And the award for the World`s Worst Kept Secret isssssssss..

 

Yes, hearing Kaymer & Westwood would be Ryder Cup Wildcards was about as surprising as finding out Ant & Dec will be hosting…..well, anything really. With 12 previous Ryder Cup appearances between them, both having shown enough form this season to be on the periphery of Automatic Qualification, and the confirmed European Team already boasting 5 Rookies it was pretty much a shoe in that Westwood & Kaymer would be given the nod by Captain Clarke.

But the debate surrounding who would grab the final "Golden Ticket" or Wilder Card seemed to grow faster than Augustas Gloop's blood sugar level. Fortunately it was only two types of debates and not type 2 diabetes we had to deal with. These centred largely around whether the European Team could manage if they selected another 'In Form' Rookie or perhaps did they need more 'been there, done that' experience?
Names in the frame ranged from Luke Donald, Graeme McDowall and Francesco Molinari to Russell Knox, Soren Kjeldson and Thorbjorn Olsen. But if Darren Clarke`s final Wildcard was him choosing a Chocolate then he clearly likes Belgian. Thomas Pieters became the 2nd Belgian to play in the Ryder Cup. The first was Nicolas Colsaerts in 2012, and 24 Year Old Thomas is a chunk off the same block and certainly from the same mould as his fellow countryman. A swing that's silky smooth, packed with power and produces birdies for fun.

His Ryder Cup dreams will be realised in Hazeltine in a 4 weeks time, but that opportunity was 100% 'Made in Denmark'. Not only did he endure the first 2 rounds under the microscope of playing with Darren Clarke, but he produced the form and winning burst worthy of closing out any Ryder Cup match to secure last week`s European Tour Title. His 3 birdie finish claimed the 'Made in Denmark' Championship and tipped the scales of the 'Wild Pic`n`Mix' in his favour.

So, Darren Clark has used up his selection box. The hot Topic now is will they be a bunch of Miniature Heroes able to walk down Quality Street? I think that`ll depend on whether the Captain is a good Matchmaker, however this is not going to be a Picnic and it would Kinder Surprise me if the Americans didn`t finally wake up to smell the Roses? I bet you a Dime that they are Bounty pull our Snickers down this time and are the ones having all the Celebrations.

I know what you`re thinking. `For Pieters sake when will these sugar coated puns stop?` All I`ll say is I 'donut know.'

What we do know is the European 12 and the confirmed American 8. All eyes are now on Davis Love III as he weighs up his 4 Captains Picks. I have a funny feeling these will be every bit as obvious as those made by Captain Clarke this week.

Regardless of the who makes the final 24 I for one can`t wait, and in the words of Ant & Dec - `Let`s Get Ready To Rumble.' I`m sure it`ll be worth waiting for.


 

Our own showpiece was certainly worth waiting for too.

Way back on June 24th the Weather Gods decided to rain on our parade which saw the much anticipated Anniversary Day washed out. With our hectic schedule of fixtures that meant it got pushed all the way back to last Saturday, 27 August.

But I think all concerned would agree it was worth the wait. We were blessed with an ideal day and the fun & form was equally as good. With a noticeable shift in the daylight now creeping in, the Competitions start at a more sociable 7am but we still managed to get 48 Teams taking part in the Fun Day.

And fun it was. From the 1st Tee Shot to the last there was something to play for on every Hole. We had 18 On Course Challenges as well as the Team Better Ball and Yellow Ball Competitions. The switch to a 10th Tee Start also gives us the opportunity to have the BBQ and Disco fired up for those passing through the `Halfway House`.

Whilst the scoring was good, (see below - or check out my little Anniversary Day Video Montage: click here) I did discover 2 things that were far more impressive.

Firstly I found an entire Team of 4 players that were younger (combined) than the 2 Wooden Clubs we used for the Retro Drive @ 1st. 

And second, courtesy of Portlethen`s Resident DJ - MC Riddell, I managed to finally find something that was louder than Mark Wallace`s Troosers..

   

Results

Overall Best Ball Total:
1st - Graham Murray / Mike Kelman / Brian Mitchell / David Methen = 119 
2nd - Ashley Wallace / Findlay Wallace / Craig Henderson / Mark Wallace = 121 
3rd - Tony Lee / Colin Beaton / Jay Donald / Steven Cassie = 124

Best Yellow Ball Total 
1st - Derek Goodall / Colin Napier / John Simpson / Jim Webster = 69

On Course Challenges 
1st - Retro Longest Drive: Mark Dunbar 
2nd - Nearest The Pin In 3: Tom Boyle 
3rd - Nearest The Pin In 2: David Brooks 
4th - Straightest Drive: Stuart Winpenny 
5th - Nearest The Pin: Jay Donald 
6th - Longest Wrong Handed Putt: Tom Stoddart 
7th - Ladies Longest Drive: Louise Cook 
8th - Nearest The Hidden Pin: Mark Brake 
9th - Longest Wrong Handed Drive: Colin Napier 
10th - Nearest The Pin: David Brooks 
11th - Nearest The Pin In 2: David Brown 
12th - Nearest The Pin: Alex Handsley 
13th - Gents Longest Drive: Barry Watson 
14th - Longest Sloping Putt: Grant Munro 
15th - Nearest The Pin In 2: Lewis Shand 
16th - Nearest The Marker Pole: Jack Douglas 
17th - Nearest The Pin: William Lloyd 
18th - Longest Small Hole Putt: Jim Douglas

  

  

On Wednesday previous it was Midweek Medal action. All the fireworks happened in Division 1 with Kev Daglish returning to form with a 67 which came courtesy of a 4 under par 68. Division 2 was topped by Jim Cruickshank with 72 whilst Division 3 was won by Bruce Johnston with a 69.

Division 1 
1st = Kevin Daglish - 68(1) - 67, 1st = Derek Craigie - 75(8) - 67, 3rd - Jack Stewart - 75(6) - 69 
Division 2 
1st = James Cruickshank - 84(12) - 72, 1st = Barry Watson - 84(12) - 72, 1st = Stephen Robertson - 85(13) - 72 

Division 3 
1st - Bruce Johnston - 86(17) - 69, 2nd - Stanley Lenort - 91(21) - 70, 3rd - Gordon Mackintosh - 89(16) - 73

 

 

 

Once the dust had settled after Saturdays Fun Day it was back to Medal business on Sunday. Again the scoring, especially in Division 1 was excellent. No less than 4 players not only broke Par, they also broke 70 so I felt they were all worthy of mention. The pick of the bunch was Keith Horne and Gary Lochhead who both scored 5 Under Par 67`s.

Division 2 might have felt like they were playing a different golf course with the best of their bunch being a 71 from Craig Baxter. Division 3 fared better with Frank Clark being the top dog on 66.

Division 1 
1st - Jamie Ironside - 69(5) - 64, 2nd - Keith Horne - 67(1) - 66, 3rd = Gary Lochhead - 67(-1) - 68, 3rd = Gary Esson - 69(1) - 68 

Division 2 
1st - Craig Baxter - 83(12) - 71, 2nd - Stephen Robertson - 86(13) - 73, 3rd - Mark McDonald - 85(11) - 74 

Division 3 
1st - Frank Clark - 86(20) - 66, 2nd - Douglas Robertson - 86(18) - 68, 3rd - Alex Dowall - 86(16) - 70

   

      

 

Sunday also saw the Thomson Mixed Trophy being played for. Well done to all the couples who took part, but I think after this years' result it`s fair to say that Ray Cowan will be the man in demand that all the Ladies will be clamouring to play around with….I mean, play a round with next year. 

      

Ray won for the second year in succession this time with a different partner. The lucky lady this year was Wendy Plevey.

My Summer Sale continues in store but stock levels are falling fast. 

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• Up to 30% OFF All Shoes 
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• Up to 50% OFF All Galvin Green Waterproof Jackets & Insulas* (*Cannot be included in the Galvin Green Clothing Offer) 
• 25% OFF All Ladies Waterproofs 
• Titleist 915 Drivers: NOW ONLY £259 + Receive a Matching Fairway for ONLY £79 .

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Click here to find out more about our brilliant GolfBuddy GPS line up. 

 

As you saw earlier I made the point of highlighting the Top 4 scores in Division 1 from Sunday. All under Par and all under 70. It gave me the opportunity to sneak in the 4th placed player, Gary Esson.

I wanted to mention Gary essentially because his score not only got him back down to Scratch but it showed signs of progress following a few lessons he undertook from myself.

Gary came to me really disappointed with his game following a disheartening performance in the North East District Open. This was a high profile County & National event that was being played over Portlethen. So Gary understandably went in to that hopeful and confident that he could do quite well. 2 very poor scores for Gary meant he missed the halfway cut, but Gary was more dejected with the way he had performed and how destructive some of his shots had been. So he turned to me.

His main concern was he didn`t know where his miss was going. He had a bad shot right and an even bigger miss left so he could neither play/manage his way around or hit with any confidence that he knew where it was going.

We took some Videos and data from the Launch Monitor. Using this information I was able to show Gary that his Clubface was far too active through Impact (this caused the ball to curve/hook left) which resulted in him trying then swing way out to the right to start the ball far enough out to the right to allow the ball to curve back. Unfortunately this brought about a miss that could go straight right.

We made a slight tweak to Gary`s grip but more so worked on encouraging a more active body turn and a much quieter hand action. Gary worked hard on his own and returned for a follow up session to check he wasn`t slipping back in to old habits. Both the visual results, the scores and the way Gary has played since speak for themselves.

Launch Monitor Evidence:

 

Active Hands Through Impact - Before & After

   

The Disjointed Release - Before & After

   

Significant Clubface Difference - Before & After

   

Gary has broken his handicap twice and Par once to get himself back down to Scratch. The moral of the story is - You`re never too good to get better. But more importantly - If the Scratch golfers seek help and improve then maybe your game would too.


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Last weekend there was no Junior competition again as we had the rescheduled Anniversary Day and some kids did take part. 

The Junior Development Gang still went on at 3 and got a very good turnout, probably due to the sunny warm weather we've all been begging for. 

On Sunday though we had our rescheduled Adult/Junior Cormco. This was an alternative shot format competition and was won by Mark & Finlay Wallace who went one better than their 2nd place finish in the Anniversary Day. 

Now for next week the competitions are back as normal. There is a Junior monthly medal on Saturday and the junior development gang is on as normal at 3pm. 

For me the next event is on the 8th of September at the Clan Insch Pro-Am. I believe some of the ladies from Portlethen will be playing again and I just hope they get a pro on their good day, which wasn't the case last time... Insch is a short and quirky course that is pretty fun to play so I'm looking forward to that.