JULY MEDAL

Had the pleasure to accompany Olly Stevenson and Cameron Robertson today. Olly played exceptionally well and his score could have been better,  as he was 3 off the tee on the 5th hole. His driving has improved so much and his baby draw is certainly working. He is hitting the ball further, has a very good short game and his putting was solid. Cameron was playing in only his third counting round since achieving his handicap and the experience he is gaining will help him get used to competition play. Like all new players he is trying too hard to smash every tee shot when really he just needs to relax a wee bit and it will all happen. He has a great swing and with a few adjustments will develop into another good player. Keegan Fergusson again played solid and in tough conditions shot a very respectable 80. His consistency reflects in his scores.

BUSY WEEKEND

Unfortunately we lost our last Bell Salver league match against North Inch and will not progress to the semi final stage this year. Jack Stevenson won his match 6&4 and included an eagle 2 on the tenth hole. Archie Loudon lost 3 & 2 in a see saw match where up until the 14th hole there had only ever been one hole in it either way. Keir Reid had been ahead early on but found himself behind but fair play battled back to take his match up the last before losing out. Archie Pattullo was finding it tough giving away 6 shots but managed to take his match to the 17th. Our GolfSixes team travelled to King James V1 and came a very creditable 3rd. We did have a late call off, so Arthur Grewar played alone, and was allowed one off green mulligan per hole. Delighted to say all 3 Strathmore scores were identical with 27 shots and 39 points. Ellis Murray and Harry Marsden-Adam were making their debuts and were teamed up with John Gillan and Mia Baxter respectively. Stevie Baxter took the managers role today and reported all 5 had a great time. Yesterday was the President's Cup and Keir Reid just pipped Archie Pattullo by 1 shot with a nett 70. 

STRATHMORE GOLF CENTRE’S WHS HANDICAP INCENTIVE

Following on from the Centre fitting Top Tracer to all booths at their Floodlit Driving Range they introduced a WHS Handicap incentive scheme. Players with WHS Handicaps receive 5 DigiCards and those with single figure handicaps receive an additional 5. Those gaining new handicaps and anyone becoming single figures receive the 5 DigiCards. 

Congratulations to Olly Whelan, Finn Whelan and Cameron Robertson on achieving WHS Handicaps and Jack Stevenson who now has a single figure handicap. 

More practice leads to lower handicaps but start on the putting green, move to the chipping area before hitting balls on the range. 

BELL SALVER

We travelled up to Crieff today to play our league match. Archie Pattullo played really well but found giving away 5 shots just a bit too much and lost out 2&1. Keegan Fergusson kept up his good form and despite giving away 3 shots won 4&2. Tom Stevenson was giving away 2 shots and took his game to the 16th before losing out 3&2. Olly Stevenson played out last and was getting 10 shots but his opponent played very well and he lost out 4&2. Not the result we were looking for but next Sunday we play our final league match and with a result against North Inch at Strathmore we should qualify for the semi finals. 

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.