JUST ANOTHER SUNDAY BUT WHAT FUN AND WHAT A FUTURE

Our 1st leg match in the Bell Trophy took place today at King James VI. I arrived early and so did our team and we spent an hour and a half on the putting green. Marcus was first up to the challenge and playing the 6 hole course he lost out 4 rounds to 1. Conor was next up and also lost out as did Amy but all 3 of them will be determined to beat me the next time which was the object of the exercise. Callum, Tod and Ben are next !!! Unfortunately King James VI could only field 3 players but allowed us to take up the tee times so Ben Anderson making his debut joined me in taking on Amy and Connor. Tod led the team out and giving away 12 shots secured a great 1/2. Marcus after a shaky start fought back to win 3&2 (for those who haven't played the course before the first tee shot can be daunting if you hit a draw !) Callum won convincingly 9&7 securing a 4 1/2 v 1/2 win and with the home leg to come we will progress to the the next knock out stages. Ben who would have had to play off 28 and I took on Amy and Connor in a better ball match and it turned out to be a cracker. In a closely fought match Ben and I came down the last 1 up and with Ben and Amy stroking the match was finally balanced until Ben holed a 20 footer for a 4 nett 3 to secure the win. Callum was awarded player of the day and rightly so, as Captain he is credit to the section and deserves the respect he has from his team mates. Tod made an excellent speech.
I see so much potential in these youngster and can only see Strathmore juniors becoming stronger and more successful and know that the our future is secure with such talented players.
Next up tomorrow is Amy's chipping and once that's sorted we will need to sit down and discuss new targets again.
If any other players need assistance with any aspect of their game just give me a call. Chipping and PUTTING are my specialities so if anyone wants to lower their scores then let me know. Practice makes perfect and with this part of the game being more than 50% of your scores it's the only way to improve.

SATURDAY'S UPS AND DOWNS

Disappointment for Kirsty Brodie as she lost her last 16 match at P&K ladies match play at Auchterarder on the 19th hole but she should be proud to have made the knock out stages for the first time and her 72 in qualifying had her seeded 4th so a lot of positives to take from the week.
Didn't have to wait long for Amy Mitchell's new driver to prove me right again with a net 71 she is now only 1 shot away from her first target of being a silver division player. 5 shots off her handicap since 19th April !!! Wow.
Marcus Ryan won the Medal today with a net 70 and will soon be seeing another handicap cut.
As Jackie Moran and myself had forgotten to sign up for the ladies and gents competitions we joined the juniors in a team event where the best 2 nett scores counted and Jackies team of Alex Simpson and Conor Hughes returned a score of 142, 2 under par. My team of Amy and Marcus scored 133, 9 under to take the honours. Brilliant fun.
Looking forward now to a trip to King James VI for the first leg of our Bell Trophy match - Brad Bannerman will lead the team out with Marcus, Callum Ewan, Conor, Amy and Ben Anderson who is making his debut.      
            

ANOTHER EXCITING WEEK

Last Saturday Dawn and I hosted an end of season party for Eve Muirhead and were delighted when she told us she had brought her Olympic Bronze medal along, it weighs a ton. She was really pleased to hear how well our juniors were performing and I am sure the inspirational talk she gave us a couple of years ago may have helped. Eve is also a former P&K Ladies County Golf Champion and along with Dawn Butchart, current holder Emily Ogilvy, Laura Walker, Carol Muir and Jillian Milne we had 6 former winners in attendance and our best wishes go to Kirsty Brodie and Dawn who represent Strathmore tomorrow in this years last 16 at Auchterarder..
We welcomed another new member, our 6th this year, when Moya Craig joined and started her coaching tonight. Look forward to seeing her progress and also met up with the others Owen Voice, Cameron Voice, Frankie Kennedy, Jordan Hart and Sophie Patterson who also became our 3rd junior to join the Drumderg club hire scheme.
Last night I joined Marcus Ryan and Conor Hughes and we played the points game. Giving 9 shots to them was a tall order but experience paid off and I am sure that both boys will be reducing their handicaps very soon especially with a bit of short game practise. We had brilliant fun and I was very impressed with their ball striking off the tee but remember the old saying "drive for show but putt for dough" Final score 39,36 &33 - close game.
Amy Mitchell is now ready to take another step forward after she proved to herself tonight that her new driver was a superior club to her old driver - 5 yellow balls on the fairway covered by 10 yds compared to 5 white balls shorter and only one on the short stuff made it simple. She will now be hitting into greens with up to 4 clubs less! Love it when I'm proved right and can't wait to see the results.
Disappointingly we have been conceeded our Bell trophy match by King James VI as they cannot field a full team but we have accepted their invitation to take our squad along for a game on Sunday to give our players the opportunity to play the course and gain vital experience for the future.
I feel momentum building up and can't wait to see what happens next ?
            
         

4th QUALIFIER POSITION CONFIRMED

By scoring 72 only bettered by a 70, 71 and 72 with a better inward half - Kirsty Brodie has been seeded 4th in the last 16 of the P&K ladies match play to take place on Saturday and Sunday this week. She will go into the weekend with confidence and in great form.    

WITHIN A WEEK OF MY PREDICTION KIRSTY BRODIE DOES IT IN STYLE

Got a call today from a very excited Kirsty who had played in the qualifing round of the P&K ladies championship at Auchterarder after she shot a 2 over par 72. I am so pleased for her and the fact she achieved this playing at another course is testament that her game has now moved to a different level. Becoming a category 1 player was a target and being achieved I now know Kirsty will start to believe "Think positive and your dreams can become reality"  The things we worked on the last couple of weeks are certainly paying off and new goals now need to be set, starting with this weekends match play.

Draw below

9.04 S Crolla v L. McGraw

9.12 E Watson v F Ramsay

9.20 N Robertson v K Duncan

9.28 C Muir v K Brodie

9.36 J Saxton v D Butchart

9.44 H Wylie v J Milne

9.52 G Lambie v L Walker

10.00 A Walker v E Ogilvy

 

Good luck to Kirsty and Dawn who both made the last 16.

 

  

KIRSTY BRODIE AND AMY MITCHELL DOUBLE DELIGHT

Both girls did themselves proud yesterday by winning their matches with their partners 7&6 and 5&4 respectively against Fife at Burntisland and helped P&K to a great away win.
Kirsty and Alex Simpson also did well today in the mini foursomes at Pitlochry finishing 3rd.
Michael Brodie played in the Champion of Champions at Blairgowrie today and finished 6th.  

WELL DONE KIRSTY BRODIE AND AMY MITCHELL

Over the last couple of weeks both girls asked me to assist them with aspects of their games they were looking to improve on and I am delighted to report that they have made tremendous progress. Kirsty won the Ladies Barnardo's event with her best score of the season so far reducing her handicap and is now just one good round away from being a category 1 player. Amy has taken 4 shots off her handicap and is now only 2 shots away from becoming a silver division player and has also been selected to represent Perth and Kinross in a match against Fife at Burntisland. I know both girls will achieve their individual goals very soon and new targets will need to be set and worked towards. "Think positive and your dreams can become reality"