TROGS

OCTOBER 2011

Earlier this year, the taxman told a number of state pensioners that they’d underpaid tax. After a long struggle – it transpires that HMRC were at fault for not taking the tax due in the first place – the underpayment was written off.

A one-off? No – the write-off was down to something called the Extra Statutory Concession A19 (ESC A19). If the taxman comes calling on you about tax underpayments, you might be able to use this too.

ESC A19, and HMRC won’t draw this to your attention, can be used by taxpayers to have the tax written off if (a) HMRC had the correct information about their tax affairs but (b) failed to act on it and (c) the taxpayer can show that it was reasonable for them to assume that their tax affairs were correct.

'IN GOLF WE TRUST'

It’s All Balls?

Size of the ball
The “Rules of Golf” says that a golf ball’s diameter must be a minimum of 1.680 inches / 42.67 mm. A smaller ball would fly much further than a larger ball. The reason for this is simple: with a smaller diameter the ball has less air resistance, or in other words, it displaces less air as it flies. Because of this, most manufacturers produce golf balls with the minimal diameter (1.680 inches / 42.67 mm). The rules also state that the ball must be round, but I guess you knew that…

Weight of the ball
A golf ball’s weight must not exceed 1.620 oz./ 45.93 g according to the “Rules of Golf”. The heavier the ball, the greater its momentum, and the less it would be slowed down by air resistance. Hence it would tend to fly further. For this reason most manufacturers produce golf balls with the heaviest sanctioned weight of 1.620 oz./ 45.93 g.

Compression Rates
In the manufacturing process, some two-piece, and all three-piece balls are rated by their compression measurements. This is done by pressuring them with a standard weight
Balls that don’t deform at all are rated Compression 200, while balls that deform by 0.2″ or above are rated Compression 0. These are the two extremes, and between them balls are rated in intervals of 0.001 inches. The Standard Compression rate is usually 90 or 100. the higher the compression rate the harder the feel, and vice versa. Almost every ball is subject to a compression rating. Compression rates of 80 and 100 are also found.

However, manufacturers are not bound by an official standard. Hence one manufacturer’s compression rate of 100 can be different to another manufacturer’s compression rate of 100. This can mount up to a 3.5 point difference in either direction. In addition, some balls don’t even have the compression rate printed on them.

According to a host of surveys, low speed swing players are better off using balls with a Compression rate of 80. Players with an average speed swing should choose Compression 100, and Compression 110 is best for high swing speed players.

The weather should always be taken into consideration when deciding on compression rates to use. Low compression balls are best for colder weather, while high compression balls perform better in hot weather.

Tips for choosing the right balls for you:

Considerations for Driving
Distance balls are designed to fly further and with more accuracy. This means you will be less likely to land in the rough, in a hazard, or out of bounds. Distance balls have their drawbacks, however, as they will be harder to stop on the green. Mid to high handicappers should favor a distance ball.

Optimum Performance in Your Approach
Spin balls are made with outer layers that take on more spin when you strike them with angled club faces. Drawing or fading around obstacles and hazards therefore becomes easier, as they will bend more to the left or right. They also take on more backspin when struck with a lofted club – this is important, as the balls will therefore stop more quickly on the green.

Whilst spin balls used to be made with fragile outer layers that were prone to damage, this problem has now been largely averted with the introduction of solid multilayer construction, replacing the old flimsy balata covers.

Getting More Control
Distance balls designed to stop quickly when on the green, but with minimum risk of slicing or hooking are known as control balls. The Nike One and Titleist Pro V1 are members of the new generation of balls that are so versatile they will perform in any situation.

Balls for Slow Swingers
Known variously as Ladies or Senior balls, these balls increase driving distance to improve the scores of players with slower, less powerful swings.

Choosing the Right Putting Ball
Differently designed balls will roll for different distances on the green. As a rule of thumb, harder balls role further. The difference is more than you would think. Teaching professionals recommend that you putt with the same kind of ball all the time, as this will help you to calibrate, feel, learn and reproduce the connection between stroke strength and distance. As most balls aren’t perfectly balanced, they won’t roll absolutely true, but higher quality balls will be generally more likely to stay on course, due to higher standards of quality control during manufacture.

Affordability
Try to always play with the same balls that you practice with. So if you can’t afford to practice with a high quality ball, don’t switch when playing competitions. A ball that has been overused will no longer be spherical, and so is no good to you. Play balls that you can afford to replace regularly.

Source: The above information is just a small morsel taken from the Golf Beginner Guide. This 272 page ebook is full of golf tips and advice like the above, and for just $29.50 we think this every Golfer should have it, especially beginners.

CAN YOU OR ANYONE TRUST A BANK?

TAKE A LOOK AT THIS

Over 70!

Don’t put up with Expensive Travel Insurance…

I.E. Two quotes from the usual rip off outfits..£1,490 and £2,200 for two people aged , 78 and 86, taking a 3 month trip to Perth Western Australia (Perhaps to cover them for swimming with crocodiles!) Check out this link to biba.org.uk (The British Association of Insurance Brokers) and it will give you a list of brokers specialising in the type of cover you require. I.E contacting biba.org.uk as per the above resulted in a policy with the same cover for £326….

There may not be a golf course up here but I'll bet you don't see many views like this from the deck of a cruise ship??

'PORTLAND '

WEYMOUTH

LIFE IN FRANCE v UNITED KINGDOM

Speaking days before the G20 summit in Pittsburgh, France’s president urged the rest of the world to follow his example as he ordered a shake-up in research methods aimed at providing a more balanced reading of countries’ performance.

Endorsing the recommendations of a report given to him by Nobel prize winners Joseph Stiglitz and Amartya Sen, he said governments should do away with the “religion of statistics” in which financial prowess was the sole indicator of a country’s state of health.

“For years statistics have registered an increasingly strong economic growth as a victory over shortage until it emerged that this growth was destroying more than it was creating,” said Sarkozy in a speech at the Sorbonne. “The crisis doesn’t only make us free to imagine other models, another future, another world. It obliges us to do so.”

Arguing that gross domestic product (GDP) – the standard means of measuring a country’s economic growth – ignores other factors vital to the well-being of its population, the report proposes a new indicator which would be calculated with GDP but take into account a broader view.

A new indicator would look at issues such as environmental protection and work/life balance as well as economic output to rate a country’s ability to maintain the “sustainable” happiness of its inhabitants.

“Our economy is supposed to increase our well-being; it is not an end in itself,” said Stiglitz at the launch of the report, commissioned by Sarkozy last year. “GDP statistics were introduced to measure market economic activity. But they are increasingly thought of as a measure of societal well-being, which they are not.”

Asking France’s national statistics body, Insee, to update its methods in accordance with the report’s recommendations, Sarkozy said he would use future summits such as next week’s G20 to persuade other countries follow suit. “France will put this report on the agenda of all international meetings,” he said.

France, whose economic output has fallen in the decades since the end of the prosperous “trente glorieuses” (19451975) prides itself on other aspects of life. Its healthcare system has been ranked the world’s best by the World Health Organisation, its comparatively short working week is legendary, and its fertility levels are the highest in Europe, along with Ireland’s.

“Economic resources are not all that matter in people’s lives,” said Angel Gurría, secretary general of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. “We need better measures of people’s expectations and levels of satisfaction, of how they spend their time, of their relations with other people in their community.”

Using the traditional measure, the European commission yesterday forecast that the eurozone will grow by 0.2% in the third quarter as the continent’s biggest economies recover from the worst recession in decades. In its latest economic outlook, the commission predicted the economy would grow by 0.2% between July and September and by 0.1% in the final quarter of the year.

However, it did not change its forecast that the eurozone’s GDP would fall by 4% in 2009 as a whole because the economy fared worse at the end of 2008 and the beginning of this year.

'COUNCIL MOT TEST CENTERS'
If you have your trusted 'mot center' that's fine but if you think they overdo the failure rate and you suspect they just want the extra work--and £ then have your car tested at a Council Test center, address below.
They do not carry out repairs so they have no incentive to ,invent. additional works! The also have to 'mot' your car by law.

"A strong body makes the mind strong. As to the species of exercises, I advise the gun. While this gives moderate exercise to the body, it gives boldness, enterprise and independence to the mind. Games played with the ball, and others of that nature, are too violent for the body and stamp no character on the mind. Let your gun therefore be your constant companion of your walks."

Thomas Jefferson
Boy, did the yanks take that to heart!!

Tournerby Golf 'TROGS' & 'TROLLS'