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Stuart Wilson

Portlethen Golf Club PGA Golf Professional

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Out fought, out thought, out putted……..left gutted.

The Ryder Cup 

As the sun rose last Sunday morning in Minnesota the European Team were in need of something akin to 'The Miracle At Medinah', but what followed required a next of kin as it turned into the 'Humping At Hazeltine.'

The 2016 Ryder Cup again served up a quite fabulous spectacle that any neutral golf fan couldn`t fail to enjoy. Yes, the fact that the USA won at a canter to claim back the trophy that they hadn`t had held since 2008 is a little disappointing from a European perspective, but in the bigger picture of the Ryder Cup I think it can only be good for future matches.

No one, not one single person, can argue against them not being worthy and well deserved winners. From the first hole to the winning putt they had the Europeans in their back pocket the entire 3 days. The summary of the matches is pretty straight forward - They played well, they putted better. It`s the same summary that typically the Europeans have been able to brag about, but not this time.

If there is a more detailed post-mortem needed then here`s my take on it....

I said in the build-up that if Europe were going to win they would need to get their advantage in the pairings match-up`s - they didn`t. On the course the American Players won their battle, off the course the American Captain won his. 

For me there are two off course duels that need to be won. The Opening Ceremony speeches and the Team Uniforms. Typically, thanks to the Americans normally getting their fashion inspiration from Dynasty, we would win the dressage hands down, but not this year. Americas Talisman this year was Patrick Reed, who said he gets so pumped any time he gets to pull on the Red, White & Blue and represent his country. What was going to inspire our boys when all they got to wear was the 1982 Wolsey Autumn/Winter Collection. I think it got progressively more drab as the days passed. In fact it looked like we just wore Friday`s stuff again on Sunday. Maybe they only took Hand Luggage to keep the costs down?

Rewind 2 years and McGinley got it spot on. The Scottish Saltire to lead us out on Day 1, crisp white with a hint of Euro blue & gold on Day 2 then full blown "We are Europe - Blue, White & Gold" on Day 3 while the Yanks had their 3 days-worth of sweaters knitted by Barbara Nicklaus. Medinah`s Miracle in 2012 was helped in no small measure by the fact that every one of the 12 knew they were pulling on the famous 'Seve`s Sunday' Navy & White. I think Captain Clarke missed a massive trick by not sending the guys out on Day 1 in Minnesota Vikings colours - That would`ve got a few home fans onside. 

  

If Darren Clarke hadn`t learnt a lot from Paul McGinley`s tenure then the Americans certainly did. Their specially assembled 'Ryder Cup Task Force' cleverly used the European success as, dare I say it, a Blueprint to their own. Everywhere you looked at Gleneagles 2014 it was a sea of Blue. This time at Hazeltine that had turned to the Red Sea.

But while we are talking these colours there are a couple of unfortunates to mention. The first being that red was unfortunately the colour of the bus that Peter 'PJ' Willet threw his brother under in the build up to the match. Danny Willet`s brother had written an article that didn`t exactly do anything for transatlantic relations, but the timing of its release was such a poor error of judgement that it made even Sam Allardyce cringe. Here was Danny, The Masters Champion, about to make his Ryder Cup debut on American soil whilst seriously struggling for form….the pressure was already up to liquid brown. The last thing he, or the European Team, needed was the keys to the Immodium cupboard thrown away.. Needless to say he played a pile of it too, and worse still he let himself, the Green Jacket holder, down badly by summing up his 1st Ryder Cup experience in the post-match Press Conference in one word to that effect too. Classy Danny, classy...

But he wasn`t the only one turning the air blue last week. The crowds at the Ryder Cup were so supercharged that if they were a battery they would need to be called TripleH (Hazeltine`s Hostile Hordes) and have come in for much discussion/criticism. It seemed at times that a small minority (as it always is with crowd behaviour at sporting events) over stepped the mark in their 'support' of their Team. Reports of them getting very personal and insulting to the players is very disappointing, and you could tell the American Team were a little embarrassed by it. I think they did well in their attempts to quell things down during play, but they definitely didn`t hold back on trying to get them fired up again when the putts started flying in. But what do you expect when you combine Patriotism with Alcoholism? The biggest thing that disappointed me was a few of the European Players not only rising to it but trying to fight fire with fire. Rory McIlroy in particular.

In any sport there is only one way to quieten a hostile, vociferous crowd and that is - to play. Play well, play better. You`ll never out shout them, and there is no point in riling them up - just play. The hostile crowds, will prey on 3 types of player - the threat, the villain and the dud. In Rory they knew he was our best, going toe-to-toe with their best, Patrick Reed. If Europe had any chance on Sunday they had to get Blue on the board and if they could take down Americas No.1 then that could be the catalyst for another great escape. The way that both those gladiators began that match was quite simply incredible - 4 under through 7 holes, blow for blow, putt for putt. But for every punch that McIlroy threw, Reed had a counter punch. And while every fist pump and yell from the American stoked the crowd, McIlroy`s vocal attempts to silence the crowd were literally farting against thunder. 

When the Northern Irishman rolled in an outrageous putt for birdie 5 in eight holes something happened that hopefully he will learn from. The moment his putt fell in the hole an explosion of passion, defiance and raw emotion burst out like a fermenting can of Lilt that clearly set off an adrenaline rush that quite frankly he never recovered from. When I say recovered, the problem with adrenaline is once you`ve used it there is only one way to go - down. For me, McIlroy never hit a shot of any note after that moment and was clinging to Reed`s coattails the rest of the match hoping he would make a mistake - he didn`t. When Rory needed to go up a gear near the end he couldn`t, his approach shots were timid, his putts lacked the conviction they had only hours earlier - stick a fork in him, he was done.

But if Rory`s putting touch went to bed with an adrenaline hangover then I think there were quite a few of the Europeans who clearly will have to collect theirs at the Lost & Found when they get back to the Airport. Justin Rose shaved so many top lips during the week that I think he was putting with a Gillette Mach3. And don`t get me started on Lee Westwood. The only thing that`s had more wicked strokes than his putter is Blofeld`s Cat. I`d have been more confident if it was Vivienne Westwood standing over Dynamo (a tricky wee 5 footer) - Perhaps she might have designed some better clothing? I`m pretty sure that performance, probably his last Ryder Cup, will require a trip to the shrink……and tell him Darren sent you.. I guess the writing was on the wall the moment the Europeans called out the American spectator who said "Even I could hole that putt" - And he did.. He must have a Scottish grannie - sign him up..

Click here to check out the putt for yourself.

But the Americans have the Cup and it`s all eyes on France now as they start the build up to hosting the 2018 match at Paris National. So I wonder what the European Team will be like in 2 Years? The likes of Rose will be 38, Stenson 42, Westwood 45, Garcia 38. Who will join McIlroy as a truly World Class player? Is Pieters the real deal? We`ve seen some amazing Ryder Cup Rookie performances with everyone thinking that they`ll be the stars of tomorrow, but they seem to go from being a World Beater to a Panel Beater in no time. Dubuisson? Donaldson? Colsaerts?

And will the French adopt some of the American Crowd etiquette and just start shouting out random national foods? I`d love instead of 'Cheesburger' or 'Mash potato' to hear 'Crème brûlée', 'Pain au chocolat', 'Tarte Tatin' or my personal favourite 'Coq au vin'.

So from a European Tour perspective does this lacklustre performance, with many of the Automatic Qualifiers (and Wildcard pics actually) clearly out of their early season form, require a shake up of the Qualifying process? Or is it just a case of, don`t panic it just wasn`t our week. One thing's for sure, whoever the next Captain is they need to speak to every one of the top ranked European Golfers around the world and make sure they are signed up to the European Tour before Qualification gets underway. They need to talk the likes of Paul Casey round to re-join the European Tour and ensure the likes of Russell Knox, Martin Laird, 'Beef' Johnston, Jonas Blixt, etc are in from the start.

Something else that needs looked at is the way Sky Sports deliver their 'Live' Coverage. Every time they cut to a player putting from close range as soon as the graphic came on screen telling you what his putt was for you knew the outcome before they even hit it. "Putt For A Half" - He missed. "Putt For The Win" - He holed. So predictable. A few times they even flashed up the current scoreboard and you saw match scores had changed, then they would cut to the action of the shots that changed those scores.


Competition news 

It was all about the Matchplay here at Portlethen last weekend too. We had 'Finals Day' with both gents pairs Finals being played (Arthur Duthie - Foursomes & Murdoch Smith - Fourballs), as well as the CR Associates & Cordiner - Singles. The Junior Allison Pairs final was also played.

You could say both doubles finals turned into a dose of the Sheiks as brothers, Ryan & Imran, managed to get to both Finals which meant they had to play 2 rounds in a day. 

In the morning alternate shot final it was the Sheiks who were shakey as they struggled against the steady duo of Scott Sinclair & Peter Griffiths. Scott and Peter eventually won at the 16th. But like Rose & Stenson, Ryan & Imran made amends by winning the afternoon Fourballs in a fantastic game against Craig Wilson & Ewen Urquhart. Again the sheiks found themselves trailing badly early on. 4 down with holes running out, they clawed their way back into the match and eventually took it to extra holes. It took a further 3 holes to find a winner and it was Ryan & Imran who made a long day worthwhile. 

There were extra holes needed to separate Stan Forbes & Andrew Cordiner in the CR Associates final. 5 extra to be exact. And it was Andrew who emerged victorious after the 23 hole tussle.

From one Cordiners Trophy to another, and the final of 'The Cordiner Trophy' saw Ray Summers take on Dave Fleming, and with the sun shining it was always going to be a 'Summers Day' and Ray closed out the match at the 16th. 

The final Final was the Junior Allison Pairs which threw up another family tie in our Matchplay Day. Lewis Sinclair and partner Brandon Simpson took on younger brother, Murray Sinclair, and his partner Finlay Wallace and it was big brother who has the bragging rights this time round with Lewis & Brandon proving too good for the younger pairing.

  

 

With pretty much all the Trophies now played for there are only Handicap Competitions left to play for.


Walk on Stableford

Wednesday was a Walk On Stableford and the scoring was off the charts. Mark Leslie`s 40 points to win Division 1 was small fry compared to the 8 scores in Divisions 2 & 3 that were better than him. Chris Gardner romped Division 2 with 46 Points while Charlie Myles had 45 points to top Division 3.

Division 1 
1st - Mark Leslie - 40 Points, 2nd - Stuart Winpenny - 39 Points, 3rd - Calum Westland - 38 Points 

Division 2 
1st - Christopher Gardner - 46 Points, 2nd = Thomas Stoddart - 42 Points, 2nd = Duncan Tocher - 42 Points

Division 3 
1st - Charles Myles - 45 Points, 2nd - Robert Horne - 43 Points, 3rd - Brian Ward - 42 Points 

   

   

Saturday Strokeplay 

On Saturday it was strokeplay time again and the scoring conitued to be excellent. Grant Blackwood shot a joint best of the day 65 to top Division 1. That score was matched by Peter Jamieson on his way to winning Division 2 and in Division 3 Stan Lenort continued his good run of form with a fine 67. 

Division 1
1st - Grant Blackwood - 75(10) - 65, 2nd - Stephen Cook - 71(4) - 67, 3rd - Kevin Daglish - 70(1) - 69 

Division 2 
1st - Peter Jamieson - 79(14) - 65, 2nd = Brian Dobson - 81(12) - 69, 2nd = Steven Jackson - 84(15) - 69 

Division 3 
1st - Stan Lenort - 87(20) - 67, 2nd - Steve Crawford - 91(22) - 69, 3rd - Denis Golder - 86(16) - 70 

   

    

 

Sunday Walk on Medal

Stephen Cook went one better in his placing with back to back 67`s over the weekend to top Division 1. Gary Masson finished king of the castle in Division 2 with a 70. Scott Garden led the way in Division 3 with his 69.

Division 1 
1st - Stephen Cook - 71(4) - 67, 2nd - Malcolm Thomson - 72(3) - 69, 3rd - Ryan Donaldson - 71(1) - 70 

Division 2 
1st - Gary Masson - 82(12) - 70, 2nd - Dino Becci - 85(12) - 73, 3rd - Stan Horne - 86(12) - 74 

Division 3 
1st - Scott Garden - 92(23) - 69, 2nd - William Brechin - 93(23) - 70, 3rd - George Handsley - 87(16) - 71 

   

     

As it stands there are only 4 more scheduled Competitions. Remember for Handicaps 6 and above there is still the opportunity to play Supplementary Cards while the measured course is still in play. If you are unsure how this works ask in the Shop and we will talk you through the process.

Because the weather has been particularly kind to the course lately we are exploring the possibility of adding in some Walk On Medals through until the end of October so watch this space for further updates on that. 


Shop news 

Although the playing conditions are still holding on there are still plenty of signs that Winter is just around the corner. So in store we have just launched much of our new Autumn/Winter ranges. 

   

We have some great new clothing from Under Armour & Galvin Green with some adidas still to arrive.

The key thing is to remember and layer up properly and keep those extremities cozy too. So we have a fabulous selection of Beanies, Pom Pom`s, Winter Gloves, Mitts & snoods to choose from.

Lastly, we have a comprehensive Waterproof Range for both Ladies & Gents which includes suits from Under Armour, Sunderland & Galvin Green and also the 'Exclusive' ProQuip Pro-Flex Range

These feature, Jackets, Playing Tops, Lined Merino Sweaters & Performance Fleece Jackets all of which come at fantastic price on top of which I am offering the following amazing deals.

  • Buy a ProQuip Waterproof Suit - And receive a FREE ProQuip Umbrella (Worth £35
  • Buy a ProQuip Lined Sweater - And receive FREE ProQuip Mitts (Worth £20
  • Buy a ProQuip Performance Fleece - And receive a FREE ProQuip Beanie (Worth £15 )

Click here to find out more about our superb ProQuip ranges.


Special offer RED  

More great deals also still running from in store include the TaylorMade 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.


Fitting day 

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  


Not very often do the stars of tomorrow and the kids of today get the chance to try and be fitted for equipment that will give them the very best introduction to this game that we all know can be difficult. So on Saturday, 15 October from 2pm - 4pm we would like to invite all boys, girls, sons or daughters, grand kids, niece`s & nephew`s, and the accompanying adults, to our Golphin Trial Day.

On the day the kids, whether they golf already or not, will get a chance to test out different Golphin products. It`s a great opportunity for them to compare these fantastic and fun clubs against their own.

We tend to find most kids are introduced to the game, and playing with, clubs the wrong size and weight. The Golphin products are the perfect solution to this and with Christmas just around the corner could also provide the perfect solution to the 'Present predicament' too.

As well as finding the most suitable clubs for each individual there will be games such as Closest to the Pin and Longest Drive to keep them entertained and also to see if they can improve their performance with Golphin.

Here is a little bit about Golphin, but the best thing is to check them out through a short video. Click here to find out more.

Golphin, based in Scotland, the Home of Golf, designs and manufactures innovative kids' golf clubs. In particular, the company focuses on beginners ages 3 to 12. The award winning GFK helps young kids fall in love with golf. Golphin Advanced clubs are designed to help kids realise their dreams to be champions. 

Golphin integrates a revolutionary clubhead design that gets the golf ball up in the air very easily. A larger lightweight clubhead with a big sweet spot and wider grooves all assist in getting the ball flying through the air. Combined with a flexible lightweight shaft, Golphin clubs are the best option for beginner golfers.

  • Easier to swing, helps maintain balance (22% lighter than standard junior clubs) 
  • Oversized club heads make it easier to connect with the ball and get it airborne (35% larger club heads)
  • Wide range to suit any kid from 3 - 12.

The Golphin Trial Day will be on 'til 4pm. Please arrive 1.45/1.50pm for a 2pm start. For those who already attend on a Saturday it is the usual meeting point, for anyone new just report to the Professional Shop. 

We hope to see you all there.


  

Kamran is STIIIIIIILLLL on holiday so here is just a quick update of the Juniors that have already caught the Golfing bug.  


Junior Medal
 

1st - Brandon Simpson - 76(8) - 68 
2nd = Finlay Wallace - 81(12) - 69 
2nd = William Lloyd - 77(8) - 69 
2nd = Lewis Sinclair - 83(14) - 69 

    

 


 

Like the gents the Ladies Season is coming to a close soon too. It was Stableford time on Saturday which saw Catherine Craig & Jenny Selbie take Divisions 1 & 2 respectively with identical 34 Point scores. 

Division 1 
1st - Catherine Craig - 34 Points, 2nd - Linda Craik - 31 Points, 3rd - Sarah Ritchie - 29 Points 

Division 2 
1st - Jenny Selbie - 34 Points, 2nd = Thyra Daun - 30 Points, 2nd = Alison Bruce - 30 Points

    




As mentioned previously, the Course is still playing as well as ever. However Neil and his Team have to always have one eye on the imminent future and preparation has begun on areas of the Course for the Winter months. 

The Tees have been aeriated to help both drainage and oxygen flow that will help keep them as firm and disease free as possible. 

The guys have also started coring and dressing the approaches. A process that is as important to do on these areas as it has been on the Greens for the last few years. And you can see the significant benefit that work has had on our putting surfaces.
 
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I hope you have enjoyed this weeks update.
We hope to see you soon
Stuart
 
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Stuart Wilson, Portlethen Golf Club, Badentoy Road, Portlethen, AB12 4YA

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