Hi folks and welcome to the latest edition of my newsletter.

Last weekend we had my first Professional's Day at Pumpherston and we could not have asked for better weather. This led to some brilliant scores and lots of compliments for our greenkeepers who had the course in tip top shape. 

The eventual winners were Ross Adamson and Alan Quilter with a nett 60 and walked away with two lovely TaylorMade SLDR drivers. Well done lads and indeed well done to all who played, 162 of you in total. Fantastic!

Here are some pictures from the day:

Also that day we had a fantastic raffle with the new Powakaddy fw3 electric trolley up for grabs. The lucky winner of that was Harry Gordon - pictured below with his winning trolley.

This week we have the Club Championship qualifier. Good luck to all that play, let's hope the weather is good and the golf should follow.

One easy way to keep play moving

Ever since a shepherd waited a few seconds too long for four distant sheep to move out of range, slow play has rarely been off golf's agenda. Most solutions prompt more argument than agreement. But there's one answer we can all agree on, and that's a basic understanding of the rules.

No one expects encyclopaedic knowledge of all 34; but a five-minute debate on where to drop out of a water hazard - or how to take relief from a staked tree - contributes directly to snarling up the course. There are a handful of situations that crop up regularly in a round, and we all know what they are. It's every golfer's responsibility to know how to take prompt and correct action when they arrive.

It won't cure slow play in itself, but knowing the common rules is an easy way to remove part of the problem. And that's not a bad start. If you would like clarification on any rules click here.