"……Oh, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave……O'er the land of the free and the home of the brave?" Yes, Sundays spectacle was all about Superbowl 50 and like all American Sporting events it started with a rousing rendition of the Star Spangled Banner. A National Anthem that even gets the hair on the back of non-Americans necks standing…..but on this occasion it felt like `all we hear is Lady GaGa, Lady GooGoo, Lady BlahBlah! Lady what`s new!? Someone still loves you!!`
Kidding aside, Lady Gaga`s performance of the American National Anthem was flawless and incredibly inspiring. The atmosphere seemed electric, and the noise level was deafening. I`m also pretty sure after Denver`s victory there was many a Broncos fan who was feeling a little hoarse on Monday!!
Possibly one of their more tired supporters would have been Portlethen`s very own Denverian, Mark Brake, who arrived to play on Sunday (Superbowl Day) in full Broncos regalia and was adamant that he was going to stay up all night to watch the final.
There is no question the Americans can put on a show! The whole production of the final was 100% Showbiz with the same amount of military precision, but the reality is this is pretty much their version of our Scottish Cup! And if any of you saw the debacle that was the `DRAW` for the next round of the Scottish Cup it`s safe to say there is absolutely no parallels what so ever.
If you`re not sure what I`m talking about then click the link below and you`ll see it`s pretty obvious the Scottish Football Association couldn`t organise the proverbial in a brewery if they had a box of Viagra and a weak bladder. In fact I`d go as far to say that the SFA couldn`t organise SFA!
Click here to watch.
So while Stateside the halftime entertainment at the Superbowl was Coldplay, Beyonce and Bruno Mars the best the fans turning up at a Scottish Cup final at Hampden can hope to keep them going at halftime is Cold Pies, Bovril and a Bottle o`Barrs! And never mind the Cheerleaders, the only sight a Scottish Football fan wants to see is the `Beer Feeders'.
It wasn`t just the SFA that made some bad decisions last weekend either. In the sporting shadows of the Superbowl the PGA Tour were in action at the Phoenix Open. This event is currently sponsored by a company called Waste Management…….wonder if they`ve ever thought of endorsing the SFA!?
Anyway, this is another event that highlights the `bigger is better` philosophy of the Yanks. The course set in Scottsdale in the Arizona Desert seems like most other Tour Courses until you get to the 16th Tee. An unassuming Par 3 that can play anything from 118 to 180 Yards, that is until they build a 20, 000 seater stadium that frames the entire hole. And these seats aren`t exactly filled with the R&A`s finest or the Patrons of Augusta!
No, these spectators wouldn`t be out of place at the Superbowl Final, or a Slipknot Concert for that matter! But the players love it, and actively encourage it. It`s fun to see (click here to see) and the event organisers also had a bit of fun there last weekend as well. They set up a club testing robot and challenged it to see if it could claim a Hole-In-One! Click here to see how it did.
But it was the next Hole (the 17th) that this year`s tournament will be remembered for. Again, on paper it looks fairly innocuous. A driveable Par 4 of only 332 Yards. Standing on the Tee with only 2 holes to play was the man in form so far this year, Rickie Fowler. He held a 2 stroke lead over Hideki Matsuyama. But at that moment something happened. Perhaps it was the first time that Rickie`s head actually got bigger than his oversized cap or maybe the elastic on his `Joggy Bottoms` got too tight, but the upshot was he made a poor decision of course management. The Hole was temping players to go for it in 1, the main danger lurked left and long in the form of water. So it was imperative to stay dry. Fowler chose to take the driver and guess what!? Yip, he ended in a watery grave when his good tee shot ran through the green and into the hazard. `Water mistake-a to make-a!`
Matsuyamas birdie to Fowlers bogey tied things up after 72 Holes so it was into a playoff. And guess what, that Playoff eventually brought the pair back to the 17th Hole again. Did Rickie learn from his previous error? Well, yes and no. He did change his club but not his tactics. A fairway wood was chosen but it was still with the intention to go for the Green. The outcome was similar in that he found the drink again and essentially handed the title to Matsuyama.
If we mere mortals can learn anything from this it shows that sometimes simply bad shot selection can be just as destructive as bad shot execution. Just because it is a shot you know you can MAKE, is it the shot you should TAKE?
This is something I see many a Handicap Golfer doing that screws up their score just as much as poor execution. None more so than around the greens. The player hits a beautifully struck chip with their most lofted sand wedge which lands only a few feet from the pin, having flown 20 feet past the edge of the green, then reality hits home like a Quarterback being Sacked by the onrushing Centre (or Center if we`re going all-American) that they aren`t Phil Mickelson and can`t stop the ball on a sixpence (Dime!?). Then it bounds on some 25 feet past the hole. Then frustrated that it isn`t as close as they would like charge the first putt by, then miss the return. All that triggered by poor shot choice, not necessarily poor execution.
Then there are the scenarios where golfers receiving strokes at holes waste them by hitting unnecessary Clubs from the Tee. Par 4`s where they can`t reach in regulation 2 shots anyway, and they blast away with the driver and put their first shot in trouble. Or, as I`ve witnessed (using our Par 5 4th as an example) players hitting a Driver from the Tee out of bounds, a Provisional or 2nd Drive in to play, then a mid/short iron to lay up short of the water because they know they can`t carry the pond in any case from where their Drive finished!
Throw away `Pride` not strokes in these situations. Hit your trusty hybrid, iron or fairway wood and put the ball in play. Remember there are probably only 3 people that will know what Club you used (and there`s a good chance that at least 2 of them don`t care what you hit either!) But everyone can see what you scored so substitute `Bravado` with `Brains` - You`ll score better! Regardless how much advances in technology make the ball go further this game will never be measured by "Who Hits It Longest" but by "Who Hits It Least!"
Over in the UAE the European Tour completed the third leg (no Rolf Harris jokes!) of its desert Swing with the Dubai Desert Classic. There was no mental meltdowns to report in this event. Quite the opposite actually. It was a fair haired Englishman, Danny, who proved he wouldn`t Willet in the blistering heat and setting sun. (WARNING! - You realise I`m going to try and get as many uses out of his surname as possible in this section!) Having watched fellow Englishman, Andy Sullivan, hole a 12 footer on the final hole to tie his score Danny was faced with a 15 foot putt to win the title. As the ball rolled towards the hole the crowd were thinking "Willet go in?", as it got closer it almost seemed like Danny himself was trying to `Willett` in! When it did drop he punched the air in triumph, and was clearly delighted! But don`t take my word for it.
Willet him tell you himself; "You'd love to win by five or six every time you win, but when you win in that fashion, it does feel that little bit extra special".
It`s a Special Time again this weekend and landmark occasion for me. It will be my first Valentine`s Day since moving to the North East that I won`t have to go to the Singles Night at the Bingo! Yes, I can happily report that my need for all the best that Aberdeen`s Online Dating had to offer is no more. So I can wave goodbye to Ewe-Harmony, Quineder and PlentyOfFleece and turn my attention to the art of romance.
It`s a subject I`ve studied in great depth and I`ve learned many important details along the way. None more so than those described by King Jaffe Joffer from Coming To America.
The Queen: "When I met your father, I was terrified. I was so nervous, I became nauseous. But over the years, I have grown to love your father very much."
King Jaffe Joffer: "You see, my son, there's a fine line between love and nausea!"
A mantra that I live by to this day!
Another subject that gives me a touch of nausea from time to time is `Match & Handicap`! On Monday myself and some of the M&H Committee attended a SGU Roadshow which covered the "CONGU Unified Handicapping Changes 2016"
There were several areas covered but the ones pertinent to Portlethen for this year were:
4Ball Better-Ball Handicapping
9 Hole Qualifying Competitions
Supplementary Scores
Cat 4 Scores (Men) Included In CSS Calculation
I have already covered the 4BBB Handicapping in an earlier Newsletter, but just to reiterate that this has gone from 75% allocation to 90% of the handicap differential. The 9 Hole Qualifying Competitions are something that we can look at introducing now we have attained a 9 Hole Standard Scratch rating. Opportunities in the Fixture List to run these are being looked into.
Supplementary Scores are not a new thing here at Portlethen and proved a popular option for people to play Handicap Cards when they couldn`t make the Competitions. However there have been a few additions to their mechanics. Perhaps the most significant one is you can now also do a 9 Hole Supplementary Score which will count towards your Handicap. Another addition now allows players who are Members of Multiple Clubs to play Supplementary Scores at their `Away` Clubs and report them back to their `Home` Club. But these are only accepted if the player has followed the Away Clubs Supplementary Score Sign In procedure.
Lastly, and probably most significantly, the inclusion of all Category 4 scores in the calculation of the CSS (Competition Standard Scratch) - This already happens in the Ladies CSS Calculations. This means the scores returned by Handicaps 19-28 will be used to calculate the CSS for that days Competition. It will be interesting to see the effect that has on our CSS from week to week and we will be comparing them to similar Competitions from previous years.
Something that is constantly monitored is the Course Condition and playability and I know last weekend proved to be extremely frustrating. Despite it appearing to be a pleasant day the course on Saturday was kept Closed. With approximately 80 golfers due to play that day there was no one more disappointed than me that we would have no play that day, given that I had scheduled my Clearance promotion for that weekend. However, it is important that the playability of the course isn`t ill-judged by the overhead weather and is based on the ground conditions.
On Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday of this week we had arguably the nicest, warmest, driest weather we have had all year. Yes, there had been a little bit of overnight rain but in the grand scheme of things it was the driest spell we have had. With that in mind I took the chance to walk some of the course to highlight the plight of the Greenstaff right now. With play being restricted to the semi rough I took some photos & video as I walked and you can see that even after a 3 day dry spell casual water is lurking in many places just beneath the surface.
The water table is particularly high just now and it hasn`t been given enough respite to dry or disappear, meaning that it really doesn`t take much for the ground to become waterlogged (not necessarily visible surface water).
On last Friday afternoon/evening/night there was a rainfall of 7mm, which perhaps doesn't sound much but when you add that to an already wet course it very quickly becomes saturated. This was the problem on Saturday morning. It stayed dry that day which allowed the course to recover sufficiently (but not dry out!) to get open on the Sunday. The Greenstaff really do endeavour to get and keep the course open for play as much as possible. When it is it`s in extremely good condition with the greens in particular receiving some excellent feedback. With the season just around the corner we don`t really want to jeopardise that either.
The wet ground doesn`t just stop the golfers getting out. When it`s too wet the Greenstaff self-impose bans on their machinery too. But when conditions improve they get out to do what they can to improve the course. To help the drainage they were able to get the holes punched in the fairways and semi. All the Tees, Fairways and Greens were cut with the greens getting rolled as well.
Click here to see the video.
As I mentioned last week was my DEAL or NO DEAL - "Make Me An Offer" Weekend. I think it`s safe to say that if there was ever a famous Boxer themed fancy dress party having witnessed some of your bartering prowess a few of you could definitely go as Marvellous Marvin Hagler! Thanks again to everyone who supported my promotion. There were many great bargains given away.
And my generosity doesn`t end there. There are still plenty Clearance items left in store but now there is also a chance to get something absolutely FREE!
Yes, you read it correctly! Now in store I`m giving you the opportunity to get your 7 Iron Re-Gripped with any Grip in our range 100% FREE! And if we can we`ll do it right there and then while you wait.
There has been even more of the new product arriving. This week we took delivery of our new Trial & Fitting Clubs from Titleist.
So if you simply want to test and trial the new Titleist AP-1 716 & AP-2 716 Irons we have the full sets ready to take onto the course or if you want to be precisely fitted to the optimum set for you then we also have the Fitting components for The AP-1, AP-2 & CB Models. So if you want to experience the same feel as Jordan Spieth then come try these fantastic new Clubs. We will be shortly receiving the new Titleist Vokey SM6 Wedge Fitting System as well.
The short game is so important and so is getting the correct wedges for your game. On top of the Vokey Wedge Fitting System I have also invested in the Cleveland Wedge Fitting System too. Roger Cleveland was basically the pioneer in wedge design. So much so that his designs have been sought after by the likes of Callaway. Now with the Cleveland Wedge Fitting System we can let you try various head, loft & bounce combinations whilst also looking at a variety of shaft types and spec options.
Why not book your Wedge Fitting or Trial today - Click Here
I`ll start with an apology!
I'm going to go back to the rule that was featured in last week`s blog. Basically the question was "What happens when your ball is moved by the wind?" - Well what I initially wrote was in fact just a load of wind!!!
I applied rule 18.1 - Ball at rest moved by an outside agency and explained the procedure but this was the wrong rule because:
In the Decisions on the Rules of Golf book it states that wind is not an outside agency and if wind causes your ball to move, you should play the ball from its new position.
If the wind blows the ball into the hole, the player would be deemed to have holed out with his last stroke. If it happens to roll off farther from the hole, or even off the green into a hazard, that's just tough luck.
This Wednesday the Winter Alliance was back at Newburgh and yet again on winter greens! Not that I have anything against Newburgh but I think I have played there enough this year, especially on winter greens!
I actually played pretty well but I couldn't help but think it wasn't going to be my day after lipping out 4 times in the first 5 holes!! Even so I managed to get a couple of birdies and was on for a top 5 finish at least, before making a triple bogey 7 on the 14th due to losing a ball and playing 3 off the tee. Nevertheless, it was a nice sunny day and I can look forward to not playing there again anytime soon!
Next week's fixture is at Spey Bay which I have never player but have only heard good things so I'm looking forward to it.
