LGMS at Royal Troon Golf Club – Portland Golf Course
It’s hard to believe we’re into March already for 2023, and the first event of this schedule was the PGA 4-Ball Event at Troon Portland. Always nice to go to an Open venue such as The Royal Troon Golf Club and despite not playing the championship course, Troon Portland is still a decent test.
With my usual teammate from last year, we played with a couple of friends who we’ve known for over 20 years. One of them is a former SPGA Champion and the other has reached the top 10 rankings in the Order of Merit for many years.
Both are very good players and decent gents. Out of the 4 in our group, 3 of us have attended LGMS events and all know what we are trying to do.
With a beautiful clear blue sky, although chilly, it was pleasant to play in the sun. Not too much chat over the front 9 apart from the usual pleasantries but we all know each fairly well so this was to be expected.
We were a couple of shots behind the guys for most of the game and mainly due to a poor hole early on. Sometimes it’s good to chase your playing partners as it gives a constant target to aim for. If you don’t beat them then you can’t win!
I got the opportunity to chat with one of my partners about a recent health issue and just wanted to check he was ok. He mentioned that it wasn’t good and even ended up in the hospital but eventually got it sorted. I remember messaging him when it happened last year and just wanted him to know he was in my thoughts. We both are not that young anymore and it’s important to look after ourselves as much as we can.
We kept pushing to get closer to our playing partners but every time we closed the gap they would just increase it again.
It kept us pushing but I could sense we were never going to better them.
After a decent back 9, we finished well, but the front 9 was not good enough for us to challenge.
A good day for the first game of the year and good partners to play with, but no win, unfortunately.
We all decided to have a bit of lunch afterwards and this gave us the chance to have some more relaxed conversation.
The guys mentioned how difficult it is to compete with online retailers and this is leading to some of them questioning how long the PGA Pro can keep going with their shops.
The Industry has changed but the word is many of them are considering other ventures. Not really surprising in today’s economic climate but still very sad.
With this in mind, I treated everyone to lunch and this was much appreciated. I’ve always felt providing a meal for anyone is a special thing to do.
I mentioned that LGMS normally provides a meal at our events and I would just like to do something nice for them for no other reason.
As we said our goodbyes I hoped we would meet again at one of our events and I would be in touch once some dates were confirmed.
It’s clear to see that everyone is struggling with one thing or another and it’s even more important to be there for anyone who needs us in the coming year.
With so much being forced on us all such as financial hardship, sexual orientation and fear of war, to name but a few, I did get the opportunity to mention that when all the chips are down most people know what’s right and what’s not. It’s imperative that we don’t lose our hope and faith.
I am hopeful of meeting a couple of the guys socially over the coming months so we’ll see where that takes us.
On we go.
Vincent Brown, PGA Professional, LGMS Ambassador to the Tartan Tour.