It`s the hottest question in golf! ‘If we are going to get as good as Bernhard do we need to be Langer over our Shots!?’

Hot on the heels of The Open Championship was the turn of the Over 50`s to battle it out for their Senior Open Championship over in Wales at Royal Porthcawl. And if the combination of the conditions and course provided a stern test for the players at Birkdale then the gale force wind that buffeted the Welsh coast Links was nothing short of brutal!

To give you an idea of how fierce the wind was it was so strong it almost changed Bernhard Langer`s facial expression!! I think the only thing sterner than Bernhard`s gaze is his resolve and whilst his pace of play is methodical and deliberate in the extreme he simply wears down both the course and ultimately his opponents. But do you know the best thing about watching the way Bernhard Langer plays and performs from a Seniors perspective...you can have an afternoon nap, watch Countdown and still see him finish his round!!

A few hundred miles up the West Coast and the weather wasn`t much better for the Ladies as they got acclimatised to Links golf before their own Open Championship which kicks off this Thursday at Kingsbarns. But first it was Dundonald to once again host a Scottish Open, this time it was the girls who were tackling the Dundonald dunes. I did have a little chuckle to myself, because only a few weeks earlier the LPGA had circulated to their Players a new ‘stricter’ Dress Code as they felt a ‘select few’ of their Lady Golfers were pushing the boundaries of acceptability a little too far when it came to overly revealing outfits, short skirts and plunging necklines!...best way to sort out the discontent that followed them enforcing that...send them to Scotland in the Summer where the only thing ‘plunging’ is the temperature! Honestly, some of these female golfers were so wrapped up that the only thing they were ‘revealing’ was their eyes! At one point it was difficult to tell if they were golfers or ninjas!

The conditions were only slightly better on the main Tours last weekend with both the PGA & European Tour events disrupted by heavy rain and weather delays.

In Europe they were playing the European Open in Hamburg and they served up a ‘Whopper’! The Par 5 finishing Hole played a big part in the outcome with firstly Jordan Smith birdying it in regulation to force a Playoff with Alexander Levy. Then Levy, with a putt to win, missed from only a few feet in the 1st Hole of Sudden Death. Back they went to play it again, and this time a sublime chip, the full width of the green up and over a severe slope, and the resultant putt from Jordan Smith was good enough to land the young Englishman his first Tour title. It`s possibly the first time the TV viewers have witnessed such a great pair of Jordan`s since Katie Price was on Loose Women!

It was double delight over at Glen Abbey in the Canadian Open, which required a Playoff too! Jhonattan Vegas (ooh, Spellcheck didn`t like that attempt!!) successfully defended the title he won last year. This time he needed a blistering final round and a playoff to secure victory where, much like in Germany, the Par 5 final hole had a big say in the outcome. In similar fashion the hole needed an accurate drive to tempt and allow players to go for the green in 2, while the second shot had to be fired over water to a well-protected green. Although Vegas got a fortunate break in the Playoff, where his 2nd shot from the fairway bunker clipped the lip on its way out but still made the carry over the water on to the green to set up the win over Charlie Hoffman, I feel justice was done. Only because earlier in the round Charlie Hoffman had received a very dubious relief drop whilst in a Bunker. For those who perhaps didn’t see it his ball was badly plugged, making his recovery shot very difficult, however in taking his stance Hoffman felt his feet were touching the lining of the bunker (you may remember that Branden Grace got a similar ruling at Wentworth earlier in the season?) Charlie also got a FREE drop which meant he could not only drop the ball to a point where his ball and stance were both on the flat of the bunker, but also it didn`t plug so deeply in the sand.

Dubious relief and knowing the Rules brings me nicely to a Section I have decided to add to the Newsletter. Huge thanks needs to go to our Resident Ref. – Dave Fleming (who knows all the Rules required whether it`s from Scorecards to Red Cards!!) who has agreed to help me create this and cover as many important and relevant Rules, situations and how to administer them.

So I thought, in the light of the conditions we`ve both witnessed on TV and experienced of late here at the course, a good place to start is with ‘Casual Water.’ It`s something that I see many people getting wrong – perhaps just through not knowing. So here is our guide to:

‘CASUAL WATER’

To read Dave`s comprehensive explanation of the Casual Water Ruling & Relief procedure – Click Here

But here are the important Bullet points.
• You are entitled to relief from any temporary accumulation that interferes with your stance, area of swing or intended line of play*(*green only)
• Relief is taken at the Nearest Point Of Relief (not the Nicest!) – May be in Rough!
• Drop Thru The Green(Complete relief within 1 Clublength)
• Place In Hazards (Maximum NPOR) – You or Ball may still be in Water but you are definitely still IN Bunker!
• Place on the Green (Maximum NPOR) – You or Ball may still be in Water and you may be OFF Green!
• A Hole only becomes UNPLAYABLE if there is NO Thru The Green Relief or the Cup is submerged/surrounded with no Line Of Play access from any direction.

If there are any Rules or Scenarios you would like highlighted let us know by – Clicking Here

One of the best ways to avoid Casual Water is to play somewhere sunny!

With that in mind and given that the local weather is already doing it`s damnedest to get us acclimatised for the autumn & winter I have been putting my thinking cap on as well as putting heads together with the Foremost affiliated Team at Your Golf Travel to create some potential Winter Coaching Trips.

These can take place anytime between November & February and provide great short and inexpensive Golf Breaks to excellent Golf Resorts in Spain, Portugal or even Dubai or Abu Dhabi. They include* Transfers, Accommodation, Food, Golf, Buggies, Practice Facilities and Coaching – Flights need to be added which obviously vary depending on the dates and when booked (*levels vary depending on Destination & Package)

Here are some of the Examples: (Minimum 7 Golfers + Pro)

Pestana Carvoeiro Resort or Penina Golf Resort (Portugal) - £349 (Nov – Feb)
• 3 Nights Dinner, B&B
• 3 Rounds of Golf
• Exclusive Area On Range
• Unlimited Range Usage
• Daily Instruction

Almenara Golf Resort (Spain) - £349 (Nov – Feb)
• 3 Nights B&B
• 3 Rounds of Golf
• Reserved Slot On Range
• Unlimited Range Usage
• Daily Instruction

La Manga Resort (Spain) - £329 (Nov – Feb)
• 3 Nights B&B
• 3 Rounds of Golf
• Reserved Slot On Range
• Unlimited Range Usage
• Daily Instruction

Southern Sun Golf Resort (Abu Dhabi) - £449 (Oct & Nov or Jan & Feb)
• 5 Nights Dinner, B&B
• 3 Rounds of Golf @ Abu Dhabi or Saadiyat Beach GC
• Access to Abu Dhabi 9 Holer For Instruction Round
• 1 Round of Floodlit Night Golf
• Reserved Slot On Range
• Unlimited Range Usage
• Daily Instruction

If you and a group of Friends are interested in any of these and would like more details get in touch for a no obligation enquiry by clicking here.

What`s not to like about getting away from a Scottish Winter, Golf AND improving your game before next Season!? Surely everyone`s a Winner!?

There were plenty of winners last week here at Portlethen.

Unfortunately they weren`t all Portlethen Winners, especially on Sunday as we hosted the second of the Clubs Texas Scramble Opens

Here are the winning Scores from Sunday, 30 July `17:

BEST SCRATCH
Richard Hyland / Marc Vass / Grant Cheyne / Paul Vass
(All Hazelhead) – 58 ACB

*REMINDER – This Saturdays Competition is the Bill Lamb Memorial which is replacing the Wormald Trophy – This will also be played as a Texas Scramble format so Teams of 4 are the preferred amount.

There is also a Texas Scramble option in my upcoming Professionals Day Competition and I have an IMPORTANT UPDATE on that. It slipped my mind that by mid-August there won`t be enough morning daylight to allow the Greenstaff to have all 18 Greens cut for my Scheduled 7.30am Shotgun so this has now been pushed back to an 8am Shotgun Start!

This also means the afternoon Shotgun will now start at 12.30pm

Here are the other important details on what will be a fantastic event:

In Association with The National Autistic Society – All Proceeds going to Charity.

PROFESSIONALS DAY – On Superhero Saturday, (Keep Reading!!) 19 August

TWO Shotgun Starts!

Morning Shotgun @ 8am
Teams Of 4
Betterball Competition
Yellow Ball Challenge
Beat The Pro
Lots Of On Course Challenges
Welcome Pack
Halfway Refreshments
PRIZE GIVING @12.45pm

Afternoon Shotgun @ 12.30pm
Teams Of 4
Scramble Competition
Beat The Pro
Lots Of On Course Challenges
Welcome Pack
Halfway Refreshments
PRIZE GIVING @ 5pm

Entry = £40 Per Team (£10 Per Person) or £70 To Play Both morning & afternoon.

CLOTHING REQUIREMENTS: The Brighter The Better, Autism use the rainbow spectrum and it would be great to see as many brightly coloured golfers coming out in support of our Fundraising efforts – PLUS Any person or Team that come Superhero Themed or in Fancy Dress will automatically receive a ‘Marvel-Ous Mulligan!’

*REMEMBER: You are more than welcome to play in BOTH!!

Saturday saw the Golf Plus Quaich being contested. And I`m pretty sure I know what the Winner is going to fill it with at the Prize Giving. A few minutes before Teeing off Sandy Duff came in to the Shop because: “I need to have my lucky Coffee! Last time I had one of your Coffees I had a good score!” - 4 Hours (ok, it was maybe more like 4 hours 20!) and 2 open air toilet stops later and Sandy burst in to tell me “Told you your Coffee was lucky!” His Nett 65 turned out to be the best score of the day on a day of particularly good scoring.

Division 1
1 James Miller 75(8) - 67
2 Ryan Sheikh 78(10) - 68
3 Scott Livingstone 79(10) - 69

Division 2
1 David Farmery 80(14) - 66
2 Graham Rennie 79(13) - 66
3 Gary Chalmers 82(14) - 68

Division 3
1 Sandy Duff 82(17) - 65
2 Mark Clubb 85(18) - 67
3 Martin Smith 84(16) - 68

Wednesday was a Walk On Medal but with the dreadful early morning weather it became more of a Walk OFF Medal. However the Course held up and when the weather cheered up into a fabulous evening the majority of players and scores appeared.

Division 1
1 Lewis Shand 71(2) - 69
2 Kevin Daglish 70(1) - 69
3 Raymond Summers 78(9) - 69

Division 2
1 Scott Livingstone 78(11) - 67
2 Allan Towler 81(11) - 70
3 John Goate 86(14) - 72

Division 3
1 Brian Molloy 87(17) - 70
2 Mark Clubb 96(18) - 78
3 Shaun Gray 101(16) - 85

A few Practice sessions and the odd game later and Davy has not only stopped the upward spiral of his handicap but whacked a chunk back off it to sit at his lowest Handicap since 2015!

Don`t struggle with your game and also don`t think a Lesson means you`ll be asked to start again – You Won`t! We will work with what you have and make you understand it better – To book your Lesson Click Here.

The Ladies were in Stableford action last weekend with Isabel Murray & Elaine Stoddart leading the way on 39 Points.

Elaine, alongside Linda Craik, were also away representing Portlethen GC in the Coronation Fours at Brechin where their 32 Team Stableford points just missed out to the winners 36 Points.

More Exciting Shop News! Most weeks I have written about some Tour Player winning whilst using the latest TaylorMade M series Product, and again young Jordan Smith claimed his European Open title using Clubs from that Family and now I have an amazing opportunity for you guys to take advantage of.

Once again I have been fortunate to be one of a very select few TaylorMade Accounts that will be offering 'DOUBLE YOUR MONEY!' when you TRADE UP/TRADE IN to any new M Series Product.

Ts&Cs do apply but there is no smoke and mirrors regarding how the Valuation of your Club is achieved. It's a £ for £ x2 conversion (Maximum Double Trade In Value given will be £150)

PLUS on top of the promotion and our already comprehensive GC Quad Fitting proposition we have also secured a SECOND TaylorMade Fitting Day Experience on Wednesday, 23 August - 2pm - 6pm.

To Book your Fitting Appointment or a Slot for the Aug 23rd T/Made Day simply call: 01224 782571

We also have now received our new PING G400 Drivers, Fairways & Hybrids for Trial & Fitting.

Again to book a slot – Click Here