BUSY DAY AT THE CLUB

5th Club Championship qualifier and Keegan Fergusson showed his class in very windy conditions and a slow round, due to the course being very busy. His gross 80 nett 72 was very impressive. Cameron Robertson played his third card for handicap and he is delighted with his WHS 27.8, he can now enter all Club, County and Open events but has played himself out of the GolfSixes. Was great to see loads of juniors out playing on Leitfie today and it’s encouraging as numbers playing in Saturday competitions has dropped off and we need more players to step up. 

MEMBERSHIP UPDATE

Connor Braid and Bobby Gillespie became new members 12 and 13 for 2026 and both were fitted for hire sets today. Connor was up first and took possession of a full set of Jaxx clubs along with a trolley. He is relatively new to golf but after a few quick tips he was hitting some very good shots and shows a lot of potential. I had already met up with Bobby and his dad Scott, who is also a member, earlier this week and knew what size he required. The Golphin 112’s were a perfect fit and he was hitting his irons an extra 10 yards further and his driver distance had increased by up to 20 yards. His swing speed increased by 15% which shows how having the correct equipment is so important. Bobby donated his previous set to our hire scheme which is much appreciated and it just confirms the benefits of hiring and not buying during the growing years. 

Can’t wait to see who these two players progress.

WHAT A NIGHT

Route 36 is definitely the way to go. First up our new leader is now Arthur Grewar, playing the Yellow’s he shot 36 to progress to the White tees. So pleased for Cameron Duncan who missed out last week by one shot but made no mistake tonight smashing it with a fantastic 32. He had an eagle 2 on 7 and narrowly missed 2 holes in one. He went back out again to play two more holes. Disappointed for Vikram Prasad who shot 41 last week, but improved it to 37, only missing out by one shot. I’m sure he will be determined to do it next time. Keir McNicoll improved last weeks score by 3 shots and will be practicing his putting before his next attempt. Ellis decided to have a go at the Yellow’s but will try the Red’s next time. Spent a bit of time with Archie Puttullo on his putting and driving and hopefully a couple of tips I gave him will assist his obvious improvement. 

Had a very interesting call from Jeremy Teehan from Newton Stewart Golf Club who have recently adopted my Club Hire Scheme. It’s unbelievable the success that Clubs are having. 

GOLFSIXES

We hosted the GolfSixes today and last night I received a call from Muthill saying they were a pairing short so big shout out to Strathmore’s Hunter and Blairgowrie’s Max who stood in at short notice. It’s a fun event so better that all the spaces are filled. North Inch were the winners today and Strathmore tied 3rd. Ollie and Vikram made their debuts and from the feedback I’ve received everyone had a great time. I sold another 5 sets of our ex hire clubs to King James V1 to allow them to reopen their junior membership as they had run out ! What a success in attracting new kids to golf they are having, fantastic to see. When Dawn and I got back to the Clubhouse we received another full set of irons and other assorted clubs from member Anke. These generous donations really help out our Section. 

BUSY SATURDAY

First up 2 sessions of coaching, great to see the improvements being made. Hunter swapped his golf shoes for a bigger size after outgrowing his last pair. Keegan Fergusson won today’s Medal, in very difficult conditions, by 2 shots. Connor Braid became new member number 12 for 2026 and will be fitted for a set of our hire clubs and a trolley on Thursday. Jack reported that Cameron had played well on Thursday night. His putting was good as well as his iron play but his driving needs a quick fix at the coaching, spoke to his dad tonight and we think it’s just a tweak to his ball positioning, easy fix. Olly Whelan is the latest junior to achieve a WHS handicap, 48.5. He will play next week along with his brother Finn in their first competition. Angus Palmer and Archie Loudon unfortunately both lost out on the 16th in the P&K match play scratch and handicap respectively at Muckhart but it was an achievement to reach the last 8. 

THURSDAY COACHING

Phoebe and Lucy benefited tonight when the other four in their group didn’t appear. Both are showing a lot of promise and hopefully they will start playing more. The second group all arrived and had a great session working on their swings and chipping, Looks like Hugo and Jack have both outgrown their hire sets so we will swap them over next week. 

ROUTE 36 IS DEFINITELY THE WAY TO GO

So much excitement at the on course sessions tonight. Vikram started with a seven but shot a superb 41 including 3 pars and 2 birdies and was desperate to go back out for another go. Arthur had his first par and first birdie and along with Lucy who also had her first par are already planning to try again on Saturday. Keir who only joined 2 weeks ago struggled with his putting but is keen to get back out as well. Saoirse pipped Shay by one shot and her 30 is the new Course record score after the 5-6pm session. Tom Stevenson arrived at the second session and thanked us for calling off last week’s coaching due to a weather warning. The weather wasn’t a bad as predicted and he went out to play and had his first hole in one. It was achieved on the sixth and fortunately he seen it going in as the pin was not in the dip. If the coaching had went ahead it wouldn’t have happened ! Tom and Jack took Cameron out to assess his game on Rannaleroch and I’m waiting the report. Next up was Arthur who shot 32 including 2 eagles !! Disappointed for Cameron who missed out by one shot but with 6 pars and 1 birdie can be very confident he will do it next time. Frederick is now the new record holder with 28 including 6 birdies and 1 eagle. Hugo will also progress to the Yellow tees thanks to 4 birdies. It’s amazing the enthusiasm and I am really excited for the future. The best ideas are often the simplest.