Most people know the 3rd Sunday in June as Fathers Day, but for the golfing anoraks it means US Open Sunday! The climax of Golfs Second Major of the season. The Yanks like to think of their National Open as THEE Major and call ours the British Open instead of The Open Championship but there`s a bit of me that thinks they are a little envious of the tradition, history and origin that is associated to Golf & the UK. Look at USGA`s choice of venue for this week, Chambers Bay. A man made Links golf course that only opened in 2007. They`ll do anything to try and emulate the great Championship Links Courses that make up the Open Championship rota. It`s so typically American though don`t you think. "Darn, that`s better than us….lets buy it!!"
You only have to look at Mr Trump. Not content with building his links legacy on the Aberdeen coast line, he clearly wanted to have a chance to host an Open Championship and realised that regardless of how good his Trump International Course was going to be, there was no chance the R&A would make room for it in their current Championship rota. So what did he decide to do, "I`ll just buy an Open Championship Venue" BOOM, and now we have Trump Turnberry. I think a few of the Aberdeen locals had to do a double take because they thought he was going to change the local landscape even more by creating Trump Torrybattery! Seemingly straight away he received 6 applications from Firemen to come and work in the new Trump Town from Pugh, Pugh, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble & Grubb!
I was fortunate enough to play the new Trump International Links just the other week. And it didn`t disappoint. He has created an extremely special piece of golfing terrain which I enjoyed playing. Probably helped by the fact I managed to put it in play quite well off the Tee so I never had to tackle the monstrous and ball-nivorous dunes that line every single fairway. The weather that day was typically Aberdeen in June, overcast, breezy and just mild enough to remove the waterproof jacket…..but as we got to the much talked about 651 Yard Par 5 18th, the clouds parted like Moses was the Course Ranger and we got a glimpse of the spectacular landscape from up on high. We even had a sneaky whack off the off limits Black Tee markers. Apparently the coastline has a great walk that many locals take their dogs for a walk along, but no animals are allowed on the course. To stop anyone trespassing with their canines on the fairways they have sprinkled dog treats with explosives in them. One of Donald`s pooches accidentally ate one the other day and was blasted to smithereens, but it`s not the first time he`s blown his own Trump Pet before!
We had our own appearance of an interesting species of creature on the fairways at Portlethen, a rare sighting of a 3 Legge`d Buggy! It was the first time this year that Jake, Mitchell and Alex Legge (and Jakes Buggy) have all played together.
3 Legge'd Buggy Having A Thump @ Trump
I see in the news this week that Trump is going to run for President of the USA. I wonder if elected whether he`ll make changes to the White House? Like turning it Gold? Apparently if he gets voted in he is going to select his Vice President using the same process he does for "The Apprentice" I wonder how long it`ll be before Alan Sugar runs for Prime Minister!!?
If Donald does come up trumps in the Election Campaign that`ll mean Ivana will become the First Lady, but even then when they come to visit Aberdeen she won`t be the first US Presidents wife to visit Trump International Links because I can guarantee there have been plenty Nancy Regans there since it opened!
But back to the US Open for a moment and I wonder if the Europeans can continue their recent dominance of the event? 4 of the last 5 winners have been European, a run which was kicked off by Graeme McDowell at Pebble Beach, a kinda American, kinda British…..no not McDowells accent!....I mean a Linksy but not proper Links golf course!
You`d think with the links style feel to Chambers Bay it would suit a Scotsman down to the ground but I don`t think our quartet of representatives will be in with much of a shout! Our home hopes are pinned on Marc Warren, Stephen Gallacher, Colin Montgomerie and Bradley Neil (a). But anyone who`s ever putted at the Himalayas putting green at St Andrews will have had good experience of the Chambers Bay greens. Check out Bubba Watsons video from one of his practice rounds!
Only Bubba Watson Is Crazier Than This Putt!- Click here to watch.
Scottish sporting hope got a bit of a boost last weekend though as our National Football Team are in the driving seat to qualify for the Euro 2016 Championships following the 1-1 draw with the Republic Of Ireland in Dublin. I say in the driving seat, we are only in with a hope of qualifying for these finals because there are now 32 Teams that get through as opposed to the 16 in previous years. So our chances were already doubling before Dublin!
It could`ve been an even better result if Irelands goal had been correctly called for offside but I suppose a draw was a fair result as our equalising goal also had a bit of luck after being deflected in off of Rick O`Shea….I mean John O`Shea!
There were a few guys on Wednesday who had a some Luck O`De Irish. Robbie Murdoch, Lewis Shand and Mark McDonald finished 3rd, 6th & 7th respectively on Wednesday in Div 1 but because others chose not to enter the Sweep they scooped 1st, 2nd & 3rd!
WALK ON MEDAL, Wednesday 10th June `15
Division 1 (10 & BELOW)
1st: Cameron Grant = 70(2) - 68
2nd: Aynslie Wallace = 76(8) - 68
1st Sweep: Robbie Murdoch = 70(1) - 69
4th : Gary Lochhead = 69(+1) - 70
5th : Kev Daglish = 71(1) - 70
2nd Sweep: Lewis Shand = 72(2) - 70
3rd Sweep: Mark P McDonald = 81(10) - 71 ACB
Division 2 (11-15)
1st: Ryan Sheikh = 82(14) - 68
2nd: Glen Emslie = 81(12) - 69 ACB
3rd: Graham Rennie = 81(12) - 69 ACB
Division 3 (16 & ABOVE)
1st: Charles Kelly = 988(18) - 70
2nd: John Telfer = 88(17) - 71
3rd: James Edwards = 95(24) - 71
From left to right- Cameron Grant,Aynslie Wallace, Robbie Murdoch, Kev Daglish, Lewis Shand, Mark McDonald, Glen Emslie and Graham Rennie.
BELMAR STABLEFORD 1ST RD, Saturday 13th June`15
Division 1 (10 & BELOW)
1st: Stephen Lawrie - 41 Points
2nd: Neale Fraser - 41 Points
3rd: Scott Burnett - 39 Points
Division 2 (11-15)
1st: Imran Sheikh - 42 Points
2nd: Chris Lobb - 41 Points
3rd: Bruce Raffell - 41 Points ACB
Division 3 (16 & ABOVE)
1st: Tony Storey - 42 Points
2nd: Simon Scouller - 39 Points
3rd: Paul Singer - 38 Points
Left to right- Steve Lawrie,Chris Lobb,Tony Storey,Simon Scouller and Paul Singer
The Belmar Stableford also provided the 5th Round of Cappro Cup Qualifying. We are now at halfway so there are still plenty of events to pick up points so I would encourage anyone who hasn`t signed up yet to do so. Especially in the Top and Bottom Categories where there are limited entries which mean not all the points on offer are being dished out and players are picking up points for perhaps not their best scores! I have tweaked the Handicap Ranges in Categories 3 & 4 to create a more worthwhile point's allocation. Check out the Top 4 Automatic Qualifiers below and Click Here to view the Full Standings.
GREENSOMES TROPHY, Sunday 14th June
1st: Denise Robertson & Mark Robertson = 63.5
2nd: Neale Fraser & Nick Mackie - 66.5
It was a pretty good weekend for Neale Fraser as he followed up his 2nd place in Saturdays Stableford with another 2nd place in the Greensomes on Sunday with his partner Nick Mackie, who were only 1 of 2 pairings to scoop a Magic 2! I was really please for Neale as he has been through rough time with his golf game of late. Rewind several years and Neale was playing Pennant Team golf off a handicap as low as 1. This had gradually crept up and only 3 & ½ seasons ago Neale was still a Category 1 player off a 5 Handicap. Fast forward to only three weeks ago and Neale`s handicap had spiralled to 7.2 with this season featuring only one handicap hold in 6 competitions.
Neale decided it was time to act and came to me for some advice, a lesson and hopefully a nudge back on track. Since then, and with no shortage of hard work on Neale`s part I was delighted to see that following his lesson he stemmed the tide by playing to his handicap for the first time in a while, then last weekend he has just taken 1 full stroke (1.0) off of his handicap and reduced it back down to 6.2! The last time he played off that exact handicap was July `14.
Lessons aren`t miracle cures but for people who are willing to put in the time and work on their games then a Lesson or Lessons are invaluable. The reason I believe they are invaluable is because the correct diagnosis creates a better understanding for the individual of what THEY are doing, how that is creating the bad results and therefore what the specific focus needs to be on in order to improve. It creates a far more positive mind set of what they WANT to do as opposed to those people who go and practice with a mind set of "if I DON`T DO THIS and DON`T DO THAT I`ll hit better shots!"
And on a similar note I was also delighted to see that another player with a similar story to Neale`s, Donald Smith who has seen his handicap slip from 4.3 to 5.3 in 13 events, also had one of his best rounds in a long time on Saturday following a Lesson a few weeks ago. Again like Neale, Donald came to me a little disillusioned with his game, a game that used to be so reliable, and just by accurately pinpointing the areas of significance in his set up and swing Donald was then more confident that he could work on his game knowing that what he was practising was specific and relevant to improving his technique and subsequent shots. Rather than spending hours hitting balls in an attempt to fix something with effectively a trial and error approach.
Don`t struggle with your game, and don`t be scared to swallow your pride either. I`m here to help, there is lots of evidence that I can, but most importantly I want to. Golfers playing better golf and enjoying it more is only good for the Club.
It wasn`t quite Chambers Bay but last Monday we had the OS Open! Our Seniors Open!! Despite a relatively small entry it was a good event. We ran it as Stableford Competition and there was a nice mix of home and visiting players who shared the best scores.
1st: D Swanston (Turriff) - 40 Points
2nd: David Foote (Portlethen) - 38 Points
3rd: Ian Valentine (Murcar) - 38 Points
4th: Keith Youngson (Portlethen) - 38 Points
5th: R McKay (Murcar) - 38 Points
Unfortunately I couldn`t be there to help out on the day as I`m off on a Cruise. I`m earning my keep by teaching dance classes to the other passengers, it didn`t start well with someone getting injured at my first class. I was trying to teach them tap dancing and the first chap fell into the sink! So I had to pull the plug on that one.
This weeks Kids report is coming to you all the way from Russia as I`m on holiday in St Petersburg. Which in many ways reminds me I`m not at work and definitely on holiday because when I`m here I know I`m not Russian! What was in a bit of a rush was trying to get the group matches of the Junior Pennant League played before this weekend. With 1 previous match being played and the result of another up in the air due to course conditions the race was on to fulfil the fixtures in time. Last Sunday was the re-scheduled match versus Hazelhead. This went to the wire with the last pairing of William Lloyd & Finlay Wallace coming from 2 down with 3 to play to win their game and tie the result at 2 ½ - 2 ½ . This was good enough to send Portlethen through to the Semi Finals which take place this weekend.
Unfortunately this now means that the Adult/Junior Competition fixture to be on this Sunday is now postponed and has been moved to Sunday 23rd August.
On Saturday the kids had the 1st Round of the Moggach Trophy. Brandon Simpson continued his improvement under Stuarts instruction to finish top of the pile, and again it was the girls who finished 2nd & 3rd.
1st: Brandon Simpson = 81(13) - 68
2nd: Katie Robson = 81(11) - 70
3rd: Louise Cook = 92(21) - 71
"All the Golfing Gossip from the Powder Room" by Aileen McVey The Pro Shops 1st Lady
Well my week started with some bad news, the old showbiz saying "Break a Leg!" has certainly scuppered my upcoming plans because I was meant to be going to see the Foo Fighters in Glasgow but did the daft lead singer, Dave Grol, not go and fall off the stage and break his leg! Foo`ey, I guess it won`t be Grol right on the night now! The irony is that he used to be in the band Nirvana but now neither of us are in an ideal or idyllic state or place!
The Ladies Competitions came thick and fast again last week.
Ladies Club Championship Rd 2 Saturday 13th June
Silver
1st: Kathleen Johnston = 92(20) - 72
2nd: Wendy Plevey = 87(15) - 72
Bronze
1st: Alison Bruce = 97(21) - 76
2nd: May Fergus = 102(25) - 77
Walk On Stableford, Tuesday 16th June
Silver
1st: Linda Craik = 39 Points
2nd: Kathleen Johnston = 38 Points
Bronze
1st: Barbara Tait = 36 Points
2nd: May Fergus = 35 Points
Neil`s head scratching quest to get his greens in tip top condition continued last week. I witness Neil and Bruce double hand cut, brush, triplex cut and iron the putting green one afternoon in an attempt to rid the greens of the seed heads. This phase that the grass is going through will pass soon but it is a frustrating period for everyone concerned.
What is even more frustrating is that while the greens aren`t perfect the care that some golfers are (or in this case aren`t) taking to help maintain them is extremely disappointing. Another large chunk had been swiped off of the putting surface right next to the hole on 18 last week. This type of behaviour does not help Neil`s cause one bit.
On the subject of helping the Greenstaffs cause just a reminder of the layout and structure of the Practice Area. This area is split into two distinct sections. The first section is for Members to hit their own Practice Balls and collect them. The second area is for Members, Guests, Visitors and the Public to purchase and hit Range Balls. Many people are hitting Range Balls from the Members area and leaving the balls there. This means the greenstaff have to remove these balls from this area before they can do any maintenance and collect balls from an even bigger area which also eats into the job time.
Please just respect the recommendations for your Practice Facilities.
As I`m sure the avid readers are aware that many of the Prize Winners and Success stories of the season so far have all benefitted from my advice and instruction. This is just a reminder that my "Game Improvement Package" is still available and running until the end of June. So why not take advantage and book up today.
My search is on to find the "GAME IMPROVEMENT CHAMPION!"
Here`s how you qualify to be I the running for this Award.
For the Months of May & June I will be offering this exclusive Lesson Package.
"The Game Changer" - 4 x 45 Minute Lessons
Lesson 1 - Full Swing Analysis
Lesson 2 - Pitching & Chipping
Lesson 3 - Bunkers
Lesson 4 - Putting
ONLY £120! (That`s A £20 Saving!)**
**Top Up Lessons will be given at the equivalent reduced individual price!
Everyone who signs up for this Package will have their Handicap Progress recorded until the end of August (Lessons are recommended to be taken over the maximum of 2 week intervals and are only Valid until the end of this period) The Player who achieves the BIGGEST PERCENTAGE IMPROVEMENT on their Handicap will be crowned my "GAME IMPROVEMENT CHAMPION" and receive a Commemorative Sweater, Certificate and an All-Expenses Paid Away Golf Day with myself. (If the Promotion attracts enough interest I will offer 2 Runners-Up Prizes to join the All-Expenses Paid Away Golf Day with myself)
That lasting improvement to your Golf Game is just one Click away! Book your first session up today!
There are lots of players benefitting from the solid, expert and professional advice that is available to you all on your doorstep. So don`t get left behind, and as I mentioned last week some of the key things to playing well and scoring better on the course could come down to just having more confidence in your distance awareness. Why not take advantage of a couple of my services that you simply can`t get ANYWHERE ELSE and definitely can`t get from any online supplier!
Knowing YOUR Yardage:
As I`ve constantly mentioned in previous Newsletters I have the Technology to give you this info. in the form of my FlightScope Radar. But the truth of the matter is it wasn`t really portable or practical enough for the logistics of the Portlethen Driving Range. But have no fear because I have invested in the very latest Camera driven Launch Monitor. The GC2 with HMT (Head Measuring Technology) now gives me, but more importantly you, the best kit to get the best feedback. It will be a big part of my Club Fitting and Tuition Sessions but right now I`m offering you guess the chance to get your game "Dialled In" starting wioth knowing how far you hit each club. This `Distance Gapping` Session does two distinct things for you. It gives you peace of mind that you know how far you hit each club, and it also highlights if there are any significant GAPS or CLUSTERS in your Set.
Book You Gapping Session Today - ONLY £20 !
Knowing THE Yardage
Knowing how far you hit each club is a start, now all you need to know is the ACTUAL distance you have left to hit. For that there are many forms of Measuring Device on the market. There are Lasers which accurately pin point the target you are shooting at with a very easy `Point & Press` function. Then there are handheld Units that give you a visual arial display of the hole, all is hazards and features as well as the front, middle and back distances of the green. Then finally the most convenient and popular just now is the watch/wrist mounted device. The information is more basic due to the size of the display but it is every bit as accurate and you know how far you are away from the front middle or in most cases the best yardage to use is the back edge of the green from anywhere on the course just by having a quick glance at your wrist!
We have just taken delivery of all the latest models of laser, unit & watch styles from GolfBuddy, Garmin & Nikon. So why not take one for a test drive and see the confidence that KNOWING THE EXACT YARDAGE can have on your game. I`ll put money on most of the good players will be relying on something like that in this week`s Champ Qualifiers.
Book you Golfbuddy Test Drive Today - FOC! Click here to book yours.
The "Anniversary Day" Competition is coming around fast and is going to be a great day to be involved in.
It will be held on Saturday June 27th when we be looking to build on last year's success and make it an even greater and memorable event.
As well as a half way barbecue, bar and on-going entertainment around the clubhouse there will be numerous on-course competitions with significant spot prizes at EVERY hole, requiring elements of skill/downright luck or sometimes both.
Nearest the pins , longest wrong handed putt, straightest drive, hidden holes, hickory clubs will all feature as well as a few surprises along the way and an overall team prize and "yellow ball" event.
This year we are also looking to raise monies for charity which a portion of your entry fee will go to. Our nominated charity for 2015 is the "Brain Tumour Charity" and we are sure that your support for this worthwhile cause will make a huge difference.
The format of the day will be a 3 or 4 player team event and is open to ALL golfing members (Don't worry if you don't have a team, we'll find one for you)
There will be a 10th tee start and entry fee will be £ 30 per team (inclusive of charity donation)
Enter on line from 7pm on Sunday 14th June.
"Upcoming Trial/Fitting Days"
- Callaway - Thursday 25th June 3pm - 7pm
- PING - Friday 3rd July 1pm - 6pm
Book your appointment slot (30 Minutes) today by clicking here.
