‘And the winner of the Oscar goes to………..STUART WILSON!’ Folks, I know that you know that a large chunk of this weekly blog is made up and verging on the bizarre, but I`m telling you right now – that opening line happened this year and I nearly spat my Pot Noodle out as I had no idea I was even up for an Oscar!
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Almost a winner... Well clearly I wasn`t but it was quite surreal not only seeing my name on screen at the Academy Awards (and the spelling was even correct!) but to hear a Scottish Voice make the acceptance speech was even more surprising! I`m pretty sure it was for ‘Best Original Weekly Email Newsletter’ or something like that! |
 | | Watch the Oscar speech on YouTube |
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The big winner on the night was the surprise package ‘Parasite’ – which turns out wasn't a documentary about Donald Trump`s reign in the White House! No, this was a South Korean production, and the vision of Bong Joon-Ho, which scooped 4 Oscars and was nominated for a further 2. It was the first Foreign Language Film to ever win ‘Best Picture’ – But I think the person in their entourage that deserved an award the most was their Translator who might have also gone down in history as the person who has made the most acceptance speeches in the Awards 92 Years!? |
I think many people, including the cast & crew, were surprised at how successful ‘Parasite’ was but one person who didn`t seem surprised at all at winning their award was Renee Zellweger……well, at least half her face wasn`t! She won ‘Best Actress’ for ‘Judy’, her portrayal of another famous Hollywood Icon…..but to be honest I didn`t think she looked or sounded like Judy Dench at all!!!? Of course, it was actually for playing Judy Garland who`s best remembered for starring in ‘The Wizard Of Oz’ and singing ‘Somewhere Over the Rainbow’, a song that was later covered by 90`s Pop sensation Gabriel who`s modern adaptation was titled ‘Some Hair Over The Eyebrow’. |
Needless to say, the biggest surprise this week was saved for Mrs Schofield! Now that is a ‘Bombshell’ that absolutely merited awards to be handed out, if not ‘Best Actor’ for playing a Husband & Father for 27 Years (that`s a Bett Lynch-esque run in a Drama if ever I`ve seen one!!) but most certainly for ‘Best Supporting Act’ following her reaction to the news. You can only wonder at what the rollercoaster of emotions must have been like, unsure whether your husband just had really good chemistry with Holly Willoughby but turns out he actually had more a taste for Gino`s Toad-In-The-Hole! |
If that wasn`t whirlwind enough there has been an actual Storm brewing all over the country, with Hurricane Ciara blasting us with Icy/Arctic Gailes. It certainly blew our chances of Calcutta Cup & Six Nations glory well off course. Never mind ‘Score A Try’ we were struggling to ‘Try And Score’! You know it`s not your day when about the only thing we seem to be good at we can`t even do anymore……hit someone with a beer bottle! However, we weren`t alone in the bad weather stakes, where I believe down in New Zealand they were getting ‘squashed’ by Storm Kia-Ora!
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News from around the globe It actually was extremely windy ‘Down Under’ with the conditions at the VIC Open in Victoria, Australia. This is the Tournament where both the Ladies & Gents European Tour play the same event and the same venue for the same(ie – equal) Prize Money for different Trophies! |
Like the Oscars, I thought it was a clean sweep for the South Korean`s with Hee Young Park winning the Ladies event, and Min Woo Lee winning the Gents! That was until I found out that Min Woo Lee is from Australia! Struth! Here`s another headscratcher (in my opinion – which may be controversial!) – Both these events were playing for the same value of Prize Money – The Ladies Courses measured approximately 500 & 600 Yards shorter than the men and had a Par of 72 & 73 respectively compared to the men`s 72 on both, fair enough – The Winner of the Gents event shot 19 Under Par (269) whereas the Ladies event was won with an 8 Under total (281) – In a performance-related pay sport the gents that shot 281 finished T22nd and took home €10,331.17 compared to the victorious Lady on the same score who scooped €162,915.90! |
Over on the Californian Coast, the PGA Tour held their ‘rich mans’ version of the Dunhill Links Championship in the shape of the AT&T Pro-Am played over Pebble Beach, Spyglass Hill & Monterey Peninsula Golf Courses. Similarly to the golf ‘Down Under’ the winning score was 19 Under Par achieved and in very windy conditions. It looked like the man with an unbelievable Pebble Beach record was going to do it again, but Phil Mickelson just couldn`t quite muster the Monterey Magic coming down the stretch. That left the way clear for the overnight Leader, Canadian Nick Taylor, to get the job done and collect his 2nd PGA Tour Title. |
The standard of Golf on that Sunday Back 9 saw many of the Top Players struggle with their scoring. Largely due to the wind strength & direction but certainly when it was coupled with the smaller, firmer targets that Pebble Beach offers. On the back of the 'Distance Debate', it was really interesting to see how course conditions and set up (along with mother nature) can really challenge these guys more than just making the course long! It was also really interesting to hear Tigers comments on this issue. |
Improving your game Whilst reigning in the Tour Pro`s I think isn`t a bad idea, making the Ball go further (and straighter) is the quest of most Amateurs. One of the most important ingredients required to achieve that is ‘Speed’! But speed comes in many aspects of the act required to hit a Ball. • Swing Speed – This is what the Player can generate
• Club Speed – This is what characteristics of the Club can influence
• Ball Speed – This is the net result of the 2 above COMBINED with the Clubhead Technology AND the quality of Strike! To truly, and efficiently, harness your full Distance potential you need to get the most out of all three – but the problem I see a lot is that most Golfers are either unaware or in denial about some, most or all of the above.
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Let me explain... Many Golfers think they hit it further than they actually do (not what they potentially could do), they consequently use ill-fitting equipment because they think they need to, and sacrifice the ability to hit it correctly because they have to! This is a common scenario:
• The golfer thinks they are a big hitter and swing ‘really fast’
• Chooses too Stiff/Heavy a Shaft because they think they merit it
• Has to swing uncontrollably hard (not fast!) to try and get the most out of said shaft
• Mishits the Ball and loses even more Distance anyway!
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Efficiency is key, but all the aspects I`m talking about, need to be ‘Measured’ – That is what we do! The Foresight GC Quad Launch Monitor is the Market Leading Technology in being able to capture all the significant Data required to make this analysis. It allows us to measure these following elements INDEPENDENTLY – It doesn`t get one then guess the rest. • Clubhead Speed
• Ball Speed (which is directly linked to..)
• Strike Location
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 | | GCQuad Launch Monitor |
 | | Individual Custom Shafts |
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If we sprinkle in the fact that it also accurately measures Launch Angle, Delivered Loft, Spin Rate and the Players Angle of Attack then we really have all the data required to maximise the energy output that Player can achieve. So for instance: • We might not be able to make a Player physically Swing Faster, but introducing a more suitable Flex, Weight and Bend Profile of Shaft can make the Clubhead move Faster with more control
• All the above can encourage the Player to deliver the Clubface more squarely to the Ball/Target
• Finding the optimum Length can also allow the Player to accurately and consistently deliver the centre of Clubface to the correct part of the Ball
• This efficiency leads to more energy from less effort
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Remember, nobody else really cares what Shaft Flex or Type you play. But you should at least care you are playing the best one for your game because you`ll be judged more on results than on what connects your Grips to your Clubhead`s. Why not find out if you`re Equipment is doing as much as it can for your Golf – Click here and Book your Equipment Analysis Session today. |
New Arrivals The expert Optimisation I`ve outlined above is, without doubt, the best (and only guaranteed) way to get the most out of all the exciting new Models being launched by the Manufacturers. Remember we have all the Fitting Components for the New TaylorMade SIM, Callaway Mavrik & Epic Flash, PING G410, Titleist TS-Series and Wilson D7. All this product is available for Range & On Course Trial too, all you have to do is ask. This week we also took delivery of our latest batch of 125th Anniversary Goods which look fantastic. So whilst you may not need a new Driver you might want to treat your current one to a new Cover? Or instead of new Irons, just keep the current ones clean with a nice fresh Towel!? |
 | | 125th Anniversary |
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