I hope you've all had a fantastic week on and off the golf course and welcome to another exciting edition of the Moray Pro Shop weekly newsletter, bringing you up to date with all the latest news and gossip from within the walls of MGC.
Well I'm back from my travels and back to reality with a bang as I went from 35 degrees, blue skies and sunshine to 5 degrees, 40 mph winds and heavy rain.
I had a great trip away and am now ready for the long winter ahead. I did spend plenty of time relaxing, eating and drinking excessively, but did also manage to squeeze in a wee game of golf at Abu Dhabi Golf Club which hosts the HSBC Championships in January. The course was in great condition and my own game wasn't in bad shape considering my lack of golf this last month.
During a day trip along to Dubai I was booked in for a Tandem Skydive which was a very kind present from my girlfriend, Mel.
Click here to check out the video.
It might just make you want to do the same.. It was an amazing experience and some incredible views from a whopping 13,000 feet above the skylines of Dubai and the man made Palm Island and the Globe can be seen pretty clearly on the video. I have to say I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be in the lead up to the jump although the first few seconds when you are falling out the side of the plane do take your breath away..
Although things in the shop are a little quieter, I'm going to be pretty busy over the next few weeks with trips this week to view the new TaylorMade, Titleist & FootJoy ranges for the 2017 season.
Titleist have already launched their new 917 product which has been proving popular these last few weeks and FootJoy will be launching their new Pro SL spikeless shoe.
These have been getting lots of use on the tour already and I think will be a big seller for next season.
I will be very interested to see what TaylorMade bring out to follow on from the M1 & M2 Drivers which have been great this year.
With McIlroy now adding the M2 Driver to his bag, the world's top 3 are all playing TaylorMade M Series Product.
Other big Nike Staff players to switch over to TaylorMade woods in recent weeks are Paul Casey, Brooks Koepka and this weeks Turkish Open winner, Thorbjorn Olesen who was using the M1 Driver.
Click here to find out more about the stunning TaylorMade M series
Watch this space..
The following week I will be away down to Milton Keynes for most of the week for the
Foremost Golf Annual Conference. This year the show has taken on a different format with much less showcasing of products from Suppliers and more in the form of Educational Seminars, Retail planning and advice and plenty of networking with like minded Professionals.
I will also attend the annual Foremost Golf Industry Awards and have been given the great news that I have been put up as one of 4 nominees to pick up the award for 2016 Foremost Pro of the Year.
It's a real honor to have been nominated and I'm delighted to make the top 4 from over 1000 Golf Professionals in the UK. I will keep my fingers crossed that I can pick up the award on the night..
Derek is also away this week to attend his 3rd and final residential training week at the Belfry. Derek will also be sitting 2 of his exams which go towards his final PGA exams. He will be sitting a sports science exam as well as a practical repairs exam. We will give you an update on Derek's week in next weeks newsletter.
Good Luck Derek.
Hole in 1 Club Congratulations to
Colin Ironside who made a hole in 1 on the 15th of the Old Course.
Colin used a 7 wood and was partnered by
Stewart Rothnie.
I hate to mention the C word so early in November, but we have some special offers on golf balls in the lead up to the festive period.
Order on my website or in store any dozen balls from Titleist or Srixon and get a
FREE personalised message on each ball to make the perfect gift for the golfer in your life..
Click here to order your personalised Srixon balls
Click here to order your personalised Titleist balls.
Trolley Promotion Alert Pre order your Powakaddy trolleys for Christmas and get a
FREE golf bag Christmas has come early for you all by offering you the chance to get a
FREE golf bag with your PowaKaddy Electric Golf Trolley. It's a ripper of a deal but this has to be done this month and you will qualify for the following deals while stocks last.
FW3 Lithium 18 Hole -
£449 plus a Deluxe Bag
FREE FW5 Lithium 18 Hole -
£499 plus a Premium Bag
FREE FW7 Lithium 18 Hole -
£579 plus a Waterproof Bag
FREE
Winter Cup Unfortunately some pretty horrific weather put a dampener on the 1st week of the winter cup with plenty of rain, wind and falling temperatures enough to keep many of you away from the course over the weekend.
However there are always some hardy souls (some people would say crazy) willing to battle the elements and hats off to them all. On Saturday we had 24 take to the course and this was followed by only 11 on Sunday.
Saturday - New Course - CSS 73 R/O Mens, CSS 70 Ladies
Division 1
1st -
John Dawson - 32pts £10, 2nd -
Colin G Ironside - 32pts £8, 3rd -
Steven Beveridge - 31pts, 4th -
Robert G MacPherson - 28pts, 5th -
Atholl M Campbell - 27pts
Division 2
1st -
Sarah Harding - 34pts £10, 2nd -
Neil J Smith - 33pts £8, 3rd -
Ian Simpson - 31pts, 4th -
Alexander R Tweedie - 31pts, 5th -
Alexander Black - 29pts
Sunday - New Course CSS 73 (R/O)
Division 1
1st -
Gavin Fisher - 35 £8, 2nd -
Graeme Hamilton - 32 £6, 3rd -
Richard Bowlt - 31, 3rd - Bryan John Suttar - 27, 4th -
Darren Dry - 22
Division 2
1st -
Alan J McWilliam - 31 £8, 2nd -
Stephen Dunbar - 30 £6, 3rd -
Stephen Murray - 26, 4th -
Ivor Rollo - 24, 5th -
George R Stewart - 23
The seniors kicked off their winter cup competition on Tuesday, 1 November. In week 1
Alex Miller took top spot on 35 pts ahead of
Alana Cowie (34pts) with
Bill Duncan 3rd on 33pts.
Better conditions during Week 2 saw
Pat Smith return a fine 37 pts total to narrowly beat
John Dawson and
Bill Duncan into 1st place by a single shot.
Senior Winter Cup [Week 1] (CSS 71 R/O)
A. W. Miller (13) 35pts
A. Cowie (10) 34pts
W. R. Duncan (6) 33pts
J. Dennis (12),
P. Smith (7),
B. Casburn (18) 32pts
J. Dawson (9),
M. M. Cross (11
), P. V. Page (12),
J. G. Doherty (20) 31pts
Senior Winter Cup [Week 2] (CSS 70)
P. Smith (7) 37pts
J. Dawson (9),
W. R. Duncan (6) 36pts
S. M. Crane (15) 35pts
A. Cowie (10) 34pts
A. R. Souter (14),
J. Dennis (12),
J. K. Gable (15),
C. D. Stewart (11) 33pts.
Friday, 18 November - Prizegiving
Saturday, 19 November - Race Night
I look forward to seeing all the prizewinners coming along to collect their winnings from the 2016 season. The presentation will start at 7.30pm.
We will also be holding a new event, a Race Night which should be fun and something different. Unfortunately, I won't make this event due to another engagement but come along as it's sure to be a great laugh..
Andrew's second shot to the 7th Old missed the green and ended in the right side bunker. On approaching he was aware that the wind had blown a lot of leaves that were accumulated at the back of the bunker with no sign of his ball. He asked Graham 'As this is a hazard am I permitted to remove loose impediments and search for my ball.? Did Graham agree?
Yes. In a hazard, if Andrew's ball is believed to be covered by loose impediments to the extent that he cannot identify or find it, he may without penalty touch or move the leaves in order to find or identify his ball. If his ball is found and identified as his, Andrew must replace the leaves. If the ball is moved during the touching or moving of the leaves while searching or identifying his ball he incurs a one shot penalty (Rule 18-2).
If his ball is moved during the replacement of the leaves there is no penalty and the ball must be replaced.
If the ball was completely covered by leaves Andrew must re-cover his ball but is permitted to leave a small part of his ball visible.
