TURNED THE CLOCK BACK THIS WEEK

15 plus years ago I met a junior at Strathmore who reminded me so much of  myself. In 2007 I played him in the Gents Club Championship Final and that night made a phone call to get him involved in County golf. It was because of him I took an interest in Junior golf and trying to help youngster improve their games. He went on to win the u18 stroke play championship and represent Perth & Kinross at both Junior and Senior level. Last year he re-joined Strathmore and I was delighted when he accepted my invitation to become my doubles partner. We went out on Tuesday for a practice round and all the old memories came flooding back. What I have lost in distance Allan has made up for. Both our short game are sharp and our years of putting practice gives us confidence on the greens. We played our first match on Wednesday and he was giving away 14 and 6 shots but thanks to our 3 birdies on 11, 12 and 13 we finished the game on 17. Looking forward to our next match and it makes being Junior Convenor so worthwhile as after the match he said if it wasn’t for the encouragement we gave him years ago he may not have continued with golf. 

 

Loads of kids out playing tonight. More Fun Handicaps awarded and  certificates about to be gained 

ANOTHER GREAT NIGHT OF COACHING

29 attended the 3 sessions tonight. Owen hired a trolley to go with his clubs, Harriet got herself a lovely pair of golf shoes and I had another 2 pairs donated from Gareth’s daughters who had outgrown theirs. We split into 2 groups with Cameron assisting with the putting whilst Gareth concentrated on grips and stance at the range. Really impressed again especially with some of the younger players. James was so chuffed to receive his 1st Certificate and his pals were there to share his joy. Great to see the enthusiasm shown tonight and also the support the kids are giving each other. Lots of laughs and great banter. Delighted that Greg has decided to join the growing band of parents joining Strathmore, makes at least 6 this year already. Over the last 2 years over 25 have signed up again testament to our Family Fun Days and great that some of the families were having their evening meals in the Clubhouse tonight. The rainbows 🌈 🌈 over Strathmore tonight gives us all hope. 

GOOD NEWS JUST KEEPS ON COMING

News straight from Harare, Zimbabwe. Trust played in a 54 hole competition and came first with rounds of 81, 76 and 70. His progress since Cyclone Idai, from losing everything he owned including the Clubs we sent him and nearly losing his life his determination to succeed is inspirational to us all. 

GREAT TO SEE THE SUCCESS OF YESTERDAY SPILL OVER ONTO TODAY

Callum attained his 1st, 2nd Certificates and a Fun Handicap of 44. Arthur lowered his Fun Handicap by 3 shots accompanied by Frederick and Hugo who was playing his first round and loved it and all 3 have officially stated to their dad “that golf is their favourite sport”. Met Emily and William who were desperate to get back out after yesterday’s coaching and both have added Hire Trolleys to the clubs they got fitted for. We now have 7 players competing in the Leitfie Summer League and submitting cards and I expect that to double in the next couple of weeks. Big night of coaching tomorrow night with 3 sessions taking place. Just hope the weather stays fair. 

WHERE DO I START

So exciting, 35 very keen youngsters attended the 4 sessions of coaching today and all made huge improvements. Some kids had never tried golf before and it was amazing to witness how quickly they responded to learning new skills. Emily and William are delighted with their new Hire Clubs and also managed to find golf shoes from our huge stock pile which fitted perfectly. 

Some brilliant scores out on the course. James who is only 5 achieved his 1st Certificate and was desperate to phone his mum to let her know he had done it. Sam, Fraser and Andrew also got their 1st’s. Andrew also had his fun handicap reduced by 7 shots. Out on the Rannaleroch Cameron just pipped Stuart by 1 point and Keegan also received a 2 shot handicap cut. 

It was great to see the courses packed with these youngsters and their parents. Bodes well for the future not only for Strathmore but Golf in general. 5 others renewed so our membership is now up to 74. What a start to the year. 

DRAW FOR SATURDAY 24th APRIL

 

MORE CERTIFICATES AND FUN HANDICAPS

Jack Stevenson 1st Certificate, 2nd Certificate and Fun Handicap of 40

Tom Stevenson 1st Certificate and Fun Handicap of 54

Olly Stevenson 1st Certificate 

Ryan McDiarmid 2nd Certificate and Fun Handicap of 54

Great to see so many youngsters out playing and the Leitfie Summer League is going to be the most hotly contested competition this year !!! ⛳️🏌️‍♂️🏌️‍♀️🏌️‍♂️🏌️‍♀️🏌️‍♂️🏌️‍♀️🏌️‍♂️🏌️‍♀️⛳️

ALEXEI BECOMES OUR LATEST USA UNIVERSITY STUDENT

Have been in touch with Graeme in Moscow tonight and Alexei who is currently still at Golf College in Sussex is off to Lincoln Memorial University in Tennessee in August. He joins a growing list of Strathmore Juniors who have gained Scholarships. Our successes just keep on coming. 

FIRST 3 COACHING SESSIONS

Tonight saw 28 youngsters attend the first 3 sessions of the 2021 coaching. Kier, Jake and Tommy were fitted for new sets of Hire Clubs. Saoirse, Seamus, Rory, Dionne, Chloe and Kyle all had to upgrade their sets after outgrowing the previous ones. Jack, Tommy and Jake all got golf shoes from the free Scheme we run. Groups were split and whilst Gareth checked out swings in the range, Dawn assisted by Cameron concentrated on chipping on the range and then swapped over. Very impressed by all the youngsters. 

RECORD GOES AND MORE TO COME

Jake, William and Emily today became new members 27,28 and 29 breaking the 2019 record of 27 new members and its only April. We have had put on another coaching session from 2-3pm on Saturday to accommodate numbers attending. Strathmore just now is buzzing with so many kids out on the Course and  more parents and grandparents either joining or taking the youngsters out. Tarah, Keir, Jack and Rory have been selected as the first 4 players in the Strathmore GolfSixes squad due to their ability, dedication and commitment. All 4 submitted numerous cards for Leitfie Summer League and reduced their Fun Handicaps. With another 8 spaces still to fill the criteria as above will be used for selection. Ryan achieved his 2nd Certificate and his Fun Handicap. Tomorrow the coaching starts again and the excitement will go up another notch. 

RESULT FROM TODAY 1st CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFIER

Blair led the way today with a magnificent gross 77 nett 62, Cameron will also get a handicap reduction with a nett 66. On Leitfie Tarah continues to improve and took another 3 shots off her Fun Handicap. 

ONE STEP NEARER

Huge welcome to Louis who today became new member 26 and and takes our total membership to 66

ANOTHER RECORD IS ABOUT TO GO

It’s still just the 16th of April at 5pm and things are happening so quickly. Another 2 new members joined today so big welcome to Harry and Sam that makes 25 so far for 2021and an old school mate phoned me today about his grandson joining which will take us to 1 short of our 2019 record intake of 27. Membership numbers sit at 65 with 7 still to confirm renewal. 

DRAW FOR CLUB CHAMPIONSHIP 1st QUALIFIER

 

Great to see 8 players competing in the 1st qualifier. 

ANOTHER EVENTFUL DAY

New membership for 2021 grew again, today it rose by 4 to 23, getting closer to breaking a total of 70 within the section.  Kieran and Leighton (my 2 grandsons) joined Ben and Cormac who were both previous members. Rhys was fitted for his first set on Hire Clubs and is looking forward to starting coaching. It’s been amazing how many youngsters have been out playing over the last few days. Kian attained a fantastic first Fun Handicap of 36. Tarah, as I predicted, took no time in gaining her 1st Certificate and her score of 47 also gave her a 3 shot handicap reduction and her 2nd Certificate. The enthusiasm within the section is reaching new peaks with beginners trying desperately to gain their certificates, youngsters playing nearly every day and parents and grandparents joining our juniors out on the course either playing or marking cards, it’s amazing to see. 

SOME DAYS ARE JUST BETTER THAN OTHERS

 

 

Early start today, first email 6.40am, just as well I’m an early riser. Looked out some sets for a fitting at 10.30am and spent the rest of the morning organizing new members fittings and coaching. Jack is absolutely delighted with his new set of upgraded Hire clubs and Rory was equally chuffed receiving  his 2nd Certificate. I had invited Cormac to come along for a game to give him a few inside tips on how to play Strathmore but after the experience today, his game is so strong that he needs very little assistance. Make time to come along to the Barrie Douglas Tournament which is being held at Strathmore next month and watch him in action. Holing 5 single putts from 5 to 10ft and a chip in takes him to a different level and when we were chatting about last weeks Masters he tells me that 5 months ago he played match play against 12th placed Robert MacIntyre and holed a 30ft putt on the last to beat him !! that just confirms where his game is at. He was asking about how our Junior set up worked now and if we still did Certificates so when I got home I went into the blog and found his 1st Certificate presentation and sent it to his dad and below is Calum's reply which confirms what we do at Strathmore is appreciated and we have assisted a lot of kids in reaching their potential          

Ha ha brilliant 5 years old back then, if it wasn't for yourself and Jackie telling me to join him at 4 years old and the great set up you had at Strathmore at the time (which has only got stronger) you never know he might not being playing golf now, just let's you see what your encouragement done back then 👏 👏 now playing off +2.9 and has this season and next year as a junior yet before hopefully heading to the States. Cormac loved the certificates back then and still laughs about how important they were at the time 🤣🤣🤣 Hopefully all they juniors you guys encourage go on to love the game. Cormac has never forgotten where he started and the help you gave him back then and there you are helping again today, not seen a better set-up anywhere we've been. 

 

ANOTHER INCREDIBLE DAY

Starting with updates from last night. Tarah has achieved her first Fun Handicap. Jed achieved his 1st Certificate. Rory achieved his 2nd Certificate, personal best and his first handicap cut and he is still only 5. Jack also recorded a pb and reduced his handicap by 2 shots, both of them got off the course at 8.30pm just as daylight was disappearing. 2 new members joined today taking the total so far in 2021 to 19 and now a total of 61 members in the section. Both new members today want to take advantage of the Club Hire Scheme with one mother saying that they thought they could not afford golf for their son with the cost of membership and Clubs etc but when they discovered we had a Hire Scheme, golf became affordable and cheaper than his football. She was amazed when I said he could have a free pair of Golf Shoes from our swap Scheme as well. The mother of the girls who attended yesterday said the same thing about costs and compared it to their dancing and again Golf came out cheaper. 

GOLFSIXES

Great news - GolfSixes is going ahead and we need both boys and girls under 13 who do not have a Full Congu Handicap of 36 and below (Fun Handicaps on Leitfie do not count) We will have 4 Events at Auchterarder, Crieff, Pitlochry and Strathmore. These are really good fun events aimed at getting more kids out playing and our team two years ago really loved it. I will be emailing parents and looking for a squad of 12 and everyone will get at least 2 games. 

Dear Team Manager, 

Thank you for registering to take part in GolfSixes in 2021, it is fantastic to see so many clubs involved again.  We have had to revise some of the leagues from those that were agreed across the country ahead of last season.  

 

If you have concerns over travel throughout the season please let us know.  Clubs will still be able to still run GolfSixes competitions internally or take part virtually. 

 

Please see your regional league information below.  Please note that to enable the Golf Foundation to co-ordinate and schedule delivery of all league and player packs ahead of the GolfSixes season, shirt colours have now been allocated to teams in each league.

 

FAMILY FUN DAY HAS THE DESIRED EFFECT

Great to see so many youngsters out on the Courses today. Met Tarah in the car park and she was so excited after playing her round and she only missed her first Certificate by one shot. She will achieve it very soon. Yesterday afternoon having missed the Fun Day because they already had another commitment Arthur and Frederick played and Arthur won the Easter Holiday prize for being the first Junior to gain a first Certificate. Cameron was out with his dad. Zoe, Lochlan and James also joined up for a game. Think I saw Jed ? Jack and Rory were last out tonight and finished at 8.30 in near darkness but both returned personal bests, Rory achieved his 2nd Certificate and both have reduced their Fun Handicaps and are on track for most rounds played during the Easter school break. With Hideki Matsuyama winning the Master Cameron, Saoirse and Seamus pick up the prize from yesterday. Held a taster session today for Phoebe and Lucy and both of them had great fun and I won’t be surprised to see them again soon. Probably missed a few others but with the numbers I witnessed today I believe that the Family Fun Days are acting as a catalyst to encourage more of the youngsters to just get out there and play. First qualifier for the Junior Club Championship takes place on Saturday and it looks like with the numbers playing for the first time in a couple of years we could have semi finals in both the Scratch and Handicap sections. 

MASTERS FAMILY FUN DAY

19 youngsters and 15 adults played today in our first 2021 Family Fun Event and all 9 teams were given the name of player and a prize will be given if that player wins the Masters tonight. The winners on the day were the Marc Leishman team containing Archie and Arran with there dads. Their score of 24 creates a new Course Record for a Texas Scramble. For some of the kids it was the first time they have played in a team competition and boy did they love it. But it wasn’t just the kids, I had one dad say how much him and his whole family were having playing together and seeing so many others out on the course having fun and 2 texts from parents since I got home saying exactly the same thing. I said a couple of years ago that this was the way forward to get families involved and we have had over 20 parents and grandparents joining the Club since then. Team Brian Harman came second, Charlie and his grandparents. Third was the Robert MacIntyre team of Jed and Rory with Dawn and Jackie.  The winner of the Masters Quiz was Theo and Joel who at 12 Under took the honours. They only missed out on Joe LONG and Jason DAY, Jack and Rory came a close second at 11 under but did come back with Jason Day after they had signed for their score but have decided all 4 will get a prize. Arran and Charlie were presented with first Certificates, Jack and Keir second Certificates and Keegan his first Congu Handicap Certificate. Lots of happy faces. 

HANDICAP REDUCTION RECORD GOES IN SPECTACULAR STYLE

The prize for the biggest handicap cut during the Easter Holidays is being presented early. Archie has taken a spectacular10 shots off. He had 43 stableford points last week and a nett 67 yesterday and his handicap has been reduced from 32 to 21.7. He has worked very hard on a swing change during the winter and it’s certainly paying dividends. Other cuts from yesterday saw Conan take off 4 shots (which normally would have been incredible) Stuart took 2 shots again brilliant and Cameron also took 1 shot off. Below is my blog from 13th October 2020 when Archie was presented with his first handicap Certificate and my prediction then was bang on. 

I have had the pleasure of accompanying Archie out on the course twice over the last 4 days. On Saturday he played in the Junior Competition and finished 2nd. I was very impressed by his general play but noticed that his only improvement area was putting. I offered my assistance and today we spent an hour on the practice putting green working on pace, the most important aspect. We tried a few putters and Archie found one which suited him, lighter in weight, thicker grip and easier to judge pace. Dawn and I then took him out for 9 holes and wow what a difference. 17 putts for the 9 holes played (he did have one putt from off the green but using PGA stats this one didn’t count) His confidence is sky high, he shot 47, 12 over par  so his 32 handicap will be reduced very soon. Such a pleasure to see a youngster just out wanting to play, learn, take advice and have fun, he will have a bright future. 

APRIL MEDAL

Took a photograph of the 9 participants before they teed off today. Biggest field for several years, and it was snowing but that didn’t put them off and as I predicted some amazing scores with Conan taking the honours but Stuart, Cameron and Archie all played well under handicap and 4 cuts will follow. I played alongside Cameron, James and Lochlan and all 3 show tremendous promise and the length Cameron is generating off the tee is very impressive. Before I went down sorted out a few trolleys for the Hire Scheme, £5 for a year can’t be bad. 

MORE FIRSTS

Where do I start ? Last night got a message from an old pal donating 2 full sets of gents clubs Callaway X20’s and Taylormade AP2’s to our Hire Scheme and I sent off an order for another 4 sets of left handed clubs. Went down to the club this morning to fit Jethro for an upgrade to his hire set and he was delighted with them and also decided to take a trolley. He also got himself a pair of Nike golf shoes free from our Golf Shoe swap Scheme and is now raring to go. When I went down to the car park my phone went and it was the Centre informing me that we had 2 girls who had just joined. Bella and Lottie are our first twin girl members and I remember the trouble I had with Josh and John until I found out about Josh’s freckle. The girls went out for their first game on the course and really enjoyed it. We now have 17 new members in 2021. Then the next first, Andrew playing his first competitive round and only his 2nd round on a golf course attained a Fun Handicap of 52, his 2nd Certificate for completing 9 holes in 54 shots or better but missed out on his 1st Certificate so he has done it in reverse. What a day - goodness knows what the weekend will bring but I’m sure I won’t be disappointed. 

DRAW FOR APRIL MEDAL SATURDAY 10th APRIL

 Boys play from Yellow Tees and Girls from Red Tees. Next week is a Club Championship qualifier. 

THIS IS WHY MY CLUB HIRE SCHEME IS SUCH A SUCCESS

Emily has taken another growth spurt and today was fitted for her 3^rd set in 2½ years. Hire costs so far £62.50 against purchase price of the 3 sets £550 = a saving of £487.50. That’s why the Hire Scheme makes so much sense. And as a bonus they are colour coordinated to match her outfit, what more could you ask for. Below is today’s 2nd upgrade.