I hope you all had a lovely time over the festive period and thank you all for your support you have shown myself since arriving in November. 2015 will be my first full year as the Professional at East Kilbride Golf Club and I am very much looking forward to showing you all exactly what we can do for you. If you are like me then you could have had a difficult week last week as the Christmas decorations came down. This signals the end of copious amounts of eating and drinking without having to have an excuse. It also means that detoxing is the only road ahead and you can all expect the fullest salad drawer in your fridge ever. Don't worry though as I saw Pot Noodles down to 50p in Asda yesterday and nobody could resist that!

THE CHRISTMAS POWAKADDY RAFFLE

Many people over the years have told me to go and raffle myself, but this Christmas I decided to raffle a Powakaddy Electric Golf Trolley instead. So I did! We had a great response as many of you decided to buy a wonder ticket for a £1. But like any star raffles, only one ticket proved to be worth £300 and that ticket was number 194!!! That ticket was owned by a very very happy 'John Gallagher'. Well done John and we will be holding many more raffles and prize draws throughout the year, so keep a pound handy in your pocket!

NEW YEAR DRIVE IN

The only thing missing on New Year's Day was an Ark as the rain descended in biblical proportions upon the course as Captain Stuart and Ladies Captain Anne took to the tee for the annual drive in. I had my breathalyser at the ready so we did not flaunt the new drink driving laws. I'm glad to report that both passed, I however 2 hours later blew the machine up after a few trips to the bar with my mother. In all seriousness, it was great to see so many up to support the Captains and the club. Yet again the food was great, so Brian will be to blame for my weight gain. Here is a little video of the guys teeing off.

FITTING SUCCESSES

Club technology is so advanced these days, if you have not embraced it, then you need to get involved or your game could be seriously disadvantaged. I'm not suggesting that you change your clubs every week, absolutely not and if you ask the people I have already fitted since arriving, then they will tell you I really don't push selling clubs, I just see if there is anything limiting your potential. Sometimes you have the best for you but wouldn't that be good to know? Wouldn't that push you on and work hard? I think so.

STRIKE IS THE MOST IMPORTANT PART

What do all good players do? Do they hold it the same way, stand the same way, swing the same way, absolutely not but they all have a consistent strike!! Some more to the heel some right out the middle, some towards the toe but they all do it consistently. If you hit the ball out different parts of the face then the ball will go in different directions even if you applied the same swing. So here is a little tip to help you see how well you are doing. Get yourself to Morrisons at Stewartfield (Other Supermarkets are available) and buy yourself a can of 'DAKTARIN AKTIV' foot spray. It's intended for athlete's foot but it has another great use! Spray some on your club face and it will show you exactly where your strikes are happening! This will help you understand if you need to work on that strike or if your clubs are not set up correctly for you. Send me the results and I will diagnose your faults. Please no photos of Athletes foot!

I MAKE THE PAPERS FOR THE RIGHT REASONS

Just before Christmas I made the East Kilbride News, without doubt the pinnacle of anyone within the East Kilbride Area. The camera did add a few pounds but it was a really nice article for myself and the club, so hopefully we can all benefit from the exposure and push the club forward in 2015.

Please not that junior coaching starts back Tuesday 13th January at Playsport driving range.

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