Stuart Wilson

'March 50th!

Hard to tell what day it is as my usual gauge, Sky Sports Golf, seems to suggest it's always Sunday!!

No idea what year though, because like Mr Benn, I seemed to have been whisked away on adventures to Augusta in 1997 one minute and the next I'm at Troon in 2016!

The Calendar confusion also means I've lost track of my underwear rotation regime too, thank goodness for the 'Cooncil Bidet' aka the Shower nozzle!

As for my daily routine, I don't open my blinds until about 1pm now, just so 'looking out the window' gives me something important to do in the afternoon.

In the mornings I've been honing my coordination and concentration skills by playing Jenga with frozen Oven Chips! My ability to endure this solitary confinement has been helped in no small measure by a very useful survival documentary I discovered. It was presented by Tom Hanks and a Volleyball called 'Wilson'

I have been using my time productively too though by preparing my 'schpeel' for this Years Presentation of Prizes. It just needs the blanks filled in as an when.

"Good Evening Ladies & Gentlemen. Welcome to the 2020 Prizegiving!

The Winner of the October Medal is............

Goodnight & safe journey home!"

It might be a bit long but I've got time to condense it!'

Tour News

There's no question that the World when we are released back into it will be a very different place. It might just be a sheer coincidence but it seems that in our fortnight fortress of solitude, with little to no traffic on land, sea or air that the weather has been as peaceful and beautiful as it has been in a long, long time!?

Which makes not being able to golf even more frustrating! There has clearly been a lot of head-scratching and deliberating over Golfs Major Tournament Schedule. The R&A has taken the bold action of postponing the 2020 Open Championship at Royal St Georges and moving it back a year to 2021. Let's hope this Sandwich doesn't go mouldy!!? It also gives Shane Lowry 12 more months to get the Guinness stains off the Claret Jug!

The other 3 American based Majors are still hopeful of going ahead with a significant reshuffle of the running order. The USPGA Championship would get things going in August, followed by the US Open in September. If these events go ahead it would also give us an unprecedented scenario of the Ryder Cup being played 1 week after the second Major of the Year! I'm assuming the Teams will be selected by then so you could see the current US Open Champ (if he happens to be European or American) not involved in the Match!

Then to cap the most bizarre of years off, if it does go ahead, would see the US Masters played in November......off Mats! (OK, I made that bit up!) Won't it be really interesting to see how Augusta looks and plays at that time of year!? It might be the first time the Champion gets presented with a Green PADDED Jacket!

Course News

The Course I'm most eager to see and play when this lockdown loosens is undoubtedly Duddingston GC! This good weather can only be helping John G and his reduced Team. Here are a few images from the Course and a little report from John to keep you up to date.

Mostly this week we have been focusing on cutting the main play areas which are the industry guidelines. However, as you can see from the length of the grass on the 15th fairway we my have to up our frequency of cut as unfortunately covid19 has not stopped the grass growing and it does not understand there is a pandemic going on!! A little water has been added to encourage our seedlings progress even further and they are showing good signs of progress in this warmer weather we have been experiencing.

There's no question the place is going to look the real deal when play resumes! Let's hope we don't have to wait too long for that day!

Deal Or No Deal

To help keep you engaged and entertained, and also provide you with some much-needed money-saving bargains, I'm going to run a 'Deal or No Deal' Promotion over these next few weeks.

It's simple - If you are interested in any of the Items I showcase below all you have to do is Click the Link and state which 'Lot' you are Bidding on.

It can be as much or as little as you want. If I accept your Offer I'll message back 'DEAL' and that product is yours. If I don't accept your Offer then I'll message back 'NO DEAL' and you are more than welcome to Bid again!

Lot 1: Under Armour Reactor Padded Jacket - Tempest Blue XL (Normal Price £130)

Lot 2: Under Armour Reactor Padded Gilet - Navy Blue or Grey L (Normal Price £95)

Lot 3: TaylorMade TP Ardmore Putter Red (Normal Price £229)

Lot 4: FootJoy Pro SL 2019 White/Silver - 7.5 / 10 / 10.5 (Normal Price £129)

(*Bidding with Shop Credit is not allowed - Any successful purchases DO NOT count towards ISP Loyalty Scheme

Lot 1 - UA Jacket

Lot 2 - UA Gilet Navy

Lot 2 - UA Gilet Grey

Lot 3 - TaylorMade Putter

Lot 4 - FJ Shoes

ISP Loyalty Scheme

I introduced this last week but just wanted to remind you how it works.

– Effectively 1 Point (aka 5p) for every Pound(£) spent In Store.

Any Member spending £100 or more qualifies for the following:

· FREE Yardage Gapping Session (Worth £40)

· FREE 1 Hour SIM Course Play Session (Worth £40)

After they reach a spend of £500 or more they then qualify for the following:

500 POINT Reward
· 30 Minute Golf Lesson (Worth £30)

· 1 Hour SIM Course Play Session (Worth £40)

· HALF PRICE Re-Gripping (Worth up to £85)

· £25 Shop Credit

ISP

Every Point/Pound over the 500 can be redeemed as Credit against further spend In-Store.

*It is important to note that if you want every pound of spend to count/accumulate towards you total that every Purchase/Transaction you make is logged against your Shop Account. IE: if you buy a Bottle of Water @ £1 cash that sale still needs to be assigned against your Shop Account for us to track your Points.

I hope that this scheme illustrates that I am fully committed to ensuring that your investment gets the added value and recognition that being a Duddingston GC Member merits.

To help launch this initiative, for this inaugural Year only, I am including the following incentive. The Top 3 Spending Customers will receive an Overnight Stay and Round of Golf @ The Gleneagles Hotel.

To be part of this scheme all you need to do is make an initial Purchase of £100 or more. Now obviously I realise that buying anything for golf right now is pointless, so you can also simply add a £100 Credit to your Shop Account and that will be there ready for you to spend when we get back to normal.

If you would like to Sign Up to become an 'I Support Partner' simply - Click Here

125 Anniversary Quiz

Section 2: The Champions
1. What Year did Duddingston crown its first Club Champion?
a) 1895
b) 1896
c) 1904
d) 1905

2. Who has won the Club Championship the most times?
a) Ronnie Shade
b) Derrick Williams
c) Stuart Smith
d) GC Killey

3. Ben Alexander became the 12th Champion to successfully defend their Title, but who has held the title of Club Champion for the longest period?
a) JC Rose
b) GC Killey
c) JS Adams
d) CL Wood

4. 5 Players have won both the Junior & Club Championships, but who was the last person to complete the double?
a) Derrick Williams
b) Gary Thomson
c) Gus Santana
d) Conor Scott

5. What Year did Duddingston crown its first Ladies Champion?
a) 1995
b) 1996
c) 2000
d) 2006

6. Why was 2014 a first for the Ladies & Club Championship?

7. Who has won the most Senior Championships?
a) Mike Power
b) Ian Fraser
c) Hinton Bootland
d) Keith Millar

8. Who was the Club Champion in Duddingston`s Centenary Year (1995)?
a) Stuart Smith
b) Brian Smith
c) Keith Millar
d) Derrick Williams

9. Brian Smith holds the record for the Lowest 2 Round Total in Club Championship Qualifying history. What was his gross 36 Hole Total and his 2 Round Scores?
a) 131 (65/66)
b) 132 (67/65)
c) 132 (66/66)
d) 133 (66/67)

10. What is the Name of the Club Championship Trophy?
a) Archibald Maitland Trophy
b) Archibald Hewitt Trophy
c) Abercorn Estate Trophy
d) Edinburgh United Insurance Trophy

Masters moments

That Tiger Chip-In (2005)

You will have all seen the clip.

Tiger Woods, dressed in his statement Sunday red, found himself left of the 16th green with what looks like a pretty simple chip. However, what TV doesn’t show is the huge slope towards the water. So, not only does Tiger aim 20 foot left of the hole but he also purposefully hits his chip long, allowing gravity to do the rest.

From here, two things stand out. First, the ball slowly trickling back down the slope towards the centre of the hole only to stop right on the edge for a couple of seconds, before eventually falling into the cup for a birdie. Second, the wild celebrations between Tiger and his caddie, the euphoria of the crowd and the rather over-excited commentator. What a shot!

Watch the clip here.

Faldo Overcomes Norman (1996)

Nick Faldo won his third Green Jacket and final Major title at the 1996 Masters, but was dealt a huge helping hand from final-round playing partner Greg Norman.

The Shark (Norman) led the field from the first round and never gave anyone else a sniff, heading into the final round six shots clear of Faldo.

A bogey at the opening hole was quickly put right with a birdie at the second. Unfortunately for Norman, he went on to drop six shots over his next nine holes, with a double-bogey at the short par-3 12th seeing him relinquish the lead for the first time in over three rounds of golf.

Whilst The Shark was seemingly falling apart, Faldo painted a picture of complete confidence. The Englishman shot a five-under-par 67 to win by five, beating his playing partner by 11 shots on that final round!

There are so many iconic moments to choose from so let us know what stands out for you by sending us a message here.

Weekly quiz

Masters edition

As we promised in last week's newsletter, our Quiz of the Week is here.

It's meant to be a bit of fun and a chance for you to see how good your golfing knowledge is - although, we all know how competitive we can be!

So, as it was supposed to be Masters week, we're kicking things off with a very special Masters edition.

Good luck and make sure you come back to test yourself again next week.

take our quiz >

Weekly challenge

We have a great game for you to try at home this week and, if you can succeed, it’ll really help to improve your touch and feel around the green. We've highlighted a couple of different ways that you can give it a go in the image below, and it can easily be made indoor-friendly too!

The idea

So, when chipping, a big part of the process is understanding where you need to land the ball on the green in order for it to finish close the hole, and this week’s challenge mirrors this by getting you to land the ball in different zones of a ladder.

The set-up

Lay a ladder on the ground in front of your hitting zone with a final target at the end. No ladder? Use your clubs to create one. Want to give it a try indoors? Get creative by using masking tape or anything that’ll end up looking like a ladder – and send us a photo!

How to play

The challenge is to chip a ball into each zone, starting with the closest and working your way towards the final target.

If you want to make it harder, move the ladder further away, try to hit each zone consecutively without missing or make each zone smaller.

message the team >

Golf at home

Hopefully, you enjoyed last week’s clock drill to try at home – if you didn’t see it, visit our website and you’ll find it under the 'Articles' tab. Carrying on with the putting theme, this week’s drill has been designed to improve the consistency of your stroke.

What you'll need

All you'll need to give this drill a go is your putter (no surprise there!), a golf ball, some tees and a mug.

Start off by finding a straight putt somewhere in your house. Place the mug down at one end with the open top facing towards where you’re going to be putting from. This is your make-shift hole.

The set-up

Then, take a few paces away from the hole and put your ball down. Grab your putter and address the ball as if you were about to hit a putt. Whilst your putter is down, place a tee upside down on the floor either side of the head (green tees in image). This is your gate. The idea is to make your stroke without hitting either of the tees.

Make it harder

If you find this easy then great, it means that you’re returning the putter to the middle of the ball.

To make things harder, give yourself a longer putt, reduce the distance between the two tees surrounding the putter or add some more tees at a ball's width halfway down the putt.

message the team >

Video of the Week

We stumbled across the video on The Masters' YouTube channel a few months back and, whilst this year's tournament has been postponed, we thought it was too good not to share with you! So, sit back and enjoy as Tiger Woods shares his insight on how to play Amen Corner at Augusta National.

I hope you have enjoyed this week's update.
We hope to see you soon
Stuart

Duddingston Golf Club
135 Duddingston Road W
Edinburgh
EH15 3QE

Phone: 0131 661 4301

Visit my website
Visit the club website
Contact me
Your profile

This email was sent to you by Stuart Wilson and is provided as a service for the members and guests of Duddingston Golf Club and the customers of the Duddingston Golf Club Pro Shop and has been supported and sponsored by advertisers in this mail and by our partner suppliers: Foremost Golf, UK's largest golf retail group, delivering value through expertise for the Club Golfer

® The Crest is a registered trademark of The Professional Golfers’ Association Limited