STILL UNDEFEATED

Pushed to the wire but Alex Simpson proved today what a fighter he is. 3 down with 4 to play after losing 12 to an eagle and 14 to a birdie he battled back won 15 and 16, halved 17 and with a superb birdie on 18 squared his match. Brad Bannerman won 4&3 and Kirsty Brodie won 4&2. This makes us 5 from 5 and we now only have an away match at Blairgowrie to complete our section and are virtually guaranteed to finish top qualifier and look forward to the semi final with confidence.

Also made Scottish Golf View / Kirkwood news pages !!!

To cap of a great weekend Brad has been called up to play for Perth & Kinross in the Scottish Area team championship at Tulliallan this coming weekend. With Alex already selected Strathmore will be providing 50% of the team - another first.

Between Alex's 2 scratch league matches this weekend we managed to play our first doubles match as partners, gelled well and won 3&2. 

UNDEFEATED

Junior scratch league team keeps 100% record. Today at Strathmore we hosted Muckhart and Brad Bannerman led from the front and and won his match 4&3. Alex Simpson was always ahead and closed out his match 3&2 and Kirsty Brodie who was in great form ran out an easy 8&7 winner holing a 30ft birdie putt to end her match. Tomorrow we host Crieff and again I think our team will be good enough to keep their great run going.

 

MESSAGE TO THE JUNIORS FROM THE CENTRE

Hi Iain

Great achievements all round again at all levels within the section. 

Congratulations from us to all of them, and special best wishes to Kirsty for the Jamboree call-up, and good luck to the Scratch Team this weekend. 

Regards 

David

Strathmore Golf Centre
‘The Friendly Place to Play Golf’
Alyth
Blairgowrie
Perthshire
PH11 8NZ

ANOTHER NEW MEMBER

William Ramsay becomes our 9th new member of 2015 and look forward to meeting him at the coaching on Monday.   

P&K LADIES JAMBOREE TEAM ANNOUNCED

P&K Ladies Captain Carol Muir has announced her team to represent Perth & Kinross at the North Division Jamboree at Murcar Golf Club from 27th-29th June is as follows:

Kirsty Brodie (Strathmore) 
Laura Campbell (Pitlochry) 
Steph Crolla (Muckhart) 
Shonagh Raitt (Crieff)
Nicola Robertson (Stirling) 
Jen Saxton (Muckhart) 
Laura Walker (Muckhart) 
Eilidh Watson (Muckhart) 

Congratulations to Kirsty who will be making her debut at the event. Having attended many jamborees over the years as Dawn's caddy and then supporting her when she was Captain by caddying for the team, I know Kirsty will love the experience and this will be another step up the ladder of success in Ladies golf. 

ANOTHER JUNIOR SET FOR THE STEP UP

Invited Molly Castle out for 9 holes on Rannaleroch tonight and was impressed with her all round game. With a bit of practice on putting and short game over the the next couple of weeks I am sure she will be ready to put in cards for her handicap. 

P&K v LOTHIANS UNDER16

Alex Simpson was selected to play in the match at Dunkeld on Sunday and won his foursomes with Rowan Carey but lost his singles. P&K lost 3 v 9.

P&K team

Lothians team

MAGICAL MONDAY

Another 3 Certificates tonight. Gareth (Donk) Couzens text me tonight to confirm Dominika Iglinski and James Lothian attained level 1 (both in 10 shots) and James Bonar level 2 (in 21 shots) The hour I spent with Dominika on the putting green certainly paid dividends. 

SUPER SATURDAY

Where do I start ?

First certificates -

1st up Finlay Wilson only been playing for a year. 2 on the green 3 putts for a 5 and then great tee shot, superb pitch to 2ft and 2 putts for an easy 4. High fives and huge smiles all round.

Next up was Frankie Kennedy, 3 onto the green, 2 putts for a 5 then 4 onto the green and a nervy 3 putts was enough to secure the 7 and his first certificate.

Last up was Mollie Castle who was going for her 2nd certificate and I knew before we went onto the course she would achieve it easily. I again was proved correct, an easy 4 was followed by a nice 5 then a great 3. An errant tee shot on 8 meant to playing 3 off the tee but an 8 was secured before an easy 5 on the last gave her a total of 25 - 5 shots below which could quite easily have been better. I was delighted when Mollie told me she really wanted to play more golf and I believe that she is definitely ready for the step up to the big course. Her swing is very natural and I can see another great prospect in the making.

Then to cap it all Alex, Amy and Megan played Summer League and shot gross 74,81 & 80.

Nett 71, 67 & 67. Amy's handicap now 12.2 and Megan 11.4. Watching these kids playing to such an amazing standard is brilliant and I am sure Amy and Megan will soon be in the 70's club !!!! This season is just getting better and better. 

1st CERTIFICATE SUCCESS

Moya Craig is the latest Junior to attempt to gain her 1st certificate and aged just 7 is one of the youngest to try. She pushed her tee shot on the 1st a bit right but her 2nd shot found the fairway and with her 3rd finding the heart of the green her 6ft putt just ran past but left her with an easy tap in 5. Tee shot on the 9th was not so good but a great 5 iron left her with a chip to the green which unluckily hit the slope and didn't run up to the top level where the pin was. But 4 putts later it was high 5's as a 7 was secured and Moya gained her 1st certificate. Well done. 

CLARK ROSEBOWL SEMI FINAL

Kirsty Brodie did well to reach the semi final but lost 4&3 to Lesley Atkins but must take a lot of positives from her performance this week.

QUARTER FINAL SUCCESS

Kirsty took another big step today by progressing to the semi final of the Clark Rosebowl by winning her quarter final tie against Nichola Robertson (Stirling) 1 up and faces Leslie Atkins (Gullane) tomorrow. She has Shannon McWilliam on the bag which is good as this will keep her relaxed and she can continue to have fun !

SCOTTISH LADIES CLOSE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

Well done Kirsty who won her last 16 match and this afternoon faces Nicola Robertson (Stirling) in the Quarter finals of the Clark Rosebowl.

SCOTTISH LADIES CLOSE AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

Kirsty Brodie qualified in 42nd position today and will play in the last 16 of the Clark Rosebowl against Nicola Callender (Mill Green) at Monifieth tomorrow morning. 

PROGRESS REPORT

Whilst attending the coaching last night I realised how far our Juniors have progressed and it makes me so proud. We had our newest members some of whom have only been playing for a few weeks hitting great golf shots and Gareth was being assisted by past Junior Captain and now PGA assistant professional Rory Tinker. I looked out of the range to see Scottish Academy player Amy Mitchell who was making her debut for the Ladies Scratch League team and won her match to help them beat Crieff. Brad Bannerman and Alex Simpson also won their matches on Friday to help Strathmore Gents secure a great win over current Scratch League Champions Kinross. Kirsty Brodie and past junior Hannah Robb were playing today in the Scottish Ladies Close Championship at Monifieth and hopefully both can qualify to the knock out stages. I take great pleasure in seeing all these kids progress and our conveyor belt system just keeps on bringing them through.

CLUB HIRE SCHEME MAJOR SUCCESS

James Bonar today became the 8th player this season and 11th in total to take advantage of the club hire scheme. I am really pleased that so many of our juniors are taking advantage of this and and hope that over the years we see many more follow in the footsteps of Amy Mitchell who went within 3 years from a complete beginner to a Scottish Academy player using our clubs. 

James with his new set.

James and Georgia with their 1st certificates.

KIRSTY BECOMES GIRLS COUNTY JUNIOR CHAMPION

C

P&K Junior Championships were held at Auchterarder Golf Club today. The girls all played very well with some impressive scores being return in very windy conditions.   This  is reflected in the CSS which was reduced to 68.

Congratulations to Kirstie Brodie , the new P&K Junior Champion and Megan Thom the Handicap Champion.

Results:  CSS 68

Scratch:     Kirstie Brodie, Strathmore       77  bih
           r/u    Zoe Morton , Auchterarder       77

Handicap:    Megan Thom, Alyth        86 (21)  65
               r/u  Katriona Taylor, Crieff   82 (11) 71

9-hole Competition  Olivia Griffin - North  Inch

Brilliant result for Kirsty, well deserved !!

P&K JUNIOR TEAM ANNOUNCED

Congratulations to Alex Simpson who has been named in the team to take part in the Scottish Area Team Championship at Tulliallan GC

Commiserations to Brad Bannerman who missed out on a place. Below is a picture of the squad and selector taken at their practice match. L/R Brad, Alex, Robert Watson, Rodney Neil, Calum Graham, Rowan Carey and Andrew Gibson.

2ND JUNIOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER

Well done tonight to Kirsty Brodie who shot her best round of the season 74 net 69 and reduced her handicap to 4.8 in the 2nd round of the junior club championship qualifier. 

STRATHMORE REPORT FROM SCOTTISH GOLF VIEW

So proud of Brad, Alex and Kirsty who are showing they are a class apart. I believe that not only can they go through the team qualification undefeated but that each individual player has the ability to do likewise. Their all round play is superb and we have the best team in the County as their results have proved beyond doubt.

Strathmore 3 and 0 in Perth and Kinross Junior
Scratch League's Red Section 

Strathmore currently sit top of the Red Section of the Perth and Kinross Junior Scratch League with maximum points, having won three out of three matches.
At the end of the sectional matches, the first and second placed teams in the Red and Blue divisions meet in the semi-finals with the winners going forward to the final at Blairgowrie 

                                                  Games 
                                 P  W L D   Won   Pts
Strathmore               3   3  0  0      9       6            
Muckhart                 1   1  0  0      2.5     2             
Blairgowrie (green)  1    1  0  0      2        2  
Blairgowrie (pink)   2    1  1  0      2        2             
Auchterarder           2    0  2  0      1        0   
Pitlochry                  3    0  3  0      1.5     0           
Crieff                       0    0  0  0      0        0


Results: 
Strathmore 3, Blairgowrie  (pink) 0
Brad Bannerman bt Campbell Gibson 7 and 6
Alex Simpson bt Cormac Sharpe 6 and 4
Kirsty Brodie bt Declan Gray 5 and 4

Auchterarder 0, Strathmore 3
Campbell Watt lost  to Bannerman 7 and 5.
Murray Stevenson lost to Simpson 4 and 3.
Harry Clark lost to Kirsty Brodie 6 and 5.

Pitlochry 0, Strathmore 3
J Cowan lost to Bannerman 5 and 4.
A Davidson lost to Simpson 10 and 8.
D Flynn lost to Brodie 9 and 7.

100% RECORD REMAINS INTACT AND HOW

Travelled to our weather postponed Scratch League match at Pitlochry hoping to maintain our winning start and our team showed no mercy. Brad Bannerman won convincingly 5&4, Kirsty Brodie won 9&7 and Alex Simpson completed the rout with a record breaking 10&8. Our team are strong favourites for this years event and I see no reason why they can not only win it but would not be surprised to see each player remain undefeated, that's how good I believe they are and witnessing some of the superb approach shots played tonight in difficult conditions I am convinced it could happen. 

GREAT WEEKEND AGAIN

Big weekend again. Yesterday Kirsty Brodie played current P&K ladies Champion Jillian Milne in the last 16 of this years championship and pulled off an impressive 5&4 win. Unfortunately she met the number 1 seed Laura Walker in the quarter final and should be proud that she took her to the 16th. Kirsty is now definitely reaping the benefits of all her hard work and practice. Megan Ashley won the junior May Medal with a great nett 69 and reduced her exact handicap to 12.5. Brad Bannerman and Alex Simpson were off to Tulliallan for a practice round and possible selection for P&K boys Area Team championship team. Alasdair Richmond became our 7th player this season to take advantage of the club hire scheme and with James Bonar awaiting delivery to become the 8th I am extremely proud to have set up this concept which will for years to come benefit Strathmore Juniors and it's members. Finally as Dawn was refereeing the County Ladies final I was left without a partner for the Gary Smith Trophy and asked Amy Mitchell if she would deputise, and we gelled very well together with 8 x 3 points and 10 x 2 points giving us a winning total of 44. Amy's play was superb and her putting was magnificent especially on 17 and 18 where she holed from 6 and 12ft. I did assist on 6 holes but she was the star ! What a way to finish off a great weekend and it all starts again tomorrow when our Scratch League team head to Pitlochry to defend our 2015 undefeated record.

ORDER OF PRACTICE

Quick reminder to all .

Golf Course Par 72

4 par 3's, 4 par 5's and 10 par 4's. 

Only 14 drives required,  if every green was hit in regulation then half of of your score would be putts to make par. 

Please remember this and practice in order of importance 

1 Putting
2 Chipping or Pitching (use different clubs for the variety of shots required)
3 Short Irons for distance control
4  Fairway Woods, Utility Clubs or long irons 
5 Driver 

This order will improve your score.   

HOW TO IMPROVE YOUR GAME

Lexi Thompson 

What are the two best tips you have been given?

“Number one is definitely to have fun on the golf course no matter how you play, there is always something worse you could be doing! I was always told that you should keep your head up no matter what, don’t get too hard on yourself and always remember that golf is fun. If I had a bad tournament it was just onto the next one, no dwelling on the bad stuff. Positive attitude.

“Number two is making your practice productive. There’s no point just going to the range pounding balls without a structure to what you’re doing. All that will happen is, sure you will loosen up a bit, but you’re probably just reinforcing the mistakes you already have in your game. You have to practice in a productive way, get something specific out of it so you walk away from the practice area thinking ‘I got something out of that’

JOHN ELLIOT Jr.

It's rare to see an adult who uses the practice green as much as the practice range. This chronic neglect of chipping and putting is a mistake you don't want to make with a young child. The rule is this: Never walk past the practice green with a child. Walk on it, then use it. Heighten the child's curiosity about this vital part of the game, and then let the child pursue it. This is the place to introduce kids to competition. They love chipping and putting contests. 

These are 3 tips to remember and ones we have used for years. Have fun, make practice productive and it's the short game that will lower your scores. Donkey has made better putters out of all the players I have helped - guaranteed.

NEW LINKS

Added some new links check them out !! Kirkwood golf has all the latest news, SGU and SLGA websites have all the national entry forms etc. How did I do will track your handicap. If anyone wants other things added let me know !

LADIES CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER

Today Kirsty Brodie played her best round of the season so far with a gross 75 and reduced her handicap back to category 1. I am pleased as this will give her a boost for the rest of the season. Megan Ashley played her first Ladies competition and did very well in playing to her handicap. Well done girls. For full results see Ladies blog.

PAY BACK TIME

Yesterday Brad Bannerman took his revenge on King James V1 where he recently lost out in the P&K boys match play championship by equaling the course record of 62 in the P&K Schools Championship winning by 10 shots from club mate Alex Simpson. A Strathmore 1, 2. So pleased for Brad who has come so close on a number of occasions and now I'm sure he will take so much confidence from this result he will be buzzing and looking forward to the Scottish Schools Championship held at Murrayshall  in June. Our players just keeping on raising the bar and the sky is the limit and can't wait to see what's next.

Card read 3-3-4-4-3-4-3-4-4 =32 

                3-4-3-3-3-3-4-3-4 =30  total 62

P&K LADIES COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP

Well done Kirsty Brodie on qualifying at Strathmore for the knock out stages which take place this weekend. She will face Jillian Milne (Blairgowrie) in the last 16. Also qualifying from Strathmore was past County Champion and our handicap secretary Dawn Butchart who will be up against Gwen Lambie (Dunkeld) Good luck to you both from the section.

CSS 75 R/O

1st Scratch   L Walker 73
2nd Scratch   J Saxton 80
3rd Scratch   G Lambie 81 (bih)
 1st H'cap.    A Stockley (16) 71
2nd H'cap.    L Walker (1)    72
3rd H'cap.    S Scott (13)    73

Draws for Sat 9th May:

Scratch:
9.00a.m.   L. Walker    v A Stockley
9.07a.m.   K. Brodie    v J Milne
9.14a.m.   N. Robertson v C Henderson
9.21a.m.   D Butchart   v G Lambie
9.28a.m.   S Crolla     v K. Knight
9.35a.m.   C Muir       v L.Campbell
9.42a.m.   I. Moncrieff v S Raitt
9.49a.m.   M Lumby      v J Saxton

MORE OF MY PREDICTIONS COME TRUE

Last week I predicted a couple of our newest members were ready for their 1st certificates and maybe handicaps. We will start with Georgia McKay who I said had a very natural swing, I had originally thought she had played before but was surprised to find out she was a complete novice. James Bonar has had lessons at a range before but hadn't played on a course so to put my theory to the test I decided to take them both out to see if they could complete the task. As I had not seen either of them putting before I opted to give them a quick master class on the the green before they started. I was not disappointed when after a few tips and pointers they both improved and started to get their distance controls sorted out and then off we went. Ladies first and Georgia hit a nice tee shot down the right followed by a pitch short of the green and a chip and run to 10ft. James hit his tee shot also down the right and pitched on to 15ft. Both 3 putted for a 5 and a 6. James had the honour and his tee shot  finished just short of the green. Georgia didn't hit the best of tee shots but hit a decent 2nd short of the green followed by a chip which ran to the top of the slope and was unlucky not to run back down to the hole. James putted up to 6ft and left his next putt stone dead and tapped it in for an easy 4 giving him 9 and his first certificate. Georgia rolled her putt down the hill and judged the pace to perfection leaving her an easy tap in for a 5 and a total of 11. I was so pleased for both players as I predicted they both had the ability and it is a great feeling to be proved correct. 

Georgia and James - well done and thanks for proving me right !

Decided to see what James could do on the Rannaleroch 10th and again wasn't disappointed when playing 2 balls he hit the green with both second shots and secured a 4 and a 5. Think James may be ready for the step up very soon. 

CLUB HIRE SCHEME

Strathmore golf club Junior section offer members the opportunity to hire a set of clubs instead of always having to buy and replace sets as they grow. The scheme is now in its 3rd year and we currently have 6 players taking advantage of it. With a set of junior clubs required every couple of years and costing on average £150,  the £25 annual hire fee is a very cost effective way of making sure the players always having the correct size of clubs. We are the only club in the Country to offer such a scheme and I believe that it not only helps our current members but can attract new members in the future who perhaps feel the cost of buying equipment would be a barrier to them coming into the sport.

 Georgia McKay our latest Club Hire Scheme member with her new clubs

FUTURE PROSPECT

Think we will go with the overlap grip grandad

WELL DONE MATTHEW

 Matthew Wilson becomes 1st player to gain a certificate this season. He did it very easily finding both greens in 2 shots and completing the 2 holes in 10 shots. I think he will get his 2nd Certificate easily.

1st Certificate - 1st and 9th holes on Leitfie in 12 shots or less

2nd Certificate - 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 8th and 9th holes on Leitfie in 30 shots or less

SUMMER LEAGUE 4

      

 

Player	Score	New Exact Handicap	Comments
Amy Mitchell	84 - 15 = 69	13.8
Alex Simpson	76 - 4 = 72	3.5
Conor Hughes	88 - 13 = 75	13.3
Kirsty Brodie	87 - 7 = 80	5.7 css 71 for boys css 72 for girls. The new computer system automatically adjusts the girls handicaps to take into account the stroke differential. Eg Amy's handicap is 14 but is given 15 for a mixed gender competition.

P&K GLENEAGLES SCHOLARSHIP

Alex Simpson has been awarded the scholarship for 2015. Well deserved and I am sure he will make full use of it. He will have full use of the facilities including playing rights to all 5 courses.

TIP FOR TODAY

Never ever react to a bad shot in a negative fashion, forget it, move on and play your next shot with 100% commitment.

PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT

Over the last two days I have been impressed by how many of our juniors are out there practicing. Last night Kirsty was on the practice area , Tod was out on the course, Georgia M was out on the wee course as was Flora and Dominika. Tonight I invited Megan out to work on her putting and course management and we spent a productive couple of hours which I'm sure will improve her game and had a quick chat with Amy who was playing Donkey and practicing her putting. I am delighted that these players are so committed to improving their games and it makes my role of Convenor so rewarding and the calibre of juniors we have is amazing. Looking forward to another successful weekend with confidence.

Our 3 Academy players are just starting to warm up and I predict exciting times ahead !!!