And tonight's top headlines...
BONG!: 4 Dead in Alleged Terrorist Attack on Westminster Bridge! BONG!: Booking doesn't go live as scheduled for Gents Competition at Portlethen Golf Club!
On that note I'm sure many of the Members out there will be interested to hear that I've just taken delivery of the latest thing that helps you focus on the important things - the makers have called it 'Perspective' and I'll be promoting it alongside a Trade In Offer. You'll get a FREE Trial Pack when you hand in any old pair of twisted knickers!
With the saddening events in London happening only a few hundred miles away we had a lot to be thankful for last weekend. The sun blessed our Opening Weekend of the Season and Scotland won at the fitba! All thanks to the guy from Coldplay! So with all that going on its important that we Viva La Vida!
As I mentioned it was Opening Day last Saturday, with that 'Fun' Team Competition marking the start of the Official Golf Season. My previous 2 Opening Day experiences have been wet & miserable but, thanks to a weekend of wall to wall sunshine, there was certainly no sign of cold play this year!
In fact we've already had our first sighting of 'Golfers in Shorts' at Portlethen it was that nice!
The occasion and the weather brought out 44 Teams and 4 times as many smiles. The format was the now traditional 2 Best Nett Scores Per Hole.
The first game out led all day until the 43rd Game posted their score!
RESULTS: Opening Day - Saturday, 25 March
Team Results
1st - Gary Lloyd/Brian Davie/Brandon Simpson/Matthew Davie - 123 (£25.00 Each)
2nd - Jay Donald/Colin Beaton/Tony Lee/Rikki Chalmers - 126 - (£15.00 Each)
3rd - Ian Elmslie/Dave Fleming/Bob Inkster/Doug Robertson - 128 ACB - (£10.00 Each)
1st Ladies - Barbara Tait/Alison Bruce/Pat Penfold/Liz Smith - 131 ACB (£7.50 Each)
Nearest The Pin - £15 Each
@ 5th - Jim Steele
@12th - John Finlay
I also put on the, hopefully will become traditional, Easter Egg - Chick & Bunny Hunt. And as sun broke I was out sneakily and strategically hiding Tempting Treasures all over the Course. We asked anyone who found the Chocolate Treats to send in a Pic. So here is the Rollo of Honour!
Unless many of you have found a Chocolate and weren`t able to take a photo or send it in I can only assume that there are still plenty out there unclaimed!? So if you see me whizzing around the course on a buggy anytime soon, rest assured I`m not out playing golf…I`ll save that for mid-August as usual!
With Event #1 out the way and the Golf Season now underway I want to turn your attention to the End a Of Season Finale and remind all of you 7 Day Men about The Cappro Cup.
For those of you hearing this for the first time I'll give you a brief summary. It is an End of Season Ryder Cup-style Match played over the weekend of Sat, 7 & Sun, 8 October.
Qualifying starts on Saturday, 8 April and takes on the following criteria:
The Cappro Cup, Saturday/Sunday, 7 & 8 October.
"10 Events, 4 Divisions, 24 Players, 2 Teams, One Match, Lots of Fun."
- Points Awarded for the Gents April to September Monthly Medals + Club Champ Qual Rd1, Strokeplay Championship Rd1, Strokeplay Championship Rd3 & Golf Plus Quaich (10 Comps In Total)
- Points Are Awarded On A
- 10 Points For 1st Place Down To 1 Point For 10th Place" Sliding Scale - NOTE: These Points Are Awarded ONLY To The Top 10 Players Per Category IN The Qualifying, Not Necessarily The Top 10 Scores Of The Day!
- You Qualify In Your Handicap Categories (Cat 1: 5 & Below, Cat 2: 6 -10, Cat 3: 11 - 16, Cat 4: 17 - 28) *If you maove Category Mid-Season your Points move with you.
- Top 4 From Each Handicap Category Qualify Automatically (*This may be altered proportionately depending on Number of Entries Per Category)
- The Club Champion & Runner Up Qualify Automatically
- Plus 6 Captains Wildcards
Last season`s match was a huge success, and we are hoping that this year`s qualifying campaign attracts even more support, competitiveness and enthusiasm. It only costs £5 to enter, and if you play well throughout the year and make the final 24, you will be treated to an extremely enjoyable and memorable weekend of golf which includes.
Pay £5 to join the qualifying race which starts this Saturday in the April Medal.
You can enter anytime throughout the Qualifying Campaign, but your points only start accruing from then.
Here is a few photos of last year`s event and I've also attached a quick video of how last year`s match played out!
Click here to watch video.
It was all things Match play last week on the Tour as well. But the change in format didn't really make any change to form as 2 of this season's hottest players blitzed their way to the Final.
World No.1, Dustin Johnson and the now World No.10, Jon Rahm made it all the way through the Round Robin stages and the knockout rounds to set up a slugfest of a showdown. There aren't many guys that can out drive Dustin Johnson but Jon can certainly Rahm a ball too, with both players hitting several drives over 400 Yards throughout their 7 Matches!
As you can imagine it was a Sales & Marketing Dream for their Equipment Manufacturer as not only was it an All-TaylorMade Final but it was also the ideal M1 Player v M2 Player Head to Head!
I can't guarantee you 400+ Yards with these Clubs but I can Guarantee you won't be disappointed with the results and improvement they can bring to your game.
This brings me to my latest announcement, and one I'm really excited about. I've been lucky enough (but with considerable investment I hasten to add) to be allocated one of the first batch of the new GC Quad Launch & Fitting Monitors. This is a significant upgrade from the GC2/HMT Model that I currently use.
I hope to receive this early next month and I intend to put on some special events to help...erm, launch the launch monitor!
As I said before, 'it's all about the Fitting' - even when it comes to your Shoes. I've finally been able to complete my new 'Shoe Section' which now includes our Fitting Shoes.
We now can measure your feet and allow you to try the recommended Size & Width Combination. Because contrary to what 'the wife says'...and as the FootJoy Sign states, SIZE DOES MATTER!
To help promote this service and in conjunction with FootJoy, I am giving away a FREE Pair of FJ Pro Dry Socks with every pair of 'Measured for your Feet' Shoes purchased.
I also have a fantastic Shoe Trade In Offer on Selected adidas Shoe Models where you could save a whopping £20 OFF just for handing in your old pair!
And on top of charging you less I'm also able to charge you quicker thanks to my other Promotion. Save £25 OFF a Lithium Trolley Battery when you Trade In your old one. Like the shoes...they don't even need to work!
There are still slots available for Fitting Appointments coming up in these Brand Specific Demo Days:
TaylorMade Fitting Day
Friday, 7 April - 2pm until 4pm (US Masters Friday)
Callaway Fitting Day
Wednesday, 31 May - 2pm until 4pm
To Book a 30 Minute Fitting Appointment - Click Here
The Ladies got the Counting Competitions off and running on Tuesday, and in typical fashion the grey clouds and rain returned just in time for their golf day!
Division 1
1st - Sally Ward: 99(31) - 68
2nd - Pat Penfold: 103(27) - 76
3rd - Linda Craik: 90(13) - 77
Last week I was playing at Craibstone for the 2nd round of the Alliance Championship. After shooting +3 at Portlethen the week before I needed a miracle to even be close to the prizes. I played alright at Craibstone and shot +1 which wasn't that bad considering the conditions of the course - a lot of mud balls and quick but bumpy greens!
The winner of the Professional Championship was our own Sean Lawrie after another great round of 64 (-5) to finish on -11 for the championship which beat his rival Greig Hutcheon by 5 shots! I'm afraid I was 15 shots behind the winner and finished 7th for the two days.
Another Portlethen member grabbed a trophy at the Alliance Championship - the Veterans pot went to Dave Fleming.
So well done to our winners!
Easter Junior Camp
With the season officially underway I want to remind everyone of the Easter Junior Camp running both weeks of the Easter holidays.
There are still 4 spaces in the second week.
The Junior Easter Camps will run both weeks of the Easter holidays, Monday - Friday, 10am - 2pm.
Little bit about the Easter Camp:
All aspects covered - Basic Swing Technique, Woods, Irons, Awkward lies, Short game, Putting
Rules & Etiquette
Fun games and skill tests everyday
On course tuition and competitions
Price - £40
If you would like any more information about the Easter camps or would like to book a place don't hesitate to contact myself - Click Here.