Greetings,

 

Unfortunately I start this newsletter with some very sad news. Tom Keir our House Convenor and past Captain sadly passed away suddenly on Tuesday. Tom gave so much time to the club over the years and was the Captain during some of the Clubs most difficult days when the clubhouse burnt down. 

You may remember a little article I did on him a few months back about all that he brought to the club. The club has lost a dear friend and one of its biggest supporters. 

Our thoughts and prayers go out to Tom's family and friends at this terrible time. This is the only picture I have of Tom, but it shows him smiling and working hard at the club he loved.


  

The Masters has come and gone and the season has now officially started! The rain has been replaced with some kind of sunshine for the moment. Unfortunately there is a windchill of -14 degrees and I have had to dust down the seal skins, imitation of course before there are any protests.

So back to the Masters, Holly Toledo, what a spectacle that was. The last time I saw an international collapse like that, Nick Leeson held the pin number for the Barings Bank Company Credit Card. Spieth's misfortune did however remind me of two of my own golfing collapses.

Golfing Collapse Number 1 

In the late 90's I had smashed my driver down the middle of the last hole at Cathcart Castle Golf Club whilst playing in the Parlane McFarlane Trophy. All I needed to do was to take a 5 to win the trophy, so squeeze a 5 iron up towards the green, chip on and have 2 putts. Simple. I exhaled and took the club back and pull hooked the 5 iron so far left it cleared the out of bounds hedge quicker than Desert Orchid in the Gold Cup. I took a 7 and won nothing.


Golfing Collapse Number 2

It was the autumn of 2004, "Destiny's Child" were all over the charts and I was all over my golf. I was practicing harder than I had ever practiced before and my game was in tip top shape. Paul Lawrie was sponsoring an Assistants Stroke Play Event and I was pegging it up. In round one I shot a 6 under par 64 and was on cloud 9. Just before round 2, Paul Lawrie handed me a copy of the Aberdeen Press & Journal which read in massive bold text

Bell Leads Way At Meldrum House

As the paper was popped into my golf bag and zipped up, my body was suddenly possessed with a severe case of the "Downswing Jitters". I proceeded to wrack up bogeys, double bogeys and many more over par scores. I was uncomfortably numb as I signed for a 79 and disappeared off the leaderboard. I could have coped with the distant memory of having a bottle crash, but the next days Press & Journal cut so deep when it said:

Bell The Overnight Leader Completely Fell Out Of The Picture With A 79

To compound the misery, the above torturous comment lives on in a picture frame in the clubhouse due to the fact that the course record was set that day by the chap I played with.

So the moral of the story is:

You've Got To Be In The Mix To Lose It!

 

The Gents Team do Some Bonding! 

Sunday saw the gents team peg it up for some team bonding where the more experienced (some may say older maybe), paired up with the young guns in an epic fourball better ball format. The weather report promised of 10 degrees and sunny, unfortunately we got 5 degrees and cloudy. I was disappointed by the weather, but not the golf as there were more birdies flying about than the zoo aviary! The old wise owls shared some wisdom to the young hawks, and valuable lessons were learned on both sides. I found out that some new stuff also:

Young Alan Woodhouse can hit a 3 wood closer to the hole than I can hit a wedge

Ross Hinshelwood hits it pure

Stuart Taylor's putter is hotter than a sizzling sausage on a summer BBQ

Kenny Gallacher falls over in bunkers

John Woodhouse colour coordinates his outfits

Billy Fairley smiles constantly

Mitchell Ronald hits more greens in regulation than Nick Faldo

Kieran Mcvicar bombs it miles, but does spend more time up against trees than a dogs leg (only joking kid)

Hole in 1's

Over the last few weeks we have had some aces, and I am not talking about the weekly joker draw. 2 weeks ago George Downie had an ace out on the course, and just last week saw the smiling architect Douglas Taylor holed out a par 3 at Haston Golf Club. Even better for Douglas was the fact that he did it in a competition and now qualifies for a tournament down south this year.

I will not mention anything about giving him some golf balls last week to try, and even less about him saying that they wouldn't go in the hole.

Shoe And Battery Trade In Going Down A Storm

The weather is horrific, but the deals are terrific. Many of you have already taken advantage of our trade in offer on shoes and lithium batteries.

Do not get the two mixed up, because although lithium is light and powerful, it really doesn't make good shoes. So pop on down and get the best deal in town.

Click here to find out more about how you can get up to £20 OFF a brand new pair of shoes, or click here to find out how you can get £25 OFF a new Lithium battery, or lithium battery trolley.

Galvin Green Lands In Store

One of golf's leading brands, and this year's Ryder Cup Team Wear manufacturer 'Galvin Green" has arrived in store.

The Spring/Summer Collection is completely different to any other Galvin range I have ever seen, and it looks great.

Drop in and have a look for yourself in store, and please remember that we can order you anything else you like and we can match online prices!

You do not need to go elsewhere!

Junior Coaching Is Go And Then No

Twenty Juniors braved the elements on Monday morning as the East Wind payed us a visit. At one point I thought I was teaching the smurfs as a few had turned blue. It was so, so cold, but they all had fun as we sprinted round the practice area to keep warm.

They got a surprise as 'The EK Bullet' whizzed past them at the speed of sound. I only tore one hamstring and felt a deep, deep burn in my lungs, apart from that I was just fine.

So Monday's cold blast was replaced with torrential rain and the "PRO FROM EK" he said "NO" coaching on the Tuesday.

The Juniors fought the weather, but unfortunately the weather won!