^th anniversary photos were up on the screen in the background which brought back memories for many of us. Jan Martin drove around the course taking photos of the players & we thank her for that. We trailed Golf Genius, a new booking program, which allows players to pre pay for their golf & alleviated the crush in the Pro Shop when we have a shotgun start. The trial went well & we hope to use it again on some of our big days.

Round one of the CCWGA Pennants which was due to be played at Gosford on the 15^th of March had to be cancelled as carts were not allowed on the course. The next round for the Gosford team will be at Wyong against Shelly Beach on the 29^th of March. The latest draw is on the notice board in the Ladies Locker room. Unfortunately the pennant clinic on Friday the 19^th had to be cancelled; however Sharon emailed the relevant information to the players.

With the easing of the Covid 19 restrictions the NTPS' are back in play. A reminder that Tuesdays will be as follows: Division 1 on the 5^th & 12^th and Division 2 on the 8^th & 14^th holes. On Thursdays there is only one NTP on the 8^th hole over the field. Medal rounds will remain the same for Division 1 and Division 2 & 3 will share the 8^th & 14^th holes.

The Eagles Nest on the 12^th hole is in play every day & players are required to inform the Pro Shop if their tee shot is inside 60cms of the pin. (There is no NTP sheet to fill in)

Open Day is coming up on the 11^th of May. The timesheet will be open for members shortly. Please put your teams down via the "My Club" platform & the Pro Shop will allocate starting holes once the members & visitors names have been uploaded. Please note those groups with carts will start on the holes further from the clubhouse. We've had a pleasing response from visiting teams & the numbers are looking good. Please remember to donate your handiwork, a voucher or similar for the "new concept" raffles for Open Day, the profits will go to Lifeline. Ricochet clothing is going well & we thank you all for your ongoing support. 

A reminder that the first round of the 4BBB Knockout will be played on Thursday the 29^th of April, the nomination sheet is in the locker room & nominations close on the 22^nd of April. This Thursday competition is an excellent introduction to the match play format & a confidence builder for potential pennant players. 

Sheena Asken
Ladies Captain

By Russell Tuckerman
Physiotherapist at East Gosford Physiotherapist

Do you get Sore Hips when you play golf? 

Hips work hard when you play golf, as a result you need your Gluteals or Butt muscles to play their part.

Not only do they need to help you walk for hours and help maintain your posture, they also need you to rotate sufficiently (especially your front leg) so you can turn efficiently with a golf swing.

Two common reasons for hip pain with golf are weakness in your Gluteals (Buttock muscles) and tightness in your hip joints. This muscle weakness often leads to hip tightness. This will create a muscle imbalance around your hips and pelvis and irritation of the hip bursa. This condition is called Hip Bursitis.

See this video link to understand hip bursitis - https://youtu.be/tVox8HUFmlc 

"Weak glutes" is a modern day curse because we just sit too often and for too long!

Sitting for long periods changes our posture and inhibits our gluteal or buttock muscles causing weakness. If you have a sway back and a flat bum - you have gluteal weakness. A sign of gluteal weakness is an inability to stand on one leg for 30 seconds and balance. This weakness can be a bit insidious and just gets worse over time, often without you being aware. Once these muscles become weak you are more likely to develop low back pain. You will find it difficult to stand for long periods, walk long distances and even have trouble getting in and out of a chair or a car seat.

Gluteal weakness is evident in all age brackets, but we tend to see it more commonly as we age, (post 50 years) and this can lead to Gluteal Tendinopathy.

Gluteal Tendinopathy is a condition which affects the hip tendon which attaches to the bony lump you feel on the very outside part of your hip. This is often a problem when you sleep on your side at night as this creates a compression of the tendon and bursa which results in pain.

This aggravation of pain at night will carry over to your golf game the next day and you will tend to get sore hips playing golf.

To help you manage hip pain, review our stretching video from last month - 

https://youtu.be/-bB0HmG2fP0     

Also look at our 3 step program to Healthy Hips below .....

Next Month we will focus on Gluteal and hip strengthening to complement core strengthening.