Well? Did you do it? Did you take up a good vantage point and see as much as you could see? Did you slip into your bright Red Shorts or Swimming Costume? Did you have your big red can to keep you buoyant for the long shift in store? Or were you like me and thought "I don`t have the Monday Hoff so I can`t be bothered with the Hassle!"?
Yes, of course I`m talking about the nocturnal dilemma from last Sunday of whether or whether not to Chambers Bay-watch! If I had decided to watch all the coverage on Friday night I would`ve pretty much had to come straight to work for the Saturday Medal starting and then if I also watched the Saturday night coverage then my 2015 Longest Day would've been about 44 hours long!! But you know it wouldn`t have stopped me making it into work on Sunday because (to the theme tune of Baywatch)…."I'll be ready (I'll be ready), Never you fear (no don't you fear), I'll be ready, Forever and always, I'm always here."
The US Open did play out a little bit like an episode of the 90`s Lifeguard Series! (Certainly every time I hear the name Jordan Spieth I instantly think of Yasmine Bleeth!! Grrrrrr!) And much like young Jordan with the USGA`s National Open Trophy that`s something I`d like to get my hands on! But the storyline and drama at Chambers Bay was at times as farfetched as the events of the LA Lifeguards on the Californian Coastline. It started with a Tiger getting swept away, Oosthuizen riding the crest of a wave for the last 3 rounds, and the tide turning several times in the final round before Dustin Johnson outboard motor spluttered and left him all adrift after it went putt, putt, putt!!
Then there was the ludicrous sub plot about Jason Day having vertigo whilst on his last hole on Friday! Pfft, it was only 224 Yards and then that was him finished…..surely that`s not very vertigo!? The course itself reminded me of Baywatch, yeah sure it had lots of sand, but it reminded me more of Pamela Andersons bust! Impressive at first glance, then you soon realised it was pretty much all fake and on reflection actually just ridiculously unnecessary! Sorry, I just had to get that off my chest!
The debate will no doubt rumble on as to whether it was a good Championship or not. Was it unfair? Did the USGA trick it up too much in an attempt to keep the winning score around Par? Was it a good choice of venue for the spectators? Was it in good enough condition for a Major Championship? Did the whole event do anything to improve the profile of the game of golf, especially to any non or occasional golfer sitting at home watching on the TV?
With Pace Of Play one of the main threats to the growth of the game round time for the first 2 days at Chambers Bay was reported to be close on 6 Hours! SIX HOURS on a golf course. I think the only thing more excruciating to endure is watching a 4 year old trying to tie their own shoelaces!!!
Most of that time was haemorrhaged on the greens! Not only were they ridiculous in design but the surfaces were (to quote Keith Horne) "..more bobbly than last years Christmas Jumper!!". In fact Henrik Stenson described them like "putting on broccoli" which I thought was rich coming from a swede! A spokesperson for the USGA came out in response to those remarks with the following statement "I don't know what Mr Stenson thinks is Tomato with them, at the moment we carrot comment but lettuce look into it. We cannot get on the Courgette but once play has finished for the day we will accompany the Head Greenkeeper to make sure course preparation for tomorrow is Aubergine. He Butternut Squash the grass too low although it might help the players make Asparagus!"
Unfortunately it was poor Dustin Johnson who grabed defeat from the jaws of victory again with a 3 putt from only 12 feet on the 72nd to hand victory to Jordan Spieth. That's now a few Majors we`ve seen Dustin artichoke.
But Dustin`s misery was Jordan`s delight. Young Spieth hasn`t wasted anytime adding to his Major haul having claimed his first at the Masters back in April. He is now half way to claiming that much coveted `Grand Slam` of holding all 4 Majors in a single season. Next stop is St Andrews for the Open Championship and given Spieth`s current run of record breaking form who would bet against him making it 3 for 3 at the Home Of Golf!? Although given the nonsensical set up at Chambers Bay Jordan might have a better chance at St Andrews if they have to tee off from the penthouse balcony of the Old Course Hotel, putt over the Swilken Bridge, through the mouth of an Old Tom Morris effigy and have to tackle molten lava in the `Valley Of Sin`!
I definitely wasn`t Sleepless In Seattle, so when I heard about the climax of the US Open I was convinced I must have been dreaming and that it actually went to the usual Monday shootout that the USGA opt for. So I went looking to see if I could find coverage of the Playoff and was convinced, due to the farcical nature of the tournament, that I`d found the live stream. But it did sound that Ewen Murray might have still been drunk from the night before as his commentary wasn`t as concise as usual. Click here to check it out!
My US Open Sweepstake was as much of a Lottery as the Tournament itself but as usual there were a lot of people who did get lucky!
US OPEN SWEEPSTAKE RESULTS - Shop Credit
1st: Alistair Sinclair (Jordan Spieth) - £80
2nd: Drew Tremain (Louis Oosthuizen) - £50
2nd: John Telfer (Dustin Johnson) - £50
Day 1:
Best Score: John Telfer (Dustin Johnson - 65) - £7.50
J McDougall (Henrik Stenson - 65) - £7.50
Worst Score: Ryan Penny (Rich Berberian Jnr - 83) - £15
Day 2:
Best Score: Drew Tremain (Louis Oosthuizen - 66) - £15
Worst Score: Gary Pacitti Jnr (Alex Kim - 86) - £15
Day 3:
Best Score: Drew Tremain (Louis Oosthuizen - 66) - £15
Worst Score: Andy Bruce (Ben Martin - 86) - £15
Day 4:
Best Score: Kevin Ross (Adam Scott - 64) - £15
Worst Score: John Parry (Mark Robertson - 79) - £15
Best Amateur: Mark Brake (Brian Campbell) - £15
There will be another Sweepstake running for The Open Championship so keep a look out for that in the coming weeks.
There was more prizewinning last week but this time it was skill and perhaps only a smidge of luck involved as the multitude of Competitions continued to be played. Wednesday saw a fantastic 6 Under Par 66 by Sean Lawrie rightly taking the low round of the day helped largely by a 31 on the back 9.
WALK ON MEDAL, Wednesday 17th June `15
Division 1 (10 & BELOW)
1st: Sean Lawrie = 66(0) - 66
2nd: Stuart McLaughlin = 77(10) - 67 ACB
3rd: Graeme Crozier = 73(6) - 67 ACB
Division 2 (11-15)
1st: William Todd = 78(11) - 67 ACB
2nd: Iain Flett = 78(121 - 67 ACB
3rd: Bruce Fraser = 83(14) - 69
Division 3 (16 & ABOVE)
1st: Graham Miller = 85(17) - 68
2nd: George Fenton = 86(17) - 69
3rd: John Telfer = 87(17) - 70
From left to right- Sean Lawrie, Stuart McLaughlin, Graham Miller and George Fenton
On Saturday it was Round 2 of the Belmar Stableford and with the weather as kind as it has been for a while and the course in great shape we had probably the best scoring by the field in general all year. This was reflected in the CSS coming down for the first time despite it being a Black Tee Competition. It was great to see Arthur Graham and Malcolm Thomson producing such good scores as they had both recently come to me for lessons because they had been struggling a little with their games.
Scoot Sinclair was the big winner though as his 3rd placed 41 Points was good enough for him to take the overall 2 round Trophy with 78 Stableford points. It might have been a different outcome though because young Connor Leslie (2nd in Div 3 - 42 Points) playing only his 2nd Competition Round since being allocated his handicap would`ve sneaked it by 1 point but unfortunately for him his first foray into Competition golf the previous Saturday saw him forget to sign his scorecard and he was subsequently disqualified! I think that`s affectionately known as learning the hard way!!
BELMAR STABLEFORD 2nd RD, Saturday 20th June`15
Division 1 (10 & BELOW)
1st: Arthur Graham - 43 Points
2nd: Malcolm Thomson - 42 Points
3rd: Scott Sinclair - 41 Points
Division 2 (11-15)
1st: Richard Lornie - 43 Points
2nd: David Kernahan - 41 Points
3rd: Chris Scouller - 40 Points
Division 3 (16 & ABOVE)
1st: Steven Campbell - 42 Points
2nd: Connor Leslie - 42 Points ACB
3rd: Mark Wallace - 39 Points ACB
From left to right- Arthur Graham, Malcolm Thomson, Scott Sinclair, David Kernahan, Chris Scouller and Mark Wallace.
In Team news the Gents Pennant Team claimed a good victory away to the Northern Club at Kings Links last Tuesday in some pretty foul weather. That 3 ½ - 1 ½ win makes it 3 wins from 3 so victory (or possibly even a half) away to Bon-Accord on July 2nd will see them through to the Semi Finals.
Also through to the semi final stage is the Club Championship and it`s going to be a new name on the Trophy this year as none of the Semi-Finalists have won it before. The first Semi sees Robbie Murdoch take on Kev Daglish whilst in the bottom half it is Sean Lawrie against Ben Murray.
Wrestling Fans out there will be delighted to know that one of our Senior Members took out the whole opposition with his own DDT Killer Move! Yes, on Thursday in the Seniors Monthly Medal Deadeye Duncan Tocher had a Hole In One at the Par 3 12th! A towering 5 Iron was followed by more High 5`s (and a few low ones for those with frozen shoulders!) as it nestled in the bottom of the cup for a welcome Ace!
There must`ve been something magical in the air that day as the scoring was also brilliant.
More of Stuart`s Students found their way to the top of the leaderboard, namely Ian Anderson who posted his best round in a long time having seen his handicap climb and climb he has now reduced it to the lowest it`s been in 4 Years! Alex Garrow also took the plunge with a course of lessons and has now seen his handicap plumet also.
SENIOR JUNE MONTHLY MEDAL, Thursday 18th June
1st: Ian Anderson - 80(18) - 62
2nd: Alex Garrow - 92(28) - 64 ACB
3rd: Harry Harrott - 82(18) - 64 ACB
Deadeye Duncan Tocher (right)
This week was a real watershed moment for the Course for a number of reasons. You would all have received the Captains e-mail last week which was again just reinforcing the challenges that the Greenstaff had been battling with regards the putting surfaces. Essentially the plant had gone into self-defence mode against the temperatures and was producing seed heads quicker than Kerry Katona did offspring! This phase has now passed with the slight rise in temperature and you could almost see an overnight change in the green texture, colour and puttability.
Neil and the guys are just continuing to enhance that with more top dressing, rolling and cutting and I`m sure the Greens will be amazing very soon.
And no sooner do they get good but they would typically be punctured with the August Coring program, however following a very pleasing visit from the STRI (Soil & Turf Research Institute) we will no longer require to carry out hollow coring as intended. Results taken over the last 5 years of our greens has shown a dramatic drop in the organic matter more commonly described as thatch. This was the target set some 5 years ago by Greens and agreed by the committee which has included bringing forward the hollow coring in those years into August to assist in the recovery. This along with the aeration and light but regular dressing of the greens has helped achieve our aim. The planned date set aside will now see the greens scarified which will have little or no impact to the surface followed by 20mm solid tines in autumn.
"All the Golfing Gossip from the Powder Room" by Aileen McVey The Pro Shops 1st Lady
Well, I think it`s fair to say that my Charity Cycle training is affecting my golf big style. If only I could cycle in miles as easily as the number of shots I took on Tuesday when the wheels well and truly came off!! It`s not as if I can enjoy the weather because it`s been like winter, and that's neither good for golf or cycling! I`m hoping that the cold temperatures are forcing people to put their hands in their pockets to keep warm, and that they might find some loose change in there that they could spare for my wee Collection Tin!?
Barbara Watt was shining bright this week by topping her Division on both Saturday and Tuesday last week.
Thistle Broach Saturday 20th June
Silver
1st: Barbara Watt = 95(19) - 76
2nd: Linda Craik = 90(12) - 78
3rd: Angie Craig = 96(16) - 80
Bronze
1st: Marjorie Davidson = 107(33) - 74
2nd: Liz Smith = 99(24) - 75
3rd: Barbara Tait = 99(21) - 78
Walk On Medal Tuesday 23rd June
Silver
1st: Barbara Watt = 88(19) - 69
2nd: Elaine Stoddart = 90(20) - 70
3rd: Angie Craig = 89(16) - 73
Bronze
1st: Lesley Findlay = 104(30) - 74
2nd: Liz Groves = 103(26) - 77
3rd: Barbara Tait = 98(21) - 77
I`m back from my Holiday to Russia and fully recharged ready for the second half of the season. The Summer holidays will soon be upon us and I hope, with a little help from the weather, that the kids will really embrace their golf during their time off. All the usual get togethers will continue as usual and I will be adding in additional Coaching Classes so the kids can get more Professional Instruction to help them develop quicker and get into good habits and technique. Dates and times for these will be released soon.
I`m also pleased to say we have been selected to provide a ClubGolf Junior Summer Camp at the beginning of July. This has been advertised by Clubgolf and recommended to our gang by Terry Kennedy so it is already fully subscribed.
Many of the current Pennant Team and virtually all of the Clubs low handicappers have come through the Portlethen Junior Section so I hope we can keep that conveyor belt going.
Our Junior Pennant Team were in Semi Final action last Sunday at Inverurie. Unfortunately they came up against a formidable Royal Aberdeen Team that featured a lot of low single figured handicap players who were too good for our very young team. But it was all good experience that our kids will learn from, and despite the result and the downpour they were caught in it didn`t dampen the kids spirits.
Back on home soil the Saturday Medal saw the Junior Moggach 2nd Round take place on Saturday.
Junior Moggach 2nd Round, Saturday 20th June
1st: Richie Smart = 96(26) - 70
2nd: William Lloyd = 91(20) - 71
3rd: Finlay Wallace = 92(20) - 72
The "Anniversary Day" Competition is this weekend and there are only a select few times late on left. If you are a single looking for a game there are also a few Teams needing players so get in touch if you`d like to play.
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"
Book your appointment slot (30 Minutes) today by clicking here.
It`s also nearly the end of June (ALREADY!! I`m still waiting for Spring to end!!) so this is just a reminder that my "Game Improvement Package" is still available for a few days more. 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.
