Maybe he`s a Lucky Plucker, but no one can accuse this Poulter of being chicken! |
Whilst I`ve never hidden the fact that I`m not the biggest fan of Ian James Poulter I can put that to one side, tip my hat, and acknowledge the fact that the only thing bigger than his Self-Belief is his heart! And I`m not just talking about the fact that it`ll probably be a bit swollen following the Tarzan-esque thumping he gave it on Sunday afternoon. For the benefit of anyone who was perhaps still struggling to wake from the Boxing-Induced Coma they slipped into on Saturday night following the Heavy Weight cuddling match! (Honestly, at one point I had mistaken Joshua v Parker for Frank Bruno & Vanessa Feltz in some bizarre Strictly Come Dancing Viennese Waltz Celebrity mash-up!) then I`m talking about Ian Poulter`s fantastic ‘Must-Win Win’ at the Houston Open. I`ve called it a ‘Must-Win Win’ because for Poulter to be able to play in this week`s Masters he HAD to win the Houston Open otherwise he`d be at home in his vest and pyjamas bottoms up to his waist in empty bags of Wotsits! (…..well I`m assuming that if he wasn`t playing he`d be doing exactly the same as me!!?) Fortunately for him, he WILL be playing. It`s not the first time that Poulter has stepped up to the plate when faced, with what seems, an improbable challenge. Starting the week he knew, nothing less than a win would see him miss out on more Masters Major Magic, an opening 73 seemed to close the lid on his coffin of qualification but before it had a chance to be nailed down he burst back into contention with rounds of 64 & 65 to lead going into round 4. A lead he extended to 3 strokes at one point. But that was before things started to ‘Beau’ up in his face! Beau Hossler, a young Californian with a swing like Colin Montgomerie and obviously the same Personal Trainer, was also fighting for his Augusta Dream and hit ‘Poults’ with a 4 Birdie blitz to sneak into a 1 stroke lead. A lead he held with both players facing 25+ foot putts on the final green. Hossler`s attempt looked in all the way but burned the lip, that would`ve sealed it, but it didn`t drop and meant Poulter had a chance. And with shades of Friday afternoon in Medinah, IJP rolled in a perfect putt – cue Captain Caveman scenes! Back to the 18th Tee for the Sudden Death Playoff, and when Hossler carved his drive way right into the Bunker and Poulter split the Fairway with a drive a straight as you can point it was more a case of ‘Beau & Arrow!’ Another shot missed right by the American, followed by a skulled Bunker Shot into the Lateral Hazard then it was all over bar the shouting. Poulter can pack his bags for Magnolia Lane…for Hossler, well he`ll just need to get out the vest and pyjama bottoms and crack open a crate of Wotsits!!
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Winning your way into the next week brings me nicely to a different slant on ‘Tour News’! As I`ve already talked about ‘the big boys’ at the top of the game I wanted to use this week`s Newsletter to keep you up to speed with those guys trying to get their foot on that ladder! You`ll all know that Kamran, having passed all his PGA Exams, decided he wanted to play Full Time this Season. After a winter of hard graft and practice Kamran, along with fellow Portlethen-ites Sam Kiloh and Ben Murray, headed to Haggs Castle, Glasgow to start their EuroPro journey at Stage 1 of Qualifying.
I`m delighted to be able to report that all 3 made it through that stage of Qualifying! Sam placed highest at Tied 7th on 1 Under Par (72, 71) with Ben & Kamran both Tied 13th on 2 Over Par (Ben 72, 74 & Kam 71, 75). The guys now make the long trip down to Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire to play Final Qualifying on Wed/Thur 4th & 5th April. I`m sure you join me in wishing them the very best of luck!
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I`ve also made a couple of trips down to the Glasgow area this past week. The first was to the East Kilbride Golf Club where I attended a fantastic Workshop run by Foremost Golf but hosted by Foresight Sports. Foresight sports might not mean anything to you but they are the Company who make the GCQuad Launch Monitor that I use and regularly speak about during features in this Newsletter. Their representative, Justin Sandler a fellow PGA Professional, to myself and a collection of likeminded Club Professionals through a Presentation on insight and interpretation of Launch Monitor Data, and how we can use that to better improve the Custom Fitting and Instruction we give to you, the Golfer. I`m forever trying to improve myself, my knowledge and my service levels so I can provide you guys with the highest standard of Professional Services possible. After the presentation and some sharing of ideas we then observed a ‘LIVE’ Custom Fit Session with, Eric, an East Kilbride Member, try out Drivers. Whilst there wasn`t anything noticeably different from the content and structure of the Fitting Session I looked on quite enviously, having had something similar previously, as Graeme (East Kilbride`s Resident Professional) and Justin conducted the Session in the Clubs recently constructed Indoor Simulator – which Graeme has brilliantly branded ‘The Golf Performance Lab’
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Some of you might know that the South side of Glasgow has had a particularly brutal Winter compared to ours and the Club, Committee & Members (many of whom were extremely sceptical) at East Kilbride all agree that the addition of their Indoor Golf Facility at the Club has been an essential addition and ensured much needed revenue throughout these bleak months to help strengthen their Membership proposition for both retaining and attracting. Out with Coaching & Fitting their Simulator is Fully Booked every evening throughout winter bringing in great F&B revenue and keeping Members at the Club until 9pm every week night. It`s definitely something we should be exploring here at Portlethen, because let`s be honest our Winter hasn`t exactly been tropical and the weather patterns `aint changing anytime soon!
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The second trip down the M9 was to by-pass Glasgow a little and head to Irvine. The reason for the trip there was to visit the Wilson Staff Factory alongside Finlay Wallace and his Dad, Mark. Finlay was the recipient of my Junior Scholarship award for this Season, and in association with Wilson Staff, part of the program is that I supply Finlay with new equipment. So we made the trip so not only could Finlay go through their Fitting Process, but he could also get a tour of the Factory and see just how his Clubs get constructed from Order Spec to finished article. After that we took in a game at the nearby Glasgow Gailes Course.
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| Finlay`s Wilson Exerience |
| Game At Glasgow Gailes |
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Hopefully with these new Clubs and my Coaching Finlay can get this Season off to a flyer! |
Unfortunately the actual Golf Season certainly did not get off to a flyer! If the previous Saturday was ‘Opening Day’ then last Saturday was very much ‘Closed Day’ with the Course hit with severe flooding again, caused more by Fridays overhead conditions than those we got on Saturday. The postponed Hippisley Cup Competition will now be held on Saturday 28th April in conjunction with the Keltie Trophy (Over 50`s Comp) Also worth noting, that day will also be used as the Club`s Qualifier for the Lombard Trophy National Pro-Am. The Criteria for this is as follows: Leading Score (Of those who have paid to Enter the Lombard Event) Qualify to represent Portlethen GC as part of a Pro-Am Pairing at a Regional Final.
Regional Final options for Portlethen GC are: Crieff GC Monday 18th June or Blairgowrie GC (Rosemount Course) Wednesday 20th June - The Winning Pair at both these Venues qualifies for the Grand Final. Grand Final will be held at Pesta Vila Sol Golf Resort, Portugal on Thursday 20th & Friday 21st September. Entry to the Qualifying is £2 and you must be available for the Dates listed above. The only Competition action we got last week was on the Wednesday, and in fact play that day was delayed until mid-morning! Division 1 |
| 1 Paul Morrison 40 Points |
| 2 Stephen Lawrie 40 Points |
| 3 Stuart Winpenny 38 Points |
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| 1 Alan Simpson 41 Points
2 Alexander Barrack 40 Points
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| 3 John Legge 34 Points |
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| 1 Ian Elmslie 39 Points |
| 2 Bruce Fraser 37 Points
3 Peter Smith 35 Points
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Another QUALIFYING EVENT definitely worthy of mention is back for another Season! The Cappro Cup is a Match not to be missed! 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, 6 & 7 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:
• Team Uniform • Breakfast & Lunch - Sat • After Match Meal - Sun • On Course Snacks (Liquids & Solids!) • Camaraderie • New Friendships
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 quick video of how last year`s match played out!
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So last week I spoke about the rotation of the upper body in the golf swing and how it can affect your swing, so this week will be about the lower body.
This test is called the Lower Quarter Rotation test and it measures how much rotation you have in the lower body. PGA Tour average for this test is over 60degrees of rotation on both the right and left side whereas of the amateur golfers that have been tested over 40% had less than 40degrees of rotation.
Poor lower body rotation can lead to certain swing faults such as a ‘Sway’ or ‘Slide’ but also if the lower body does not know how to rotate properly the hand and arms will take over which can cause an ‘Over the Top’ swing characteristic which leads to that dreaded slice.
To perform the test you will need 3 clubs with one being a 6 iron as the lie angle of a 6 iron is generally around 60deg. Place one club along the sole of the 6 iron (see pic) and the other club is to be held across your hips.
We will begin by testing the right hip, both internal and external.
Stand tall, with feet together and the club across your hips. As we are testing the right side we want most of the weight on the right leg so lift the left leg so the knee is slightly bent and only the toes are in contact with the ground. Now, simply rotate as far as you can using the club across your hips as a guide as to how far you have been able to rotate.
Repeat the same test on your left.
Try not to move the foot of the leg you are testing, the toes of the testing leg should be pointing forward at all times and remember there should be no pain when doing these tests.
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Put your name up in lights |
It only comes around once a year and it’s that time again - Masters week! The first Major of the year takes place at Augusta National this week, which we always take as a sign that the season is getting underway. With this in mind, we have one question for you: are you ready to play your best golf this year? |
Maximise your potential We've all sat looking at the honours boards in a clubhouse before, admiring the one name that appears to be on most and thinking 'wow, they must be pretty good!' Well, how good would it feel if that name up in lights was yours? If you come and speak to us we can talk about your strengths, weaknesses and goals for this season and look at the best way to help you achieve them, whether that’s a one-off fault-fixer lesson, regular sessions to aid your consistency or perhaps a look at your equipment. |
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