SATURDAY FIRST

Megan won her last sixteen match but unfortunately lost out by 1 hole in the quarter finals of the Scottish Women’s Amateur Championship Clark Bowl. Kirsty last years Junior Captain lost out in the last 16. Another set of Clubs swapped over and Jack loves them !!!! Then we played Golfsixes and Archie and I secured victory with an impressive 1 under par 26.

HUGE WEEKEND COMING UP

Tonight Matthew was the first to trade up his old set for one of our new sets. He is delighted. We have a big day tomorrow with more clubs getting swapped and a family fun competition. Then Sunday is the big one with us hosting the Golfsixes with Arbroath, Ballumbie, Carnoustie, Kirriemuir and Montrose our guests. Really looking forward to this event as it is so much fun for the youngsters.
The Scottish Women’s Amateur Championship qualifying took place today with Megan making the Clark Rosebowl knockout along with last years Junior Captain Kirsty. 2 past members also played and Katy made the last 16 but Emily missed the cuts. Good luck to all in the match play.
Another of our past juniors Hazel MacGarvie has made the 🇬🇧 and 🇮🇪 squad for the Vagliano Trophy against the rest of Europe.

LATEST UPDATE

Our first 20 sets of replacement clubs have arrived and I need to get them out swapped over asap. We have exciting news also for our old sets which involves growing golf in another area and giving the children of Army personnel the chance to try golf and grow the sport. Strathmore are at the forefront of growing Junior Golf and hopefully this is just the start.

BRILLIANT SESSION TODAY

The whole of Eassie Primary School came along this afternoon along with their parents for the latest of our sessions. 12 youngsters and 10 adults took part and we have another bunch of potential golfers. The Centre again supplied Chips and Juice for the kids and teas and coffees for the adults. Hopefully we will see some new faces around soon and Dawn, Jackie and I were delighted to be presented with a fantastic hand made card and bags filled with goodies !!!!

JUNIOR OPENS THURSDAY 25th JULY

This year we will be holding 2 Opens on the same day. The first one will be on Rannaleroch for Juniors holding Full Congu handicaps of up to 54 but for competition purposes these will be capped at 28 for boys and 36 for girls. This is a qualifier for “The Race to the Castle” and also the “Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship” Strathmore’s inaugural Golfsixes Pairs Open will also take place at the same time on Leitfie. This is for Juniors who don’t have a Congu Handicaps and will be played by the same rules as the Golfsixes League. Pairs will enter and play a pairs Texas Scramble over the full 9 holes, all par 3’s. One parent, grandparent or appropriate adult must accompany each pairing and act as scorer. Please note no advice can be given to the competitors as it’s up to the Juniors to make the decisions of which ball to play etc. This is more of a fun competition to encourage youngster out onto the Course and give them a feeling of taking part in a big competition maybe for the first time. There will be prizes for the best scores etc.  Looking forward to a big entry especially from our Juniors so grab a pal and enter. Phone the Office on 01828 633322 then option 1. Entry fees are £5 for the Rannaleroch Open and £5 (£2.50 each) for the Leitfie Open.

BRILLIANT FUN AT THE COACHING TONIGHT

Tonight was our last Monday night coaching session before the Summer break but we will be running something on Monday nights and Saturday mornings from next week onwards. I will be emailing to gauge support and times so watch your inboxes. Stuart and Fraser who were fitted for new sets recently had both asked for the lob wedges from their previous sets and I agreed subject to a challenge. We went to the 2nd and 9th greens and they had their lob wedges and I had a 5, 7, 9 iron and pitching wedge and we threw the balls off the greens to various spots and I gave the boys the choice of which club I had to play each time. By winning the challenge think I proved that it was possible to use a variety of clubs around the greens to get results. I did allow them to keep the wedges but I think they will be more selective as to when to use them. Lesson learned.

STRATHMORE GIRLS HELP P&K WIN JAMBOREE

Joint Junior Captains Amy and Megan, along the last years Captain Kirsty and past member Katy helped P&K Ladies win the Jamboree at Ballater by beating Northern Counties in their last match. They now look forward to a trip to Peebles for the Scottish Final.

WHAT A BRILLIANT WEEKEND

Yesterday we had our second last coaching sessions before the summer break and it was brilliant to see how much progress these youngsters have made. We had our normal 3 sessions before Frankie took Cammy and Fraser and I took Blair and Conan out on the big course. The boys played in the Summer League and we also played a better ball team challenge which our team won. Then today Dawn, Frankie, Jackie and I headed off to Ballumbie with our team for our 2nd League match and I am so proud tonight. With 3 players making their debuts I decided to match them up with our more experienced players. So 8 year old Archie took Chloe (9), 7 year old Keegan took Fraser (11) and 10 year old Lewis took out Anna (11?) who stood in last minute for Adrian. Archie played superbly well and Chloe assisted with some great putting. Keegan and Fraser gelled well and both of them played some tremendous shots, the highlight being Keegan's 3rd shot on the 2nd from 60yds which he nearly holed. Lewis and Anna played some inspired golf and made a great combination. With such a young team and some of our kids being small in stature in my eyes today some of them became giants. Everyone played their part and I am delighted that we finished joint top, tied with Carnoustie. Cannot wait until the 30th when we host the next event. Last week Archie won the medal for shot of the day with a brilliant solo 2 and today Keegan got it for his shot on the 2nd. These kids are a credit to Strathmore and what a future some of them might have.

JAMBOREE DAY 1

Great result a win against local rivals Angus

ANOTHER EXCITING WEEKEND FOR OUR JUNIORS

Firstly we welcome Cameron our 20th new member for 2019. Dawn and I hosted another Taster Session for Alyth Primary’s Schools Health Week last night and may have discovered some more prospects. Tomorrow sees the start of the Jamboree at Ballater with Amy, Megan and Kirsty all playing, along with Katy who started out with us, so we have 4 out of the 8. This is a 3 day event. Coaching as normal tomorrow morning then Golfsixes at Ballumbie on Sunday with Chloe and Fraser making their debuts. This is such an exciting event and one which will help develop our youngsters and give them the confidence to progress to the next stage. We have so many really good prospects that I believe the successes we have had in the past will just keep on coming.

GOOD LUCK GIRLS AND LADIES

PERTH & KINROSS COUNTY TEAM FOR THE JAMBOREE

This year's Northern Division Jamboree is at Ballater Golf Club, from 15th to 17th of June 2019.

Four Counties will do battle at Ballater. They are Aberdeenshire, Angus, Northern Counties and Perth & Kinross.  The winner will go on to play at the Scottish County Finals in September.

The team selected to represent Perth & Kinross this weekend is:

Perth & Kinross Team
Katy Alexander  (Blairgowrie)
Megan Ashley  (Strathmore)
Kirsty Brodie  (Strathmore)
Steph Crolla  (Muckhart)
Amy Mitchell  (Strathmore)
Isla Moncrieff  (Pitlochry)
Jen Saxton  (Muckhart)
Laura Walker  (Muckhart)

Reserve
Zoe Morton  (Auchterarder)

Order of Play
Day 1: Angus v Perth & Kinross - and - Northern v Aberdeenshire
Day 2: Perth & Kinross v Aberdeenshire - and - Northern v Angus
Day 3: Aberdeenshire v Angus - and - Northern v Perth & Kinross

SCOTTISH GIRLS ORDER OF MERIT

Great to see Megan leading the way. Another first for Strathmore

ANOTHER BUSY DAY

Looks like we will soon have our 20th new member for 2019 bringing total members up to 71 of which 22 are Girls. Met Cameron tonight and with another 3 recent enquires he might not be the only one. And with another 2 school taster sessions coming up can we come close to last years record of 30 new members ? Results came through from the Golfsixes at Kirriemuir and we finished 2nd which is a tremendous result as we one of the youngest squads taking part. Coaching was brilliant tonight, Gareth and Dawn took the first 2 sessions and spent the time on the putting green. The hilarity certainly confirmed they were having fun and also healthy competition. The last session started with Stuart getting fitted for a new set of clubs, Cammy then became the 73rd Junior to take advantage of our unique Club Hire Scheme and breaks another new record by becoming the 46th Junior in 2019 to hire clubs. Fraser who achieved a full Congu handicap of 39 was then fitted for a new set and all 3 are excited to get using them. After spending £573.49 on 4 new sets of clubs last week we still have £8,158.77 to replace all our existing stock courtesy of SSE Drumderg’s recent funding of £6,000. Strathmore Juniors will be one of the best equipped sections in the Country and it only costs them £25 per year per set, what amazing value. I am attending Bells Sports Centre on Wednesday to receive another funding cheque to help attract even more new members - this year just gets even better.
Then to top it all Megan messages me to tell me she has just become Scottish Girls School Champion.

GOLFSIXES START

Dawn and I attended the inaugural Golfsixes event at Kirriemuir. And it was brilliant, seeing the excitement from all the competitors in their team colours and all the parents made it a real spectacle. We were the second team out playing along side Carnoustie and before we teed off there was a putting competition which our players all competed in as individuals. Fraser tied with 2 others on a score of 18 for the nine holes but lost out on first place as it was decided to award first place to the player who had 2 one putts, he had 1. Fraser went out first with Keegan, then Archie and Lewis and finally Conan and Murray. Everyone had a really good time and played a lot of good shots. Highlight was Archie’s tee shot on 5th which produced a superb 2 as he holed the 3ft right to left slider. Next week it’s Ballumbie with 4 others making their debuts. Can’t wait - this is the most exciting concept to hit Scottish Golf ever. It provides the perfect stepping stone from coaching to playing in a fun competitive environment and who knows where it will take some of these youngsters.

PAUL LAWRIE FOUNDATION JUG

What a result for our joint Junior Captain Megan, winning today by 5 shots, and a round of 3 under par which included 7 birdies, now that’s class. Cormac who started his golf at Strathmore made it a P&K double by winning the boys. Strathmore already hold the Stephen Gallacher Vase which Kirsty won last year making it a tremendous double for our Girls.

PAUL LAWRIE FOUNDATION JUG

Pollock Golf Club are hosting this event and after today’s first round Megan holds a one shot lead after a level par round of 73 going into tomorrow’s final round. Fantastic score.

SCRATCH LEAGUE AND BELL TROPHY

We play Blairgowrie, Dunning and Muckhart home and away in the Scratch League. And have 7 round robin matches in the Bell Trophy. It’s going to get busy !!! This is on top of 6 Golfsixes fixtures.

GOLFSIXES

This is the biggest thing to happen in Scottish Golf for years. It gives youngsters who don’t have Handicaps or have high Handicaps the chance to play competitive golf in a team environment. We held a meeting last night with the 12 player squad and 2 reserves. The youngsters are so excited to take part and I for one can’t wait to be part of this brilliant concept. 6 players will compete at each event in a pairs Texas Scramble format and their total scores will be accumulated against the 5 other teams. Points will then be awarded on the finishing totals at each venue.
Below are the teams for each event.

Kirriemuir 9th June 2pm
Fraser Hardy & Keegan Fergusson
Conan Reid & Murray McOuat
Archie Pattullo & Lewis Smith

Ballumbie 16th June 2pm
Lewis Smith & Liam Shand
Archie Pattullo & Fraser MacCuish
Adrian Pyne & Chloe Gordon

Strathmore 30th June 4pm
Keegan Fergusson & Lochlan Stewart
Archie Pattullo & Liam Shand
Conan Reid & Chloe Gordon

Arbroath 28th July 2pm
Stuart Duncan & Murray McOuat
Fraser Hardy & Keegan Fergusson
Lochlan Stewart & Adrian Pyne

Montrose 4th August
Fraser Hardy & Fraser MacCuish
Stuart Duncan & Lewis Smith
Lochlan Stewart & Adrian Pyne

Carnoustie 11th August
Archie Pattullo & Liam Shand
Keegan Fergusson & Chloe Gordon
Murray McOuat & Fraser MacCuish

Our 2 reserves are Anna Hardy and Rosemary Duncan and they will be the first names on the Team Sheet next year.

Good luck to all teams

UNBELIEVABLE DAY AT STRATHMORE

Megan started 6 shots back and must have listened to my advice. “Tomorrow you will be under no pressure having got herself into a challenging position and nothing to lose” and did she just do that by   the 7th she was tied for the lead with a 6 shot swing. On the 10th with a tremendous birdie she took a 2 shot lead, Carmen birdied 11 but bogeyed 12 and Megan’s adrenaline must have pumping on the 13th when she finished in the ditch behind the green and a 4 stroke swing took place when Carmen again birdied. Megan then hit her 2nd shot out of bounds on 14 and when Carmen birdied 15 to take a 4 shot lead it looked all over but Megan birdied 16 and gained another shot on 17 and got it back to 1 on the last. At the start of the tournament if I’d asked Megan if she would have settled for a 2nd place  I think she would have been delighted which she has confirmed but she was so close to pulling off one of the biggest comebacks of her short career. This will give Megan so much confidence going forward and she has also reduced her handicap to 1.

DAY 2 IS MOVING DAY

Both Amy and Megan made the biggest moves today. Amy was the biggest mover by improving 8 places but Megan produced the round of the Tournament with a 4 under par 69 and moved up 6 places to 2nd overall !! Yesterday before they teed off I told them both that I expected a round in the 60’s and wow did Megan deliver.
Spoke to her tonight and she said the difference today was hitting fairways and greens and making the putts. Tomorrow she will be under no pressure having got herself into a challenging position and nothing to lose. Kirsten improved from yesterday and will be looking for a handicap cut tomorrow to cap a great weekend which will give her confidence a huge boost for years to come.