Hello golfers,

Welcome to the latest edition of our weekly newsletter. This week's email has an exclusive interview with World Long Drive champion Joe Miller as he looks to defend the crown he won in 2016, as well as a couple of news stories from last week that certainly shine a bright light over the sport we love. Enjoy the read.

Ready to go

It's hard to believe how quickly it comes around but Captain's Prize 2017 is upon us once again. The course is primed and ready and with good weather forecast it promises to be a great couple of weekends ahead.

Best of luck to everyone competing and to our Captain Kevin!

Our Celeb Ham sponsored by Brady's Family Ham was a great success once again. It was tear to see so many well known faces around the club and compliments were everywhere in relation to the course and our facilities. Some celebs I spoke to had not played Naas for a few years and spoke very highly of the changes and how much the club has come on.

It’s official: golf is good for you

There's been a lot of focus on Public Health England’s One You campaign in the media over the past week, which challenges each person to complete just 10 minutes of continuous brisk walking per day to help boost their health and reduce the risk of early death by 15%.

At the same time, a unique study assessing the benefits of golf on health was announced that, when combined with the above campaign, makes interesting reading. The project – the most comprehensive study on golf and health to date – found improvements in life expectancy, a decreased risk of more than 40 major chronic diseases, as well as positive impacts on cholesterol, body composition and mental health.

So, what's the take home message from all of this? Keep playing golf!