'WHHOOOOAAAHHHH there boy.'…….better get out the way…or you might get trampled because I`m on my high horse again..
But don`t worry, it`s not another Strictly or X Factor rant. No, fortunately I can gloss over those because finally the Judges had the 'Balls' to get rid of Ed and also sent Honey C…H to the O to the M to the E. And yes, I realise it`s Honey G and not Honey C but in my opinion she definitely put the C in Rap. Think we all need to have a 'Word to your mother'...
I suppose the thing that`s got me going this week is sort of linked to the above though. That being the thought process and rationale of 'the person on the street' .....although it turns out they`re not on the street either..
Don`t worry, there`s a point coming.....honest.
Friday, 18 November and in aid of Children In Need the Great British public donated an amazing £47 Million. What a fantastic amount of money which will, hopefully, all go the way that it is reported to be going, and help those under privileged children out there. Great work UK. £47 Million…..that`s extremely generous, especially when times are reportedly tough just now. Ok, it`ll only buy you just over half of Paul Pogba (which seems like all Man Utd have received so far to be honest.), but still it`s a staggering amount of money….isn`t it?
I ask that questioningly because fast forward 7 days to Friday, 25 November (and let`s chuck in Cyber Monday here too for good measure) and the UK spent nearly £6 BILLION in Black Friday sales. That`s 9 zeros in case you were wondering, but more importantly it's 2 more than £47 million has. So here`s my thing…..with the majority of those sales being made Online and with the purchases across the board carrying a minimum of a 20% discount, why do we have that 'amazing' £47 million instinct to help others but an 'Amazoning' £1.2 billion desire to rip profit out of people`s lives whilst investing in organisations that do all they can NOT to pay their way in this country.
For obvious reasons I`m not a huge fan of Online Shopping but I appreciate for a lot of small businesses and sole traders Amazon is the only way these minnows can grab a rung on the billionaires board of Snakes & Ladders (not a great analogy was it, minnows `aint snakes nor can they grab rungs with their fins... Moving on). So while they are selling their soul for 20%+ discount, Amazon are still taking their full fees off these guys and pretending your sale actually had to go through Luxemburg.
And to quote from Mary Poppins for a second, 'feed the birds, all you get….is fat birds.' - So feed the Fat Cats and all you`ll get is fatter catters. Put profit in a local community and you`ll get progress. 'Profit For Progress'…think I`ll copyright that slogan…then get it printed on T-Shirts….from an Indonesian 'Teen' Sweatshop Shop. Kidding.
The other irony is that a lot of people have snapped up these 'bargains' with the help of their friendly Credit Card which for many will see that 20%+ saving lovingly gobbled up over the next 11 months in high interest payments because they`ve stretched themselves too far in an effort to make Christmas special.
If Christmas is all about making the people around us happy then it should start right at the beginning of the Present process, and if we all did what we could on our own patch then everyone`s patch would flourish, not just Luxemburg`s..
Speaking of 1.2 Billion, do you know that the approximate Black Friday savings is also the career earning of a certain Eldrick 'Tiger' Woods who (and I`m holding my breath here) is making his Tournament comeback this week in the Hero World Challenge event that he hosts. The Tournament is run in conjunction with the Tiger Woods Foundation, which I guess is his own contribution to 'Children In Need'. Where his foundation provides just that….a platform and support for kids who range from underprivileged to aspiring, and gives them all the opportunity to grow and succeed in, and at, life.
But for Tiger, the tournament itself is giving him a platform. A platform on which he will hopefully launch, what he`s calling, "phase two" of his career.
I for one have my fingers crossed for him - so, just to confirm that's my fingers crossed and my breath held. Probably the closest I`m going to get to doing Yoga. Good for the back I hear?
I`m sure it`s something Tiger has embraced on his rehab from 2 spinal operations.
So, new back - CHECK
New Clubs - CHECK (Another switch-ee to the TaylorMade M Family)
New vigour - CHECK
Renewed optimism - CHECK
Original mental strength, inner confidence and resolve? - TIME WILL TELL
I certainly wish him well.
Many think for Tiger there`s No Way Back, last week it was very much a case of Norway Back, when the diminutive duo of Thorbjorn Olesen (5'9") and Soren Kjeldsen (5'7") won the World Cup of Golf 'dan unda' at the Kingston Heath resort in Australia with a 20 Under Par total. The Scots pairing of Russell Knox & Duncan Stewart were nowhere to be seen, finishing 19th some 14 shots further back.
Speaking of 'nowhere to be seen' last Friday it was more a case of 'nowhere could be seen' where we turned Black Friday to Blackout Friday here at the Club when I ran my first, and certainly not my last, Night Golf Event.
For all concerned it certainly was a step into the darkness but from what I witnessed and the feedback so far it`s fair to say it was a blinding success.
Under the cover of darkness, armed with Soup, Stovies, Mulled Wine and courtesy of glows sticks aplenty and light-up golf balls, holes & flags we created a 4 Hole mini course that 62 golfers tackled.
The 1st Hole unusually Tee`d off from amongst the shrubbery directly in front of the clubhouse creating a short 100 Yard Hole to the 6th Winter Green, then the golfers played holes 7, 8 & 9 as normal. Well, I say normal. Everything except the ability to see in front of their nose. The only illumination they had was from their golf ball, their glow necklace and the glow sticks that defined the fairways, hazards and green.
With the DJ blasting out the tunes as they Tee`d off and the aroma of Stovies & Mulled Wine guiding them back in like the Bisto Advert, the guys and gals scooted round in under an hour.
There were Prizes for Best Individual and Best Team (Scores Per Hole To Count)
The Winners were all in the same Team with the Best Individual going to Martin McVey (17(3.6) - 13.4) and his Team of Scott Arbuthnett & Neil Cox (both Guests) scoring 26.4.
There were a few Disas-Stars too so I`ve compiled a little video to give you a feel for the night.
Click here to watch my video.
You can check out all the photos on my Facebook Page (click here to visit my page)
Black Friday has come and gone now but remember the Christmas Crackers are still available in the Professional Shop. And while I`m not selling glowing balls I am offering plenty of balls that I`m sure will get the lucky recipient beaming..
Golf Balls can sometimes be the 'pack of socks' type of prezzy, but not when you get them personalised. And right now I have some awesome options for you (or those buying for you, nudge, nudge.) So whether you play Titleist, Srixon or Wilson we can make sure you have a ball this Christmas..
Click here to order your personalised Titleist balls
Click here to order your personalised Srixon balls.
Wilson DX2
Option 1: Christmas Logo on pole 1 (can be ordered without Christmas logo) with FREE personalisation message on pole 2 - minimum 2 dozen @ £19.99 Per Dozen
Option 2: Colour photo image* on pole 1 with FREE personalisation message on pole 2 - minimum 6 dozen @ £16.99 Per Dozen
*high resolution jpeg required - Iphone or android device photo ideal
The only thing that we will run out of with these Offers is TIME so don`t delay - get your order in today.
So while we`re filling shopping trollies what about about some Trolley shopping?
Order any Lithium Motorised Trolley from the Motocaddy or PowaKaddy Range and you will receive Up To £30 of Accessories FREE.
Choose from:
- Travel Cover
- Umbrella Holder
- Scorecard Holder
- GPS Holder
- Towel
- Rain Cover
- Drink Holder
If that wasn't enough to tempt you into a new trolley, I can also offer you the following great deals on both Trolley & a matching Golf Bag.
Motocaddy S1 - (18 Hole Lithium) + FREE Accessories (Up to £30) + Lite Series Bag (= £449) Club Series Bag (= £459) Pro Series Bag (=£479)
Motocaddy S3 Pro - (18 Hole Lithium) + FREE Accessories (Up to £30) + Club Series Bag (= £529) Pro Series Bag (=£554) + Dry Series Bag (=£564)
Motocaddy M1 Pro - (18 Hole Lithium) + FREE Accessories (Up to £30) + Club Series Bag (= £549) Pro Series Bag (=£574) + Dry Series Bag (=£584)
Motocaddy M3 Pro - (18 Hole Lithium) + FREE Accessories (Up to £30) + Club Series Bag (= £559) Pro Series Bag (=£624) + Dry Series Bag (=£634)
PowaKaddy FW3 - (18 Hole Lithium) + FREE Accessories (Up to £30) + Deluxe Bag (=£449)
Powakaddy FW5 - (18 Hole Lithium) + FREE Accessories (Up to £30) + Premium Bag (=£549)
Powakaddy FW7 - (18 Hole Lithium) + FREE Accessories (Up to £30) + Premium or Dri Edition Bag (=£579)
Click here to find out more about the Motocaddy Trolley range.
It was really good to see the Greenstaff pushing their own motorised machines about last week. Incredible to think we are still able to cut a little grass off of the greens when the weather (aka temperature) allows. Following a particularly cold spell that saw the ground frozen solid, the air and ground temperature increased enough for the frost to disappear and we got on the Summer Greens on Wednesday.
Fingers crossed this spell lasts for a little while.
Last week the Alliance was at my favourite place- Newburgh.. And as I expected, it was on winter greens. The winter course actually measured at 4,000 yards which explained why it never felt like 18 holes had been completed. The morning was frosty so the ball was hopping and bouncing all over the place but it turned out to be a lovely day by mid-afternoon and the back 9 was a bit softer.
My golf was ok apart from the driver costing me dearly. I had four 6's on the card due to lost balls off the tee. The back 9 was much better with 6 consecutive 3's (4 of them were par 3's)
The winter course par was 64 and the winning score was 57 which off course was Paul Lawrie and Kevin Duncan. I had a 71 which could have been a 65 had I left the driver in the boot.
Next week is a home fixture which I'm really looking forward to as we must be one of few places that don't use mats..
