I woke on the morning on May 20^th and all I could hear was the blustering wind and rain against the bedroom window and I cant lie...I was worried that people might not turn up to my golf day.

We got up early (although not as early as the greenkeepers!) and headed up to Swanston to set up. I couldn’t believe the weather but I shouldnt have worried because in typical Scottish fashion the sun came out after 20 minutes and shone brightly for the rest of the day although the wind decided to hang around all day!

The course and clubhouse were stunning and the staff at Swanston looked after us all so well, and for the 159 people to came to play in the event and the countless other who came at night they were all able to see how far Swanston has come over the past 3 years.

The entire day went by in a flash as I tired to get round and see with everyone but my sincere apologies for anyone I didn’t get a chance to speak to.  I was completely overwhelmed by everyone’s support and generosity and for that I have so many people to thank.

Firstly thank you to everyone who entered a team  or donated a price, thank you also to those who generously bid on auctions prizes, to Colin McClung and the staff at swanston, to my family and my girl Lisa for there tireless efforts which made the event so special. Stephen Gallacher made a special appearance and for him to show his support was amazing.

Thanks again to everyone and if you would like to see some of the official photographs kindly taken by Kenny Smith I have attached a link below.

http://kennypix.photoshelter.com/gallery/John-Gallagher-Golf-Day/G0000WIcfOqsGhqE/

Thanks again!!

JG

I arrived in Florence just in time to walk the course and first impressions were good, it was a long tree lined course in fantastic condition.

Not only was getting a call from the Challenge Tour a great oppurtunity to play it was also a chance to catch up with some of my old Scotland team mates and they helped me out by offering lots of advice and taxiing me here and there!! J

I started storngly with a 72 and I followed that up with a great 69 and made the cut with a few shots to spare . My thrid round did not go according to plan, and after a few slack shots I carded a 79 and fell sharply on the leaderboards. I then went out in the last round in the toughest of the weather but was able to shoot a 70 and climb back to a respectible position!

After the amazing success of last years event I was really looking forward to Bunkerfest 2 and it didn’t disappoint. Played over 2 days at the lovely De Vere Belton woods it was a great mixture of good golf, good food and great company.

Lisa and I enjoyed catching up with everyone from Bunker Mentality and meeting  the other Bunker Ambassadors and it is one of the few times where I get to relax on a golf course and just have a bit of fun. So thanks to everyone we met ... already looking forward to next years Event!

On the way back up the road from Bunkerfest we stopped in to meet my new shoe sponsor for the season (www.redfiregolf.co.uk)  who make hand made Italian leather shoes which are all named after famous British golf courses...I am currently sporting a white pair of 'Birkdale' shoes!!

While driving back up from Nottingham I got a call to say I had got into the Challenge Tour event in Florence so we had to book flights and accommodation while sitting in a motorway service station on the M6!!

Yet again sorry for the late update, but I really don’t know where the past month has gone, it’s been really busy and it looks like its set to continue.

On the 2^nd of May I headed to Norwich to Play in the first Euro Pro Tour event of the Year at Wensum valley. It was my first time at the course and due to the dry spring and lack of water the course was very fiery and played very trick indeed.

I opened with a 77 and struggled in difficult conditions but judging by the scoring which was pretty high, everyone felt the same. I came back in the second round with a 69 to make the cut comfortably and was I the mix for the final day. The last round started poorly and I never really got it going at all – I finished with a 79 having putted poorly. In the end I was tied 33rd and although I would have liked to have done better I was able to take away a lot of positives from the week.

Just back from the Valenti Pro Am where I had the pleasure of partnering Richard Walker at Hacienda Del Alamo.

24 teams took part around the European Tour School second stage golf course. Myself and Richard worked well together and we opened up with a 66 team score I managed a 71 to lie 3rd after round 1 in the pro scores. The weather was tough (we had heavy rain and wind only to find out it was blue skys back in Edinburgh!!) and I was pleased with my effort in the opening day.

The second day saw much better weather and scoring was going to be lower. I came in with a 69 ...never a bad score at Hacienda although I felt a little disappointed as I missed a couple of great chances coming in. Our team score again was 66 and lying third going into the last day we knew we needed something special to catch the leaders.

The last round started slow and the wind had change which made the front 9 play harder. I dropped a shot at the 8th hole par 3 to go 1 over and after having a chat with Richard going down the 9th we kicked into gear. I picked up a birdie 4 at 9 to go out in level and 4 under total for the tournament.

The score board had me at 5th and I knew if I had a good back 9 I could move in the right direction. I started with steady pars for the first 4 but then a managed a birdie 4 at the 14th to move to -5 ahead of my playing partner. I had a fantastic finish of 3 3 3 4 finishing with 3 birdies to come in -8 for the tournament and 68 best score of the day.

My friend George Woolgar won the Pro Am with a great -12 total and Ian Keenan had a solid week at -10 I came 3rd on -8 so it was another pleasing week out at Hacienda.

I am now back home and the next few weeks are pretty busy with practice, tournament golf and my 30^th birthday!!

Speak soon.

JG

I had the pleasure of playing West Lancs a couple of weeks ago in the 1836 Pro Tour. It's a mini tour that has started up this season. Me and my girl / caddy Lisa left to go down and take part in the 18 hole event on Monday the 21st of March. It was a bit of a journey down but to be honest getting a chance to play the beautiful Links again was a must. I had narrowly missed out in the open qualifying in 2006 so I have some great memories of the course.

My round started with a great 3 at the first holing a nice 20 foot put was the start of things to come. I quickly picked up a birdie 4 at the 2nd and I was well into my round and feeling good. Another 3 birdies followed in the first 7 holes and I was 5 under I dropped my first shot of the day at the touch 9th hole and I had covered 9 holes in -4.

I started the back 9 with a close wedge shot and another birdie I had a little slack spell over the next few holes but managed to up and down a couple of times and I was heading to the 15th hole 5 under. I struck my 2nd shot a 7 iron to 4 feet at the 15th and I moved to -6 a chip and put after to good woods at 16 and -7 I was on a roll. I came to the 17th hole, a very hard par 3 in good form but a slack tee shot left me in an impossible bunker shot I got it out to 20 feet and a dropped shot followed.

Playing the last - a demanding par 4 with water on the right and cross bunkers I decided to hit a 4 wood from the tee. This left me with a 179 second shot. I hit a 6 iron into a soft wind it went to about 2 inches and was probably one of my finest shots in tournament golf for a while. I tapped in for a round of 65 (-7). I tied with another 2 players at the top of the 73 man field.

SCORE CARD

3-4-3-3-4-3-3-4-5 (32) 3-5-3-4-4-3-4-4-3 (33) = 65

We celebrated with a Marks and Spencer sandwich from the motorway service station on the way back up the road!!

PING

I made my annual pilgrimage  down to Gainsborough  to visit PING HQ at the beginning of March and as usual I woke up at day break because a trip to PING is the equivalent of Christmas morning to a young kid...to stay I was excited is an understatement!!

I spent the entire day with Geoff Waddington trying out the new wedges, irons and woods and looking for the perfect combinations to complement my game. Geoff is an expert and works with the best names in golf – I trust his views and opinions completely and by the time I left I was happy with my tools for the season.

He was also kind enough to give myself and Lisa a tour of the factory to see first hand where the clubs are made, its an impressive facility and all the clubs destined for the UK, Europe and Africa are all made by the same tight knit workforce at Gainsborough. It was a really interesting tour and to actually meet the people who made my clubs what pretty cool!!

So HUGE thanks to everyone at PING...I hope I can do you all proud this season! J

JG

Got back last night from two and a half weeks in Murcia where I was taking part in my first tournaments of the season and my first outing since the disappointment of 2^nd stage of European Tour School last December.

I was playing the Hi 5 tour and it kicked of at Hacienda Del Alamo, where I played well enough tee to green over the 7000 yard course but my short game could not have been more rusty!! I had rounds of 78 & 74 and I missed the cut by a couple of shots.

But I managed to get back in quickly and put in a lot of good practice...especially on the short game! I was based at Hacienda and for those who haven’t been, it’s a must. For me I don’t think I have ever seen better golf facilities, the range chipping area and putting greens are first class and I couldn’t have wishes for better weather in February...t-shirts all the way.

For my last week in Spain I was lucky enough to be joined by my girl and part time caddy, who managed to get the week off work and flew out for my second Tournament at El Valle. El Valle is a Jack Nicklaus designed course and part of Polaris World. Below is a picture of the par 4, 10th hole

With my caddy on my bag we started well with a 66, and played some great golf and in contrast to my first tournament my short game and putting was tight. For my second round I had an early start, and after having no 5s on my card in the first round I started on the 10^th hole and opened with a bogey but  managed to make a couple of tidy birdies before I knocked my tee shot out of bounds for a double bogey!! After a further double bogey  (on my 11^th) I was a bit shaken to say the least but it was time to dig-in and in the last 6 holes I picked up two birdies to arrive back in the club house with a 72 (1 over).

I was pleased with my fight back and once again played some good golf. My total after two rounds was -4 which had me in 10^th but a massive 8 shots back from the tournament leader, former European Tour Star, Miguel Angle Martin.

My final round was solid and I closed with a 68, a total of -7 which put me in 7^th position and only 4 shot behind the winner. I was very pleased with most aspects of my game which had dramatically improved since playing at Hacienda Del Alamo. Having Lisa on the bag made me enjoy it that little bit more.

I am now back in Scotland and already missing my friends in Spain. I would like to thank Glenn Billington and his team at Hacienda for the use of there range and amazing facilities and a massive thank you to my good friend John Green and his fantastic lady, Yvonne (Pictured above) who welcomed me in to there home and looked after me so well...memories of the Christmas dinner (in February) will be with me forever!!

Catch up soon,

JG

On Friday 20^th may I am hosting a golf day at Swanston Golf Club to help raise funds for European Tour School 2011.

If you would like more information or an entry form you can download them below or just drop me an email at john@johngallaghergolf.com and i will email them out to you.

Thank you for all support and hope to see you on on the 20^th May!

All the best

 JG

http://www.johngallaghergolf.com/GolfDay.pdf

http://www.johngallaghergolf.com/EntryForm.pdf

Hey Guys, just a quick update on my preparation for 2011.

I have been hitting the gym to try and loose that ‘xmas spirit’ and get my fitness levels up for the long season ahead.

So on the 2^nd of January I went down to Boroughmuir Rugby club in Edinburgh and joined the Energy gym – I was really looking for somewhere I could get the peace to train, with great facilities and work with a trainer.

I have never really had a proper fitness programme, I usually just stick to running and cycling but when Craig Smith the fitness instructor asked if he could help me I thought the extra instruction would help keep me motivated and since I had no idea what half the high-tech machines did I thought he would come in handy!! J

Last year a good friend of mine Stuart Hutchison lost his life in a tragic accident – he was a great guy who loved his golf and is sadly missed... I will always miss Stuarts Old Firm banter - he was a rangers fan...and a good one at that!

To celebrate his life Stuarts family have put together the “Stuart Hutchison Memorial Calendar” which has some fantastic pictures of Stuart, his friends, family and his love of golf.  All proceeds from the Calendar are being donated to ClubGolf to be used to promote youth golf in the Lothian’s and Borders area.

If you would like to purchase a calendar you can email me directly at john@johngallaghergolf.com or pick one up from the Pro Shop at Swanston Golf Club and for all of you on facebook there is a dedicated page

http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=140341514853&v=info

I managed to get away to Spain last week to take part in the Glenn Billington Pro Am at Hacienda Del Alamo.

The event was held over 3 days a as 54 hole event. I took my team over a few days in advance to get used to the course which proved to be helpful given that we won the overall team prize with a -13,   -11 and a brilliant -19 to finish.

Thank you to Colin McClung of Swanston Golf and Jim and Greg Hamilton, my girlfriend’s dad and brother for taking part and for bringing home the title!!

I myself started well – we were playing off the yellow tees so the course was playing just over 6800 yards. I opened with a solid 69 not dropping a shot and carding 3 birdies. On day 2 I had another 69 which saw me move to -6 but a long way behind the clubhouse leader, Tom Whitehouse who shot 65, 66.

The last round started slow for me  and considering I was 7 shots back ended any chance of catching Tom but a great back 9 of -5 saw me close with a bogey- less round of 67 to finish -11. My game had been solid all week only dropping 1 stroke to par.

I ended up 4 shots behind Tom Whitehouse who was impressive to say the least carding -15 under for 54 holes  which was a great score.

One of the highlights of the week was chatting to Tommy Horton MBE. I was able to pick his brain and pick up some pointers on  the short game which I was able to carry over in to my rounds.

Being able to practice in 23 degree heat was amazing but that was last week...this week i will be back at swanston hitting balls in 8 degrees, bbrrrrrr!!

JG

I had the pleasure of playing up at Loch Lomond with my good friend and sponsor Steve Kelly last week. The course was in fantastic condition and I would recommend everyone if they get a chance to play it... you wont be dissapointed. I think it is the most beautiful place in Scotland by far!

I have uploaded my 2nd shot to 18 after smoking a drive over 300 yards I was left with a 52 gap wedge in. From the video you can see how pretty the golf course is and to think its virtually winter here the course was amazing......

Next for me is Spain for the Glenn Belington Pro Am fingers crossed I wont need jumpers for out in the sun..C-max t-shirts at the ready!

Happy golfing people catch you soon.

JG

While at Bunkerfest in May this year I had the pleasure of playing with Mike Lomas the inventor and designer of Smartcaddy.co.uk  and after having a go with his high-tech sleek trolley I really need to have one!!

As a travelling tour pro my car is always loaded up with cases, trolleys, clubs which I have to carry into my b&b or hotel at night and by far the most annoying thing is carrying the heavy trolley battery. The new smartcaddy has a lightweight battery (about the same as a bag of sugar) and lasts 36 holes which means I can put it in my golf bag for transporting around.

The trolley is amazing and looks fantastic and after only two rounds of golf I was using the  controls with my eyes shut .

Here is a picture of me on the par 3 course at Swanston with the new smart caddy...my girlfriend has been told this is a strictly for boys toy after her questionable driving skills nearly sent my clubs in to the burn!!

;-)

At the moment I am using a new Superio shaft in my i15 driver and its going great.  I am a typical golfer in that I love trying out new technology and after Dean Marks from Yamada Putters recommend the shaft I had to try it out.

 It feels solid and I have picked up about five yards  but what I like most is the consistency it offers -  I really feel my strikes are more consistent which makes ball placement so much easy on the course.

Oh, and it looks sharp!!

http://www.superioshaft.com/index.html

I have loaded up a little video for you to see the Superio in action...

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I gambled big this season with my choice of tour school venue. After recent efforts at Dundonald and Chart Hills I decided to look further a field and consider all the stations on offer.

I consulted my coach, Ian Rae and studied all the venues available before finally choosing Ebreichdorf in Austria.  From the start I liked the look of the venue, a tree lined course with tight fairways and fast greens which I felt would suit my game. It was also relatively easy to get to... it was quicker to get to Austria than it was to drive down south!! And the potential weather conditions were also a big factor and after my experience at Dundonald 3 years ago where it was so windy that some of the greens could get cut the projected temperatures of 14 – 16c in Austria was ideal.

The night before tour school...

After two practice rounds, I was as prepared as I could be for the the four days ahead. And after getting the clubs all organised the plan was to grab dinner and have an early night but on returning back to the hotel I began to feel unwell and spent most of the night awake with stomach pains and this lead to me being sick on the practice range the next morning!!

On the course I battled out a first round 72 (level par) before heading straight to bed feeling unwell and I then  followed that up with a two 70s (2 under)  which put me in 5^th position (4 under) at the 54 hole cut. My final round of 74 (2 over) secured my place in the 2^nd stage of European Tour School in Spain in late November...

I was so happy to make it through and to have played well but if I am being honest my stomach was still really bad that I just couldn’t wait to get home and in to my own bed!

The month of August was a busy one with four Euro Pro events.

I got off to a good start at Formby Hall but a disappointing last round saw me drop back to 20^th. After that my form dipped and I missed 3 cuts in a row leaving me feeling down beat.  But I headed back to Swanston to prepare for my final event at Slayley Hall and although I was strong tee to green the putts would not drop. I ran out of fingers to count the number of putts that lipped out! I shot 72, 71 for a 1 under total which was not good enough to make the cut.

Overall my season on Euro Pro has not been particularly satisfying and while I didn’t play as many events as I did last year (open qualifying and tour school dates clashed) I had expected to do better.

My dissapointment lead me back to the range where I spent the rest of the month working hard on every part of my game.

I disappointingly missed the cut in the Players Club at Bristol, the tough weather conditions coupled with a poor first round led me to miss the cut by two shots. Only 2 out of a field of 168 managed to break par but the journey back to Edinburgh was still tough on the brain.

There were no other Euro Pro Events in July and given my performance at Bristol I decided that rather than just keep practicing it was more important for me to keep playing so I headed down to play a couple of ‘Players Tour’ Events.

The Players Tour is a satellite tour based in the north of England which rather than the usual 8 hours drive I was able to drive 4 hours and get 36 hole of competitive golf.

My first event was at Wychwood Park near Crewe where I had a respectable opening round of 70 which put me in the final grouping for the second round.  I played well right up to the 17^th where I 3 putted and bogeyed the last two holes. A disappointing finish but these things happen on the golf course and I still managed to finish 3^rd.

Then it was off to Hopwood Golf course just outside Manchester where I had rounds of 67 & 70 to finish 2^nd.  I wasn’t hitting the ball as well as I had been but I still managed to find greens and fairways and score well on the day. When push come to shove, ill take an ugly shot as long as the outcome is a birdie!!

A quick dash home and then it was off Westerwood Golf Course near Glasgow for the next XL Tech tournament. I had no time for a practice round so it was a case of just turning up and teeing off in the tournament. I had Stewart Sneddon from Swanston Golf on the bag (which was full of cheese and onion rolls at his request!) I shot 3 under (68) in my first round followed by 1 over (72) in my second. While I wasn’t entirely happy with my second round performance I finished 5^th and was able to take a number of positives from the tournament.

Overall I didn’t make a fortune in July but I have definitely tightened up my game. I am now off to pack my case for the next Euro Pro Event...

Take care

JG

First of all sorry for taking so long to update my blog. I have been mega busy and it has been golf, golf, golf!

I sadly missed the cut at the Scottish Challenge Tour Event at Spey valley but after that I drove straight to Devon for the Euro Pro Event at Bovey Castle. I had three rounds of 72 and played nicely but struggled round the greens on the final day and finished 42 overall.

Local Open Qualifying

Next up was Local Open Qualifying at Monktonhall near Edinburgh where I recorded my best round as a professional with a 67 (second best score of the day) which consisted of 5 birdies and a single bogey.  I hit 16 greens in regulation made it through to final open qualifying at Ladybank golf course.

Galgorm Castle

But before that I headed to Ballymena in Northern Ireland for the Next Euro Pro Event at Galgorm Castle. I started with a great opening round of 5 under to lie 5^th. But a shaky start to my second round halted my progress and I carded  1 over ( 5 birdies, 1 double bogey and 4 bogeys)  for the day.  But my last round was solid enough to put me to 6 under for the tournament and 23^rd position overall.

Final Open Qualifying

From Ireland it was home for a quick change of clothes and then straight to St Andrews for Final Stage Open Qualifying. I arrived at Ladybank on the practice day in a buoyant mood but after 7 holes of my practice round I was forced to walk off the course fearing the worst. I had pulled a muscle in my neck and was unable to move my head. We managed to locate a chiropractor in St Andrews who was able to see me and after a session i was resigned to an afternoon of iceing my back and neck and  wondering if I was going to be able to play.

The alarm went of at 5am on the morning of qualifying and the pain in my back/neck hadn’t eased but my final decision to play was made easier by the fact I knew I had no tournaments for the next two weeks, it was a case of just going out and doing my best...and making friends with a packet or Ibuprofen on the way to the first tee!!

Swinging the club was so difficult and I was only able to give every shot  85 % but I managed to get round the first 18 holes in a respectable 72, (+1).

In the 2^nd round I said I would have to go for it and after missing a 5ft putt for a birdie on the first I managed to rattle 5 birdies in the next 8 holes to go out in 4 under. Starting the back 9 I knew If I could get something similar going I would be teeing up at St Andrews in the Open. Unfortunately that never happened and I came back in 1 over which was disappointing. A bogey on the 16^th from 130 yards and my open dream for 2010 was doneL. Two pars to finish and a great round of 68 came up 4 shots shy but after all I went through I felt I had done good and that not a feeling I have had for a while...

I am now home and after a couple of days rest I have been doing some light practice and getting myself organised for the next 6 weeks of solid golf. Off to Players Club in Bristol on Monday...will update you on my progress next week.

All the best

JG

For over a month now I have been using the Dream 54 putting aid from Yamada – it is so simple to use unlike many of the others I have tried and it has only one purpose – to get me grooving my stoke from straight back to straight through.

I find that having a pendulum putting stroke allows me to get greater consistency over my putting especially those putts from inside 6 feet.  I have now incorporated the aid into my daily practice routine, using it for about 15 per day as a warm up.

On tournament days I have been using it for 10 minutes to warm up and groove my stroke before making some practice putts and heading to the first tee.

The photograph below is of me warming up on the putting green at Burhill Golf Course in Surrey, you will see that I have put some tees around the hole just to make things a bit trickier. By challenging myself with little tests I can gain greater sharpness especially on faster greens.

Missed the cut at this weeks Euro Pro event at Burhill...there are no excuses just a simple lack of sharpness especially with the new conforming wedges. The course at Burhill was in exceptional condition and on a positive note I putted nicely on possibly the best greens I have seen in many years but a few slack shots cost me dearly.

But as usual no matter how hard you try to be organised and prepared for a tournament there are always things out with your control that can frustrate you ... This weeks frustration came when I arrived to play my practice round at 5pm on Monday only to be told they had closed the front nine  and that I could only play the back 9 and walk the front ....They say patience is a virtue well mine was well and truly tested  especially since I had phoned the day before to book a tee time and planned my journey around it.

 To play any championship golf course without a full practice round was always going to be hard. There can be no substitute for playing a course and I made some mistakes in my first round - a double bogey first hole which showed that.

My final scores were 73 and 74 which had me tied for 62 out of a field of 168 (top 50 and ties made the cut) left me missing the cut by two strokes. Given the errors and lack of practice round finding these shots over the coming weeks won’t be a problem.

I am now heading home for a change of clothes before heading to Ireland in the early hours of Monday morning and to give you all a laugh I have just found out that the course we are playing, Castle Dargan in co Sligo doesn’t have a driving range!!! So please keep your fingers crossed that I don’t get a 7:30am tee time as the closest range to warm up on is 10km from the course :-)

All the best

JG

Bunkerfest was everything I thought it was going to be and more - great weather, brilliant hotel and facilities, fantastic company of the best dressed golfers you have ever seen.  

My fourball consisted of Mike Lomas, the man with the best looking golf trolley ever, Hanjo who kept us entertained with his tails of the San Paulo golf club in Hamburg and Ian Woan, the former Nottingham Forrest star. You could not have got a more relaxed fourball and it was great to spend two days golfing with such a good group of guys who in there own right played some good golf.

With a marquee hosting  stands from hirzl gloves, stewart golf, golf mission and the latest bunker mentality clothing as well as crazy putting and micro golf challenges there was something for everyone  and the BBQ and DJ at the 19^th hole made for a great night. You just had to look at those suffering soreheads at breakfast on Monday to see that everyone had  had a good time! 

 I had to leave early on Monday for my practice round down at Burhill so I unfortuatly missed the awards ceremony but I need to congratulate , Mark Atkins who won the overall competition with  85 stableford points and walked away with a brand new Stewart golf cart.

With talk of another Bunkerfest in Septemeber followed by a Bunkerfest in Scotland next year it looks like the event is going to grow and grow.

A special thanks to Robert and Tamasine for organising such a great event and for looking after us all so well, looking forward to the next one already.

JG

This weekend I am off down to Belton Woods Golf course in Lincolnshire where my clothing sponsor, Bunker Mentality is holding its first ‘Bunkerfest’ tournament. It looks like it will be an action packed couple of days with some fun golfing challenges to test all the competitors.  It will also be great to catch up with my fellow Bunker Mentality ‘ambassadors’ and the perfect way to start the summer...fingers crossed for some good weather!

Will take some photos and put them online next week.

JG

After a good opening round of 68 I was in a good position at one off the lead. My round could have been a lot better as I started with 4 straight birdies and after a careless 3 put from 12 feet at the 5^th   a birdie at 6 put me back on track to 4 under. I disappointingly dropped 3 shots on the way back but picked up a birdie on 16 to finish 2 under for the round.

My second round got of to the best start when I birdied the 1^st but I dropped shots at the 2^nd, 4^th, 5^th and 7^th to go out in a very frustrating 3 over. I played the back nine well with my coach Ian Rae watching but struggled around the greens which meant I finished 4 over for the day and 2 over for the tournament.

I have to admit that my second round score left me feeling frustrated but on refection I was pleased with my new clubs (conforming grooves) first outing especially from tee to green although I was caught out 3 times with flyers as the distances and flight on the new wedges is definitely something that I will need to get used to and work on...so I will spending a fair bit of time on the pitching and putting area at Swanston this week.

I now have three weeks before I head down to Bunker Fest which is being held at Belton Woods and then straight on to the Euro Pro Event at Burhill Golf course.

Before I go I would like to congratulate Chris Kelly on a great start to the season - he won the first major Tartan Tour event at the Roxburgh last week as well as winning at Hilton Park by a stroke from Scott Henderson – well done mate!

JG

This week I have been preparing for the next event on the XLtec solutions golf tour which is being held at Hilton Park near Glasgow. It’s been a good week training wise and I have started using the new irons Geoff Waddington at Ping golf sent up last week. They are the same I15 set I got in December but I now have the conforming grooves in the new set.

The new grooves are not essential on the Euro Pro Tour but I wanted to spend time getting used to them and not rush the change and I am glad I did as there is a definite change with the new grooves and it will take time to get pitching and distances perfect, although I am confident I can pick it up quick and have a good tournament in Glasgow next week.

I had my practice round at Hilton Park golf course on Friday and the greenkeepers have done a great job preparing it. I was impressed with how well presented it was and having been a greenkeeper for 6 years I know how tough this winter has been on courses.

Will let you know how I go at Hilton Park on the next update.

Have a good week.
 
JG

While having a practice round at Hilton Park this week I made a small video about the new Hirzl gloves that I have been using -  sometimes seeing is believing!!
 
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The Hirzl glove has been designed to excel in wet conditions ( 4 times more grip ) but I have been using it all the time and it works perfect if you have sweaty hands in warmer weather. The glove retails for about £24.95 which you may think is a bit steep but the Hirzl glove comes with an unbelievable 3 month guarantee. I have been using mine for 3 weeks and the shape is still perfect with no wear and tear...so in the long run will save you money.

You can read more about them at (www.hirzl.com) or buy one at the bunker mentality web site (www.bunker-mentality.com)
 
I reckon Its going to be impossible not to love this glove but it would be great to hear what you think if you try one!!

Well that’s me qualified again for the Euro Pro Tour. But truth be told I had a good enough category from last years order of merit position (68) to get a full tour card but making the cut at this years final stage would improve my ranking.

After a couple of nice practice rounds at Frilford Heath and a quick catch up with Glenn Billington (putting coach) I moved to the tee in a good frame of mind...

My first round was a complete disaster, everything went wrong and I closed out with an 81 and was gutted to say the least.

After a score like that I headed back to the hotel to get my thoughts together and after an hours shut-eye I heading back to the range to sort my game out...it took a while!!

I was obviously in danger of missing the cut and I knew I needed a great round and thank fully I got that and shot 70 (3 under), the second best round of the day.

After making the cut I was looking forward to my third round and I played solidly enough but I dropped 4 shots in a row which killed my chance of a good score so I signed off with a 74. My game is all there but it needs some sharpening and a shot of confidence. Making the cut was obviously the main thing and that made the 8 hour drive back up the road just about bearable.

Next tournament is not for another two weeks but I am heading up to St Andrews on Friday to have my new wedges checked out and its my birthday on Saturday so I am looking forward to a bounce game  and a few beers with the guys.

JG

Had a great time at the Scottish Golf Show today – all the big golf companies were there with the latest innovations but what was really great to see was the numbers of juniors who turned up and with the indoor driving range and the pitching and putting competitions nobody seemed bored.

I made a beeline for the Hirzl Glove stand to catch up with John Lewis who had kindly sent me a few of the gloves to try. I wanted to let him know that the gloves are by far the best gloves I have ever used in wet conditions, my score in torrential weather at Whitekirk on Friday proved that. In the past I have found it difficult playing in the rain this is mainly because of my grip. When I hit shots my hands rotate slightly but in wet conditions it becomes virtually impossible to control, I found the gloves amazing...and I am not just saying that!

It was then on to visit my Clothing sponsor, Bunker Mentality where Robert and Tamsin showed me all the new t-shirts and toursers . I know guys shouldn’t get excited about stuff like this but the new designs and colours looked so sharp and it looked like most of the visitors to the Scottish golf show agreed as the stand was really busy.

Also managed to negotiate the one-way system round Glasgow in time to watch Celtic beat Kilmarnock, 3-1!!

JG

I spent this week preparing for my first tournament of 2010 as part of the XL Pro Golf Tour. This meant a trip down to Whitekirk Golf Course for a practice round that I had to abandon after a blustery 9 holes followed by an equally windy back 9 on my second attempt on Wednesday. I might have guessed that all this windy weather was the start of things to come...

I teed of at 8:10 on Wednesday and made two solid pars before the mist and fog descended and play was suspended for an hour. When play resumed we only got to play a further two holes before it was abandoned for the day. It is always disappointing for both players and organisers when a day of tournament play is cancelled but given the severe weather it was the only option.

This morning we headed back to whitekirk and while the mist had cleared, high winds and driving rain appeared so the waterproofs were  well and truly on as we stepped up to the first tee.

I started with a couple of good single putts which settled me down but the wet fairways and strong winds made the course play very long so I knew it was going to be a day for digging in. I finished up 1 over (73) which consisted of 15 pars, 2 bogeys and 1 birdie. The birdie came on the 18^th, which is always a great way to sign of a round of golf.

 From a strong field of 45 Scottish professionals I finished 5^th overall, hopefully my performance and result are the start of good things to come!!

Tomorrow I am off to the Scottish Golf Show at the SECC in Glasgow to catch up with the guys from Bunker Mentality and John Lewis from Hirzl gloves before dropping in to Celtic Park on my way home to see how the new manager gets on.

JG

After last weeks experience of being robbed we were all feeling a bit flat but they say every cloud has a silver lining and moving from Las Ramblas to Hacienda del Alamo proved just that.

The course and training facilities as Hacienda were amazing, the chipping area and golf range are amongst the best I have seen. But more importantly moving allowed me to receive some expert help from Glenn Billington the putting coach based at Hacienda.

My results from the SAM Putting lab were a bit of an eye opener but after my 3 hour lesson the improvements came thick and fast. We worked on changing my technique as well as my stroke.  His studio is fantastic and his website is well worth a look www.glennbillington.co.uk

After my lesson Glenn also came out to watch me play, for a coach to do that is just invaluable and allowed him to look at my putting stroke outside the studio and make a few further pointers.

It will take a while to grind in the changes but I hope with hard work and top up sessions with Glenn my new putting stroke will pay dividends throughout the season.

I managed to play Hacienda five times during my stay and even squeezed in a round with fellow pros John Green and Gary Wolstenholme, a round of golf with Gary is always a good laugh and very entertaining regardless of the score.  My ball striking has definitely improved during my time in Spain but the most pleasing thing was that putts started dropping!!

I am now back home and looking forward to my first tournament at Whitekirk Golf Course at the end of the month, which is part of the new Scottish golf tour www.progolftour.co.uk .

Just can’t wait to get started!

JG

Things got serious last night as the house we were staying in was broken into.... my girfirend and I woke up at 4:30am to find the burgler in our bedroom. 

The good news is that no one was hurt and that all our clubs and golfing gear which was in the living room upstairs was left untouched  except for one of Phil’s wedges which was taken my the thieves for protection.

 They did take some money and ipods that were in the lounge but luckily we had all taken our laptops, cameras and keys downstairs with us at night so the damage was minimal.

We are all a little shaken and to say the experience was terrifying would be an understatement. On the advice of the alarm company and for the sake of our sanity we are moving house this afternoon.

There will be no golf today.

It was 23 degrees today!!  So we visited a new practice facility ‘Lo Romero’ which had one of the best pitching areas I have seen so it was only right that James, Phil and I had a ‘pitch off’ - the two hour epic was close but I managed to pip the boys at the post for the title but a re-match is on the cards for Saturday.

Below is a picture of the signature 18^th hole at Lo Romero,  the amazing island green is right in front of the clubhouse – well worth a visit if you are in the area.

Got to Spain late on Saturday night where we were met by fellow pro James Busby and Phil Jones at the airport – the lads have been out in Spain for a few weeks now so were ready to show us around.

Woke up on Sunday to blue skies and headed straight to the golf course to stretch off after the long journey and get some practice in.

Managed to play Las Ramblas golf course in the afternoon which is a tight tree lined course with some testing holes but due to the cold winter the fairways were a bit scrappy and preferred lies were in use.   On Tuesday I had an early tee time at nearby Campoamor Golf Course. The course is built between to valleys which meant it was very sheltered but with a lot of hanging lies – I thought it was great and given the time of year the course was in great condition.

Also, just booked Fridays tee time at Villamartin Golf Course.  The Spanish Open  was held there in 1997 and so many people have told me  it has fantastic greens... I am counting the hours as there is only so much ‘grain’ a golfer can take!!

I am writting this blog from Newcastle Airport...my flight to Spain was due to take off at 1pm, we boarded the plane got comfy in our seats and then sat on the tarmac for an hour before being told the plane had a technical fault...the only positive is the free wifi in the airport terminal!!

The build up to going away has been positive after a lesson with Ian Rae and a great meeting with my mentor Charlie Jackson which has put me in a great frame of mind on regards to working on things while   I am away.

All I need now is a plane that works and some good weather when I FINALLY get to Spain!

JG

Its been another tough week weather wise which has meant I have been spending most of my time in the gym, I managed to run just over 25 miles last week which has been good for the waist line.

In the absence of short game practice I have been spending a lot of time planning some warm weather training - I am heading out to Murcia for three weeks at the end of this month and I still need to organise parking and car hire. The forecast is saying it should be 18 or 19 degrees which is just perfect for sharpening my game. My plan is to play four full rounds of golf a week with some intensive practice in between...putting and pitching will be at the top of the 'to do' list.

On a lighter note I manged to sneek in a trip to my favourite mexican for valantines day with my girl on sunday, at Mariachi's on Victoria Street in Edinburgh. The food was absolutley amazing.

12 days till spain... and counting.

JG

I managed to catch up with Graham Rankin today and I had the pleasure of playing 18 holes with him at Craigielaw. The course again was in absolutly fantastic condition and I would highly recommend going down for a game if you can.

Graham is a former European Tour pro and scottish champion who has played three walker cups so it was great to pick his brains and hear his stories. I also managed to pick up a few tips on my short game which will no doubt help for the coming season.

Over the past week I also managed to have a round at Kilspindie, Gullane 2 and Dunbar -  the golf may not have been as good as the banter (to be expected in frosty conditions and gusting winds) but getting some games under my belt has great for the fitness and long game sharpness.

Back to the gym i go...

Phew, the snow is starting to clear and the temperature is back in to plus figures...just!  

I have been at Kings Acre golf range a couple of times this week and it felt great to get the swing going again. I was asked by a member yesterday why I havent been to the range over this cold spell and I had to explain that after breaking my hand in 2007 (playing in the spanish amateur) hitting balls off hard mats in cold conditions can agrivate my hand. I would recomend that anyone going out to a range over the winter months warm up properly and stretch for at least five minutes beforehand. Over the years I have seen so many golfers do themselves and injury on the range.

Today I had my first full round of golf since the 15th of December, I went down to Craigielaw with one of my sponsors. The course was in amazing condition, with calm weather conditions and what a feeling it was to get back out there. I was driving the ball really well and I am loving my new PING I15 driver but I plan to work on my short game over the coming weeks, pitching from frozen sand is not very easy... note to self stay out of bunkers!!!

Got more games lined up this week - will let you know how i get on.

JG

There has ben snow on the gound for over three weeks which has made golfing virtually impossible so I have been focusing on my fitness at the gym up at Swantson. This has involved and hour and a half each day with a mixture of cardio, weights and stretching.
I am running four miles each day to burn calories but if I am honest i actually enjoy this part of my workout. The plus side is that the extra pounds gained over christmas and new year have started to drop off...this can only be good for the golf ;)

Desperatly looking forward to hitting some balls!!!

JG

Andy Brown from Home of Golf TV got in contact with me last year and asked me to take part in one of his films.

We had a great day up Swaston Golf Course and I am really pleased with how it turned out. The response from people sharing there experience of the 'cack handed ' grip was great - come on you cackers!!

Check out www.homeofgolf.tv for more videos and great tutorials on how to cut your handicap.

JG

2010 - New Year, New Website, New Blog

Welcome to my new blog.

I hope you will enjoy following my blogs and let me know what you think.

Here is to the new season - all the best.

JG