How many times have you been told. It doesn`t matter how long it is, you shouldn`t touch it until you are told to! Look at what happens when you do, it all just blows up in your face!
Yes, young Alison Lee learned the hard way that it`s not the size of it that matters it`s what you do with it that`s important.
I am of course talking about the "Stramash At St-Leon!" (I know it`s officially called St-Leon-Rot but I think it`s fair to say the events were rotten enough!) - For those of you who were in a self-induced coma, or live in Huntly, things kicked off at the Ladies Solheim Cup in Germany last Sunday. Saturdays Fourball match had to be resumed on the Sunday morning and had reached the 17th hole All Square. The American Alison Lee was last to play, with the Europeans in for a Par, had a putt to win the hole and go 1 up. She missed and her putt ran roughly 3 feet past. It`s what happened next that lit the fuse to situation that effectively defined the outcome of the entire match and one that the 2015 Solheim Cup will unfortunately be remembered for.
Within a heartbeat of her putt slipping by the aforementioned distance Charlie Hull, one half of the European Pairing had started to walk towards the back of the green. Whilst this was the route to the next Tee it was also where her partner for that Match, Suzann Petterson, and the rest of her European Teammates were standing. Also in that same blink of an eye moment did the young American, Lee, scoop her ball up and the referee announce the hole halved and the match remaining All Square. But, and it was a significant `But`! The Europeans hadn`t actually conceded the putt! A point that Petterson made to the Referee, and under the rules of golf the Americans hadn`t completed the hole so therefore the European Par was good enough for the win and a 1Up lead going onto the last hole.
What ensued can only be likened to Christmas at The Kardshians! Tears, Traumas, Claws out (Well if it was Christmas they`d be Santa Claws!!), cat calling and more mascara runs than when 1D announced their split! All it needed was pig tail pulling topped off with some mud wrestling! (….maybe that was just some wishful thinking on my part! - Just checking Laura Davies and Christina Kim definitely weren`t playing, right?)
The Europeans won that match and held a 10-6 lead going in to the final 12 Singles matches, however the incident clearly acted as a catalyst for the Americans and inspired them to remarkable turnaround and a record breaking comeback triumph. Now, I`m a huge lover of what makes this game great. The honesty, integrity, sportsmanship and etiquette that separates our sport from the many others that constantly are in the limelight for all manner of controversial reasons. While everyone is entitled to their opinion I feel there has been a severe lack of perspective shown towards this incident.
First things first, only a few hundred miles away people are being forced to flee for their lives in a bid to protect their families as their country is torn apart by civil war. Yet, the self-proclaimed Super Power Country is up in arms over a hyperactive toddler (that`s a testing 3 footer incidentally!) `Gimme` a break!
Secondly, there is no rule that said putts of any length MUST be given. And if a putt is short enough to be conceded then it`s short enough to be holed. But you never just pick it up! We`ve all played matches where you think "I can`t believe this isn`t being given!", but you just have to wander slowly round, mark it, clean it, survey it from 4 different angles, replace it and have 10 practice strokes all in the hope that the opponent gets fed up waiting and eventually says "just pick it up!". For Alison Lee to scoop it up straight away was naïve, and to use Charlie Hull`s walk to towards the back of the green as a sign of a concession was extremely assumptive. What`s that saying about "You should never assume because……" I`m all for sportsmanship , however I`ll go back to my other pillars of the game for a second honesty, integrity and etiquette! What makes golf great is the rules are respected and self-policed. There have been many high profile instances on players calling fouls on themselves, which have significantly shaped the outcomes of tournaments, when the world would`ve been none the wiser. This was a breach of the Rules! And, given that Suzann Petterson is the one being vilified over her `sportsmanship`, Alison Lee had been warned twice already during that match for picking her ball up before it was verbally conceded! I`m pretty sure there`s another sport that uses that "3 strikes and you`re out" rule!?
So we`re onto sportsmanship now, and yes, if Lee had meandered round and marked her ball and gave one of those "Come on, really!?" glances to her opponents they might have at least had a chance to confer (remember Hull had to walk a fair distance to get to Petterson) and agree to concede that putt. But as the putt was assumingly lifted in the blink of an eye (you can even see Lee`s partner, Brittany Lincicome, say "don`t pick it up") after 2 previous warnings, the match in the balance and a 3 foot-ish putt still to be negotiated I think we`d all be inclined to say "you can`t just do that!"
The world went mad after that. Social Media, friends of mine, the golfing population in general all had an outpouring with everything from "Disgrace", "Europe should be ashamed", "Go USA" and the one that got my goat the most "CHEATS!" being banded around. Who broke the rule again!? The USA Team Captain, Julie Inkster, was heard on camera during a team huddle after the incident saying to Alison Lee "You did nothing wrong!", eh, yes you did! Don`t tell someone who just got hit by a car they did nothing wrong when they`ve clearly stepped off the pavement without looking! Perhaps people have short memories? Gamesmanship, sportsmanship, call it what you will. Incidents like this have happened before. Especially in the Solheim Cup, it wasn`t so long ago that the USA pulled up Annika Sorenstam for playing out of turn. It was 2000 at Loch Lomond and with the 2 Americans on the green and Sorenstam some distance from the hole in the greenside bunker. It transpired that one of the American players was actually further away, and the reason they called her for playing out of turn……oh yeah, she holed her bunker shot! Pretty sure they had ample time to either stop her playing or get the match referee to say who was away!
And the Europeans aren`t immune. Undoubtedly the Ryder Cups best ever player was Seve. But what made him such a formidable opponent, and one no American relished playing, was his gamesmanship. Who can forget the infamous "War On The Shore" at Kiawah Island. Ballesteros & Olazabal were trailing badly to Paul Azinger & Chip Beck after 9 holes of the Friday morning foursomes. On the 10th Tee Seve called the Americans for switching ball types from hole to hole. They were using different compression balls on holes into the wind to holes down wind, The Americans refuted the accusations until they realised that in Matchplay they couldn`t be penalised after the completion of a hole. They then owned up to doing it "once" but the reality was it had been 3 times. Needless to say this spurred the Spaniards on and they proceeded to win 5 of the next 7 holes to close out the match 2&1. The pair were unbeaten that year in the doubles and Seve claimed 4 ½ points out of 5 that year.
Rewind even further and for those of you who can remember back to 1985 (Yip, the year that Marty McFly went `Back To The Future` in) But it wasn`t just Michael J Fox and his time travelling Delorean that altered the course of history that year. In terms of Intercontinental Team Combat `85 was the year that saw Europe win their first ever Ryder Cup contest. Trailing after Day 1 it looked like Europe would continue to be in the Americans shadow for another 2 years. But on Saturday morning with score locked at 5 ½ - 5 ½ the European pairing of Bernhard Langer & Sandy Lyle made Craig Stadler take a putt that was easily half the length of the one Alison Lee faced last Sunday, which if holed would`ve won the match and given the USA a lead again going into the Afternoon fourballs. Stadler missed, and badly, Europe, buoyed by that won the afternoon session and romped the singles to make a historic breakthrough. The rest as they say is history, but what if they had just conceded that put and lost that match? "But it was for the match" I hear you cry! So when is a `Gimme` not a `Gimme`? Lee`s putt was essentially for the match! That Stadler putt is remembered for the player missing a tiddler, not for the unsportsmanlike notion not to give it!
And I`ll round off my little schpeel with the mother of all unsportsmanlike scenes at a golfing Team match, Brooklin 1999! Ben Crenshaw, the US Ryder Cup Captain that year, prayed to god in his press conference prior to the Sunday Singles and prayed to god most of the day throughout as his Team turned around a seemingly unrecoverable European lead. Well his prayers certainly came true as on the 17th green during the match between Jose Maria Olazabal and Justin Leonard he got a stampede or plague of locust of biblical proportions when Leonard holed a monstrous putt. When it hit the back of the hole, popped in the air then nestled in the bottom of the cup it looked like that could be the moment the USA could win the Cup! At that moment the Zoo gates opened and everyone from the American players, caddies, their wives and officials all flooded onto the green to celebrate and congratulate with Justin Leonard. There was only one slight detail missed in their decision to do that……..Jose Maria still had to putt on a virtually identical line which now it looked like it had just had the cast of Riverdance rehearsing on it!
If the Americans feel that "in the spirit of the game" should override the Rules of Golf then maybe their own USGA might want to reconsider the ludicrous events of the 2010 USPGA Championship at Whistling Straits where they allowed Dustin Johnson to have to wade his way through hundreds of people to get to his ball on the final hole, then herd dozens more out of the way, manoeuvre around all sorts of flora and fauna in the shape of drinks bottles and fast food cartons so he could hit probably the most important shot of his career, to be later told "sorry buddy, but you know that sand you just hit from, where we let all those people stand, well it wasn`t actually one of the hundreds of waste areas that are on this course but in fact it was one of those areas we designated a bunker this week! Yeah, in hindsight we maybe should`ve kept people out that bit!"
Hindsight is a wonderful thing isn`t it. Suzann Petterson has been made the villain of this latest pantomime and she has since come out and apologized for her decision, actions and subsequent effect it had on the match. She`s been given good advice or made a sensible decision to do this, and whilst some may site gamesmanship I strongly believe that the Europeans never resort to underhand tactics or play out with the rules of the game. And like both Petterson & Lee will be doing I`m sure, let`s just put it down to experience!
With the echos of "no place in our great game for gamesmanship" that all the Online Experts were quick to blurt out there still reverberating around my head, here is my final observation on the Solheim slog! Perhaps this whole thing might never have happened if they weren`t taking 6 hours plus to complete a Matchplay round!!?? Then it might not have spilled into the next morning and perhaps Petterson wouldn`t have got out the wrong side of bed and Lee wouldn`t have still been half asleep!?
Ok, I`m getting bored with this now too! Let`s lighten the mood with something to cheer about! Scotland are through to the final of The Davis Cup in Tennis! What do you mean it`s Great Britain!? No one from outside Scotland won a point so surely it`s Scotland that won the Davis Cup Semi!? I hear with the Final against Belgium going to be played on Clay that "Team Scotland" are going to start practicing on Balmedie Beach this winter!!
The Scots will be in action in the Egg Chasing World Cup soon, but it`s been Japan grabbing the Rugby headlines lately as they caused a massive tournament upset by defeating South Africa. When I saw the Headline "Japan `s 34-32 Has The Measure Of South Africa" I was equally as gobsmacked because I didn`t think the Japanese had as long legs as that! They certainly pulled the Springboks pants down that`s for sure! And to be honest I thought it was only in Sumo that they liked to wrestle with add shaped balls!
I wouldn`t say there were any great upsets here at Portlethen last week but we did have some great matches that I can thankfully report were played in the very best of spirit (but unfortunately not in the best of weather but we`ll get to that one later)
Last Sunday saw the final Final being played in the Gents schedule. This time it was the Murdoch Smith Fourball Matchplay Competition that reached its climax. This Final saw Ray Cowan & Tom Boyle, playing his 2nd final in as many Sundays, against Craig Samson & Ray Summers, fresh from his Champion of Champions triumph.
The standard was set high and saw the pairings going to the turn in betterball 33 strokes to 31 which saw Craig & Ray 2 Up. They were never behind the whole match and eventually closed the match out 3&2.
Craig and Ray Tom and Raymond
There was the usual Strokeplay action to report starting with Wednesday. The fields for the Mid Week competitions are getting noticeably smaller with the diminishing daylight but whilst we might not have the quantity these days there is still the quality judging by the scores. It was Stableford scoring this week and all the Prize Winners had scored 40 points or more. In DIV 1 Johnny Montgomeries 42 Points sounds a good score, but I personally think the fact it was a gross 1 under par 71 sounds better! Stuart McLaughlin sneaked past Peter Griffiths for 2nd spot with his 41 points to Peters 40.
In DIV 2 Sandy Barrack lead the days scoring with a fantastic 44 points, which meant Alan Simpson was disappointed to only finish 2nd on 42 points. Mark Will had to settle for 3rd on 41.
DIV 3 saw Norman McBain romp to the top spot with 43 by 3 points over Connor Leslie in second on 40. Roland George was squeezed into 3rd after a countback also on 40.
WALK ON STABLEFORD Wednesday 16th September `15
Division 1 (10 & BELOW)
1st: Johnny Montgomerie = 42 Pts, 2nd: Stuart McLaughlin = 41, Pts 3rd: Peter Griffiths = 40 Pts
Division 2 (11-15)
1st: Alexander Barrack = 44 Pts, 2nd: Alan Simpson = 42, Pts 3rd: Mark Will = 41 Pts
Division 3 (16 & ABOVE)
1st: Norman McBain = 43 Pts, 2nd: Connor Leslie = 40 Pts, 3rd: Roland George = 40 Pts
Photos- Mark Will, Stuart McLaughlin, Peter Griffiths, Alan Simpson & Johnny Montgomerie
On Saturday it was unusually just a Medal day (No Trophy). So perhaps Steve Lawrie might be disappointed that his great 66 won`t win him anything other than a few quid in the sweep and some bragging rights that I know he doesn`t like using!! Kieran Spence had a day on the greens we all dream of en-route to his 68 and Derek Craigie will be very happy with his 3rd place 68.
Gary Thomson clearly is getting to grips with his new putter as it started repaying itself by topping DIV 2 on 68. He edged out Kevin Neish on the countback whilst Ray Summers started his weekend as he meant to continue with a 3rd place 69.
Dennis Riddell clearly kept it down the middle to top the pile in DIV 3 just ahead of Johnny Russell on 69. 2 shots further back on 71 was Tom Stoddart but it was Pearls sister Paul who was on song to take 3rd Sweep.
MEDAL Saturday 19th September `15
Division 1 (10 & BELOW)
1st: Stephen Lawrie = 73(7) - 66, 2nd: Kieran Spence = 69(1) - 68 ACB, 3rd: Derek Craigie = 78(10) - 68
Division 2 (11-15)
1st: Gary J Thomson = 80(12) - 68, 2nd: Kevin Neish = 82(14) - 68 ACB, 3rd: Raymond Summers = 80(11) - 69
Division 3 (16 & ABOVE)
1st: Dennis Riddell = 86(18) - 68, 2nd: Jonathan Russell = 86(17) - 69, 3rd: Thomas Stoddart = 87(16) - 71, 3rd Sweep: Paul Singer = 87(16) - 71
Photos - Stephen Lawrie, Kieran Spence, Johnny Russell, Paul Singer, Gary Thomson, Ray Summers
Sunday was the big Trophy day last weekend with The Presidents Putter up for grabs. There was a quartet all locked together on 68 but it was Jamie Ironside who had the all-important best back nine. Dylan Smith 70(2) - 68 also posted the top score but as he is still a Junior wasn`t eligible to be considered in the countbacks. Again the small field on Sunday meant there were less spots paid out in the sweepstakes as well.
PRESIDENT'S PUTTER Sunday 20TH September `15
Division 1 (10 & BELOW)
1st: Jamie Ironside = 73(5) - 68, 2nd: Stephen Cook = 72(4) - 68 ACB
Division 2 (11-15)
1st: Andrew Garioch = 82(14) - 68, 2nd: Stewart Clark = 83(13) - 70
Division 3 (16 & ABOVE)
1st: Scott Marshall = 91(23) - 68, 2nd: Calum Yule = 94(25) - 69
Photos-Jamie Ironside, Stephen Cook, Stewart Clark
Like most weeks I look carefully at those performing well in the competitions and it is really satisfying when I see the names of those people who have taken an interest in their own games and more importantly invested in their own enjoyment. This weeks role of honour again is dominated with people who have entrusted me at somestage to improve their performance and related enjoyment. Let`s just take a quick run through. Johnny Montgomerie (Lessons), Stuart McLaughlin (Lesson & Fitted Clubs), Peter Griffiths (Lessons), Alexander Barrack (dynamite banter!), Alan Simpson (Fitted Clubs), Mark Will (Lesson), Norman McBain (Lessons), Roland George (Lessons), Stephen Lawrie (Fitted Clubs), Dennis Riddell (Lessons), Jonathan Russell (Lesson), Thomas Stoddart (Lesson), Stephen Cook (Lessons), Andrew Garioch (Lesson & Fitted Clubs), Scott Marshall (Lessons)
And if I throw into the mix Tom Boyle (Lessons) & Ray Cowan (Lessons) then hopefully you can see there is a correlation. So as the season creeps to a close why not start planning for your enjoyment next year. The winter is an ideal time to make worthwhile and lasting improvements to your game.
It was also pleasing to see many of the guys who still have The Cappro Cup to look forward to playing well. On Friday of last week, with the final 24 confirmed, we held the Official Drawing of the Teams "LIVE" in the Clubhouse.
All those players who could make it came along to see which side they`d be playing for, who they would be partnering and more importantly who their opponents would be. In a ceremony as lavish as the FIFA World Cup Draw Captain Ian Cruickshank and myself randomly put together our squads in the following way.
4 Players of similar Handicaps were put into a Pot - 6 in total.
Captain picked his first player and then the Pro picked his - These were The Sunday SINGLES Match Up.
Captain then picked his second player and the Pro did likewise - The Captain now had his 1st PAIRING for Saturday and so did the Pro.
This process was repeated through the 6 Pots until each team has 12 Singles Match Ups & 6 Pairs Match Ups.
Here is how the Teams & Match Ups came out for Saturdays Doubles (That the running order for the Sunday Singles as well)
Captains Team v Professionals Team
Match 1
Lewis Shand v Keith Horne
Graham Innes Kev Daglish
Match 2
Michael Edwards v Stephen Cook
Ray Cowan Ian Greig
Match 3
Scott Livingstone v Tony Lee
Stan Forbes Ian Logie
Match 4
Chris Scouller v Tom Boyle
Tony Storey Stewart Clark
Match 5
Paul Dallas v Mark Wallace
Terry Taylor Johnny Russell
Match 6
George Fenton v Peter Somerville
Jim Chissell Grant Chalmers
I think the match that Stuart was referring to was the final of the Seniors Doubles. George Fenton (picuted) & Ian H Davidson took on Bruce Fraser and Harry Fotheringham on Monday afternoon. When they set off you could tell the rain was close, if they didn`t finish where they did the Course would`ve Closed!! George & Ian managed to deal with the weather slightly better than Bruce & Harry and finished the match off at the 16th! Before they all water skied down the 18th!!
Well done to all 4 for enduring that weather. And congratulations to George & Ian.
I`m on the countdown to my holiday to Dubai with my eldest Daughter and I`m not proud to say that I think my golf clubs are about to find their way into winter storage! There were 8 of our regular Ladies away sunning themselves on a Golfing break to Portugal so the usual numbers were depleted slightly.
But it`s great to see the Ladies still playing regularly. Saturday was just a Stableford Competition but by all accounts it felt like a Summers Day compared to previous weeks when the girls were battling round for a Trophy! It was the first time we saw the name of Sarah Ritchie on top the Leaderboard in the Silver Division but only because she`s changed it from Beattie who we used to see ALL the time up there! So I guess Marriage doesn't change everything!! Best score of the day though went to Marjorie Davidson with a fabulous 37 Points. Well Done Marjorie!
Stableford Saturday 19th September
Silver
1st: Sarah Ritchie = 31 Points 2nd: Rowena Keith = 29 Points 3rd: Angie Craig = 29 Points
Bronze
1st: Marjorie Davidson = 37 Points 2nd: Sylvia Revell = 36 Points 3rd: Isabel Murray = 33 Points
This Sunday I was off to Dornoch to play in the final event of the year - The Sandy Pipey Masters. I had high expectations as I finished 4th last year and 9th the year before. But I think I put too much pressure on myself and I had started terribly on day 1 and was struggling with my game which resulted in having my worst score as a Pro - 83! Now I know what Tiger must have felt like! So it's now back to the drawing board and start making the changes I need to through the winter to be ready for next season.
I would also like to say that if anyone ever gets a chance, they should try and play Royal Dornoch as it is a great golf course! Just a shame it's so far away!
This Saturday there was a Walk on medal final to play for the juniors. Lewis Sinclair came out on top out of everyone who had qualified for this so well done! Lewis came in with a nett 64 to win by 5 shots! William Lloyd was the nearest competitor.
Louise Cook actually had the best score on the day but unfortunately wasn't in the Competition but will have her handicap cut by quite a bit after coming in with a nett 60! She is now off 16.2!
Walk On Medal Final Results Yellow Tees Boys: CSS 68 Par 70
Ladies : CSS 70 Par 73
Louise Cook - 84 (24) Nett 60
Lewis Sinclair - 78 (14) Nett 64
William Lloyd - 85 (16) Nett 69
Ewan Brown - 82 (11) Nett 71
Matthew Davie - 97 (26) Nett 71
Scott D'Agostino - 82 (9) Nett 73
Finlay Wallace - 91 (18) Nett 73
Pranav Maganti - 98 (24) Nett 74
Brandon Simpson - 89 (11) Nett 78
Ritchie Smart - 100 (22) Nett 78
Daniel Critchard - 106 (28) Nett 78
Murray Sinclair - NR (18) NR
Photos- Lewis Sinclair & Louise Cook
The Porty get golfing gang was on again this week and it seemed very busy for being so late on the season which was great to see! I suppose the weather had something to do with that as it was one of the best Saturdays we've had all season!
Neil and the guys are starting to prep for the close season which, like it or not, is looming fast. They have started to mark and cut the positions for the Winter Greens but rest assured these will only be used in extreme circumstances.
Monday, as has been mentioned, saw some incredible rainfall and unfortunately the course is getting to that soft stage where it`s not bouncing back from rainfall as quick or as firmly as it was doing throughout the season. To try and combat this Neil and the Team have both aeriated the greens and sprayed to combat any disease that the excess moisture encourages.
But all that aside the course in Saturdays glorious weather played and was presented as good as at any time this season.
Well I didn`t get my Shop extension in the last week so we`ve given the Shop Layout a little tweak to make sure all the great new Autumn/Winter product gets squeezed in but is still merchandised nicely for you to be able to move around the shop. You really should make a point of popping in to see what a fantastic selection we have on offer right now. There`s something for everyone. And anything for all weathers too. The key message to those of you who golf through the winter - LAYER UP! Get yourself the best and correct attire to play in means you can wear less, be less restricted but warmer whilst doing that!
We`ve got the Galvin Green Collection, the new Under Armour Collection as well as the new Exclusive ProQuip Range. This includes Ladies & Gents Waterproofs, Lined Sweaters, Wind jackets, Beanie & Mitts! Check them out below but better still check them out in store.
We`ve also received the much talked about new Callaway Great Big Bertha Driver so why not take it for a Test Drive the next time you are playing?
The New TaylorMade M1 that I spoke about last week is enroute and will be here to test soon too. Meanwhile remember we have some of the biggest and best savings on the current R15 you`ll find anywhere.
TAYLORMADE R15
DRIVERS: Now ONLY - £269
HYBRIDS: Now ONLY - £129
The Autumn/Winter range is arriving thick & fast. On top of the Galvin Green Collection we have also just received the new Under Armour Collection as well as the new Exclusive Pro Quip Range. This includes Ladies & Gents Waterproofs, Lined Sweaters, Wind jackets, Beanie & Mitts! We are in the process of getting them unpacked and merchandised for the weekend but I`m not sure if the builders will have my shop extension completed by then!!
To continue to make the necessary space for all these new and exciting goodies I have some fantastic Offers and Promotions still running.
For a Limited Time Only:
BUY A GALVIN GREEN SUIT** FOR ONLY - £350!
**Selected Jackets
ALL BAGS IN STORE - 20% OFF!
ALL SALE SHOES - Up To HALF PRICE!
