All Change at the Top…

Whether or not Tiger has won back the support of the golfing world, he has certainly regained some of his old form on the golf course with his recent victory at the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill in Florida. Is this him staging his comeback in a bid to reclaim his number one title again? It’s his first PGA Tour win since 2009 and sees him climb to 6th in the world rankings. It certainly sees him in fine form heading into the Masters so only time will tell if he’s got another green jacket in him.

European, and in particular UK, golf would appear to be in a pretty secure place right now judging on performances we have seen in recent tournaments. Lee Westwood, Rory McIlroy and Luke Donald are representing us well and consistently – having dominated the top three spots in the world ranking now between them.  On a Scottish note, former Open Champion, Paul Lawrie, hinted at a return to his previous form with his win in Doha at the Qatar Masters helping him to climb back into the top 50 in the rankings from his previous position at 78th; the first time he has been in the top 50 since 2003. This was his second win at the event, his last in 1999 so let’s hope that there’s more to come from him.

An interesting time was had for Fife golfer, Peter Whiteford, recently too as we saw him disqualified from the action at the Avantha Masters in New Delhi over a ball moving incident. It just shows that it pays to trust your instincts. He thought his ball might have moved but this was confirmed as not true by an official and his caddie. Footage of the day’s play was studied by the tournament officials overnight and it was confirmed that his ball had moved but he hadn’t acted accordingly therefore he was disqualified. He had been leading the field in the first two rounds and had been one off the pace in the third. A mistake that will certainly not be made again. On a more positive note, let’s hope that East Neuk lad, George Murray’s, third place finish at the 2011 Dunhill Links Championship  in October is only the start of great things to come.

With so much emphasis on the 2012 Olympic Games coming to London this year, it is easy to forget that the Ryder Cup will be coming to town, well almost, in 2014 when it takes up residence at the PGA Centenary Course at Gleneagles. It will certainly be some spectacle and we are very lucky to have it so close to the Home of Golf. Keep your eyes peeled for the latest on what the Old Course Experience can offer for the Tournament. In the meantime, why not start planning your very own Old Course Experience and leave your own mark on the hallowed fairways of the Old Lady?

(LR)

Ten Truths from Auld Scotia

Over the last few weeks Scotland has been very present in the news with yet further talks and debates on her possible independence, or impending independence, depending on your point of view. This week saw Scottish tradition come to the fore once again as we celebrated the life and works of the national bard, Robert Burns at traditional Burns Suppers up and down the country on his birthday, the 25 January. We moved from the highs of the haggis and whisky-fuelled celebrations to the tense yet ultimately deflating Scottish tennis performance at the Australian Open by Andy Murray – so near yet so far, again – maybe next time? Do not despair though as with all the media attention focussing on Scotland recently there have been numerous interesting articles published , some serious and some not so much! We stumbled across an article in the Daily Telegraph entitled ’50 Fascinating Facts you should know about Scotland’. Although I’d love to spend hours extolling the virtues of our fine land, I’ve picked out just a few light-hearted favourites to share with you;

1. The shortest scheduled flight in the world is one-and-a-half miles long from Westray to Papa Westray in the Orkney Islands of Scotland. The journey takes 1 minute 14 seconds to complete.

2. Scotland has approximately 790 islands, 130 of which are inhabited.

3. Like Rome, Edinburgh was built on seven hills and the capital has more listed buildings than anywhere in the world.

4. Scotland had its own monarch until 1603. After Elizabeth I died, James VI of Scotland also became James I of England, ruling both countries.

5. St Andrews Links is considered the “home of golf”; the sport has been played there since the 15th century.

6. Queen Victoria is reputed to have smoked cigarettes during her visits to the Highlands of Scotland to keep away midges.

7. The very first recorded appearance of the elusive Loch Ness Monster occurred in 565 AD, when a “water beast” attacked one of St. Columba’s followers in the loch.

8. Scotland’s smallest distillery, Edradour in Pitlochry, has 100,000 visitors per year but produces just 90,000 litres of malt whisky.

9. There are as many Scottish people living in North America as in  Scotland, with censuses in the United States and Canada identifying around five million people claiming Scottish ancestry.

10. It is home to 19 universities and institutes of higher education, including St Andrews, where the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge met.

How they managed to narrow it down to just fifty facts I’ll never know but if number five has whetted your appetite then contact us at the Old Course Experience for more information on how to guarantee your place on the hallowed fairways of the Old Lady.

(LR)

Sources: The Daily Telegraph online http://tgr.ph/zKYtTl

Five Fun Facts from OCE’s 2011…

We’ve had a little time now to catch our breath and re-surface here at the Old Course Experience after a very busy 2011 season and have dug up some light-hearted facts and figures for you from over the summer…

1. Thousands of golfers from over 26 nationalities guaranteed their place on the Old Course this summer with us.

2. Old Tom Morris himself rose from the grave to visit clients some four times with his local friend David Joy throughout the season!

3. Over twenty-two hotels have been visited by our clients throughout Scotland this year and almost twice as many golf courses (with the same again that could be explored!)

4. 172 scorecards have been marked in OCE Tournaments this year – here’s to even more next year.

5. Three lucky OCE golfers ensured that they will not forget their time in St Andrews by achieving holes in one during their trips!

Why not join in the fun and create your own OCE statistics next season? Contact us now to find out how we can guarantee that your golfing dreams turn into the experience of a lifetime.

(LR)