The Trilby Tour

If you are a regular watcher of Sky Sports you may have seen adverts or watched episodes from the William Hunt Trilby Tour.

The William Hunt Trilby Tour is an amateur golf tournament which is now in its seventh year. Regional championships are played across the UK with a Grand Final played at the end of August at Rockcliffe Hall.

The format is an 18 hole stableford off three quarters handicap. The top ten players make it to the Grand Final with the top four players fighting it out in a three hole play-off to be crowned the regional champion.

All events are broadcast on Sky Sports and it’s officially the largest Amateur golf television series in Europe.

This year I was offered the chance to play at one of the events in the UK and after checking the venue line up the Championship I chose was at the Nottinghamshire Golf & Country Club.

As you might have guessed by the name of the tournament all players are to wear a “trilby”, which is chosen at the Championship venue when signing in. You’re also asked to wear William Hunt’s own Saville Row clothing range and you must have a caddy who wears a Masters style boiler suit.

You are asked to arrive at the venue at least an hour before your scheduled tee time and to be on the tee at least twenty minutes before you tee off. This is to ensure you go through the formalities of local rules, swapping cards, identifying golf balls and giving a little information about yourself to the starter.

My playing partners for the day were Trevor, a Nottinghamshire member and former Manchester United footballer Lee Sharpe who is a Trilby Tour regular.

I have played in big amateur events before so playing in front of people has never been a problem for me, but I must admit that standing on that first tee with over a hundred pairs of eyes plus the TV cameras on you, it’s hard not to feel a little nervous.

The first hole is a reachable par 5, with all these eyes on me I wanted to hit my driver, mainly as it’s the club with the largest head, however with a water hazard in range I opted for a 3-wood for safety. My first tee shot was straight out the heel and into the fairway bunker, at least it went forward!

After the first shot nerves I calmly settled into the round and after making a decent par on the first hole I followed up with a birdie on the second. A second par followed on the third and when we arrived on the fourth hole to play our approach shots, a camera man was following our every move.  I missed the green right but managed to play a shot that Phil Mickelson would be proud of to secure my par.

After 9 holes you give your scores to the officials who are regularly updating the leader boards and I was pleased to be on 20 points (two under par) with my shot to come in on the 13^th.

A par net birdie on 13 and another birdie on 15 saw me standing on the final hole at four under par. As I was in the second to last group of the day, I had already seen some scores which had been posted so I was fairly confident that if I made par on the last hole I would make the play-off.

The 18^th is a short par 5, however, if you hit driver you’ll run out of fairway and finish in the lake. I hit an awful 3 wood off the tee which meant I had a full 3 wood to the green. I managed to safely make it to the front in two.

As I was lining up my putt I had a look at the leaderboard to see that no matter what I did I would make the play-off. The pressure was lifted and a two-putt birdie saw me post 41 stableford points (five under par).

After checking and signing my card I was rushed off to do a quick interview, which I have no recollection of now, as I was full of adrenaline and trying not to say anything stupid!

The play-off was between four players who posted the best scores on the day and the holes to play were the 1^st, 2^nd and 18^th, winner takes all!

I again hit 3 wood off the first tee but this time the crowd and cameras didn’t faze me and I managed a perfect shot down the left hand side of the fairway. This left me 190 yards to the flag on a par 5, one of my opponents had already made the green in two so I had to go for hit. I was in between clubs as I needed to carry over a water hazard but was conscious that a shot which flew to far would be in a tricky bunker to the back of the green or worse in the lake behind it.

I opted for a 4 iron rather than a 5 and caught the ball thin. My ball ended up in the hazard and a drop was needed. I made a bogey on the first and one of my opponents made birdie.

When we arrived on the second tee, each of us had a short interview about the first hole. The second is a par 3 which I had earlier birdied, however this time I made par and we moved on to the final play-off hole. The par 5, 18^th.

I was two shots behind at this stage and the only thought I had in my head was to make an eagle. I wanted to hit my driver over the trees to take the water out of play but my caddy (AKA Dad) wouldn’t entertain it. So I hit a 5 wood into a perfect position. At this stage the play-off was between myself and Ben, who had posted 42 points earlier in the day. He hit two irons to the green and was just short of reaching.

I decided to go for hit by hitting a high 5 wood right at the flag, I executed the shot perfectly but my ball ended up 30 foot past the flag with a tricky downhill putt for eagle. Ben chipped up to around 4 feet which meant my putt was a must hole. I gave it a good try but had to settle for birdie and finished in second place.

The experience of playing in the William Hunt Trilby Tour is nothing I have ever experienced before and I can’t wait to do it all over again in the final at Rockcliffe Hall at the end of August.

The Trilby Tour episodes will be on Sky Sports in the Autumn so if you’re interested in watching what you’ve just read look out for the Nottinghamshire episode. 

Quinta do Lago

It's been three years in the making but 2014 Ryder Cup captain Paul McGinley has recently opened his new Golf Academy at the family resort of Quinta do Lago in the Algarve region of Portugal.

Paul has worked with Taylor Made Golf for most of his career and they have joined forces again at one of the top golfing resorts in Europe to ensure you get the most out of you game.

At the new fitting centre at Quinta do Lago you can get custom fitted with the latest Taylor Made equipment (putter, irons and driver) by using state-of-the-art technology and expert professionals who are second to none when it comes to finding the right club for you.

I was lucky enough to visit Quinta do Lago to witness the fitting centre in action and was there when McGinley turned up to open his new golf academy. He talked in depth about his relationship with Taylor Made and how getting fitted for clubs is essential to helping your game.

As Paul said: "You wouldn't go and buy an expensive Italian suit without having it measured for you so why should buying golf clubs be any different."

There are a wide variety of golfers on the planet. Some want to be the best they possibly can and some play the game for pure enjoyment. But Quinta do Lago caters for everyone.

The resort is home to three fantastic golf courses. North, South & Laranjal. I managed to play all three on my short trip and my favourite was Laranjal.

Laranjal was voted the best golf course at the Portuguese Travel Awards which is an amazing feat for a course that only opened in 2009 and is up against all the other top class golf courses Portugal has to offer.

The course is built on an orange grove and is situated in the Ludo valley two kilometres east of the resort. I decided to test my skills from the black championship tees which made the course 7,086 yards.

There are five lakes on the course and finding the right position off the tee and on the greens is a must. The greens are undulated but fair. I was told that they could make the greens even faster than the 11 on the stimpmetre but keeping the ball on the putting surface would be near impossible on some holes.

The course is made up of five par 5s, eight par 4s and five par 3s. The par 3s are not for the faint-hearted especially off the black tees where the 7th is over 250 yards. Even the pros in the US Open at Merion struggled with those distances!

Quinta North and South are situated next to each other and just across the road from the golf academy. Both courses are surrounded by some of the most gorgeous looking villas I have ever set my eyes on. I heard that many footballers own villas on these courses as they are given a lot of privacy in the resort.

Both courses offer a real test.

The North is slightly shorter than the South but the bunkers and water hazards are well positioned so you have to ensure you play for the correct position off the tee. I found the course to be quite tight so blasting your driver was a risk.

The South course is known as the jewel in the Quinta do lago crown. The Portuguese Open has been played here eight times. The course is set amongst umbrella pines, lakes and wild flowers and overlooks the spectacular scenery of the Ria Formosa National Park.

I only played the back nine of the South course and the three holes which stood out were 14, 15 and 17. The 14th for the scenery as you tee off from an elevated tee, the 15th is a par 3 which is around 210 yards from the back tee and a carry all over the lake, while the 17th is a par 5 - you tee off over the lake from the 15th but you are faced by some beautiful looking villas at the same time.

After you've finished your round there is nothing better than sitting outside the club house with a nice refreshing drink and a bite to eat.

However, if you prefer to get yourself sorted out and go out for a meal, look no further than Casa do Lago restaurant. Casa do Lago is located on the water's edge with fresh fish brought in daily. I ate some of the biggest tiger prawns I have ever seen and they were cooked to perfection.

Casa do Lago also have a floating green in the middle of the lake. You can hit balls from the lakeside to try and hit the green but it's impossible to keep the ball on there as it's made of wood. It makes a loud bang when you're successful, usually greeted by applause from the spectators who are there for food or drinks.

During my stay in Portugal I stayed in the Conrad Algarve. This superb hotel only opened in September 2012 and fully deserves its 5-star status from the staff down to the rooms and the detail which has gone into them.

The hotel is situated on the doorstep of Quinta do Lago so is a perfect location for a golf holiday.

This was the first time I'd ever travelled to Portugal so I didn't really know what to expect. After visiting I would definitely return - especially for a golf trip.

I can't recommend the Quinta do Lago resort enough and if you are a keen golfer like myself, check out the Golf academy, I guarantee you won't be disappointed.

For more information on Quinta do Lago visit http://www.quintadolago.com

Mizuno Swing DNA

As a keen golfer I am always on the lookout to improve my game. I've visited fitting centres for a couple of brands but never before have I tried Mizuno irons. When I was asked if I wanted to try out their new Swing DNA system I jumped at the chance.

Mizuno state that finding the right shaft for golfers can add an extra 10-30 yards to every iron in the bag along with improving shot dispersion. All it takes is three shots with the shaft optimiser to find your unique swing DNA which consists of:

Head Speed - How fast the club head and shaft are moving during the swing.

Tempo - How quickly the player transitions from the backswing to the downswing.

Toe Down - A measure of the bowing of the shaft in a downward direction during the downswing.

Kick Angle - The amount of shaft forward bending during the downswing motion.

Release Factor - How and when the club head and shaft are releasing during the downswing motion.

When the results are in the software recommends the best three shafts to test.

I visited my nearest Mizuno fitting centre at Oakdale Golf Club in Harrogate and was met by head professional Clive Dell. After using the swing optimiser my results came out as:

Using a 6 iron and ranked between 1 - 9.

	David Keywood	Luke Donald
Headspeed	84 mph	92 mph
Tempo	4	4
Toe down	4	4
Kick angle	2	5
Release factor	7	5

Compare me with Luke Donald and I'm pleased to say our swing DNA similarity is high.

Clive then fed my results into the Swing DNA software to find out which shafts matched my swing: the shafts recommended were the FST KBS Tour (Stiff), Dynalite Gold XP (Stiff) and Nippon NS Pro 950GH (Stiff). I then chose the MP59 and MP63 heads to accompany the shafts and down to the range we went.

After hitting a number of shots with each shaft it's easy to see that having the right shaft in your club can really make a difference to the shots you play. I was hitting the ball a lot lower with the KBS tour and hitting the Nippon out to the right. I found the Dynalite Gold was the closest to what I have in my current irons and the performance matched, with a high draw my preferred shot and could replicate my trajectory with this shaft.

I found that the MP-59 was a lot more forgiving that the MP-63 head. Being told Luke Donald uses the MP-59 also swung me in the favour of this iron. It's a beautiful looking club and if it's good enough for the World number 1 then it's good enough for me.

I found the Swing DNA fitting extremely useful and next time I'm in the market for a new set of clubs or woods I'll definitely be making sure I get the right shaft for my swing before purchasing.

A big thanks to Clive Dell and Oakdale golf club for helping me with the fitting.

To find your local Swing DNA Centre go to http://golf.mizunoeurope.com/store/fitting-centres.php

Fairway to Furlong - Sky Sports Team Play at Celtic Manor

Well, there was to be no Celtic Manor glory for the Sky Sports golfers down at the Fairway to Furlong golf day, but it was still another brilliant day out for another lucky competition winner. 

Although our Nathan Richards did not taste the glory of 12 months earlier, again it turned out to be a day to remember with a fun-packed round of golf on the Roman Road course followed by a charity dinner with some of racing's big-hitters.

It's a long way down to Celtic Manor from Sky Sports HQ up in Leeds, but a trip well worth it as the venue remains an iconic one with Ryder Cup memories still fresh in the mind.

After running our competition again on Sky Sports, lucky Nathan won the exclusive place in our team of champions for the day's golf, followed by a trip to Cheltenham for the first day of the Festival.

A foggy start in the morning cast a few doubts on how the day would go, but a solid Celtic Manor breakfast and a few hits on the range melted those away - although the fog lingered a little while longer.

Having covered the Ryder Cup, the place is still a great one to visit and there's always a raw tinge of anticipation when you drive up that big hill, travel past the brilliant hotel and enter the club house lodge - everything about it all is well and truly five star.

A spot of bacon, a drive away in our buggies and a massive firework, which almost gave me a heart attack, later and we're underway, starting the defence of our title on the 14th hole - a tough start in the fog with a second shot over water.

We start well though, and hopes are high that myself, competition winner Nathan, Dave Keywood and Jamie Watson can bring home the bacon and keep hold of that trophy.

Armed with the VPar live scoring system, we are able to keep track of how we're getting on, another good feature that you don't get at your usual golf competition.

The fog slowly started to burn away, but sadly so did our chances. Despite being there or thereabouts throughout the contest perhaps a lack of scoring on the par threes cost us and we ended up finishing in sixth place - still a creditable effort though.

We did manage to scoop one prize for the day as Dave landed the nearest the pin contest thanks mainly to his team-mates for a showing him the club and wind to take into account to knocking it two feet from the flag.

Finally the sun emerged and into the splendour of the clubhouse lodge we went for a welcome pint and some of the brilliantly tasty Welsh cakes to refresh ourselves before checking into the Celtic manor hotel - which is always a pleasure.

Onto the evening - a charity auction hosted by Derek 'Tommo' Thompson and the giving of prizes, sadly not for us this year which was a huge shame as the overall winners from the day also got an unbelievable prize of a trip to American for the Breeders' Cup and a round at Pebble Beach!

Star trainer David Pipe and former jockey Mick Fitzgerald were also on hand to offer their advice for picking out some winners at the Cheltenham Festival - both men seemed to enjoy their night tremendously and proved great company.

The night drew on and on and plenty were still going strong when we called it a night in the early hours, eager to be in some sort of condition to enjoy 'the best breakfast in the world' according to Dave - and it's hard to disagree.

Fuelled up and ready to go, Nathan gets on his way to Cheltenham to hopefully pick out a few winners to cap off a great prize all round, while we start the long journey back to work!

If you fancy being a lucky winner then stay tuned to Sky Sports for out next competition...

Alternatively, for more golf trips and special packages go to www.yourgolftravel.com, or view more of the special golf/racing events coming up this year and book your place at Fairwaytofurlong.com.