23 youngsters attended the 4 coaching sessions today and it was great to meet Tom and Peter for the first time, both showed potential. Gareth was very impressed with all the swings and made a few minor tweaks  to improve them even further. Tom was fitted for his first hire set and Douglas was upgraded after outgrowing his set. Peter and Tom received golf shoes from our free swap scheme and Mia got a bigger pair after she out grew her last pair. Isla and Hunter will be fitted for new clubs next time. The Hamish McTavish was a close run affair with Louis just pipping Stuart with a best back 6. Stuart shot a fantastic gross 79. We are holding our first Skills Challenge on Monday so hopefully all the coaching tips will pay off. 

FIRST NIGHT OF COACHING

Brilliant night with loads of fun. Whilst Angus dealt with the technicalities of the grips, stances and swings, Dawn set up putting drills and finished it off with the traditional Donkey Challenge which everyone loved. Rosina will swap her golf shoes from our free scheme and Ruby will be upgraded to a new set of hire clubs. 11 attended the first session and 8 the second. Seamus was delighted to get his club upgrade. So many good swings tonight and some huge improvements from last year. Saoirse, Andrew and Arthur deserve a special mention as all 3 have shown a commitment and they have shown with hard work and practice what can be achieved. I only have photos from the first session as we got a bit busy with group 2. Saturday see Gareth running 4 sessions and can’t wait to see the results. 

SATURDAY RESULTS AND SOME MORE

Keir took the honours this week with a fantastic 45 points. Ally made his Strathmore debut and it’s great to have so many youngsters competing. The coming weeks will see more joining in. Arthur who upgraded recently will be going out for his WHS first card next week. Past Captain Megan Ashley finished 6th in the Helen Holm with 3 Scottish Girls heading the field. Very promising for Scottish girls golf and an inspiration to our girls. 

FIRST NEW WHS HANDICAP FOR 2023

Well done Andrew who is the first junior to earn his WHS handicap for 2023 - 34.3. Another 5 in the pipeline. 

3 NEW MEMBERS TODAY BRINGING TOTAL TO 7 FOR 2023

Tessa, Peter and Harry become our latest recruits. Looking forward to meeting them all and getting them involved in the sections activities. 

BIG STEPS FORWARD TODAY

Louis kept his early season form going with another great score. He is coming to collect a range finder from our hire scheme tomorrow so I can see more handicap cuts coming soon. Along with Keegan and Andrew who was playing his 3rd card for his handicap I was really impressed by their tee shots. All 3 were so consistent and getting it out there. Seamus was out for his first handicap card and hit a lot of good shots but needs to practice his putting to help reduce his scores. Saoirse, Jessica and Ellie-Marie were also out for their first cards and all 3 were buzzing after their rounds. Both Dawn and I were very impressed with Saoirse, her length off the tee was exceptional, Dawn said her tee shot on 9 was way past the bunker . On 18 she was in the green-side bunker in 3 and played a majestic shot to 6ft and was unlucky to miss her putt. Conan and Keir were playing at Dunkeld in the Boys County Spring meeting and Keir finished 3rd nett. 

LOOK WHAT ARRIVED TODAY

Get practicing, GolfSixes goody bags arrive, and you want to be in the squad. 12 year old and under and either a 37-54 WHS handicap or no handicap as at 1/1/23. 

GREAT SCORING TODAY

Lewis Smith made a tremendous start to season with an outstanding 46 points, big handicap cut coming up. Keegan, Louis and Cammy all played below their handicaps. Andrew played his second card for his handicap and shot 108 (23 shots better than last week) another great prospect. Jayden was fitted for his first set of hire clubs and also got golf shoes from our free swap scheme. Lewis will upgrade his hire set this week as well and can’t wait to see his scores improve even more. Very promising start to the season and another 2 membership applications today. 

4th NEW MEMBER

Welcome to Jayden who becomes new member number 4 for 2023. Past Gents Captain David Grant’s widow Sylvia has donated all his golf clubs, shoes and trolley which we will put to good use in our hire scheme, and I am extremely grateful for her generosity. David was always a great supporter of the juniors. Another 2 enquiries for membership today. 

APRIL MEDAL

Fantastic turnout this afternoon with 8 playing, 6 in the medal and 2 for handicap. Ellie-Marie was out this  morning for her first card as well. With 3 others playing yesterday in the Gents and Ladies Captains Drive In it looks like fields are going to get bigger. At least 3 of the girls are heading off to Pitlochry tomorrow for a County event and they will soon be joining the boys on a Saturday. Hopefully this will encourage others to join in. Great fun today and with a bit of putting practice the scores will start to tumble. Louis got his season off to a winning one just pipping Jack by one shot.