The King is Dead. Long live…….his legacy.
The Golfing World lost its Messiah this week with the terribly sad news that Arnold Palmer, famous for his ever tenacious, never give up attitude, finally came up against a challenge that he couldn`t overcome…..TIME. 87 Year Old Arnie, who`s health had been on the slide for a little while now, passed away following complications with his heart.
But perhaps it was symbolic that it was Mr Palmer's heart that eventually weakened, because from the very moment he burst onto, and almost out of, the Black & White Television Screen way back in late 1950`s he not only found a place in all of our hearts but, at that time, became the beating heart of Professional Golf. He was an unorthodoxly gifted golfer, with a swashbuckling 'boom or bust' style of play, which brought about many a Title or Trophy. In all Arnold won 62 PGA Tour Titles which included 7 Major Championships (4 Masters, 2 Open Championships & 1 US Open) in an era that included Jack Nicklaus in his prime and Gary Player. They would go on to be renowned as 'The Big Three' and dominate World Golf for some time. But if all 3 were great Champion Golfers, only Arnold was 'The Peoples Champion'. The public adored him, not just because of his on course abilities, but much more because of his off course humility and humanity. He had time and made time for EVERYBODY. The old and the young, the rich and the poor - Arnie was universally loved by all. And I believe that statement holds true to this very day.
It was that popularity and magnetism to the masses that all the generations of Professional Golfers since have to be thankful for. Without Arnie, the sport and certainly the stature of Professional Golf, would not be what it is today. At a time when the sport was witnessing the emergence of a player that would become the games 'Greatest' and most talent golfer ever, Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer elevated the stature of the game because of a very different attribute - Charisma. He had a persona that transcended the public matrix and crossed divides in age, class and race at a time when the US had noticeable divides in them all. It was that quality which took an extremely elite sport (at the time) and made it mainstream entertainment. Golf had a friendly face, a point not lost on a certain Mark McCormack. That name might not mean much to many of you, but find me a modern day sportsperson and especially a Tour Golfer who doesn`t have a Sports Agent or Management Team and I`ll bet they`re not as wealthy as they could be.
McCormack saw Arnie`s marketability and landed him numerous endorsements and advertising deals. That popularity in turn brought more and more people to golf tournaments to see him. Many believe the long thin rope and need for Marshalls that now keeps hundreds of thousands of golf spectators in check at Tournaments was brought into force because of the now famous "Arnie`s Army" of fans that would support him. From this grew more Television coverage which grabbed the attention of Companies and Businesses who saw exposure opportunities in 'Sponsoring' events, in turn that increased Prize Monies. A cycle which has gathered speed every day, and despite the whole world appearing to be in debt, doesn`t seem like slowing down anytime soon. Just ask Rory...
But the pedal to that cycle was definitely pushed by Mr Palmer, and the financial heart of golf seems to be beating strong and pumping plenty of wealth to players of considerably less talent than their 'King'.
I wonder how many Americans wish they had someone like Arnold Palmer to pin their hopes and National aspirations on right now. Everything they idolized about Arnie is the polar opposite to what Mr Trump is bringing to the table right now. Perhaps Arnold saw the writing on the wall and did an Obi Wan Kenobi 'time is right to go' exit.? Unlike Big Sam Allardyce (The most successful England Football Manager ever. 100% record) who was pretty much told 'you need to go'...
Obi Wan Kenobi`s warning to the Empire was 'Strike me down and I will become more powerful than you can possibly imagine', and I have a sneaky feeling Mr Palmer`s passing might be as ominous for European hopes in this week`s Ryder Cup match?
If Seve was Europe`s Talisman there is absolutely no question that Arnie was most definitely Americas. And you can bet your bottom dollar that the US Team and Management will use this as added and inspirational motivation to win back that Cup. For me everything is falling into place for the Americans. Their Top to Toe Twelve are all strong. If you think about it, despite them having a first time and funky Qualification-to-Wildcard allocation process, they have effectively got the Top 11 Qualifiers and the American playing the best golf right now. They`ve got players who missed out on the Team desperately begging to be part of the set up, and now they`ve got an emotional edge to play on too.
For Europe to win they are definitely going to have to rely on getting the correct chemistry in the Pairings because when they stack up 12 v 12 I think the US are stronger.
That said, we can boast to having the man in form right now. Our modern day Talisman, Rory McIlroy, proved that he is most definitely still one of the very best golfers in the world right now with his win in the Tour Championship. A quite sensational finish in the 4th round and equally as good a performance in the Playoff saw him clinch the season ending showpiece and also landed him the Fed Ex Cup playoff series bonus of a cool $10 Million.
Over the 3 Days of the Ryder Cup I will also be running some Special Ryder Cup Offers.
"14.5 Is The Magic Number." - But You Need To Choose A Side.
Why not check out my Ryder Cup Table and grab yourself a bargain.
All Items on the Table ONLY £14.50 Each.
Or if you have your eye on something else why not see if you can: 'Win The Bargain Battle'?
Your 'Wildcard' Choice could land your Items for FREE .
*Wildcard Discount Applies To Current SALE Offers - But Full Payment purchases only (No Shop Credit)
Here are your Wildcard Choices: (24 to pick from)
Paul Broadhurst (100% Ryder Cup Record) = Items FREE
Seve & Ollie (Worth nearly half your Ryder Cup Points) = 50% Discount
Monty (Mr Ryder Cup) = 20% Discount
The Ryder Cup = 14.5% Discount
The 2016 European & US Wildcards = 10% Discount
BUT BEWARE
You might also pick a donkey.
Andrew Coltart, Barry Lane, Jarmo Sandelin & Jean Van De Velde (have never scored a point.) = ZERO Discount.
There were some wild cards from this week`s Competitions, but fortunately there were some good ones too.
Wednesday was Stableford time with a couple of cracking points totals returned. In Division 1 Craig Guthrie blitzed the field with a 44 Point haul. In Division 2, 39 Points from Gordon Gunn was good enough by three to take top spot. Meanwhile in Division 3 Chris Dellanzo took the spoils courtesy of a countback following a 3 way tie on 35 Points.
Division 1
1st - Craig Guthrie - 44 Points, 2nd - Kevin Daglish - 40 Points, 3rd - Ross Chalmers - 38 Points
Division 2
1st - Gordon Gunn - 39 Points, 2nd - Brian Kiloh - 36 Points, 3rd - Graham Penny - 35 Points
Division 3
1st = Christopher Dellanzo = 35 Points, 1st = Mark Ingram - 35 Points, 1st = Terry Taylor - 35 Points
Saturday was the Medal Finals Day where all the Medal Winners from the year playoff - I guess it`s our own Tour Championship, however I can exclusively reveal that there `aint no $10 Million bonus.. Here are how the Medal Finalists got on.
Gold Medals
Medal Finals Division 1: Scott Sinclair
Medal Finals Division 2: Tony Storey
Medal Finals Division 3: Simon Scouller
Bronze Medals
Consolation Medals Division 1: Donald Smith
Consolation Medals Division 2: Jonathan Russell
Consolation Medals Division 3: Gary Duncan
In the stand alone competition the conditions made scoring particularly difficult with winds as strong as they`ve been in a long time and some nasty rain to boot. However as always there were a few people who conquered the conditions well.
In particular Hugh Murdoch who was the only player to break through the 70 barrier with an exceptional 66. That topped Division 1. Scott Brown was the best of the bunch in Division 2 with 70 while Brian Davie took the spoils in Division 3 with 71.
Division 1
1st - Hugh Murdoch - 74(8) - 66, 2nd = Peter Griffiths - 77(7) - 70, 2nd = Cameron Grant - 72(2) - 70
Division 2
1st - Scott Brown - 83(13) - 70, 2nd - Brian Wood - 87(15) - 72, 3rd - Tony Storey - 86(13) - 73
Division 3
1st - Brian Davie - 87(16) - 71, 2nd = Dennis Riddell - 89(17) - 72, 2nd = Terry Taylor - 88(16) - 72
Sunday`s weather was much more pleasant but the scoring was similar.
Scott Kranzke and Alex Handsley had joint best of the day 67`s to top Divisions 1 & 2 respectively. Frank Clark was the best of a bad bunch on 75 in Division 3.
Division 1
1st - Scott Kranzke - 74(7) - 67, 2nd - Robbie Murdoch - 71(1) - 70, 3rd - Stuart Mclaughlin - 79(8) - 71
Division 2
1st - Alex Handsley - 78(11) - 67, 2nd - Andrew Catley - 82(12) - 70, 3rd - James West - 83(12) - 71
Division 3
1st - Frank Clark - 94(19) - 75, 2nd = Alistair John Bell - 97(19) - 78, 2nd = Walter Thompson - 99(21) - 78
At the recent Custom Fitting Day I attended last week one of the products that the Callaway Fitters spoke passionately about was the new Callaway Big Bertha Fusion Driver.
Fusion, like Steelhead, is a name that Callaway have re-introduced this year in their products. But Fusion is much more than just a name, it is in fact a description of a multi material merging that Callaway discovered, created and introduced to Golf Club manufacturing that essentially became, what the industry describe as, a 'Game Changer'.
The term fusion refers to the fact that different materials are fused together to form one unit. Still not sure what I`m talking about? Then picture the highly visible contrast that features in the TaylorMade M Series Woods (White & Black)
Well that cutting edge contrasting came on the scene courtesy of the engineers at Callaway, and now they`ve upped the game again. This time they are using extremely lightweight but strong 'Triaxial Carbon' fibres that are woven to create the crown of the golf club.
One thing to be very clear on. Driver technologies and the regulations and constraints that they have to work within have virtually reached saturation point, so Callaway are definitely not coming out claiming that this driver will go further than before or miles past rival makes & models. However what they are claiming is that this model will be much more forgiving, with the ability to keep your ball speed (distance) up there with your Sunday best when you miss hit it - which we all do.
But the other great 'Fitting Feature' of this model is that you have shaft length options to encourage better control & consistency, and corresponding head weight options so you are retaining the optimum balance of the Club.
We have just taken delivery of our Custom Fitting System so I`m looking for a few Guinea Pigs willing to take these puppies for a Test Drive. Why not pop in Store or Book In today - Click Here.
Click here to find out more about the Fusion Driver from Callaway.
We also still have the great deal running from TaylorMade.
Hot on the heels of the very successful Double Trade In on M Series Woods Promotion, TaylorMade have now given me the chance to offer you guys a FREE M1 Hybrid with any set of Custom Fitted PSi Irons. I can endorse these irons first hand as I`ve been playing them for a little while now, and can confidently say that not only have they increased my Iron distances, but the distance and forgiveness that you get from mishits (and I`ve REALLY tested this feature out..) is the best I`ve ever experienced in a traditional, dare I say, good players style of Club.
They look great, feel great, play better.
So why not take them for a Test Drive with our Trial Set, or better still book in for an expert Custom Fit Session where we will tailor these TaylorMade's exactly to your swings needs.
Click here to find out more about the PSi irons, or click here to get in touch if you would like to arrange a fitting session here at Portlethen.
On that subject I have also been able to secure a Date for a second TaylorMade Fitting/Demo Day
Here are the details:
Thursday, 20 October from 12pm-4pm
If you would like to book a FREE fitting Appointment, click here to get in touch
Customer Survey
If you haven't done so already, please take this opportunity to provide some very quick feedback to the team by clicking onto the survey link below and answering a few questions. This will help us to review the service we provide you with.
Get started
Kamran is on holiday this week so here is just a quick update of some of the Junior Competition Results.
Grant Stableford
1st - William Lloyd - 40 Points
2nd - Brandon Simpson - 35 Points
3rd - Matthew Davie - 33 Points
It was also Ladies Medals Finals on Saturday too.
Division 1
1st - Sarah Ritchie - 80(6) - 74, 2nd - Linda Craik - 90(13) - 77, 3rd - Rowena Keith - 92(13) - 79
Division 2
1st - Jenny Selbie - 96(21) - 75, 2nd - Sylvia Revell - 113(29) - 84, 3rd - Alison Bruce - 109(24) - 85
