It seems that my long working days and lack of interaction with TV Channels of any sort have left me horribly out of touch with whatever is going on in the world.
Am I correct in hearing that the nail biting episodes of Eastenders last week were actually screened LIVE!? I hear that it didn`t come across as particularly realistic though, I mean at no point did they have to change a barrel in the Queen Vic because the Tennets had gone off, or Dot Cottons dialogue was drowned out by the Washing Machines in the Laundrette doing their dinger when they hit the spin cycle!?
My only light entertainment, outside of the excellent shop banter that I`ve experienced over the last few days, has been catching the odd film from my extensive but somewhat juvenile DVD Collection! Anyone coming into my home would think I had several, kids ranging from ages 4 -14!....but alas it`s just sad old me, made even sadder by the fact that as of Wednesday I am now officially in my last year of my thirties!! ARRRRGGGHHH!!
I was tempted to go to the Cinema, but unless you wanted to go sit through a documentary on the Manchester United Goalkeeper, 50 Saves Of DeGea. Then the next offering on the billboard was "Shaun The Sheep - The Movie!" and I had read some BAAAAAH`d reviews about that film. I wouldn`t have been surprised if only One Man and his Dog turned up to see it!
Unfortunately my film fuelled imagination kicked in (again) when I was checking on the golf results from last week`s PGA & European Tour events. Over the pond I saw that a young man originally from South Korea, now an American National won his first PGA Tour title! Which meant it was James Hahn`s Solo victory so far! He won courtesy of a Playoff with Paul Casey and Dustin Johnson. Johnson is just back following a well-documented self-imposed leave of absence, but he`s now back to start another chapter with a New Hope. I`m sure he`s hoping to go one better soon and if he wins it might lead some people to say it was the Revenge Of The Sniff!
Over in that popular European destination, India not such a long time ago, but in a continent far, far away it seemed like a similar story! The European Tour made its Return To The Delhi where you will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy! And it was quite apt that in a tournament entitled the Hero Indian Open that it was a man with a name that even sounds like a Jedi Knight, Anir-ban Lahiri (not to be confused with Obi-Wan Kenobi) who claimed his 2nd title in 3 weeks. This one also needed a lightsaber duel…..I mean a Playoff to decide it. The unlucky loser in that playoff was S.S.P Chawrasia, who sounds more like it would be the Courtesy Car if the U.S.S. Enterprise was in the Bodyshop for repairs!!
And speaking of James T Kirk, Europe has just appointed it`s next illustrious leader for the Ryder Cup! This time we are going with Captain Clarke. Darren, the former Open Champion, is boldly going where only a few men have gone before as he aims to keep Europe`s Vulcan Death Grip on the famous Samuel Ryder Trophy. Let`s hope that dominance continues to live long and prosper! The European stranglehold on the event since the mid 80`s, and certainly in the last half dozen meetings has clearly got the Americans confessing "We just cannae do it Captain! WE DON`T HAVE THE POWERRRrrrr!" So much so that they set up a Ryder Cup "Task Force" that in my opinion is clearly made up of too many Klingons!!
Bizarrely they have brought back Davis Love III to take the reins again! No question Davis had a decent Ryder Cup playing record but his one and only stab at Captaining ended in him losing the biggest leading margin on home soil in the history of the event!! That`s like getting the architects of the Titanic back to design your next Ship!
It`s no secret that Darren & Davis were great friends on Tour so it seems the Committees assigned to appoint the Captains are now more interested in how well the Captains and their families will get on rather than how good a Captain they will make! Perhaps that will be the thing that works against Miguel Angel Jimenez ever getting the nod, because I don`t think ANY American can understand a word he says!!
Speaking of appointments, that brings me nicely to a couple of exciting events coming up soon. Obviously I was appointed the new Professional here at Portlethen a while ago and the doors to the new era opened on January 8th, but as many of you that have visited the Shop since know, I`m in the process of making some changes to the look and feel of the Shop. So very soon everything will be in place and I`m planning on having an "OFFICIAL GRAND OPENING" on Saturday 21st March. By then the Shop will have had its facelift and also be filled with all the new products for 2015. There will be some On Day Incentives & Offers, with some fun events & challenges to take part in plus there will be lots of new product to trial.
But the new product trial doesn`t have to wait until then.
Next Friday 6th March sees the first of my Trial Days roll into town. Wilson will be sending their Fitting specialist and all their new 2015 product to Portlethen GC so not pop along to try it out or better still book in for a 1-2-1 no obligation appointment and take on Wilsons "Distance Challenge"
Their new D200 range really is excellent and probably the best value versus performance offering on the market just now! If the cost of a new set of irons is what`s putting you off at the moment consider that you could have a 7 club set of steel D200 irons, custom fitted to your best specification for a mere £349 then why not come and see what all the fuss is about at our upcoming event.
WILSON TRIAL DAY
Date: Friday 6th March
Time: 2pm-6pm
Venue: Driving Range Bays @ Portlethen
Click Here if you would like to ensure a 1-2-1 session with the Wilson Fitter.
There will be more of these Specialist Days coming up soon from some of the other brands so keep an eye out for them.
But remember that I offer a comprehensive Custom Fitting Service that is available anytime that suits you. The added benefit of my service is it is a Multi Brand Fitting experience and I will be recommending the Club that suits YOU best and I`m not Model/Brand specific or loyal.
For instance we have just taken delivery of the latest Drivers & Fairways from Callaway (Big Bertha & XR) and TaylorMade (R15 & Aeroburner) so why not take these for a FREE Test Drive sometime, or better still book yourself in for a comprehensive Flightscope Fitting. Click here to book a Session or simply call into the Professional Shop.
Driver Fitting
Specification Fitting & Set Up Only (Make & Model already established) FREE
*Includes Flightscope Radar Fitting - 30 Minutes
Full Fitting Experience (Requirements Unknown) - £30
*Includes Flightscope Radar Fitting, Analyse current Driver, Trial New Driver options, custom fit to players Spec. - 60 Minutes
(£15 Comes off purchase price - £15 given back as Shop Voucher for future/additional purchase)
Iron Fitting
Specification Fitting & Set Up Only (Make & Model already established) FREE
*Includes Flightscope Radar Fitting - 30 Minutes
Full Fitting Experience (Requirements Unknown) - £30
*Includes Flightscope Radar Fitting, Analyse current Irons, Trial New Iron options, custom fit to players Spec. - 60 Minutes
(£15 Comes off purchase price - £15 given back as Shop Voucher for future/additional purchase)
Putter Fitting
Specification Fitting & Set Up Only (Make & Model already established) FREE Fitting - 30 Minutes
Full Fitting Experience (Requirements Unknown) - £30
*Includes Analyse current Putter, Trial New Putter options, custom fit to players Spec. - 60 Minutes (£15 Comes off purchase price - £15 given back as Shop Voucher for future/additional purchase)
Full Bag Fitting
Specification Fitting & Set Up Only (Make & Model already established) - £30
*Includes Flightscope Radar - 60 Minutes
(£15 Comes off purchase price - £15 given back as Shop Voucher for future/additional purchase)
Full Fitting Experience (Requirements Unknown) - £50
*Includes Flightscope Radar - 120 Minutes
(£30 Comes off purchase price - £20 given back as Shop Voucher for future/additional purchase)
To book a lesson or fitting, click here
All the Brands I am stocking have come on the back of the results I got from my Consumer Survey that I asked you guys to fill in prior to me starting here at Portlethen. There were well over 200 completed Surveys returned 
and the carrot I dangled for sending it back complete was a PRIZE DRAW.
Apologies that it has taken until now to get round to drawing the Prize Winners but it`s been a hectic start in the Shop with lots of infrastructure going on. But I did the Draw on Monday so why not check out the short video I made of it taking place.
The upshot of it was that the following people won the following prizes.
SURVEY PRIZE DRAW
1st: A 4 Ball @ Moray Golf Club - John MacCallum
2nd: A PING Golf Bag - Ron Fulton
3rd: 2 x 45 Minute Golf Lessons - Bob Ewen
Well done guys and you can collect your Prizes In Store.
As I mentioned, the Shop is constantly evolving at the moment with both feature changes and new product arriving. This week has witnessed the addition of new shop lighting which has really lifted the place and showcased the wall space better, whilst the new Rental Trolley Fleet is now also in place. You have the option to push a 3 Wheel manual Trolley or let your Clubs travel in style and take a plush Lithium Powered Motocaddy. Members can hire these for £3 and £7 respectively.
Let There Be Light That`s How We Roll Here
Speaking of Members Money, we finally got back to some Sweep action on Saturday. Unfortunately the good weather and Full Greens from during that week didn`t last and the Pro Shop Sweep was contested on the Winter Greens. Here`s how the runners and riders did! But by the looks of it Peter Clark nearly lapped the field!
Division 1 (12 & BELOW)
1st: Peter Clark = 48 Points
2nd: Scott Livingstone = 41 Points ACB
3rd: Gary J Thomson = 41 Points
Division 2 (13 & ABOVE)
1st: David Kernahan = 42 Points ACB
2nd: Walter Penfold = 41 Points
3rd: William McKay = 38 Points
"He`s The Shed`s Bothy Boots!"
The Winter Greens brings me to a point that we would like to remind you of. Last week I highlighted that many people aren`t repairing pitchmarks when the full greens are in use which leads to poor quality putting surfaces. However, the protection and care of the summer putting surfaces needs to be remembered when the Winter Greens are in use too.
If the Winter Green is being used because of frost that`s because play and footfall on the main green would be bad! So if your ball happens to end up on the proper green whilst playing to the Winter green you need to take as much care (or as few steps!) on to the big green as possible! This also applies to the putting green that is closed just now. We have witnessed many people taking a short cut across the putting green whilst going to the 10th tee start or coming from the 18th green to the 1st tee at halfway.
Right is a picture of the type of lasting damage that walking on the greens when they are frosty can do!
If your ball is on there, find the shortest route to it, take as few steps on as possible and take a club or ball scoop to stretch over and knock it back.
Below are details of my Lesson Tariffs and Package Options:
Individual LessonPrices
30 Minute Lesson - £30*
45 Minute Lesson - £35*
60 Minute Lesson - £40*
Development Plan Package: "The Game Changer" (4x 45 Minute Session) - £140*
This Package is the ideal way to make simple, effective and long lasting improvements to your game. Whether it is focusing on one particular aspect or gaining knowledge and adding improvement to every department of your golf game.
Complete Game Package: "Top To Toe Improvement" (3x 45 Minute Session) - £105*
This Package focuses on every aspect of your game where you will be given analysis and advice on how to improve your Tee To Green Game (Session 1 - Long Game), your Approach Play (Session 2 - Shortgame) and your Putting Prowess (Session 3 - Putting)
Scoring Zone: "The Ultimate Shortgame Session" (2 Hour Session) - £75* (Session Can Be Shared: 2 People = £37.50 Each, 3 People = £25 Each, 4 People = £20 Each)
The ideal way to make significant and lasting improvements to the one area of the game that guarantees lower scores! This session contains a detailed assessment of your Shortgame "Strengths & Weaknesses", a skills test, Stroke Analysis, Green Reading & Pace Control as well as an overview of Pitching & Bunker technique, Chipping method and shot choices.
Playing Lesson: "Take It To The Course" (2 Hour Session) - £75* (Session Can Be Shared: 2 People = £37.50 Each, 3 People = £25 Each, 4 People = £20 Each)
This On Course Session focuses predominantly on your ability to manage your game and the course, mental approach, visualisation, routine, green reading, rules, etiquette and shot execution. Whilst how to play certain types of shots will be covered technique and swing changes will kept for on the Practice Range.
Consultation "Performance Analysis & Overview" (2 Hour Session) - £ 75
This session contains a detailed assessment of your game and your goals! Important performance data is recorded using Flightscope which alongside a comprehensive Skills Test and questionnaire allow a "Plan For Progress" to be created specifically for your game.
*Anyone who takes this assessment automatically qualifies for a 10% Reduction on all future Lessons & Packages that season.
Group Tuition
2 People (1 Hour) - £30PP
3 People (1 Hour) - £20PP
4 People (1 Hour) - £15PP
So for the upcoming 2015 Season ask yourself what you want to improve about your game!
Do you want your shots to be…
LONGER
STRAIGHTER
FEWER
BETTER
STRONGER
HIGHER
Do you want your Shortgame to be…
CLOSER
CRISPER
CONTROLLED
VARIED
CONSISTENT
POSITIVE
Do you want your putts to have better…
LINE
SPEED
CONTROL
CONSISTENCY
CONFIDENCE
Then I`m here to help you achieve your best. You`ll always enjoy something more when you do it better!
If you think you know of other Members (or golfers!) who would like to receive this then I'd appreciate if you forward it to them and encourage them to subscribe using the relevant link! Once in the database you/they will then be able to receive regular contact (oh no I hear you cry, not daily doses of his pathetic patter!!) through my Broadcast Messages that go straight to your email. I also have my SWING Studio Facebook page where I post and Tweet daily with anything from course updates to shop promotions! So why not like my FB Page or Follow Me on Twitter by clicking the links below.
.jpg)
Now while these are great communication vehicles for me, the Newsletter/Website especially can offer a great Tool for you to get your message out there as well! As you can see if you scroll down there are a few "ADVERTISING BANNER" opportunities that provide great exposure to my ever growing database. So if you have a Company, Brand or Product that you'd like to Advertise then contact me here and I'll happily talk you through the Advertising options.
