Captain's Challenge
Winners of the Captains Challenge were Danny Cuthbert and Brian Bunch with a fantastic score of 57.2. Well done guys.
Thanks to all who played making this inaugural event such a success. It was also noted by many competitors that the food afterwards was excellent and they asked me to pass on their thanks to Keith and his team.
Gents Sweep - 24/10/15
Cat 1 & 2 1st - GDR Thomson 84 (12) 72 2nd - FS Johnstone 78 (6) 72 3rd - G McDougall 82 (10) 72
Cat 3 & 4 1st - JX Anderson 84(14) 70 2nd - AK Turner 88 (17) 71 3rd - RE Drummond 90 (14) 76
Twos - Cat 1 & 2: £4.33 / Cat 3 & 4: £13
Handicap Team
The handicap team played their first match of the 2015/16 winter league competition with a home match against Scotscraig.
The match score was a two each draw. The results were as follows:
Game 1: Scott Owen & Craig Mathie - Won 1 up
Game 2: AWF Buchan & Brian McSkimming - Lost 5 & 4
Game 3: Andrew Buchan & Gary Walsh - Won 1 up
Game 4: Gordon Mathie & Dugald MacGregor - Lost 4 & 3
Special mention must go to Scott Owen. Standing on the 18th tee all square in his game he was struck on the wrist by a ball from the group behind!
After collapsing on the tee, he got up dusted himself down and scored a par 4 to win the hole and the match.
Sadly, as you can see from the picture, his watch was totally smashed!
Thankfully Christmas is not far away
Club Prize-giving
Members are reminded that the annual prize giving will take place on Friday, 13 November at 7.30pm. All prize winners and runners-up have been sent invitations to attend. Please return attendance slip to the office. The Captain looks forward to a good attendance from all prize winners.
Dinner will be available to book in the Annsmuir Room after the presentation of prizes - see notice board for details - please book at the Bar in the normal way.
Head Greenkeepers Blog - 28, October 2015
Autumn has well and truly set in with the leaves starting to fall and give us some extra blowing work. October has been a pretty settled month in terms of the weather, a similar story to my last blog with humidity and dampness very typical. Although it has been very damp with heavy dew, once again it's been relatively dry with only 36mm of rainfall recorded to date.
I keep saying this but it's been a surprisingly dry season!
Last week saw us start our scheduled autumn maintenance programme on greens and after endless calm, damp days we were very happy to see a change to some dry and windy conditions which are essential for this operation.
The previous four autumns we have Graden sand injected our greens and achieved fantastic organic matter (thatch) reduction to a point where we are very close to our desired target levels. Due to this reduction it was felt that this year we could change our strategy and solid tine greens as opposed to Graden. This is deemed less disruptive however very effective and we were delighted with how the operation went.
Our dried sand silo we have in place is a great facility which gives us 100% uncontaminated kiln dried sand whenever we require it. Having dry sand makes it much easier to get the material down the tine holes and diluting any excess organic matter and aiding root establishment. Damp material can often bridge the holes leaving a lot of sand on the surface and excess airspace in the profile. The pictures below should give an insight into the whole operation.
Firstly we spread approximately 1.5 ton of sand onto the green. The entire green is then solid tined with 13mm tines to a depth of 2.5". The surface is left to dry then the 'sweep & fill' brush runs over in various directions moving any excess sand around until all holes are filled. We then we use snow shovels and blowers to disperse any thicker areas and leave a consistent finish.
A few dates for the diary
Monday, 4 November
- Preferred lies in place
- Course hotline fully in operation. (Call 01334 830814 and press option 4)
Monday, 7 December
- Fairway mats in use
To find out about the latest junior news, click here.
Winter shop hours
From Monday, 26 October, our shop hours will change to 8:30am - 3:30pm. Then, throughout December, it will run from 8:30am - 3pm
Titleist 716
After 2 years, Titleist have just launched their new range of irons. They still have four different head options which go by the same name as their previous models, the AP1, AP2, CB & MB.
The AP1s have the largest head of all four, making them slightly easier to hit than the other three models. They are however, suitable for both higher and lower handicap golfers.
The AP2 irons continue to be a forged cavity back iron, however the position of the tungsten weights within the head has been lowered compared to the previous model making them easier to get the ball up in the air.
The CGs continue to have a muscle back head and the MBs are still blades. Both clubs are suitable for lower handicap golfers who require maximum feel and maneuverability from their clubs.
Please come into the shop for a look at the new clubs (we don't have the CB or MB heads yet).
Titleist have also launched a new range of hybrids called the "816" which compliment their new range of irons. Anyone of our professional staff will be happy to discuss the new clubs with you.
In the shop we have a Titleist fitting station which enables us to custom fit a set of irons / hybrids to your own personal requirements. Click here to see the latest ranges from Titleist.
If you would be interested in a fitting, don't hesitate to get in touch by clicking here.
Callaway Apex
We have also now got the Callaway Apex Raange available for fitting at St.Andrews.
Callaway launched its Apex irons in 2013 as premium, "players'" clubs. They have proved to be hugely popular with both the professionals and amateurs. The 2016 model represents the pinnacle of the Apex design, producing excellent distance and control
If you would like more information, click here.