Well if the events of these first few weeks of this year are anything to go by then 2016 is clearly "The Chinese Year of the Bieber!"

If you`re sitting there thinking to yourself "What Do You Mean" then, sorry, I`ll try and explain. The small North American rodent has flooded the UK Chart with music from his latest album and is currently building an impenetrable barrier between the rest of the chart and the Top 3 positions. He`s done this by stacking 3 different songs up one on top of another to stop anyone else bursting through into his territory.

Oh, no…wait a minute! I think I might have got a little bit mixed up between Justin Bieber and a Canadian Beaver!! DAM! I obviously typed that without gnawing what I was talking about! And to avoid further confusion it`s not the same as it`s South American cousin, as Beavers there are slightly smaller because it`s a little otter!

Yip, only 2 weeks into 2016 and the dodgy jokes are flowing faster than the River Dee in a downpour!

But young Master Bieber certainly has a stranglehold on the pop world at the moment. His popularity has had more fall and rise than Reginald Perrin, and like the River Dee he has burst into 2016 and is riding a crest of a wave.

In the same week as the sad passing of David Bowie, who`s career had spanned almost 50 years in the music industry, it made me wonder would the likes of Justin Bieber (or any of our other current pop "stars") still be held in such high regard as Bowie was? When you see the likes of Bowie, Rod Stewart, Springsteen, Tom Jones and The Rolling Stones still making popular music, selling hit albums and doing sell out world Tours and compare that to modern day music. Chances are these acts will disappear just as fast as they became popular, so is that a reflection on modern society or the type of music?........or just a bit of both?

Regardless, there`s no getting away from the fact that right now Justin Bieber is the man of the moment in the pop world. He finished 2015 on top of the pile and he has only gone on to strengthen that position at the beginning of 2016. 

In much the same way the parallels to golfs latest Goldenchild, Jordan Spieth, are freakishly similar.

Spieth had a standout year in 2015, winning the season`s first 2 majors and going agonisingly close in the last two as he attempted to complete the coveted "Grand Slam"! His form throughout the year was spectacularly consistent and he deservedly ousted Rory McIlroy at the top of the World Rankings to finish the No.1 Golfer in the World. The question on everyone`s lips was, "Can he keep that up, or was it just one of those seasons!?" - Well we didn`t have long to wait. Even after a fairly lengthy festive break Jordan Spieth returned to Tour life at the Season opening Hyundai Tournament of Champions, in Kapalua and blew the cobwebs and the field away with a 'rusty' Hawaii Three-0, THIRTY Under Par! So averaging 7 & a half Under Par per round gave the young Texan an eight stroke victory over every Europeans favourite American, Patrick Reed.

Spieth has now been Number 1 in the World for 16 Weeks and with 2 Majors to his name many would say that he is well on his way to becoming one of the all-time greats. He certainly should be inspiration for any young golfer out there as he has achieved all this with a game you would perhaps describe as solid rather than spectacular. He`s not a 'Bomber' that will over power a course, he`s not a gym junky and neither is he a Seve-like swashbuckler, instead he is comfortably long enough to play any course, with a swing that is very much his own, and the same simplistic one he has been honing since he was a boy, that consistency coupled with a fabulous shortgame, putting, mentality and attitude have got him to the top. How long will/can he stay there? I guess time will tell, but, as this game has proven over the years it can jump up and bite you at any given time.

Just ask Luke Donald. I was quite shocked to read an article recently about Luke Donald, in which he openly admits he was ready to quit the game and walk away from Tournament Golf. Now, whilst Luke hasn`t achieved the Major success that Jordan already has, he has so far achieved and exceeded everything else that Master Spieth has. Luke Donald was the first player ever to finish Number 1 in the Order Of Merit on both European & US Tours in the same season, he has played in 4 Ryder Cup winning every single one, but most significantly he was the Number 1 Golfer in the World for a total of 56 weeks!! It was only at the end of August 2012 that Rory McIlroy knocked him off for good, fast forward 3 years and he was contemplating jacking it all in!

I`m glad that he hasn`t and if anything has used that low mind point to give himself the proverbial 'boot up the backside', but it just shows you, and hopefully Jordan Spieth, that nothing is guaranteed, and most things take years to build but can crumble and fall much quicker!

It will be an interesting watch this year, not only to see how Jordan Spieth kicks on, but whether Luke Donald`s re-found focus can get his form back on track.

To help him achieve that he took a leap of faith and turned to someone more than familiar with taking leaps of faith! Dr Michael Gervais (no relation to Ricky) was the man tasked with talking sense (definitely no relation to Ricky) into Luke. What were Michaels qualifications then? Well, he only was the psychologist who worked with Felix Baumgartner! Remember him? He was the Austrian who made the 24 mile space jump back to earth! And if this man can get a person standing alone in the vast openness of space to overcome claustrophobia then I`m sure he can get a good golfer to start enjoying golf again.

That might sound ridiculously simple, but in essence that was the root cause of Luke`s problems. Sure, perhaps technically he wasn`t playing well! The poor shots were contributing to poor results. Those results started this downward spiral and before he knew it, Luke was falling from his once high and mighty perch. But as Luke, discovered, or was reminded, only he could reverse that spiral……starting with his mind-set.

I think this is a great way for all of us to start the new Season. The last ones gone…forget it. The new one is almost here….look forward to it! Come back ready to enjoy it, but come back with a plan, a focus.

Evaluate last year so as to give yourself footholds to be able to build this seasons goals on.

What is your ultimate goal this year? Now build the stepping stones that will help you get there.

For instance Luke would ultimately like to get back into the World`s Top 50 and qualify for the Masters. Now, that's the goal but to get there it has to start with playing better first. Turning better play into improved performances and higher finishes. Higher finishes will re-ignite the competitiveness and confidence. If the confidence creates consistency then the 'Goal' will be self-fulfilling.

So once you`ve set you goal, analyse the parts of your game that either held you back or let you down last year. These are where the pathway to your goal starts.

Remember, that is where we can really help you get the most enjoyment, satisfaction and success out of your golf.

Why not start your journey to a better game today - Click Here and start that conversation to create your progression pathway.

Everything we do in the Professional Shop is geared towards making your time at the Club and on the Golf Course more enjoyable. As I start my second year I will be introducing some of my new ideas whilst constantly on the lookout for newer ones.

The latest product launches and ranges from the manufacturers start soon with the majority of my deliveries happening 1st March onwards. However we will be getting the odd new release in at their Launch Date.

Two such products are the latest incarnations of the popular and effective Ping G and Callaway XR Drivers. Check out the promotion Videos to find out a little more about their improved technology and design, as well as what the each Companies Tour Players have to say about the new kit!

PING G - Click here
Callaway XR - Click here

  

I marked my 1st year at the Club with a Big Blowout Weekend.

Thank you to everyone who came along and supported that while the course was still Closed.

I have decided to extend the Sale and ALL thye Offers that were on for that weekend for another few weeks. You can check out the bargains below, or better still pop in to the Professional Shop and see them in the flesh!  

- ALL Bags HALF PRICE
- ALL Shoes 40% OFF 
- Further HUGE Savings On ALL Sale Clubs 

  

- Galvin Green & Under Armour Clothing -  
"Buy 1 Get 1 FREE!"  
(Full Ticket Price - Cheapest Item FREE) 

- Galvin Green Waterproof Jackets ONLY £200 plus  20% OFF any Future Galvin Green Purchase (Voucher) 

- Galvin Green, Under Armour & ProQuip Insula/Fleece NOW 40% OFF  
- Golfbuddy BB5 GPS Watch HALF PRICE
- Hat & Scarf Gift Sets ONLY £10
- ALL Luggage 40% OFF !

Many other Items are Reduced with Clearance Bargains on GPS, Balls, Putters & Wedges!  



It was good to see the course opened for the first time this week with some sunshine and slightly more bearable temperatures on Wednesday. Hopefully the course is drying up.

This week saw the North East Alliance also make a New Year's return, but it had to have a change of venue as Murcar was not open from the recent rain and snow. Buckpool answered the SOS, however I did not play as I had a lot of course work to do for Sunday and with Buckpool being so far away it's basically a whole day away!

My usual Alliance Partners made the 8 Hour round trip and after hearing that one of my friends got disqualified I thought this was a good chance to introduce a "RULE OF THE WEEK" Feature to the blog!

Here was the Buckpool scenario:

Basically he and his 3 partners (along with quite a few other players) played from the wrong tee. There were 2 sets of tees out (ones for summer greens and the other for winter) that day. The frost in the morning saw the course being played on winter greens, quite a few players assumed it was therefore the forward tees, which was wrong. Because the all the players played from a wrong teeing ground AND finished the hole (ie: they didn`t rectify their mistake), they are all DQ'd!

Rule 11-4 Playing from Outside Teeing Ground (or 11-5 Playing from the Wrong Teeing Ground)

b. Stroke Play

If a competitor when starting a hole, plays a ball from outside the teeing ground he incurs a penalty of two strokes and must then play a ball from within the teeing ground.

If the competitor makes a stroke from the next teeing ground without first correcting his mistake or, in the case of the last hole of the round, leaves the putting green without first declaring his intention to correct his mistake, he is disqualified.

The stroke from outside the teeing ground and any subsequent strokes by the competitor on the hole prior to his correction of the mistake do not count in his score.

a. Match Play

If a player, when starting a hole, plays a ball from outside the teeing ground, there is no penalty, but the opponent may immediately require the player to cancel the stroke and play a ball from within the teeing ground. 

While Kamran has raised the subject of Rules it is worthwhile informing you all over the next few weeks of some Rule/Handicapping changes that you will need to remember come the start of the Golf Season.

The first is the handicap allowance in four-ball better ball format changed from 75% of the difference in handicap between you and the best player in your group to a more generous 90%.

Here is the Stroke Calculator. 

It was Lucky for some - No. 13 this week! Wednesday 13th January was the first golf played over Portlethen in 2016 and the first since 29th Dec! Whilst the length of closure and weather we have had to endure has been brutal, the truth of the matter is we have escaped lightly compared to many other courses in the neighbourhood. However up until Wednesday it did seem that when we even got a sniff of the course being dry enough to open, the overnight weather just stuck 2 fingers up to us and we were back to square one. 

None more so than on Monday when Neil was pleased with the drying progress the course had made. So much so that it was almost playable that afternoon, and with a dry night we would`ve been good to go.

Of course you could have scripted what happened next, with over an inch of rain falling that night the flooding came back worse than during Storm Frank.

As you can see from a few of the photos the water level in areas was pretty bad. But hopefully the worst is behind us now, and although Wednesday only got the Back 9 open for play it was a start!