DATES FOR WINTER TOUR 2013/14

GOLF DATES 2014/15

WINTER TOUR DATES

ALL DATES AND COURSES ARE PROVISIONAL

September 21st Elmwood GC- Summer Championship

October 12th Drumoig GC booked for 20
October 26th Falkirk Tryst booked for 24 CANCELLED -Rain
November 9th Kittocks booked for 23
November 30th Whitekirk GC
December 14th Torrance (Xmas outining) Dunvegan Hotel for dinner afterwards. booked for 24
January 25th Falkirk Tryst booked for 24 CANCELLED-RAIN
February 8th Scotscraig G C CANCELLED- FROST
February 22nd Falkirk booked for 24 CANCELLED - RAIN
March 15th Scotscraig booked for 20
March 29th Ladybank GC booked for 20 -






Wednesday 31 October 2012

LEVEN PICTURES


LEVEN LINKS 
2012
WINNERS


In 1st place Hutchy with 35 points

In 2nd place Billy with 34 points

In 3rd place Graham with 34 points

Nearest the pin Davie

Another prize for Hutch - nearest the pin

The King of Spooners takes the Spoon back down the road



Monday 29 October 2012

LEVEN RESULTS


THE
HUTCH
TRIUMPHS AT
LEVEN LINKS


Yesterday's winner Hutchy 


Yesterday we had our second round of this year's Tour and we had a great day at Leven Links. With a stiff wind blowing the winning score was not going to be 40+ points in this round.

The greens were very slick and great to putt on and once again the whole course was in great condition with dry firm fairways and a first class meal afterwards made our day out at Leven great value.
For just £30 we got a round of golf on a great links course with no mats anywhere and the course still set up with yellow and white boxes allowing us to play the full course.
The golf was followed by soup and bread then a fantastic Sunday carvery with huge slabs of meats and turkey along with all the additions - superb value for £30.

Many thanks to all the staff who looked after us at Leven, as usual they provide a great service all day.

Onto the golf and the winner with 35 points was Ian Hutchison who scored well in very challenging conditions. It was a good day for Hutchy as he also won one of the nearest the pins.

Ian joins Craig Chalmers and Ian Baird as a 3 time winner on the Winter Tour now. Ian Baird remains the only person to have won back to back events during the Winter Tour.

There are a few players with 2 wins to their name. John Hamilton , Derek Mitchell, Neil Keir, Gerry Cullen, Paul James and Stevie Paul have all won twice.

In second place was Billy Gibson with 34 points beating Graham Dickie on count back. The other nearest the pin was won by Davie Revie who hit his tee shot to 8 inches from the hole.

The Spoon winner was Geraldo who successfully defended his title from 3 weeks ago and he becomes just the fourth person to win back to back Spoons. The other two time Spooners are David Stirling, Graham Dickie and Jamie Carroll.

I'M A RECORD BREAKER 

Geraldo also set a new Hackers record for the least points for 18 holes of golf in normal conditions with a fantastic 12 points. This score of 12 points comfortably beat the previous 16 points from 2010 at Scotscraig Links which was held by none other than - Geraldo !!

Gerry also set another record on Sunday by becoming a Spoon winner for the 4th time and is now undoubtedly KING OF THE SPOONERS.

Our 4th round is at Lundin Links in December and a word of warning to all Gerry has won the last two rounds held over this course and is unbeaten.

The "bad day at the office " was evident for both the Cullen Boys as wee brother Jim had only 19 points and if his brother hadn't been so poor then Jim's score would have won the spoon most weeks.

John Byrne in his first round this winter struggled with just 20 points but it was a" hard fought 20 points".

First round winner Del Boy slipped way back in this round with only 25 points. The conditions and us putting out resulted in just 8 players getting 30+ points.

There must have been a few nervous players out on the course as their points total hovered around 20-25 points which normally wins the Spoon. I myself reached the turn with 3 blobs giving me only 12 points and I knew I had to get a score on the way in or I was in trouble. The 20 points I got on the back 9 was far more than I thought possible as the back 9 are definitely the hardest but word filtered down the ranks that both the Cullen brothers were slugging it out for the Spoon with points in the teens. Even Mr Fox gave a sigh of relief as he was struggling to get above 24 points at one stage.

Leaders after 2 rounds are myself and Mick with 69 points followed by Hutch on 68. Del boy has 67 and last year's Tour Champion, Paul, is on 65.

There's a long way to go.

Sitting at the bottom after 2 rounds is Gerry but the 3 above him are all from the Smarty Travelling Group with Messrs Revie, Leadbitter and Smart all helping to prop up the league table. Yesterday they had a puncture while travelling to Leven and along with their current awesome display on the course, I think this is a car to avoid a lift from.

Steven Gibson and Mick Drummond appeared at Leven more or less straight from a Halloween party and it was a good 20 mins before Mr Gibson appeared in the lounge as he had collapsed in the toilet getting rid of the previous nights toxins.
Lucky for us they both had turned up without their costumes on as Mick was dressed as Shrek and, having seen the photos, teeing up on the first would not have gone down well with the starter! Photos to appear if Tommy sends them to me.

Another great day and we were very lucky not see a drop of rain as most of the country got soaked all day.

Our next round is at  Crail on the Balcomie Links.


LEVEN GOLF LINKS
28TH OCTOBER

FULL RESUTS

I Hutchison   35
B Gibson      34
G Dickie      34
R Chalmers  32
T Nicholson  32
G Leadbitter   32
A Smart         30
G Sinclair      30
D Graham     29
M Drummond  29
R Aitken        29
C Weir          28
J Wynn         28
D Stirling     28
P James        28
I Fox           27
S Jessney    27
S Gibson     27
D Revie     26
D Mitchell  25
J Nicholson 23
J Byrne      20
J Cullen     19
G Cullen    12

SCORES AFTER 2 ROUNDS

M Drummond   69
R Chalmers       69
I Hutchison       68
D Mitchell         67
P James             65
R Aitken           64
I Fox                 62
S Gibson           61
G Sinclair          61
C Weir              61
D Stirling          61
T Nicholson      60
J Wynn             60
S Jessney          60
D Graham        58
G Leadbitter     57
A Smart           54
D Revie           53
G Cullen         33

8 other players have only 1 round

A Alexander   37
J Wylie           31
N Keir            30
B Newell        29
J Nicholson    23
B Murphy     21
J Byrne           20
J Cullen          19

Photos of winners and losers to appear soon.



Wednesday 24 October 2012

PUT THE BALL IN THE HOLE


NEW PUTTING RULE




It has been requested by many players that we set a new rule on putting out so that everyone is playing to the same rules.

There has been to much confusion on the length of gimmes in different games and to keep it all on a level playing field we are going to give the "everything must be putted out " a go.

There was 12 of us at Whitekirk GC on Sunday and we all putted out to see how it was. It was maybe a bit slower but the putting out stops all the dubiety.

This new rule will start at Leven this Sunday.

We will see how it goes for the next few rounds.

Just a reminder to everyone that preferred lies are used all winter but only on the fairways.


Saturday 20 October 2012

LEVEN LINKS RD 2


LEVEN LINKS




LEVEN LINKS

OCTOBER 28TH

Round 2

Details

First tee time   10.30am

DRAW IS AT 10.10AM

Cost £30.00 less £5.00 deposit (if paid)

Includes 2 course meal afterwards

Names Entered

R Chalmers
G Sinclair
I Fox
A Smart*
P James
G Cullen
S Jessney
G Leadbitter
D Revie
J Wynn
T Nicholson
S Gibson
M Drummond
R Aitken
D Graham
J Wylie
D Stirling
C Weir
I Hutchinson
G Dickie*
J Byrne*
B Gibson*
D Mitchell*
J Cullen

24  Entered

* no deposit paid



If anyone can't make the round let me know asap.



A HACKERS SCORECARD ?


BIRDIES
AT 
LADYBANK




8 birdies and 1 bogey
The same day we were at Drumoig the youngest Hacker was on a birdie blitz at Ladybank. Craig was playing in his first Scottish University Order of Merit and he got off to a great start in this years competition.

On the opening round playing off the medal tees he shot 7 under par with 8 birdies and 1 bogey. This score of 64 missed equalling the course record by 1 which was set back in 1995. He had a 5 shot lead over Jack McDonald who last month was named Scottish Amateur Golfer for 2012. On the Monday round Craig reached the turn 1 under then dropped 7 shots in 6 holes before finishing with 2 birdies. This allowed McDonald to beat him by just 1 shot. With only Craig and McDonald breaking par on the Sunday round the SSS went up to 74 - 2 above CSS and 3 above par. This resulted in another good handicap reduction for Craig getting cut from +1.4 to +2.3 in 1 round.

Overall Craig was delighted with his first event especially the 64 which was "just one of those days I hit greens and every putt I looked at dropped "

The second place gets him 500 points in the Order of Merit and a good chance of making the British Championship next April.

The photos below and above are from some of this summers events in which Craig played. He had a good season and reduced his handicap from 1.7 to +2.2 which considering the poor summer was a good achievement.

Winning the County Strokeplay Championships , finishing 2nd in the West of Scotland Strokeplay Championships , reaching the semi final in both competitions Matchplay Championships, Scottish Strokeplay Championships finished 6th with 2 over par for 72 holes , Scottish Schools finished 7th and getting selected for Scotland in the annual match against England were some of his golf achievements this season.


Scottish Team for annual match against England






Wednesday 17 October 2012

WHO AM I ??



This photo was sent to me by Sinky Sinclair from a fancy dress party on Saturday night. The person in the photo is Jim "Rocky" Cullen.
Mr Sinclair emailed me saying he went dressed as his big brother our triple Spoon winner Geraldo. I don't agree as the Gerry I know doesn't have a mop of hair like the guy in the costume.
It times like this Gerry you find out who your friends are !



Sunday 14 October 2012

DRUMOIG MELTDOWN


TRIPLE SPOON WINNER
GERRY CULLEN



Geraldo adding another Spoon to his collection
I was playing in the 4 ball that contained the winner of the Spoon on Sunday and I witnessed a collapse  on par with the American team at Medinah a few weeks ago.

Reaching the turn Gerry had 17 points with 2 blobs !!!

He walked off the 18th with just a further 4 points for a grand total of 21 and as for blobs - loads!!

It was a horrendous back 9 with poor tee shots right from the word go. This resulted in him having to drive back to hit 3 off the tee so many times I was getting concerned his buggy was going to run out of fuel. His putting was non existent due to the fact he never reached any greens and had to get the putter out.

Yes this was a major collapse right up there with Neil Keir who at Lundin a few years ago turned with 20 points but only got 4 coming home also.

Gerry was cruising on the front 9 as 17 points with 2 blobs is good shooting and most players getting 17 points after 9 would be confident of avoiding the spoon.

Let this meltdown be a warning to all - its not over till your off the 18th !!



NEXT ROUND

NEXT ROUND
28TH 
OCTOBER 




Some people thought the next round is on the 21st of October. The next round is on the 28th. A full list of players and information will be posted soon.

PICTURES FROM DRUMOIG





DRUMOIG PRIZE WINNERS


DRUMOIG CHAMPION
2012
DEREK MITCHELL




42 points for Del

40 points for summer champion Mick

37 points for Robert

Nearest to the pin Davy G

Nearest to the pin Craig

Another Spoon for Geraldo now a triple spoon winner

NEW 18TH AT DRUMOIG

18TH GREEN
AT 
DRUMOIG




The new layout for the 18th was in play for us last week and its a hole that you need to play a few times due to most of the hole being blind from the tee. A very tight tee shot with a 3 wood or rescue and you must keep well left as its all out of bounds with a long water hazard on the right also. I feel that there should be some indication on the tee that its all ob on the right as its totally blind and you don't see it till you drive down and around the gorse bushes. The ob runs all the way to just short of the green.

Tuesday 9 October 2012

DRUMOIG RESULTS


DRUMOIG 

7TH OCTOBER 
2012




As you can see from the above picture we had a superb day's weather for golf on Sunday. This was the first time we have ever played Drumoig in October and the condition of the course was fantastic with greens very quick and a joy to putt on.

The opening round had some very good scores and some very poor scores and 2 Hackers records were equalled by 2 players on Sunday. One record was at the top end of the leader board while the other was at the very bottom, but more of that one later in a separate post!

The top player on Sunday was Derek Mitchell with a superb 42 points equalling the Hackers Tour record currently held by Stevie Paul and Davy Stirling. Del joins that club and sets the pace at the top for this year's Tour. He was followed by our Summer winner, Mick Drummond, on a very good 40 points. The third place went to myself on 37 points beating Paul James and Andrew Alexander on
count back. I, like many others, blobbed the new last hole which we all played for the first time on Sunday. Having played it, I now know not to go right off the tee !


The nearest the pins went to Craig Weir and Davy Graham. Davy's shot at 16 is the closest we have ever had a ball finish. I hit my ball to 2 feet and was quite confident driving down to the hole that my shot would be good enough only to see a marker sitting 4 inches from the hole as I got closer. Well done, Davy.

SPOON BOY 

Winner Gerry Cullen with 21 points but as is the norm, there will be a wee separate post for this prize.

Looking at some of the scores, we see that last years winner, Vera, started with a solid 37 points and proceeded to text me on Sunday night saying he will win it this year as already he doesn't see anyone capable of beating him!!
Summer Spoon winner, Simon Jessney, moved well away from that position with a steady 33 points.
One of last year's final 4 balls who were all chasing the winner's prize was Brian Murphy. What a fall from that high position he had on Sunday, only getting 21 points.  He avoided the spoon on count back. I'm sure Brian will not be counting that score this season.
Another player who struggled last season was Richard Aitken but by posting 35 points on Sunday I think this season could be different.

Two other previous Tour winners, Davy and Neil, getting just 29 and 30 points each will also probably be dropping this round, but you never know this might be a good score for them this season and end up being a counter?

At the bottom end of the table taking up 3 of the last 6 positions we had George Leadbitter , Davie Revie and Alex Smart with 25, 27 and 24 points each. They all travel together and I bet that was a happy car going down the road talking about all their good shots.

Well, that's round 1 out the way and lots more golf to go. Let's hope the weather continues to favour us this winter.

Next round Leven 28th October.
Currently full.

Pictures and other reports to follow.

FULL RESULTS

D Mitchell       42
M Drummond 40
R Chalmers     37
P James           37
A Alexander   37
I Fox               35
R Aitken         35
G Kerr            35
S Gibson        34
S Jessney       33
C Weir           33
I Hutchison    33
J Wynn          32
G Sinclair      31
D Stirling      31
J Wylie         31
N Keir          30
B Newall      29
D Graham    29
T Nicholson 28
D Revie        27
G Kerr          26
G Leadbitter  25
A Smart         24
B Murphy      21
G Cullen        21




Wednesday 3 October 2012

WEATHER FOR SUNDAY


St. Andrews

Sun 7 Oct

Change table layout
UK local timeRegional warningsWeatherTemperature
(°C)
Wind speed & direction (mph)Wind gusts (mph)VisibilityHumidity (%)Precipitation probability (%)Feels like
(°C)
UV indexDaily air quality index [BETA]
0100No warningsClear night88No gustsGood88<5602
0400No warningsClear night78No gustsGood89<550
0700No warningsClear night76No gustsGood92<550
1000No warningsSunny day86No gustsVery good82<571
1300No warningsSunny intervals118No gustsVery good70<591
1600No warningsCloudy109No gustsVery good722091
1900No warningsCloudy910No gustsVery good822070
2200No warningsCloudy911No gustsGood842070