PGA Stableford at Western Gailes
9th March 2022
PGA Stableford at Western Gailes, It has been a long wait to get back into competitive golf and I was looking forward to playing at Western Gailes for my first event of the year.
I’d been paired with my old Westerwood colleagues, Alan Tait and Stephen Gray, so more of a friendly game rather than the feel of a tournament.
The forecast was not kind and Western does have a habit of being excessively windy with this being no exception. So much for a nice easy game to ease us into the season, not a chance!
The Wind Did Blow
A constant 40mph wind which was almost borderline unplayable but we made the best of it. After a few holes we all just looked at each other and it then became a bounce game among friends. We chatted about our current work commitments, family and the troubles in Ukraine.
It’s always hard to have meaningful conversations while playing, never mind when you can barely hear each other due to the wind, but we did ok mainly because we have so much history together. Stephen managed to get it around reasonably well despite the conditions but it was a struggle for Alan and I being our first competitive game of the year.
One positive was the amount of pitching practice we got in due to the difficulty in hitting greens, but it helped to get the confidence up in that area at least. Great turf to pitch off!
Chat about Pro-Am
We managed to escape the afternoon rain and all decided to have a bite of lunch in the clubhouse where we were joined by fellow Pro Gareth Hardy. I mentioned to the guys that LGMS were hopeful of holding a ProAm at Dundonald later this year with a guest speaker, and Gareth is keen to bring a team but it will be a month or two before we confirm the date.
Stevie also asked if we were going to do some smaller events again and I confirmed we would be holding a couple of the ‘Logos Friendlies’ during the summer. He and one of the other Pros who has attended our events previously had a fallout last year and still haven’t made up, so I called him on that and said he really needs to sort it out for his own well-being and the right thing to do.
We want everyone to come along who wants to attend no matter who is there or not.
Alan and I were the last to leave and as we walked to our cars we talked about how privileged our lives are compared to so many people who have now been made homeless in an instant due to the very selfish war that is taking place in Eastern Europe.
I just gave him another hug and said well catch up again soon and that I’m there for him anytime he wants a few holes or a bite of lunch.
He knows where I’m at it’s really his call to press me more on faith and God when he’s ready.
I did have a thought about introducing a ‘topic for the day’ in our smaller events and this would give us all something specific to discuss together. Themes could be ‘Why do bad things happen to good people’ or ‘If God is there why does he seem so silent’.
These are just a couple of many but it’s time to throw the line out a bit further now. I’ll run it by the guys on Tuesday at Troon Portland for a trial run and see what they think.
Yours In Christ,
Vincent Brown
PGA Professional and Ambassador for Logos Golf MInistries Scotland