'We are swaying, we are swaying, no again. Ah cannae see.'
Yes, once again it was scientifically proven that you can take the boy out of Scotland but you`ll never take the Scotland out of the boy. One of Scotland`s finest exports, Rod Stewart, who now lives across the pond in America, came home to Scotland for a 'wee visit' and what did he decide to do?.....get steamin.
But I suppose as it was almost Burns Night it provided some harmless 'Tam O`Shanter' and never have the words 'When chapmen billies leave the street, And drouthy neibors, neibors meet, As market days are wearing late, An' folk begin to tak the gate; While we sit bousing at the nappy, And getting fou and unco happy' been so apt.
I have to say Rod Stewarts 'tipsy antics' whilst TRYING to help with the Scottish Cup Draw live on Sky Sports were probably only the second most cringe worthy live appearance of the weekend. No, as we have come to expect, that accolade befell to…'Yo,yo, yo DJ Trump inda house.'
The 45th US President was sworn in at his inauguration surrounded by his loving family where his opening address to the citizens of America certainly raised a few eyebrows (but not Melania`s…don`t think they are able to ever move again?)
I wonder if Rabbie Burns was there he`d be thinking; 'O Lord my God. that glib-tongu'd Aitken, My vera heart an' flesh are quakin, To think how we stood sweatin, shakin, An' pish'd wi' dread, While he, wi' hingin lip an' snakin, Held up his head. Lord, in Thy day o' vengeance try him, Lord, visit them wha did employ him, And pass not in Thy mercy by them, Nor hear their pray'r, But for Thy people's sake destroy them.'
I didn`t realise he had so many kids and grandchildren...they must be the Trump-ettes.? I think Donald made a huge mistake though in getting them to make up his Inauguration Address because other than the fact it was obviously written in crayon, it seemed that they just stole a bunch of lines from movies. (The Dark Knight Rises and The Bee Movie being two that have drawn comparisons.) So it got me thinking what other Movie lines might have been better to plagiarize?
'Is this Russia? This isn't Russia, is it?' (Tye Webb - Caddyshack) 'If I can change and you can change, everybody can change.' (Rocky - Rocky 4) 'Because, if any human being were going to perpetrate such a fantastic hoax, it would have been me. Otis. My robe.' (Lex Luthor - Superman) 'We live in a world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded by men with guns. I have a greater responsibility than you could possibly fathom and my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, saves lives. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a man who rises and sleeps under the blanket of the very freedom that I provide, and then questions the manner in which I provide it. I would rather you just said thank you, and went on your way, either way, I don't give a damn what you think you are entitled to.' (Col Jessep - A Few Good Men) 'Perhaps it's time to reinstitute an old custom. Grant them prima noctes.' (Longshanks - Braveheart) 'Next, we are going to steal (pause for effect) DA MOON. And once the moon is mine, the world will give me whatever I want to get it back. And I will be the greatest villain of all time.' (Gru - Despicable Me)
It wouldn`t surprise me, given the way he seems to have stumbled misguidedly through this Presidential Campaign, if Trump had appointed the wrong Jon Favreau to his team. And instead of the Political speechwriter that Obama put his faith in he actually hired the guy that appeared in Friends as Monica`s Billionaire boyfriend and who also went on to direct the Ironman movies, you know the ones about the Billionaire Superhero, Tony Stark, who lives in the big garish tower with his name emblazoned on the side of it.
If his speech was unremarkable, then so too was his predictions of a 'record breaking inauguration ceremony' judging by the attendance.
The same can`t be said for the standard of golf on show right now. We are only 3 weeks into 2017 and we have already witnessed 2 sub-sixty scores.
Last week the PGA Tour arrived back on mainland America for the Career Builder Challenge in California. And it couldn`t have been a better named event as the Top 5 players wasn`t so much as a "Who`s Who" but more a "Fa`s Fa?" (As some of our locals might say.) I suppose the man grabbing the headlines was Canada`s Adam Hadwin, who notched the second 59 on the PGA Tour in as many weeks. But it wasn`t enough to stop the wonderfully, can-only-be-an-American-with-that, named Hudson Swafford. You could say that his 1 stroke victory over a guy that shot 59 was A Damn Hard Win.
It was nearly a clean sweep for the Americans on the Major Tours last week as Dustin Johnson, making a rare foray onto the European Tour in the Abu Dhabi HSBC Championship, finished 2nd despite an eagle 3 at the 72nd hole, missing out by only 1 stroke to the winner Tommy Fleetwood. Although Fleetwood required a birdy at the finishing hole to ensure the win in regulation.
Not only was it a 1st & 2nd for USA it was also a 1st & 2nd for TMA, or to give them their full Title - TaylorMade.
In particular it was more success for the range of Clubs I`ve mentioned heavily so far this year. The M FaM1ly.
So there is no question it has been a hot start for their new Clubs on the Tours, but it's in the Stores that they will hope they perform best. The official Product Release is this Friday, 27 January.
Avid readers of this blog (you know the ones who ride Unicorns and own invisibility cloaks...hence the reason you've never seen one) will know that I talk a lot about the importance of correct Custom Fitting of products like these to ensure you experience the maximum performance and benefit that they claim they can bring.
Well to reinforce that point I'm going to talk about a couple of things.
Firstly, on Monday I made the trip to Kingsfield in Linlithgow to attend a TaylorMade Training Seminar along with several of my fellow Pros & Retailers. Matt Byrne, a hugely experience and knowledgeable Club Fitter for TaylorMade took us through the 'nuts & bolts' of both the features of their new product and important fitting aspects.
What I found most useful and reassuring was he was stressing to us (Trained Professionals) the same message I try to extend to you...there isn't really any bad product being made these days but to unlock the best performance out of any of it (regardless of Brand) it needs to be Fitted to what each individual's golf swing needs, but equally better technique will always outperform new technology with poor technique.
Secondly, I got an immediate opportunity to see both the improvement that the TaylorMade M Products can make on someone's game AND the improvements that better technique COMBINED with the correct technology can have on someone's game…
On Tuesday I did 2 TaylorMade Club Fits. The first was with Johnny Montgomerie who is a low single figure player.
Johnny was using a TaylorMade SLDR, so recent tech and a Club that had also been fitted to him.
The key things to look at are: Johnny was hitting his own Driver well, his Launch Number was good for the Speed he was generating (11° Launch & 108mph Club) but the efficiency of his Ball Speed wasn't ideal and there was too much spin on the flight, meaning the ball was curving and stalling more.
Other than putting a slightly lower flex shaft in (Stiff - compared to the very heavy X-Flex shaft he had been recommended before. Probably to try and combat the high spin numbers) the Club spec I gave Johnny was effectively the same because his launch was good.
This meant any performance gain was purely down to the improvement in the design of the Club. Straight away we saw increased Ball Speed (5mph faster) and much lower and more satisfactory Spin Numbers (500rpm less) this added up to 13 Yards more Carry and a 10° flatter Descent Angle. In other words it was flying further and rolling more…
SLDR
Ball Speed: 152mph (Avg) 154mph (Best)
Spin: 3093rpm (Avg)
Carry: 249yds (Avg) 255yds (Best)
M2
Ball Speed: 157mph (Avg) 160mph (Best)
Spin: 2550rpm (Avg)
Carry: 262yds (Avg) 268yds (Best)
In the next Club Fitting Session Jim Chissell, a slightly higher handicap, came looking to upgrade his woods.
He was using PING G5's which are good Clubs but slightly more dated technology than Johnny's SLDR. Jim's Clubs also had Stiff Shafts which I knew from our Iron Fitting Session last year were not suitable now for his swing speed.
However, having let Jim hit a few shots with his own PING Driver, to attain some Launch Monitor Data, I could see that it wasn't just his equipment that was limiting his Driving Performance.
The most obvious issue was Jim's 'Attack' on the Ball - his swing was very much 'Out & Up' which meant he was swinging out to the right which encouraged him to hit up to much on the ball.
His launch was way up in the air (19°) which meant the ball never had a chance to go forward (Pic 1).
We worked a little on a different swing feeling, lowered his Tee Peg slightly to help encourage that feeling and changed a few of the Characteristics of the Driver spec, before trying the M2.
The better attack on the ball helped launch it better (Pic 2) and with a lower loft, more flexible/lighter shaft and the newer head technology we were able to pick up an average of 13 Yards more carry (there was 21 difference between the 2 best drives with either Club) and, like Johnny, the improved Trajectory would encourage more roll.
G5
Ball Speed: 112mph (Avg) 115mph (Best)
Launch: 20°
Carry: 170yds (Avg) 182yds (Best)
M2
Ball Speed: 116mph (Avg) 120mph (Best)
Launch: 17°
Carry: 184yds (Avg) 203yds (Best)
Jim also enjoyed 20 yard gains on both his Fairway Wood & Hybrid too.
Needless to say both guys have invested in their respective Clubs.
You too could be taking advantage of these performance gains. Why not book a Fitting Session today - Click Here
And if Jim & Johnny aren't enough of an endorsement then perhaps the news that Tiger Woods has just signed to play TaylorMade is?
If all that TaylorMade News wasn't exciting enough there's more.
On top of the M Family Woods and Irons TaylorMade are introducing a new golf ball that hasn't only pricked my ears up.
Check out this short video by clicking here.
If that's what a ball can do for John Rahm's performance it'd be interesting to see what it perhaps could do for you.
I say perhaps because this is very much a premium ball aimed at a certain type of player. This is, as the video compares, a Titleist Pro V1/V1x equivalent.
And they too will be in store soon.
Week 7 was completed without a hitch.
So with 2 Weeks still to go here are how things stand in the race for the Top 2 spots per League.
Click here to view standings.
We are entering the last few days of my 'Jan-Iversary Sale'
So make the most of the remaining bargains.
*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)
Winter Alliance
Last week the winter alliance was at Peterhead and with the weather being nicer at the start of the week everyone was hoping for summer greens, but that was too much to ask! Even though the night before was fairly mild, Wednesday morning was frosty and after a 1 hour delay to try and get on summer greens, it wasn't to be. Nevertheless it turned out a beautiful day and as I was playing quite late on, the temperature was as high as 9 degrees and there was hardly any wind!
I played okay and putted well on the winter greens... for the first 6 holes anyway! From there on I couldn't hole a putt. With the winter tees, the course par was 70 and I came in with a 73 after a costly double bogey on the 17th! I finished T-8 and that was not the best score from Portlethen as our own Dave Fleming finished 1 better than me. The winners on 67 were - Drew Buchan and Chris Lamb with Sean Lawrie (who I played with) coming 1 short of them.
I will not be playing the next alliance at Royal Tarlair but will be back the following week at Buckpool.
Junior Development
As we are well into the New Year, now is a good time to tell you about some of the plans for the upcoming season regarding Junior Development, Junior Camps and lesson packages.
The first thing coming round very quickly is the Easter Junior Camp and with last year's success we are hoping to run this twice in the Easter Holidays. The camp ran Monday to Friday from 9am - 1pm last year and for some people 9am seemed a bit early so that will probably change to 10am-2pm this year. And like I said we are going to offer both weeks of the holidays and hopefully there will be as much interest in this as last time.
More details about the Junior Easter Camps and how to enter will follow in a few weeks once the dates and times are finalised.
Regarding individual junior lessons, I thought I'd add some packages this year which are aimed to develop the player all round and could track their progress. See the packages and prices below.
Lesson Prices & Packages
Individual Junior 30 Mins - £15
1 Hour Junior Group - £30 (Max 4 per Group)
Packages:
Swing Builder Package (3 x 30 Minute Range Session + 6 Hole on Course Session*) - £85
This package focuses on the techniques required for every aspect of the game; Long game (Driving), Approach play (Irons), Short game (Pitching & Chipping) and Putting. After building those techniques, we take them to the course for a 6 Hole on Course lesson to learn how and when those skills will be used to tackle the Challenge of the Course in the most effective way. The package is made for any level of junior, it can be someone who is just starting the game or someone who has played for a while and simply wants to improve performance.
Game Builder Package (2 x 30 Minute Range Session + 2 x 6 Hole On Course Session*) - £100
This package is aimed at juniors who have played for some time and are just going onto playing the course or the ones who that have been playing the course and maybe even have a handicap but can't seem to lower their scores. The package will focus mainly on how the student plays the course and most importantly how they can lower their scores/handicap. Aspects such as: course management, club selections, awkward lies, short game, rules and etiquette will all be covered in depth to ensure the player can beat the course!
*On Course Sessions will be subject to suitable availability of the Course.
