It`s time to Baltusrol the dice...

 

The 4th and last Major of the Year gets underway this week……..but who`s going to win.? Does anyone 'Wanamaker' a prediction?

The current crop of the World`s top Tour Players has as much quantity as it does quality these days that it is pretty hard to say with any great certainty 'who will win' on any given week, but I liked the way the European Tour Website methodically whittled down the 156 strong field to give you the 3 players that statistically have a chance this week.

It was all based around the recent history of the USPGA:

• Firstly, each and every winner of the USPGA in the last ten years were aged between 23 and 37 - This ruled out 46 players aged 38 or above which includes Henrik Stenson, Phil Mickelson and Lee Westwood. 
• Secondly, nine of the last ten victors had already won in the season leading up to their USPGA win - That got rid of another 67 players without a victory to their name in 2016 including the likes of Justin Rose, Graeme McDowell and Martin Kaymer.
• Then nine of the last ten winners had registered at least one top ten finish in their two previous worldwide starts before winning the USPGA - Which loses another 28 players without a top ten in their last two starts which isn`t good news for Messrs Jason Day, Chris Wood and Bubba Watson 
• Each of the last ten winners had also played at least ten Major Championships before triumphing at the USPGA - So that`s tatties for a further five players. 
• Now we are down to only 10 potential winners. Eight of the last ten winners ranked inside the top 25 in the Official World Golf Ranking when they prevailed - Which is not good news for Aaron Baddeley and Alex Noren. 
• But when you consider that seven of the last ten winners having previously registered a top ten finish at the USPGA prior to their win. - That`s 'night night' for Brand Snedeker and Charl Schwartzel. 
• Then there were 6.. However, seven of the last ten winners had registered at least one top ten finish in the other three Majors in the same year as their US PGA victory - Now Adam Scott and Rickie fall Fowl. 
• The final 4 but, seven of the last ten winners had two or more finishes inside the top 20 in the year's Major Championships before winning the USPGA - Not good news for Jordan Spieth 
• Which means (according to the European Tour article I read) that the 2016 USPGA Winner will come from the trio of Sergio Garcia, Dustin Johnson or Rory McIlroy..

"Place Your Bets"

But I`ve got my own statistical threesome that might make better reading for a certain Henrik Stenson.

In the last 40 years there have only been 3 players who, having won the Open, followed it up with victory in the USPGA Championship. Any guesses?

Padraig Harrington (2008), Nick Price (1994) and Tiger Woods (2000 & 2006). No surprise to read that if there was a record then Tiger did it twice as well. Another double dazzler that Tiger can put his name to is that he is also the only player in the last 40 years to successfully defend the USPGA title......and guess what........yip, he did that twice too. (1999 & 2000 - 2006 & 2007)

Unfortunately he won`t be featuring in this year`s tournament, but when you start looking at results and statistics like these you realise, not only was he the best in the world, but how all powerful and dominant he was back in the day. Perhaps that should provide some much needed inspiration for the current World Number 1, Jason, to go out as defending Champion and 'seize the Day'

One thing's for sure, come Sunday night at Baltusrol, the USPGA will have their 2016 Champion and then we will know if the statistish…statistisho…statistician…..the guys that make up all the stats. were right or not.

 

I`m also pleased to say that we will also definitely have a USPGA Winner come Sunday night too. Namely the winner of my Sweepstake.

Despite it coming only 1 week after the Open Championship Sweepstake, we managed to sell all the squares last weekend, so thank you all for the support. In fact the only thing that filled up quicker than the Sweepstake Sheet (jeez, that's almost as difficult as saying statistish…statistisho…statistician…..ACHT, the guys that make up all the stats)…….yes, the only thing that filled up quicker than that last week was the fairways, greens, bunkers and holes following another day of dandy downpours. 

Click here to check out the video of the course in MID JULY only a few hours after we arrived at the Shop in weather like this.


 

It was a battle of wills, wits, endurance and the elements for some of the Portlethen Members last week as 8 of our elite players took part in the Scottish Amateur Matchplay Championship which was being held at nearby Royal Aberdeen, with 5 making it through the first round.

2 more progressed through rounds 2 and 3, and currently we have 1 (Ben Murray) still flying the Portlethen Flag as he attempts to get to the Quarter Finals.




There were good performances on home soil from our Members too. 

Last Wednesday was only a Walk on Medal Day which had been interrupted badly by overnight flooding that the huge electrical storm had brought with it. There were more suspensions of play because of thunderbolt & lightning (very, very frightening me…GALILEO.) That said the reduced field did get very scoreable conditions when they venture out.

Top of the pile was Greg Donaldson who scored 66 to win Division 1. I`m going to take a chunk of the credit because in a 5 minute chat on the Putting Green, I pointed out a little flaw in Greg`s stroke. A few putts using my String Line Putting Guide and he started rolling them in, which (in his words not mine) continued on to the course. In fact there were 3 people who have had putting lessons recently that made it into the featured names (and more importantly…THE MONEY) this week.

Greg Smart played in the last group of the day and posted one of the best rounds. His 68 was good enough to top Division 2. In Division 3 Ian Elmslie continued his good run of form and finance with a 70 to scoop 1st place.

Division 1 
1st - Greg Donaldson - 72 (6) - 66, 2nd = Malcolm Thomson - 72 (4) - 68, 2nd = Marc Duguid - 77(9) - 68 

Division 2 
1st - Greg Smart - 80 (12) - 68, 2nd - Craig Samson - 81 (12) - 69, 3rd - Tony Storey - 83 (13) - 70

Division 3 
1st - Ian Elmslie - 88 (18) - 70, 2nd - Charlie Rennie - 94 (22) - 72, 3rd - Brian Kiloh - 89 (16) - 73

  

   

   

Saturday was the Galvin Cup/Shield 2nd Round.

The Cup is awarded to the player with the best 2 Round Nett Total, while the Shield is given to the player with the best 2 Round Scratch Total. 

With scores of 69 & 73 David Ferguson won the Nett Competition. In the Scratch it was Keith Horne with rounds of 73 & 76 who won. 

                 

The standalone Competition on Saturday saw Bob Inkster top Division 1 with an equal best of the day 68. Mark Wallace was the top man in Division 2 with a 69, and in Division 3 it was Steve Crawford with the other 68 of the day that topped Division 3. 

Division 1 
1st - Bob Inkster - 74 (6) - 68, 2nd = Jack Douglas - 75 (5) - 70, 2nd = Cameron Grant - 72 (2) - 70 

Division 2 
1st - Mark Wallace - 84 (15) - 69, 2nd - Ryan Sheikh - 82 (12) - 70, 3rd - Mike Cameron - 84 (13) - 71 

Division 3 
1st - Steve Crawford - 92 (24) - 68, 2nd - John Cormack - 86(16) - 70, 3rd - Sandy Duff - 88 (17) - 71 

   

   

  

 

I`m going to single out Bob Inkster this week not only because I was really pleased to see him respond so quickly to the lesson we just had last Monday (with 2 Handicap Reductions in 4 days and a top placed money finish), but also the improvement to his performance his newly fitted TaylorMade M2 Irons have made.

Bob had taken the plunge and treated himself to new irons which not only gave him an extra club of distance but, due to their forgiveness and the addition of a 4 hybrid to replace the 4 iron, made it much easier for him to hit. So, happy with his iron play improvement Bob came to me for a lesson to look specifically at his driving. Missing fairways was costing Bob the chance to hit his better iron shots to the green.

With any lesson, I always get my pupils to warm up and work up to the type of Club/Shot we are focussing on. Although it was a Driving issue Bob wanted to improve, it was noticeable to me that with his swing shape and characteristics the shot shape and flaws were there throughout, but it was the Driver that would show up these flaws the most.

In a nutshell, Bob's swing had too much lateral movement (a slide not a turn) on the forward swing largely because his stance was too wide a stance and ball too far forward. This created too narrow an arc, too steep an attack and forced his club to swing across the line of ball/target. With an iron (where we need to hit down anyway) you can squeeze the ball out reasonably straight with this type of movement. But with a driver's longer shaft and lower loft combination, it will always encourage too much curve. Using a combination of Video Analysis to highlight the players Swing Characteristics and the Launch Monitor with Head Measuring Technology, I was able to paint a clear picture of what Bob was doing and how it caused the ball to do what it was doing. 

  

We worked hard on getting comfortable with the new set up position (Narrower Stance, Ball slightly further back) and used that to encourage a more rotational body movement which allowed the club to also rotate more around the body. This helped change the line of swing, the attack on the ball and clubface movement through impact.

Sometimes pictures paint a thousand words and you can see the type of impact we had on Bob`s results. At a glance you can see how Bob`s club originally moved through impact and the resultant shot shape (left) and how that improved on the right.

But here is the interesting thing. With less Clubhead Speed we managed to gain Bob nearly 30 Yards more CARRY Distance (with the improved trajectory there was also the potential for even more gain in the way of rollout).

Before: 
Club Speed = 98mph 
Ball Speed = 139mph 
Carry Distance = 207yds 

After: 
Club Speed = 97mph 
Ball Speed = 141mph 
Carry Distance = 233yds

Before

After

Bob took his new swing that he was given on the Monday played on the Wednesday & the Saturday and reduced his handicap by 1 full stroke (6.1 to 5.1).


  

Why not take advantage of my latest Lesson Offer

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Lesson 1 - Full Swing Analysis 
Lesson 2 - Pitching & Chipping 
Lesson 3 - Bunkers 
Lesson 4 - Putting 

ONLY £120 . (That`s A £20 Saving)**

**Top Up Lessons will be given at the equivalent reduced individual price. 

Everyone who signs up for this Package will have their handicap progress recorded until the end of September (Lessons are recommended to be taken over the maximum of 2 week intervals, and are only Valid until the end of this period).

The Player who achieves the BIGGEST PERCENTAGE IMPROVEMENT on their Handicap will be crowned my "GAME IMPROVEMENT CHAMPION" and receive a Commemorative Sweater, Certificate and an All-Expenses Paid Away Golf Day with myself. 

Note - If the Promotion attracts enough interest I will offer 2 Runners-Up Prizes to join the All-Expenses Paid Away Golf Day with myself.

That lasting improvement to your Golf Game is just one Click away. Book your first session up today. 

It was all about Improvement with the Kids last week as Junior Summer Camp got into full swing (and some shortgame too)

Terry and I ran the Summer Camp in conjunction with the Club Golf Programme.

ClubGolf Camps offer a terrific introduction at an affordable rate for children who are new to golf. It is also a chance for those already involved in the game to further their skills through a week-long programme of fun activities, delivered by qualified coaches.

The main thing is we want the young players to have fun. The framework of the camp programme each day supports the progression of the youngsters with the week finishing on a high with a fun competition day, ensuring each junior golfer leaves having had a positive golfing experience.

Each year the summer camp has a different theme. This year it was the Olympics in Rio. The kids were split into 3 teams - picking a country and winning medals for their country through fun golf activities. After each day the medals table was updated and in the end there was only 4 medals separating top and bottom. The kids would start each day with some warm up games which are relevant to the physical side of golf such as: co-ordination, balance, sequencing and rhythm & timing. These worked great as it beats any boring warm up stretches and gets the kids going while improving the fundamental movement skills that are so crucial to golf.

Like I say, the most important thing is for every player to have fun and enjoy it, and that they did while also being very competitive as you can imagine. One of the things we were most impressed was apart from their golfing skills was the etiquette and honesty they displayed. A lot of these kids play football where shouting or arguing with the referee is normal and they see players on tv diving for a penalty. But golf is an honest sport which I was pleased they learnt very quickly. And at the end of it they all shook hands and congratulated each other on their efforts.

On Saturday I was back up the hill with the Development Gang. We didn't have as many kids up this week, some have been golfed out from the camp and a lot of others on holiday. This gave me a chance to do something different and have more one on one time with them. I decided to work on balance and get them to stand inside the hoops and stay there holding their finish. The session went better than I had ever expected with everyone grasping the idea of why they're doing this and seeing much better results.


Junior Comp Results 

Again we saw some very impressive scoring in the medals throughout the summer holidays. Our two top juniors have also returned from holidays so I expect to see them high up that leaderboard too.

Thursday - Summer Eclectic 

1st - Daniel Critchard - 84(26) - 58, 2nd - Ritchie Smart - 87(19) - 68, 3rd - Nicholas Critchard - 111(39) - 72 

Saturday - Junior Stableford 

1st - Ritchie Smart - 40 Points, 2nd - Brandon Simpson - 37 Points, 3rd - Louise Cook - 32 Points




Holiday time meant many of our Ladies went off on their travels with a long weekend away up north. 

A group of 16 played Speyside, Elgin & Moray over the 3 days with the rounds at Elgin and Moray being their Ladies Opens. 

Sarah Ritchie and Jenny Selbie managed to fly the flag for Portlethen as they finished 3rd and 4th in the Prizes at Moray. I have it on good authority that the whole group celebrated that success EXTREMELY well that night…..and the night before. I didn`t realise the Ladies were clairvoyant as well as talented.. 

Meanwhile back at the ranch there were a handful of ladies who stayed and played the Saturday Medal.

Division 1 
1st - Mary Kelman - 99 (18) - 81, 2nd - Heather McCabe - 108 (13) - 95 

Division 2 
1st - Denise Robertson - 98 (21) - 77, 2nd - Morag Cammack - 112 (27) - 85, 3rd - M Kennedy - 132- (36) - 96