Month: August 2020

This weekend saw the Paul Lawrie Par Three Challenge played at his centre up in Aberdeen. This was the second of six Tartan Pro Tour events and had been postponed from earlier this month due to the temporary lockdown in the city. Paul was a great host at a superb venue which was in beautiful condition with nine tricky par threes ranging from 120 yards to 205 yards. I would recommend it to anyone – it really sharpens up your short game with lots of heavy rough and water to catch you out.

I went into this against the younger field of tour professionals thinking this would be my best chance – I mean I wasn’t gonna get outdriven after all! However read on…..

For me it was another story of two halves – big score yesterday as I came out of the blocks firing at every pin and to be honest hitting myself long into trouble most of the time. On the fifth, as I watched my ball still rising as it passed the pin by 15 yards like an Apollo space craft re-entering the atmosphere and straight into the heavy rough, I thought …….”wow Calum two clubs out this time and I might not see that particular Pro V1x again. To be fair it was a strongish North wind which swirled all day in the trees, however the main issue was rather poor course management – oops!

I was given two great pieces of advice last night – aim for the centre of the greens with a club you can’t go long with, and relax with a bit of Zen. I put both into practice today and shot one under – very happy with that.

So all in all a great end to a mediocre week scoring wise.

Next up is The Tartan Pro Tour St Andrews Classic over the New and Jubilee courses.

Time for some practice – mainly on choosing the right shot at the right time.

Calum

Today was an 18 hole competition at Collingtree Golf Club in Northampton – a bigger, more modern course. A good test on another windy day.

My golf was similar and so was the scoring: 7 over with no real big numbers. A little better than Monday and Tuesday but still more to do.

I accept I’m still learning each time I go out, which seems strange for someone who’s played most of his life. However I’m learning so much about how to approach the game and I’m sure I’ll reap the benefits in time. My view is that if I’m learning then I will progress.

Next up is exciting for me – the Scottish Par 3 Championship at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre in Aberdeen on Saturday and Sunday. I’ve never played a par 3 competition like this before so I’m looking forward it.

Meantime I’m enjoying apres golf with Pete and Judy near Cambridge – very nice.

Catch up soon

Calum

Day two here at Kingsthorpe and although better golf in very challenging conditions, the score was 78 so still not nearly good enough – even though the wind was strong enough to blow the ball off the tee at 18.

The tail end of the storm tested us all – my playing partner’s cigarettes were burning quicker than he could smoke them! So all in all, a bit blowy you could say but too many blows from me!

And so getting ready for tomorrow – an 18 hole shoot out at Collingtree Park with all to play for, and significantly less wind forecast. It’s a more open course so time for some renewed commitment; play golf and see what happens.

Looking forward to it and I’ll let you know how it goes.

Cheers

Calum

So here we are again. I’ve played myself out of the competition on day one.

Ideal conditions today for scoring but another day of highs and lows. The golf was reasonable with good putting and some great up and downs to balance some poor ball striking. This all resulted in two over for 15 holes – and then I threw in two sevens and a six!

Why do I keep doing this?! All very, very frustrating.

The big scores all came from atrocious shot choices by me when finding myself slightly out of position. Taking on high risk shots in semi-desperation rather than balancing risk with reward. What is it they say? – “Take your medicine”. Well it appears I was taking no medicine and expecting full recovery – jeez oh!

Situations where I’m out of position are always going to happen so I’m trying really hard to rewire my brain to make better decisions – maybe I need a reboot! One thing is for sure that with the amount of support and encouragement I receive it must be possible.

So now to get ready for tomorrow – the forecasters tell us wind and rain but as always we’ll take it as it comes.

Will let you know……

Calum

I’m down here in Northampton getting ready for a 36 hole competition on Monday and Tuesday over Kingsthorpe, which is to the north of the town, and then an 18 holer over Collingtree Park, which is on the other side of town.

I played both in practice over the weekend. Kingsthorpe is tight and fiddly whereas Collingtree Park is a bigger, more modern course – each with its own challenges and opportunities.

My game’s been good, although there are still some shots where I hear myself say “Calum – what are you doing?” – and sometimes out loud! However, preparations last week and some helpful conversations have helped get me ready.

So we’ll give it a good go tomorrow and see what score we shoot.

I’ll keep you updated…

Calum

Day 2 and some better golf today – without the indiscretions! First group out this morning and shot a 2 under par 69 over Moortown. Delighted and relieved to the post second best score of the day. I’m thinking this golf carry-on is okay after all!

So what was different today? Well, I’m thinking as Frankie Goes to Hollywood once said…RELAX……that was the difference. I relaxed between shots and enjoyed the company and chat of my playing partner. Yesterday, now that I reflect on it, I was so intense that I could never keep that up for 18 holes – no-one can!

So what’s next? Kingsthorpe and Collingtree on 24th August. And so nice to have a week of practice ahead of that.

On a different note ,all the best to the tonight’s semi finalists in the Ladybank Golf Club Championship – I’m sure they will be good matches and I have to say that I’m biased in one as my son Gav is playing.

So, if your playing over the weekend, try relaxing between shots and watch the birdies come along.

Have fun….

Calum

I knew this moment would come – writing a blog when I am frustrated, angry, disappointed and everything else you care to mention.

So the week’s gone well. Practice rounds on the two courses were tidy and so to today’s first day of competition. A steady start, not shooting the lights out, but okay. Get to the par 4 8th and come off my drive – then realise its gone out of bounds. Knock my provisional on and 3 putt for a 7. Wow, how did that happen?

Still raging from the 7, I pump my drive at the par four 9th out of bounds. I then proceed to knock my second ball from a solid bunker face lie out of bounds behind the green and suddenly need to hole out for a 10 – yes a big 10! It all added up to a 13 over par 85 – a 7, a 10 and 16 reasonable holes of golf.

I sit here reflecting, not exactly sure how the two big numbers happened, and also knowing that in 20 minutes or so I played myself out of this tournament. Norway seems a long way away now.

However, as always, there are positives – generally good and long driving, some 15 footers holed and solid irons. Wike Ridge is a good course and a fair test of golf – worth a visit if you are near Leeds.

Moortown Golf Club tomorrow – home of the 1925 Ryder Cup, the first played on home soil with the home team winning.

Let’s hope that gives me some inspiration!

Calum

Today was the second day of the Paul Lawrie Carnoustie Challenge. I teed it up at 7.50 on a stunning morning. I managed 82 today – a slight improvement but not nearly good enough. I still played some decent shots and at least I had a birdie today!

I found it a big golf course – I guess around 7,400 yards off the Championship tees. I need to raise my game further to manage a course that length, even on a calm day. Each hole demands consistently well struck shots and a sound strategy to stand a chance of par – I have more work to do. But that’s okay. After all, this journey is about trying to improve all areas of my game and continually getting feedback on how I’m doing.

There is some great golf being played at Carnoustie by the field, with the current leader at seven under par.

We heard this morning that the second tournament in the series, the Par 3 Challenge at Aberdeen, has understandably ben postponed due to the local lockdown.

The next tournament will be with the UK Masters Pro Tour down in Leeds next week – so a few days’ practice ahead to get ready for that.

For those who are playing, have a good weekend’s golf everyone.

Calum

Today was an experience teeing it up at Carnoustie in the Paul Lawrie Carnoustie Challenge, bringing together professionals from most of the main tours.

To be honest it was a great experience to play the course off the championship tees – but oh so challenging. Perfectly placed fairway bunkers to catch your drives and greenside ones to snare long irons into the greens.

I shot 86 – not what I would have liked but, as always, the score is the score. I made many mistakes today, learned a lot about competing and where I’m at, and also played a lot of shots I’m proud of.

So I’m off early in the morning for my 7.50am tee time – I need to learn to score better if I want a later time I guess!

Tomorrow is another day and I sit here excited at the prospect of doing better and getting a bit higher up that scoreboard. Better set the alarm.

Calum

Having been first reserve for the Paul Lawrie Carnoustie Challenge over the famous Angus links, I heard earlier today that I’m now in the field so I’ll tee it up at 1.20 tomorrow lunchtime. The competition is over two days. I’m delighted to have the chance to play the competition, particularly thinking about Paul Lawrie’s Open victory after his famous play-off against Jean van de Velde and Justin Leonard on the same links.

The tournament is one of six which have been arranged by Paul to provide the opportunity for competitive golf for the many tour pros in Scotland whose competitions have not been running this year and I take my hat off to him for the efforts he’s made. It’s a great idea and helps maintain the momentum of competitive golf in Scotland – tartanprotour.co.uk.

I’ve entered all six Tartan Pro Tour events and hope to get a start in each, depending on numbers, which are limited to 72 players in each tournament.

So I’m excited to be included tomorrow, looking forward to taking on the championship course at Carnoustie, one of the most famous challenges in Scottish golf, and I’ll let you all know how I go…..

Calum