In the words of REM, 'It`s the end of the world as we know it!'
Thanks to the 'Shiny Happy People' of America who have elected the 'Orange Crush' 'Man On The Moon' there is a very good chance that we`ll all end up living an 'Imitation Of Life' in which 'Everybody Hurts' and we`re all wondering 'What`s The Frequency Kenneth?' and might end up with more than a few 'Leaving New York'.
Yes, folks it`s time for the Apprentice to become the Commander In Chief. I`m sure rolling or wincing will be some of the Rapid Eye Movements, which is where the acronym R.E.M comes from, come this Friday when Donald Trump gets sworn in. The worry is that his own name is actually an acronym for his Presidential Policies which can be summarised as - To Really Upset Most People.
And if the goings on in America wasn`t evidence enough that people in the world right now will pretty much accept anything that`s dumped in front of them, then the fact that to fill the vacuum-ous X Factor shaped void in Saturday night television the people of Britain have been served up not one but two more singing competitions. How wonderfully imaginative of those highly paid TV Producers.
'The Voice' moved from BBC to ITV so essentially the only difference is you get a break from the turgid viewing by someone reminding you that you spend too much time on the sofa, stuffing your face whilst watching TV by them trying to sell you a new sofa, TV or convenience food. For those of you not familiar with the dynamics of 'The Voice' and how it differs from X Factor, first of all Simon Cowell is not in it, secondly the contestants audition to a live audience but the judges are in chairs with their backs turned to the singer. If they like what they hear then the judges turn around in their chair to face the singer. Personally I think this is wrong...they should do it the other way and if they are rubbish then turn away from them…or better still just get up and walk out...the audience too. 'Turn the lights off when you`re finished luv.'
Over on the Beeb Gary Barlow has created a singing competition in search for wannabees to make up a fictitious Boy Band for his Musical stage show. It`s called 'Let It Shine' and the Judges vote by giving out Star Ratings. The contestants have to impress the four judges enough to earn 15 Stars or more. These light up one after another in a row, with the suspense being 'ooh, will they light enough stars to stay in the competition?' If they don`t then they go home. So the stars that light up from numbers 1 to 14 are effectively Disa-Stars.
Bring back 'We Are The Champions', 'It`s A Knockout', '3,2,1', 'The A Team', 'The Fall Guy', 'Magnum PI' and Hawaii Five-O' if you ask me.
It was more a case of Hawaii Five-9 last weekend as life got back to normal on the Tours.
When I say normal, I just mean 'usual' because there was something quite abnormal or even superhuman about the start Justin Thomas has made to 2017. Not only did he win back to back Tour titles at Kapalua in the Tournament Of Champions, and Honolulu in the Sony Open (hyah, it`s not exactly the Buckpool & Kintore Alliance but I guess someone`s got to slum it) but he did it to the tune of 49 UNDER PAR for 8 Rounds. This total was helped in no small measure by a 59 in the first Round in the Sony Open.
So we are only a fortnight in to the year and we`ve already had the first Sub-Sixty Round. Quite remarkable.
There was a remarkable headline story over in Europe last weekend as well. Mainly because there was a Storm brewing. For me it is the kind of stories I love to hear about in sport.
Rewind the clock to the Portuguese Masters, late October. The final event of the regular season and a defining one for those chasing the lucrative Top 60 places to qualify for the final Race To Dubai series and those battling to make the Top 111 to save their Card, Tour Status and playing rights for the following year. A certain Graeme Storm was fighting for his Tour Card life and needed a Top 20 finish. Playing his 72nd hole he knew a Par would be enough to do that. He bogeyed and dropped to a Tie for 22nd and more importantly earned 160 Euros less.
He missed his Tour Card for 2017 by 100 Euros. Or so he thought until a few weeks later when a certain Patrick Reed, who was featuring well up the Race To Dubai, failed to compete in the required number of regular European Tour events (players need to play 5 events on the European circuit outside the Majors & WGC Events.)
By removing Reed from the Official List it moved Graeme Storm back into the last position that guaranteed a Tour Card for 2017. In his first start of the year, which was the BMW South African Open last weekend, not only did he win it but he did so by leading for 3 rounds, holding off a late charge by Rory McIlroy before beating him in the Sudden Death Playoff.
Not only did Graeme`s win bag him 164,000 Euro but also a 2 Year Exemption for the Tour so now he can play pressure free golf for the next 20 months or so. Good on him.
Unfortunately last weekend we were resigned to watching the coverage on the TV to get our 'Golf Fix' because for the first time in a long time the weather forced us indoors and the Course to Close. A small but pesky amount of snow fell late in the week and kept the course closed for 4 days, before it bounced back to the Full Course (Tees, Fairways & Greens) by Tuesday.
But I wonder how much the weather on our door steps last weekend and the viewing of these guys playing stunning courses in beautiful weather in summer clothing made you wish you were heading somewhere for some warm weather golf?
Remember as a follower of my (this) Newsletter you have great access and preferential rates to THEE best Golf Travel Operator and Foremost Partner, Your Golf Travel…and you don`t even need to tell them Stuart sent you, because they`ll already know if you click through from this link.
But remember, just because you find sunshine and great golf courses it doesn`t make you a better golfer or guarantee you`ll enjoy it. Just look at these guys.
Click on the images to view the videos.
As I mentioned the Course bounced back from a few days closed remarkably well and, with the help of some more mild and sunny days, is looking excellent.
The down time didn`t stop Neil and his Team grafting away and they used their time off of the Course to turn their attention to making some Driving Range improvements. Specifically to the Covered Bays.
Firstly to improve the drainage at the front of the bays, which was always susceptible to flooding during and after heavy rainfall as all the water gathered at the foot of the hill. A trench has been dug out which will be backfilled with stones once the necessary piping has been laid.
Then the flooring of the bays themselves are being levelled and prepared, on which there will be some Astro-Turf laid, before new Bay Dividers and the newer Mats will be positioned on top. Finally we will be adding some signage to help soften the Industrial look of the Metal Construction.
The Bay improvements will certainly make that facility a lot more inviting and as the main area where I carry out my Club Fitting I know that it will only enhance the experience of those sessions.
Improvement is something that is so important to me. Helping Golfers improve, yes absolutely. But making sure that the experience and experiences that I deliver improves is paramount to me. So I am constantly looking at ways that I can improve what I do and how I deliver it.
Essentially adding as much value to what you guys receive and experience as possible, so you are getting back much more than any other Golf Facility or Outlet can offer you.
So, following on from last weeks 'BRAND AMBASSADOR' Initiative (which I`m still putting out there for anyone interested - details below) I`ve come up with another NEW For 2017 concept which I`m calling:
'A Touch Of The Tour' Experience
Here is what it contains.
6 Dozen Balls - We Will Help You Choose The Ball You Play
2 Full 'Tournament' Outfits - Shirt, Sweater, Trousers (x2)
6 Coach Consultations - Once A Month 1-2-1 Session To Check Technique
1 Equipment Evaluation - Checking The Performance & Suitability Of Your Clubs
1 Set Of New Grips
All this would have Retail Value in excess of £850 - But I`m offering it all to you for ONLY £550.
Or
'A Touch Of The Tour' Experience LITE
Here is what it contains.
3 Dozen Balls - We Will Help You Choose The Ball You Play
1 Full 'Tournament' Outfits - Shirt, Sweater, Trousers (x2)
3 Coach Consultations - A 1-2-1 Session Every 2nd Month To Check Technique
Equipment Evaluation - Checking The Performance & suitability Of Your Clubs
HALF PRICE Set Of Grips
All this would have Retail Value in excess of £500 - But I`m offering it all to you for ONLY £300.
I am only offering a few of these Packages and will be very much allocated on a first come first serve basis. If this is something that you are interested in then - Click Here
As I mentioned earlier and in last week`s Newsletter I'm looking for golfers covering the whole Handicap spectrum to make up my own Review Team.
These 'Brand Ambassadors' would provide Testimony and Opinion on the Performance of the equipment from the Companies I promote.
PING, Callaway, TaylorMade, Wilson & Titleist.
These Brands all have equipment ranges that feature Clubs for every level of golfer. So again I'll reiterate that I'm looking for any handicap level.
Here is what the program entails:
- A comprehensive Custom Fit for every Area in the bag (Driver, F/Ways, Irons, Wedges, Putter & Ball) which will be documented and showcased in the Newsletter over various weeks.
- Personal Review/Testimonial of each of the above equipment areas.
- To endorse and promote the Brand you represent along with our Custom Fitting process.
The fortunate few would be expected to purchase and play the full bag of equipment so this is perhaps only attractive to people who were intending investing in their equipment this year. So my contribution and a large carrot to dangle to sweeten this investment would be a whopping 20% Saving .
Plus you'll get a £5 Commission Credit for any single Club referral and a £10 Commission Credit for any multi Club referral*
(*Commission is credited to Shop Account - multi Club referral equals Iron Sets, two or more Woods & Wedges)
If this is something you'd like to be considered for - Click Here
Please bear in mind:
Places are obviously limited and not guaranteed.
Any ability will be considered.
Your current equipment can be traded as part payment for the new equipment.
You will be required to provide testimony.
You will be photographed and videoed during the process.
Getting back to Tour Life for a second. One of the biggest benefits to the Players that actually are on Tour is the exposure and availability they have to the very best fine-tuned products. And if I were to focus on last weekend`s two winners they both have benefitted from having the very latest technologies fitted to their needs.
In Graeme Storms case he used the new TaylorMade M1 Driver that I have been showcasing these last few weeks to rack up some impressive Driving Performance Stats.
Using the M1 440 Driver Storm averaged 301 yards off the tee and hit 71% of fairways during the tournament. Compare those numbers to his 2016 Stats of 280 Yard Average and 63% of Fairways. Ok, so 2016 is obviously diluted over many more events and last week he clearly played very well in all areas of his game but that doesn`t hide the fact that these are significant gains, and the type of gains that contributed to him being able to play so well.
Meanwhile in Hawaii Justin Thomas was also showcasing what good product Titleist have made in their equipment portfolio. Specifically the NEW D-917 Wood Range.
This is another brand and model that will soon be arriving with a full Fitting Solution for Drivers, Fairways & Hybrids.
Check out what Titleist have to say about them. Click here to view.
These will be arriving any day, whilst we already have the TaylorMade M-Family, Callaway XR, GBB Fusion & EPIC Ranges plus the Ping G Series Woods all available for expert fitting on our GC2/HMT Launch Monitor.
To book a Fitting Session - Click Here
For those of you still looking for a Bargain the SALE CONTINUES.
My 'Jan-Iversary Sale' continues In Store and there are still plenty of amazing bargains left to be snapped up.
To give you an idea:
All Shoes & Golf Bags are HALF PRICE.
35% OFF Galvin Green 2016 Jackets.
Galvin Green Insulas & Sweaters NOW ONLY £49.
Shirts from as little as £10.
Taylormade M1 2016 Drivers ONLY £229.
Taylormade AeroBurner Irons PLUS Cart Bag ONLY £249.
Cap Clearance.
Here`s what to expect during it:
*Future Purchase Voucher - These will be given out on any Full Payment Purchase over £50 (EG: Spend £50 - £75 and receive a £5 Voucher that can be used on any future Full Price Purchase, Spend over £75 and receive a £10 Voucher that can be used on any future Full Price Purchase)
Anyone wishing to redeem a FPD Voucher from my Christmas 'Double Discount' Promotion, all I ask is your purchase is double the value of the Voucher (EG: If your Voucher is worth £15 you need to buy something worth £30 or more - Any queries ask in store or click here)
Last week was my first winter alliance of 2017 and what a treat it was. The venue was Murcar Links and the weather was everything you did not want at such a golf course; rain, 50mph winds and freezing temperature. This was truly a battle for survival. Think I had 6 layers on so my swing was slightly restricted. At times it was so windy the ball wouldn't stay on the mat. The fun part was that the direction of the wind was so that every hole apart from one was across you. This made the two nines a similar test.
It took me 6 holes to remember how to play in such winds and from there on the scoring wasn't bad at all. But before that were some really high numbers. On a day that 19 players had No Returns, I decided I would still come in with a score and that score was in the mid 80's. John Duff who seems to love anything but calm, warm playing conditions, won with 73 (+4) which was very impressive indeed.
Next week is at Peterhead but surprisingly the forecast is very good - up to 10 degrees and flat calm. Very hard to believe about it being flat calm but anything is better than last week.
With the weather being much nicer this week, I had a chance to go out on the course and test out some new product. I took out the new Calloway EPIC Driver and Fairway Wood. These have been very highly rated as you may have heard about already.
For me the findings were very interesting. The comparison I was making was with my current Callaway Big Bertha Alpha 816 DBD and my XR Fairway Wood. A lot of what Stuart mentioned on his blog last week about what the clubs were designed to do and where you'd likely see the improvements proved quite true (for me anyway).
The most impressive was the forgiveness of the EPIC Driver. When I hit it sweet it would go about 15/20 yards further than my 816. The flight was much stronger in that it was high but going forward.
But when I didn't hit it so well it still went straight and further than my 816 would. I couldn't believe it at times. Especially when I hit one off the heel and what I thought was going to be a slice ended up a tiny fade and still caught the right side of the fairway. Losing only 10 yards on well hit ones. And who doesn't want a club that is easier to hit and goes further. For me, the EPIC is the winner and I will definitely be putting it in the bag for the upcoming season.
The Fairway Wood was also impressive in that the miss hits were still relatively straight and not really in trouble. Compared to my XR though it seemed to go pretty high and a little bit shorter. There are many different shafts so I think with the right shaft this could be better than my XR also. Again the forgiveness was the biggest thing.
