I know that some weeks you probably read this and think "what on earth is he babbling about!?", and I can`t lie, there are times when I stare blankly at the computer screen in the vein hope that words will just start to appear in front of me before the big white blur starts to shape shift into that kaleidoscope of colours like between scenes in a Scooby-Doo cartoon! But every now and again the theme for the week is so obvious that it almost starts to write itself!

So it goes without saying that this week`s theme was Taylor-Made for this week`s Newsletter!

But the dilemma is still "where do I start!?" Well what better place than the sunny scenes from the Golden Coast`s golden Course, Pebble Beach. It was there that many of you might have heard an unfamiliar name in the golfing circles, Vaughn Taylor. For the more avid golf fan, watcher of the PGA Tour or Ryder Cup boffin it will be a name that triggered the "Oh yeah! Whatever happened to him!?" switch in your brain.

In 2006 Vaughn Taylor was part of the history making US Ryder Cup Team. But it was history and records for all the wrong reasons. That year saw the Ryder Cup played in Ireland for the first time ever, at The K-Club. A venue which became even more poignant when an emotional Darren Clarke was encouraged to play following the death of his wife earlier that year. Whether that was the catalyst for some inspired European play that week or whether there was just such a gulf in ability between the sides at that point in time the fact of the matter was the Europeans romped to an 18 ½ - 9 ½ victory! Then largest winning margin on home soil for the Europeans, and therefore the largest defeat on away soil ever for the Americans. Vaughn Taylor was one of four Rookies on the Team that year along with JJ Henry, Brett Wetterich and Zach Johnson. He played 2 games, managed only half a point from his foursomes match whilst partnering Chad Campbell, and the world had heard very little of himself since. In saying that the 4 seasons following that Ryder Cup appearance he still managed to earn over a million dollars in prize money every year but that was without getting anywhere near the winners enclosure, in fact when you consider he only had 17 Top 10`s in 114 events it`s safe to say there are lots of wealthy also-rans on the PGA Tour.

However it was the start of Vaughn`s slide down the rankings. 2011 to 2015 proved much more difficult so much so that 39 Year Old Augusta resident was starting another season without a Tour Card this year, he was even starting another season without a Tour BAG!! Instead the twice PGA Tour Winner and former Ryder Cupper was resigned to slinging his spanners in a double strap carry bag! And spanners they were compared to the Aladdins Cave of shiney new products that are available to most Tour Pros. Despite donning the latest FaM1ly emblazoned cap from TaylorMade, Vaughn was still using a 4 year old driver, 3 year old woods and 2 year old irons! I`m pretty sure though that now that Taylors made it again that TaylorMade will welcome him into their FaM1ly with open arms again and get some up to date tailor made TayorMade made for Taylor!

On the eve of the AT & T Pro-Am at Pebble Beach (which is basically a rich man`s Dunhill Links Championship!!) Vaughn Taylor was `first alternate` (See Translation: he was a reserve) and Carlton from the Fresh Prince of Bel-Air had more chance of playing that week than him! But if there is a God then he must have been on holiday in Monterey, California because when the Swede, Carl Petterson didn`t turnip it meant it was game Vaughn for Taylor!

Any tournament where your scores get better every round means you are only moving in one direction (no, not the boy band this time!!) and if you were to watch the VT of VT then you would see from Round 1 he followed an opening 70 with rounds of 68, 67 and finished with a 65. That posted a Clubhouse lead that only a handful of players could match. The player that got closest to him was Phil Mickelson who left himself with a `Paul Daniels` at the last to tie. (That`s a tricky wee 5 footer in case you were wondering!) He missed and his chances of victory in a playoff vanished quicker than the wonderful Debbie Magee!

Vaughn Taylor was back in the winner`s circle! The American media got another `Standbag Cinderella!` story and to quote The Fresh Prince Of Bel-Air "his life got turned, flipped upside down!" Not only does this victory mean he now has full playing rights for this year and his card secured for next season, but he also now gets to go to play in the US Masters right in his back yard at Augusta. As the former governor of California, Arnie Schwarzenegger, might say `derz only Vaughn direction his career is going in now!` (did you try and do the accent?)

It shows you how quickly fortunes can change for people, and there`s no doubt that the turnaround in fortunes for Vaughn has been quick, but from the celebrations of a swift Taylor to more success for Taylor Swift! The Country/Pop Supertwiglet picked up her second Grammy for Album of the Year, but given that it was titled 1989 was it maybe just an award for "Album of A Year!"? Anyway, when I hear a Country & Western singer say they are going to pick up their Grammy I instantly assume they mean they are just going to give their mums dads wife a lift!

Some of you may remember that when Taylor Swift previously won a Grammy award that her acceptance speech was rudely gate crashed by the man that makes Donald Trump look like Dr Brian Cox, Kanye West! Mr West has also hit the headlines this week when he unashamedly and uber-foolishly asked Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, for a $1 Billion dollar investment into `Kanye West Ideas`….by Tweeting him! Pretty much in one fell swoop shows that your `ideas` are pretty stupid if you can`t see that messaging the owner of a Social Media powerhouse by using their nearest rivals product is a bad idea! I`m sure Zuckerberg was thinking "Pfft, Kanye West…the cheek of that man!"

Apparently Kanye West is $53 Million Dollars in debt!? How did that happen? I thought by the looks of it he must have been stashing plenty away in the his wife`s back pockets! Wouldn`t it be ironic if it turned out she was just a Goldigger!! Or maybe to try and Keep IN with the Kardashians Kanye offered to give the money for all of Bruce Jenners, ahem, re-wiring but made the mistake of agreeing that it was only going to be a loan on a gentleman`s handshake!?

And finally on bad decisions I`m back to my Taylor theme and on Monday the SPL Spotlight turned to the Caledonian Stadium, Inverness to see if Aberdeen could keep the nipping at the heels of Celtic in the title race. It found it quite ironic that thanks to the incompetence of a man named Willie Collum the dandy Dons have lost a lot of their title impetus! Aberdeen seem to blow hot and cold these days but it was the inconsistency of the whistler Willie, who blew when he shouldn`t have done then didn`t blow when he could have that had a huge bearing on this result, but blame can`t be purely laid at the feet of this Collum because it was pretty obvious for anyone watching that virtually all 3 of the Caley goals involved Aberdeen`s not-so-swift Taylor making a complete `Ash of it! But still it allows me to use one of my favourite lines again when I can happily say that `Super Caley went ballistic, Taylor was atrocious!`

Refereeing decisions brings me nicely back to the golfing world (you`ll be glad to hear) Someone else who was back in the winner`s circle last weekend was everyone`s favourite leather faced German , Bernhard Langer. As all of you know Bernhard was someone who has had much success using the long handled putter, and as you might now have guessed this little section is focussing once again on the head thump that is the new Anchoring Ruling.

Bernhard won the Chubb at the weekend and also seems to have found the key to overcoming the new Anchoring Legislation. But in my opinion it just highlights again the absurdity and pointlessness of the ruling. When broom handle putters first came on the scene there was a lot of opposition to them however neither the length or how they were used was ruled against so they became a fixture of the game for many, many years. Often looked upon as the last resort when you're putting got so bad, or a means to extend careers (for Professionals) or enjoyment that the conventional method might otherwise have ended.

But slowly a new batch of player emerged! Young Professionals who used long putters or putters anchored to their body from day one, and that was the only style of putting they knew. More and more players turned to that style, and soon these players were not just prolonging careers but they were winning….regularly! Then the break through that no one thought would happen…….these anchored putting styles started to win Major Championships! Webb Simpson, Keegan Bradley, Ernie Els and Adam Scott winning meant there had been a Grand Slam of Major victories using the Anchored method of putting!

NOW the governing bodies felt the need to intervene! And what did they come up with? Essentially a convoluted minefield of guide-ish lines that are open to interpretation! Langer has interpreted them in his way and it is deemed legal but to the naked eye he hasn`t really changed anything. It`s not like Adam Scott or Ernie Els who have obviously chosen to try the shorter, conventional length putter again. No, Langer is doing exactly what he did, with the same length putter he`s always used. He`s actually still using the exact same stroke as before during practice and practice strokes. So he`s practicing anchored, he`s practice stroking anchored, and even setting up to his ball during rounds anchored! All he does is prior to him starting his stroke he lifts his hand and forearm slightly off his body/chest so it is no longer touching (anchored) and then putts. If you want a better illustration of what I mean watch the first 5 minutes or so of this Video link below.

These are only my opinions but I really think the anchoring changes they have introduced are pointless. The time to do something about this was probably back in the early 80`s when they became prevalent. Here`s a link to an interesting Timeline of the Anchored putter.

You`ll always get people who putt better than others, much like you`ll always get golfers who hit it further than others and golfers who hit it straighter than others, so for me an aspect of the game that I feel awards a bigger, unfair performance advantage is wedges that create so much spin on a ball that you can stop the ball dead from the rough better than someone hitting a crisply struck mid iron from the fairway! The `Bomb & Gouge` style of play has definitely removed a lot of the skill that golf should be about and shifted the potential of winning/competing week in week out on Tour heavily in the favour of the longer hitters.

These are just my thoughts! I`d love to hear yours - Why not join the discussion here. 

 

I guess making this game easier is really what it`s all about!

That`s definitely where I come in. If you`ve ever questioned the benefit of seeking a Professionals help and advice maybe this quote below tells you everything you need to know on that subject! 

Whilst the regular course closures and un-inspiring weather might be making you think otherwise it is getting to the time of year where you really should be starting to get yourself, your game and your equipment ready for the season ahead. So all my Services are geared towards getting you primed and ready to do battle.

The best way to evaluate all the aspects I`ve mentioned above is to come and get a Pre-Season Performance Analysis. One session will allow us to discuss your goals for the season, the aspects of your play that need improved, look at the suitability of your equipment and give you an overview of the areas of your technique that can be improved.

30 Minute Session - £30 
45 Minute Session - £35
60 Minute Session - £40

Why not give yourself the best chance to make this your best season by booking in today - Click here

We in the Shop certainly know that the Season is just around the corner as the boxes are coming through the front door faster than the Christmas Conveyor belt at Amazon! This week saw delivery of more Golf Bags from both Titleist & PING and also the new PING G Series Woods, Putters & Wedges.

So again, why not pop down for a Trial or a Fitting and see what the latest technology properly matched to your swing can do to improve your performance. 
Book a Fitting here.

Even the simplest thing like renewing your winter neglected grips can rejuvenate the playability of your Clubs. Don`t underestimate the difference a new, soft, tacky grip can make to how a club can handle and perform. You`ll be amazed at how having to hold on for dear life to a cold, shiney, worn grip can affect your clubhead speed and swing fluency.

If you`re not convinced then why not take advantage of my current Grip offer to see for yourself!

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. It may be that you are curious to see what a different style or size of grip might do for you. We had a Member in last week who was considering trying a thicker grip as his hands were getting a little weaker, so he took advantage of the FREE Grip so he could try and see before he made a big financial mistake.

This last week we have again been plagued with chalk and cheese weather. Frosty golf on Saturday was swiftly hit on the head with a dumping of snow on Sunday! This hung around until Tuesday evening but only left thanks to the overnight rain which also keep the Course closed due to flooding. We finally got some play on Thursday. Fingers crossed we get a good weekend and the opportunity to get the Winter Leagues finished on schedule (although quite a few weeks have had to be abandoned). 


 

 

 

This week I have no golf of my own to report on as I've been unlucky enough to be picked for Jury Duty all week! This means I missed the winter alliance fixture at Spey Bay which went ahead and was on Summer greens! Next week is at Montrose and hopefully I will be free from Jury Duty by then as these things seem to take forever! Apart from missing my once a week round, it's an unfortunate time to be doing this jury service when I have a 2,000 word assignment to submit on Sunday!

This assignment is on the Personal and Career Development side of the course where we are asked to write a portfolio of our strengths and competences and then to make a speculative approach to our choice of an organisation in an attempt to acquire a position.

I have decided to approach a golf academy for a teaching job (for my Assignment! I`m not planning on leaving!), more specifically concentrating on Junior coaching. I felt this the most suitable position for me to write a portfolio having done similar things in my current role at Portlethen.