FIRST PAST STRATHMORE JUNIOR TO JOIN THE TOUR

Huge congratulations to Hazel MacgGarvie who qualified for the Ladies European Tour at La Manga, Spain today. Making the cut after four rounds of per qualifying last week gave her added confidence going into this weeks five round marathon. Making the fourth round cut yesterday tied 10th it was all about the final round and to secure her card she needed a top 20 finish which she did finishing tied 15th. 

Here is a post from 5/9/2011 - Following their nominations by their relevant counties, Strathmore members Kirsty Brodie and Hazel MacGarvie have been selected by SLGA/SGU selection committee to take part in the Scottish Golf Academy programme. The selection process has been on going since March and along with the selectors being provided with club and county scores. The girls have also taken part in numerous Scottish Girls Tournaments. Both girls have sailed through the regional Talent Identifications and were put through their paces at the National Selection day at St Andrews where they were assessed by Academy Coaches, the SLGA National Coach, SLGA Performance and SLGA Development directors along with National Selectors. The day entailed assessments on chipping, pitching, bunkers, putting and 'trackman' was used to analysis their swings, consistency and ball flight. What an achievement by an 11 and 12 year old! Only 12 girls have been selected nationally and to have two of our members make it to the Scottish Academy is indeed SENSATIONAL! Well done to both!

2022 CAN’T COME QUICK ENOUGH

What a great weekend. Blair held his first mentoring session with Jack, Tom and Olly and Cameron took Emily, Keir and William out again for another session. Both boys were really impressed by the skills and enthusiasm shown by all the players. This initiative is proving to be a really exciting addition as both the Mentors and players are getting so much out of this. Summer greens on both days, the week before Xmas !! Saturday saw Blair, Stuart and Jack (trying out his first set of hire clubs) play a Texas Scramble against Dawn, Jackie and myself. Some great golf played and unfortunately the boys came second to our 67. Looking back the history books  Alex, Kirsty, Finlay and I shot a record 57 on the 16th November 2014, winter tees to all 18 summer greens. 30 out and 27 back. Today Blair, Cameron, Dawn and I tried to beat that score. After 9 holes we were 1 ahead with an outward 29 but unfortunately too many pars cost us and we came home in 32. Past member Isabella handed in a pair of size 1 Footjoy shoes to add to our Free golf shoe scheme so we are back up to a full complement of sizes available. Wishing everyone a merry Xmas and a happy new year.

NEW MEMBER NUMBER 4

Huge welcome to Kaden Kippen who joined today. Look forward to meeting and helping him get the most from his membership.

PVG ISSUED

Kirsten Miller today received confirmation that her PVG has been issued as a Junior Helper at Strathmore.  Another addition to her CV. 

NOTHING STOPS OUR JUNIORS

Not even Storm Arwen could keep them away. The devastation on and around the golf course was severe. A huge fallen tree blocked one of the roads but two other roads were accessible. One of the Golf Course signs was totally destroyed and 100’s of trees have toppled meaning holes 10 to 12 were out of play. We welcomed back past Captain Alex Simpson, now a 3rd year PGA professional, as he had offered to come along and give our Juniors a free masterclass of his skills. He spent an hour on the range having a look at their swings before we headed to the course for a fifteen holes Texas Scramble. Alex and I joined each group to play 5 holes and he was very impressed by the skills and enthusiasm shown by all the players. He  said the level our juniors are at speaks volumes to the coaching they have had and Gareth and Angus are doing a fantastic job. Alex showed the way by going birdie, birdie on the first two holes to inspire Conan and his team of Archie and Keegan to tremendous 52 with Cameron, Callum and Owen coming second with a 55 and Dawn, Keir and Tom coming third with 57. It was absolutely freezing but everyone had a brilliant time and loved having Alex joining them on course. Total respect to this fantastic young man who has never forgotten his roots and is willing to give up his day off to come and help the next generation achieve their own dreams. This sums up what we have developed over the years at Strathmore. Alex has agreed to come back at the start of the season and do another session. 

FIRST SUNDAY MENTORING

Cameron took his first group today, William, Emily, Keir and Jethro. James became the latest junior to get involved and will join Conan’s group. The enthusiasm is fantastic and can’t wait to see the results of these efforts. With 5 Mentors and 16 juniors now involved this is the start of something big again for Strathmore. Always improving and developing ideas to enhance what the youngsters receive through their membership. 

MENTORING GETS OFF TO A FLYER

With 5 Mentors and 15 juniors taking part our mentoring Scheme got off to a flyer this morning.  Stuart had Keegan, Louis and Tommy in his group and Conan had Saoirse and Seamus. Unfortunately the rain came on but having the covered driving range is such an asset and allowed the boys to get to work. The rain eventually went off and they continued the first session on the putting green. In the afternoon Kirsten only had Tarah as Maya and Nate had previous commitments but are looking forward to attending the next session. Again weather meant some of the time was spent at the range but Tarah was loving having her private session. I was very impressed observing the Mentors who were superb at passing on their knowledge of the game and all participants were buzzing after they finished. What a great start and Cameron has his group out tomorrow and Blair to follow. At Strathmore we always believe that it’s important to keep kids playing and being involved and this is a great concept which also gives our older more experienced players another challenge and the opportunity to grow and develop this skill sets. I then joined Cameron, Conan and Stuart for a Texas Scramble and we played to the summer greens from winter tees and shot 63. 31 out and 32 back. Great fun and a target set to improve on. 

ANOTHER ADDITION TO OUR CLUB HIRE SCHEME

Another generous donation, 2 sets of woods, full set of Maxfli Revolution irons with matching carry bag, a rare John Letters Golden Goose 62 degree wedge, a Ram Zebra putter along with a top of the range Ping Answer putter and a trolley. Received a phone call from another person wanting to donate equipment and Tarah who recently was fitted for a set of Hire Clubs wants to donate her old set. Just had news our back order of new Hire Clubs have been delayed from China again due to Covid effecting staffing numbers and combined with electricity supply problem to the factory it’s unlikely we will receive them before Xmas. The rep was telling me some companies orders for golf shoes may not arrive until Spring 2022. We are alright as our Free golf shoe swap scheme has 16 pairs available now. 

13th NOVEMBER AND PLAYING IN TEE SHIRTS

What an amazing day. First up Saoirse and Tarah took part in P&K County Girls coaching at Strathmore provided by our own PGA professional Gareth. Then they all went out to play 9 holes on Leitfie. We now have 5 Mentors and 14 Juniors signed up to be mentored so spaces are now very limited with only a couple of Saturday morning slots available. This will assist all participants to improve their skills and I believe make them all better players. This afternoon saw the first Texas Scramble team challenge and Cameron and Dawn took on Conan, Keegan and I. Great fun was had by all and when it came to the final result the scores were very close. Cameron and Dawn were out in an impressive 32 against our 37 but we came back in 32 compared to their 38 so 69 leads the way so far. Impressive play by all 3 boys. This format allows us to assess the players all round game and identify improvement areas where appropriate. Great to see so many others youngster out playing as well. Let’s keep this going. 

7th STRATHMORE JUNIOR IN THE LAST 8 YEAR RECEIVES SCHOLARSHIP TO STUDY IN USA

Absolutely amazing, so proud of how many of our juniors have achieved this and given themselves the opportunity of life changing experiences. Cormac becomes the latest signing up to the University of Minnesota. Go Gophers !! 

ANOTHER FULL HANDICAP AWARDED

Well done Tarah, first full WHS handicap of 46.3. Finishes off a great year after winning the under 9 Skills Challenge at the AIG Woman’s Open at Carnoustie. The next few years are going to be exciting. 

RACE TO CASTLE RESULT

Great result for Strathmore team 2 at St Andrews today. Playing in the P&K Race to the Castle event at The Castle Course Fraser, Lewis, Keegan and Jack finished 2nd to a strong Milnathort team. Both our teams played well and will have learned a lot from the experience. Blair who also attended as a guest played his best round ever, 1 under par, and said everyone had a blast. Thanks go to P&K and the sponsors for making this possible. This will motivate our players to reach the next level and 2022 is looking very exciting already.

3rd NEW MEMBER FOR 2022

Huge welcome to Arthur who today became our 3rd New member for the 2022 season taking advantage of The Centre’s generous 16 month for the price of 12 offer. The Junior Section and Club appreciate all that the Centre’s management team do to assist us in growing golf and memberships. Total junior membership numbers are at a record breaking 97 helped by 52 new members this year. This year we will lose no members by age. Keir’s WHS Handicap is confirmed at 50 and Tarah will have hers next week. Both Tarah and Kirsten attended a P&K event at Milnathort on Thursday with Tarah picking up a 2nd place prize. Today Tom who recently upgraded his membership will play his first 18 hole card on Rannaleroch and tomorrow 8 of our Bell Trophy squad head to The Castle Course at St Andrews to compete individually and as 2 teams of 4 in the P&K Race to the Castle and it will be interesting to see how they all play. Blair has been invited as a guest to attend, play and mentor some of the younger players.

TUESDAY’S DON’T GET MUCH BETTER

Junior Captain Kirsten Miller has just received confirmation of a Golf Scholarship at Mount Mercy University, Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She becomes our 6th Junior in recent years to receive this honour. She follows in the footsteps of Senior Assistant PGA Professional at Sunningdale Heath, Hannah Robb, who studied at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Univesity, Daytona Beach, Florida. Assistant PGA Professional at Saffton Walden G.C, Emily Aird, who studied at Newman University, Wichita, Kansas. Professional caddy currently working in New Zealand,  Michael Brodie, who studied at Lander University, South Carolina. Scottish Internationalist who played in 2 European Team Championships and a Home International Championship, Kirsty Brodie, who is in her final year at College of Charlston, South Carolina. Alexei Butchart, who has just started at Lincoln Memorial University, Tennessee. Great news and as you can see can lead to fantastic opportunities all over the world but started with coaching and encouragement at Strathmore. 

Yesterday I took out 7 year old Keir Reid for his 3^rd Full Handicap card. 136, 128 and 125 his consistency and improvements reminds me of another junior Alex Simson and we all know how good he became. Now 3^rd year PGA Assistant professional at Noah’s Ark. If Keir keeps listening, learning, practicing and playing who knows where golf will take him ? 

8 year old Tarah Simpson was away yesterday playing at the Loretto Schools under 9 event Craigielaw, Edinburgh and finished tied 3^rd (bunker trouble on last hole cost her 2^nd place) but this is a venue Hannah, Emily, Kirsty and Kirsten have also played in their early years. I am taking her out today for her 2^nd handicap card and she also reminds me of a young Kirsty who’s enthusiasm for playing was second to none. 

 

To finish off a perfect day we were invited to enter a second team into the P&K Race to the Castle event and Fraser, Lewis, Keegan and Jack have all confirmed availability. Also had confirmation that another Junior, Tom Stevenson,  has upgraded his membership to include Rannaleroch. 

 

With so much talent coming through the ranks and membership numbers booming I can’t wait to see what the future holds6

ANOTHER BUSY WEEK

Attended Bell’s Sport Centre this week to pick up a cheque for £400 from Perth and Kinross Sports Council to add to our Club Hire Scheme to help us assist more juniors achieve their dreams. Today Bella, Lottie, Tarah and Zoe attended their first P&K Girls Coaching Sessions and all did very well and look forward to watching them progress. Took Keir out for his second card for handicap and he played really well, highlights were a great four on the 4th and a five on 16 followed by a four on 17. This young man has so much potential, he listens, pays attention and learns. He played 2 chip and runs instead of flop shots today on the 2nd and 16th holes which gave him great chances to convert, one of which he did and he only missed out on the other. 8 shots better than last week and had 2 unlucky holes today as well. This 7 year old is so keen and eager to play and learn we definitely have another great prospect coming through. Congratulations to Lochlan who won his match play match with Stuart. This is the 2nd match played and hopefully the other players will get organised and play their matches. 

WHAT A WEEKEND

The results are in for the most hotly contested competition of the season - the Leitfie Summer League.

1st Tom Stevenson 222 points averaging 22.2 points or 4.8 under par for each qualifying round reducing his Fun handicap from 54 to 28 (14 over 9 holes) 2nd Tarah Simpson 227.5, 54 to 31(15.5) 3rd equal Keir Reid and Arthur Rutherford 232 points, Keir 54 to 32(16) and Arthur 54 to 34(17) 5th Zoe Stewart 240 54 to 37(18.5). Special mention to Jack Harrison, Louis Purdie, Rory Harrison, Theo Tosh and Joel Tosh who also completed at least 10 rounds. James Thom and Fraser Rowan completed 8 rounds and with 45 players having fun Handicaps the Winter League which starts today will hopefully be equally exciting. 3 of our top five have upgraded membership to Rannaleroch which is the next step.  

We have been invited to send a team to compete at the Castle Course based on the criteria of the Bell Trophy selection process. So Cameron, Conan, Archie and Lochlan have confirmed availability. Stuart unfortunately is unavailable due to holiday commitments. Kirsten and Blair have been invited to play but unfortunately Kirsten has a performance training day but Blair should be ok although he does have his 2nd  Covid 19 injection on the 15th. 

Next stage of development for Strathmore juniors is having a past junior member playing in the Dunhill Championship. Hazel MacGarvie still an amateur was selected to play over Carnoustie, Kingsbarns and St Andrews unfortunately she and her professional missed the team cut but what an achievement. 

Hopefully this can inspire our current crop of juniors what can be achieved with hard work, dedication and loads of practice. 

RESULT OF RUSSELL BAILEY

Stuart and Jackie won the Russell Bailey Shield today. The event was reduced to 9 holes due to weather conditions. Great turnout with 6 teams competing. Thanks to Ladies Captain Anne Baird and Lorraine Wallace who played along with Archie and James.

DRAW FOR RUSSELL BAILEY

2.00pm Conan Reid & Dawn Butchart / Lochlan Stewart & Jacki Stewart 

2.07pm Stuart Duncan & Jackie Moran / James Soppit & Lorraine Wallace

2.15pm Archie Pattullo & Anne Baird / Keegan Fergusson & Iain Butchart

Good luck everyone and hopefully the weather forecast gets better for Saturday  

WHAT A FANTASTIC SUNDAY

Today was the start of a new chapter. Tarah and Keir were out with the others playing a card for handicap and Jack was making his debut in the last Summer League event. All 3 played very well. Keir was out with Archie and me and his ball striking was very consistent. He must have been worried about the pond but I told him it was only wet grass. He teed it up and sailed it by 100yds !! Highlights were 4 on 17th and his approach shot on 9 hitting the pin, he thought he’d holed it but the 8 inch putt was converted no problem. Tarah had a 4 on 4 and Dawn who played with her and Keegan said she is probably the quickest junior she has every played with. Definitely no slow play from Tarah. Jack who was out with Jackie, Blair and Stuart managed pars on 7, 10 and 15. All 3 were a delight to play with, their etiquette and behaviour is a credit to the section. Getting back to the scoring Keegan smashed it today, told Dawn he wanted to break 100 on the 3rd and boy did he do it. Shot 97 gross back in 45 only 10 over with a superb 5 on 12 with an up and down from the front bunker to a back right pin probably a 20yd bunker shot. 48 stableford points will lead to a big handicap cut. Stuart who took possession of a set of Ping G25 irons on Monday when he upgraded from graphite to steel shafts made them an instant success. His standard answer on how he got on is “fine” but today it was “great” and 38 points proved this. His score today secured the Rannaleroch Summer League Trophy due to his consistent scoring. Exciting times ahead and some more juniors are going to upgrade and maybe some parents joining as well. 

FINAL SATURDAY COACHING FOR 2021

Great final sessions. Tarah is the latest existing junior to take advantage of the Club Hire Scheme and now has a complete full set. Ben is also the latest new member to do likewise and also picked up a free pair of size 3 golf shoes and is adding a trolley as well. Tomorrow is going to be exciting with Jack playing his first competition on Rannaleroch and Keir and Tarah coming out for their first 18 holes after upgrading their memberships. A few others are thinking of upgrading and I believe we have a very exciting 2022 season coming up. In the last session today Emily reminded me she was left handed and as Ben and Fraser  were out in the other group we borrowed one of their clubs to test it out and wow I have only seen this once before but she is as comfortable hitting the ball right or left handed. Being ambidextrous has a lot of advantages and in the future I recommend she carries a 7 iron of the opposite club types. She hit both drivers on the first and finished pin high left with the right handed club and just short with the left handed club, amazing !!! 

BLAIR WINS FIRST COMPETITION BACK AFTER INJURY

Just received this message from Blair.

Hi Iain,  Wanted to let you know that today Conan and I along with some others from our school played in the East District schools competition, We both played good, I shot a scratch 2 over 71, not bad for first full 18 since injury, and I won the overall individual scratch, along with the team from Monifieth we won the scratch team competition, we were both recognised as ” Iain Butchart’s young prodigies” when we mentioned we were members at Strathmore, the word of Strathmore is getting out there.

Ben who attended a taster session on Wednesday has become our 2nd 2022 new member and Keir has upgraded to Rannaleroch and will hopefully be out putting in cards soon. 

Took part in a Focus Group Zoom call last night with Inverurie GC , Peterculter GC and Gavin Forrester from Scottish Golf to discuss what happened with Junior golf this year. 

JUST ANOTHER TUESDAY

Another Taster Session for another prospective member, build it and they will come, and that’s certainly what’s happening. Finn and Olly achieved Certificates and Fun Handicaps, Nate has had 2 handicap cuts in 2 days, Keir is going to upgrade membership and Tarah has arranged a fitting to join our Hire Scheme. We have also been asked if we can assist a local school with some taster sessions and await further details. 

At this time of year things start to slow down but not 2021 it appears it’s going from strength to strength. 

ANOTHER GREAT NIGHT AT COACHING

Busy night again. Jon picked up his new hire trolley from the scheme and Stuart upgraded his irons. Tarah is the first to upgrade her membership to include the Rannaleroch course and Dawn took her out tonight for a few holes and she acquitted herself very well. Angus was working on swings tonight and was great at explaining how to get hip turns to assist with the follow through. Made huge differences to James and Owen. Next Monday is the final Autumn session but there is nothing to stop the kids continuing to come along on a Monday night to play a few holes or for the Saturday participants to do likewise. Another very pleasant surprise tonight was Amy Mitchell bringing her sister Carly along to the range. Great to catch up and hear that she is intending to join again and get back playing and would like to assist at the coaching if needed. Might take her up on this offer. Alex Simpson finished 17th out of 68 today at Dornoch which is a decent result but I know he will be disappointed not to have finished higher, but onwards and upwards. It all starts at the coaching then playing and practicing regularly and progressing through the stages. Alex did it all and others can follow if they are dedicated enough. 

DANNY BECOMES FIRST MEMBER FOR 2022

Strathmore Golf Centre’s progressive approach to encouraging Junior membership today was rewarded with its first new member for 2022. Danny who joined today also took advantage of the club Hire Scheme and now also has a free pair of Nike golf shoes complete with new cleats. All good to go and takes our total membership up to 95. Dawn and I invited Bella and Lottie out for a few holes on Rannaleroch to assess their progress and were suitably impressed. Both hit some very good tee shots and once we gave them a couple of alignment tips were hitting them straight and very long. Lottie’s highlight was a 5 on the third and Bella hitting the 7th green in 3 shots. Both girls are going to take advantage of the upgrade and looks like mum may join as well. Alex Simpson sent me a message after his first round at Dornoch in the PGA young Professional’s event where he shot level par. He was very pleased with his round especially tee to green, a couple of good par saving putts after poor chips saved the day and hopefully tomorrow he can improve on  his tied 10th position. Met Cormac Sharpe out again today practicing, great to see him playing so much on the course. Also confirmed Archie lost another shot off his handicap 👏👏👏

WHAT A START TO THE WEEKEND

Strathmore Golf Centre have generously agreed current Leitfie only members can upgrade now at 2021 prices to Rannaleroch giving them 16 months for the price of 12. The support the section receive from the Centre is brilliant from the inclusive professional coaching they pay for to the club tops they provide. Coaching this morning was great and Gareth is so pleased with the results he is seeing. Great to have Blair  Hockley back playing and huge thanks and respect to him for giving up his free time today to cover the 3 morning sessions and then joining in for 15 holes with the others. Archie again showed his progression this week. His ball striking is so consistent and his putting has improved so much. He definitely gives every putt a chance and if it misses doesn’t mind holing out the 2 footer back. Strathmore hosted a P&K Girls training session today and it was great to see so many Strathmore girls involved. The future just gets better !!! 

FRIENDSHIP IS EVERYTHING

Huge thanks to a mate from 40 plus years ago. Jim and I caught up on Facebook and when he saw what was happening at Strathmore with the my club Hire Scheme he wanted to help. Today he donated a set of irons, 2 drivers and a 3 and 5 wood and in the next couple of weeks is flying out to Spain to bring back another set of irons. Was great to catch up today and it’s what golf brings to life. 

KEIR PASSES TEST WITH FLYING COLOURS

Dawn had played alongside Keir on Sunday and had said how well he had done. Tonight I decided to take him out to play the 10th on the Rannaleroch. He hit a tremendous drive from the yellow tees 150 yards up the right hand side of the fairway. We decided he should hit a six iron but it ran into the bunker. I asked him to hit a five iron and  this shot was perfect and finished 10ft from the pin. His first putt was great for weight and left him a tap in 4 for par. Keir proved tonight that he is definitely more than ready for an upgrade and we are going to take him out for 18 to confirm. Aged only 7 he already is showing so much promise and with many Golf Clubs not even allowing children under 8 to join it proves again why Strathmore’s policy of no age restrictions works and allows kids of any age to enjoy golf. He has been a member for nearly 3 years and played in both our Flag and GolfSixes teams this year but is about to take the next step from Fun Handicap on Leitfie to Full Congu Handicap on Rannaleroch and who knows what next over the years. Took Callum, Kian and Nate out with Keir on 1st and 2nd for a quick Texas Scramble and they managed an easy par followed by another 5. Bella and Lottie really impressed tonight and their swings are text book and if we can get them out playing more often on the course could be exceptional. 

WEEKEND UPDATE

Unfortunately Kirsten’s trip to Islay didn’t go to plan. After a disappointing score on Saturday she started Sundays round in good spirit but in her own words “lost a few too many shots on the back 9”  Great experience and she will take the positives and move on. Back at headquarters Keegan took the honours on Saturday and reduced his handicap by a shot. Sunday saw another Family Fun Day with Callum, Owen and Dawn taking the honours with a level par 27. 

SO MUCH HAPPENING

Message from Kirsten Miller received tonight - 

Just letting you know that I am away to Islay this weekend for the final of the race to the Machrie! Really looking forward to playing and spending time with the other players. Also got some good news today that I have been selected as SportScotland Young Ambassador for Perth Academy for this year which I’m so excited about!

Great news on both fronts. Also took delivery of some extra clubs today to enhance some of the sets we had already purchased to fill distance gaps. 

Our first junior section match play league game took place tonight which was introduced because all the P&K County Match Play events had been cancelled and I did not want our juniors missing out on the valuable experience that match play brings. Keegan Fergusson played Lewis Smith and with some great scoring including 1 par and 6 bogies recorded the first win. This is so exciting as it brings another dimension to their games. 

ANOTHER GREAT NIGHT AT THE COACHING

Over the past 3 weeks Angus has been working on grips, stance and swings whilst we have covered pitching, chipping and putting and tonight we put it all to the test on Leitfie. Really impressed by everyone and some of the improvements are amazing. The consistency in the putting was a major factor and Dawns schooling techniques are making the difference with the players taking more care by marking the ball, working out the slopes, lining up the lines on the ball to the target line, using the lines on the putter and then using their judgement of pace to consistently get the ball closer to the hole or on many occasions into the hole. Jack, Kier, Lewis and Rory members of our GolfSixes team were presented with their Silver Medals and Certificates. 

SILVER LINING

Weather was perfect for the final GolfSixes event. We used the Leitfie course and set it up so we had 6 holes. We used the 1st, 4th, 6th and 9th and played from the 2nd tee to 3rd green and 7th tee to 8th green. Scoring was great with Crieff coming top with 125 points, Strathmore came 2nd with 123 ahead of Auchterarder with 122 and Pitlochry with 116. Tom Wolfe from Pitlochry had to play as a single but scored an amazing 41 points. James Soppit won the nearest the pin on the 1st. James and Sophie Goult from Auchterarder recorded the only 2. In the overall cumulative scores Crieff came top with 16 points and secured the trophy and Gold medals, Strathmore came 2nd with 10.5 points to pick up the Silver medals with Auchterarder 3rd on 8 points and Pitlochry 4th with 5.5 points. 

GOOD SCORING TODAY

Conan took the honours today just one shot ahead of Archie, so impressed by the play I witnessed. Archie was so consistent off the tee and was unlucky a couple of times with putts but so much potential. Conan was in the group ahead so didn’t see much of it up close but obviously had a great round. Blair was brilliant assisting at the coaching and I am seeing a very mature young man developing into what will be a great Captain next year. His encouragement is inspirational and Cameron is showing the same enthusiasm to assist and I personally am so proud to seeing both boys willing to put so much back into golf. 

SPECIAL THANKS

As Dawn, Jackie and myself were away at Forres to watch, support and caddie for P&K Ladies who won the Scottish Ladies Inter County Championship. Last time they won it was 68 years ago. Two past Strathmore junior girls were part of the winning team and a third was involved in the qualifying a testament to our coaching programme. Kirsten and Blair assisted Gareth on Saturday and Blair and Cameron assisted tonight. Special thanks to all 3 who are keen to assist and grow golf. Great fun tonight as we also held a putting Skills Challenge and everyone was up for it. Starting off with the first group James stood out and we were really impressed by Jon and Owen who’s concentration being new to golf was great and they both did really well. In the second group Olly and Finn  picked it up really quickly and these two impressed. Madeline got it and Matthew wasn’t far behind. Great to see Bella and Lottie getting competitive as both girls have potential. Maya is determined and it showed through in the putting as she improved so much. Last up was our more experienced players and Archie was the first to match Cameron and my scores of 4. Stuart also did it but only Archie and I managed it twice. Everyone got in the spirit of it all and the improvements in distance control by everyone was impressive, it just goes to show that by adding a competitive fun element does lead to better putting, the most important part of golf.

LEWIS IN FOR A CUT

Great score by Lewis today 

ACCREDITATION AWARDED

 

FIRST MONDAY NIGHT OF AUTUMN COACHING

First of all huge thanks to vice captain Blair Hockley who although having only undergone surgery on Thursday on his broken finger offered to help out at the coaching sessions until he is fit enough to play again. This shows his love and commitment to golf and we were very impressed tonight with his enthusiasm and ability to communicate with the other juniors. With Cameron Redden tonight, who also assisted with the Spring sessions, both boys certainly are a huge asset to our section and the skills they have picked up and are now passing on is a credit to our coaching team. We had 12 new members joining in tonight and wow do we have some amazing prospects. Angus worked his magic on the essential basics of grip, stance and swing planes on the range whilst others were taking part in chipping practice and fun challenges on the practice area. Another 4 sets of hire clubs were fitted tonight and we now have 71  players utilising the Scheme. Our junior section is the biggest we have ever had and I believe after having done this for 13 years we have some really talented prospects coming through. The next few years are going to be very exciting, having already produced 4 PGA professionals who’s going to be next ?