LAKE MACQUARIE MEN'S AMATEUR CHAMPIONSHIP

WELSHMAN WRIGHT BEST OF BRITS IN
FIRST ROUND IN AUSTRATLIA

FROM THE TOURNAMENT WEBSITE
There has been some good scoring in the first round of the Lake Macquarie men's amateur championship at Belmont Golf Club, New South Wales today.
New South Wales State representative, Jordan Zunic from Bonnie Doon Golf Club and newly crowned Australian Amateur Champion Tae Koh from New Zealand set the early pace at a very picturesque Belmont Golf Club with scintillating seven under par, bogey free rounds of 65.
Zunic was out in 33 with birdies on the first, fourth and seventh and stormed home in 32 carding birdies at the tenth, twelfth, seventeenth and eighteenth.
Koh was also out in 33 with birdies on the fourth, seventh and tenth and helped himself to birdies on thirteen, fifteen, seventeen and eighteen to come home in 32.
A number of players shot 4 under 68’s. Long Reef golfer Nathan Waters with five birdies and a bogey was very solid in the first round, as was Anthony Murdaca from The Grange Golf club in South Australia and Compton Pikari (NZ), both of whom mixed six birdies with a double bogey. Cameron Davis (Roseville), an eagle, three birdies and a bogey, Isaac Noh (Avondale), an eagle, five birdies and three bogeys and Jarryd Felton (WA), four birdies.
Mitchell Venables from Bankstown shot a 69 along with Dale Williamson from Killara and Austin Bautista from Bonnie Doon who had a mixed day with seven birdies and four bogeys.
LEADING BRITISH SCORES
Par 72
72 Charlie Wright (Neath, Wales)
73 Harry Casey (Enfield)
74 Matthew Scarfone (Wellingborough)
75 Craig Melding (Neath, Wales), Jack Bush (Morlais Castle)
78 Gus Mottershead (Foxhills)
80 Adam Batty (Beaconsfield).

HIGH WINDS AT BARRANQUILLA, COLOMBIA FOR SECOND ROUND

ENGLAND 1-2 AT HALFWAY IN SOUTH 

AMERICAN MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP

English players Paul Howard and Jimmy Mullen are 1-2 in the South American men's open amateur championship, supported by the R and A,  after 36 holes at Barranquilla Golf Club, Colombia
In a wind averaging 30mph, Howard had an excellent second round of three-under  69 for four-under 140 while first-round leader Mullen was blown away to a 77 for 143.
Ellon's Adam Dunton improved with a 74 for a share of 23rd place on 152 but Kirkhill's Craig Ross did not play well in the high winds and had an 81 for 158 and a share of 40th place.

MEN'S CHAMPIONSHIP
Par 144 (2x72)
140 Paul Howard (Eng) 71 69
143 Jimmy Mullen (Eng) 66 77
145 Garrett Rank (Can) 74 71, Mateo Gomez (Col) 73 72

SELECTED OTHER SCORES
149 Nicholas Marsh (Eng) 76 73 (T12)
152 Adam Dunton (Sco) 78 74 (T23)
154 Stephen Healy (Ire) 79 75 (T27)
156 Ashley Chesters (Eng) 76 80 (T34)
158 Craig Ross (Sco) 77 81 (T40)
159 Alastair Jones (Wal) 80 79, Stuart Grehan Ire) 80 79 (T42)
163 Lee Jones (Wal) 82 81.

+Aberdeen-born Gemma Dryburgh shares the lead in the South American women's amateur championship. Switch over to www.kirkwoodgolf.co.uk for the story and scores.

PAUL LAWRIE BUYS A STAKE IN YOUNG PRO'S 2014 CAMPAIGN

MALCOLM ISAACS, PLAYING OUT OF NEWMACHAR, AGAIN LOOKING TO SELL SHARES IN HIMSELF


 
By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com

Inverness-born PGA professional Malcolm Isaacs has fixed up an attachment with Newmachar Golf Club and will represent it on the Spanish Gecko Tour and the PGA  EuroPro Tour in the new season.
"I am looking to make a step up in 2014 and compete for a Challenge Tour card through the EuroPro Tour and the European Tour Qualifying School," said Isaacs who qualified as a
PGA pro at Nairn Dunbar before moving to Aberdeen in 2012.
Twice a winner of young pros' events on the Tartan Tour, Isaacs is again funding his tournament travels through a shares plan.
"My shares plan is very similar in structure to what Duncan Stewart has done and to what I did last year. Paul Lawrie has been of great support by taking 20 shares through his foundation," said Isaacs.
"I am excited about my attachment to Newmachar, a great golf course at which to hone my game. I plan to represent them and Paul's foundation well this year around the country.
"I have an information page on my website: http://malcolmisaacs.com/2014-shares.php
I plan to organise 'SHAREHOLDER DAYS' during the season which will include a round of
golf as a way of keeping in touch with everyone, and also through post-tournament blogs."
Isaacs' season begins next month on the Gecko Tour in southern Spain.
The entry fees are quite steep for each tournament on the PGA EuroPro Tour so Malcolm needs all the funding he can get through his shares plan.
If you want to "invest" in his 2014 campaign, you can E-mail him at

His website is available at:
www.malcolmisaacs.com

TWO WINS OUT OF TWO AT COSTA BALLENA

ENGLAND FAVOURITES TO WIN MEN'S
QUADRANGULAR IN SPAIN

England are hot favourites to win the men's international quadrangular tournament at Costa Ballena, Spain.
They followed up their first-day, clear-cut win over Finland by beating Germany 7-2.
At the same time, host nation Spain, who had been fancied to make home advantage count, surprisingly lost 5-4 to Finland.
So on the last day it will be England v Spain for the title. England have 2pt from two games; Spain 1pt from two games.
DAY 2 DETAILS

FINLAND 5, SPAIN 4
Foursomes: 1-2
Singles: 4-2

ENGLAND 7, GERMANY 2
Foursomes: 3-0
Ben Amor and Bobby Keeble bt Yannick Schutz and Raphael Geibler 6 and 4.
Jamie Bower and Paul Kinnear bt Male Von Blankenfeld and Matthias Schmid 7 and 6.
Rob Burlison and Adam Chapman bt Tim Bombosch and Niklas Mattner 2 holes.
Singles: 4-2
Amor bt Schutz 4 abd 3,
Keeble bt Geibler 6 anbd 4.
Kinnear bt Von Blankenfield 4 and 3.
Burlison bt Schmid 6 and 4.
Bower lost to Bombosch 3 and 2.
Chapman lost to Mattner 3 and 2.

REPORT AND SCORES FROM EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

RAFA RACES TWO CLEAR IN QATAR 

Rafa Cabrera-Bello raced into the halfway lead at the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters after a fine second round of seven under par 65 saw the Spaniard move to a 13 under total and establish a two-stroke advantage over South Africa’s George Coetzee.

Cabrera-Bello, a native of the Canary Islands, feels very much at home surrounded by palm trees and warm air on The European Tour’s desert swing and he hopes those comforting vibes can help him add the Commercial Bank Qatar Masters crown to the Dubai Desert Classic title he won in 2012. 

“I'm really happy, really pleased, and everything's going good so I'm enjoying myself,” said Cabrera-Bello.

“Playing in the desert at this time of year definitely feels like home.  I like playing in short sleeves a lot, I like a little bit of breeze, I like seeing palm trees and I like seeing sun around the courses.  It does remind me a lot of the Canaries, and it's kind of like I haven’t left home, so that's why I enjoy it so much.” 

South African native Coetzee is another player who prefers to play with the sun on his back. His three under 69 round the Doha Golf Club took him to second place – the same position he finished the tournament last year, alongside Sergio Garcia, one stroke behind eventual champion Chris Wood.

Garcia posted a fine 67 to make a move up the second round leaderboard on Thursday afternoon, but he will have to at least maintain that form if he is to have any chance of making up the seven shot deficit that Cabrera-Bello holds over him. 

Lying in a tie for third place on ten under, the English duo of Matt Baldwin and Steve Webster, along with Sweden’s Johan Carlsson, are better placed to mount a challenge on the leader going into the final two rounds.

SECOND-ROUND TOTALS

Par 144 (2x72)

131 R Cabrera-Bello (Esp) 66 65

133 G Coetzee (RSA) 64 69

134 J Carlsson (Swe) 69 65, M Baldwin (Eng) 68 66, S Webster (Eng) 65 69

135 T Lewis (Eng) 68 67, M Ilonen  (Fin) 68 67, R Wattel  (Fra) 67 68, T Aiken (RSA) 67 68

136 A Wall (Eng) 70 66, B Grace  (RSA) 67 69, F Calmels  (Fra) 66 70, A Cañizares  (Esp) 68 68, P Hanson (Swe) 69 67, J Daly (USA) 67 69

137 K Broberg (Swe) 69 68, T Olesen (Den) 68 69, S Gallacher (Sco) 69 68, G Bhullar (Ind) 67 70, S Dyson  (Eng) 68 69, P Lawrie (Sco) 67 70, D Van Der Walt (RSA) 65 72,

138 M Hoey  (Nir) 68 70, R Fisher (Eng) 66 72, S Thornton (Irl) 70 68, F Zanotti (Par) 69 69, S Garcia  (Esp) 71 67

139 H Stenson (Swe) 68 71, N Elvira  (Esp) 66 73, J Olazábal (Esp) 69 70, R Bland (Eng) 69 70, G Stal  (Fra) 69 70, S Manley (Wal) 69 70, S Kapur (Ind) 68 71, P Uihlein  (USA) 70 69, S Benson (Eng) 68 71, D Fichardt (RSA) 69 70, C Lee (Sco) 72 67

140 M Kaymer (Ger) 70 70, M Carlsson  (Swe) 69 71, T Hatton (Eng) 69 71, C Del Moral (Esp) 72 68, B Koepka  (USA) 70 70, D Foos (am) (Ger) 70 70

141 J Morrison  (Eng) 68 73, R Santos  (Por) 72 69, J Dufner (USA) 70 71, A Quiros  (Esp) 69 72, A Saddier (Fra) 70 71, M Crespi  (Ita) 70 71, L Donald  (Eng) 72 69, J Quesne  (Fra) 71 70, R Rock (Eng) 70 71, S Kjeldsen (Den) 70 71, C Doak (Sco) 69 72, T Jaidee (Tha) 68 73

142 R Derksen (Ned) 70 72, J Lima  (Por) 72 70, M Fraser (Aus) 74 68, J Singh (Ind) 71 71, W Ormsby (Aus) 72 70, M Siem  (Ger) 69 73, H Otto (RSA) 71 71, E Grillo (Arg) 72 70

143 L Slattery (Eng) 73 70, E Pepperell (Eng) 69 74, C Wood  (Eng) 73 70, T Fleetwood  (Eng) 73 70, R Dinwiddie  (Eng) 71 72, D Willett  (Eng) 71 72, M Foster (Eng) 72 71, S Hansen (Den) 73 70, P McGinley (Irl) 73 70, R Karlsson (Swe) 70 73, E Els (RSA) 67 76, V Riu  (Fra) 73 70

144 M Jiménez (Esp) 71 73, D McGrane (Irl) 70 74, R Sterne  (RSA) 74 70, J Walters (RSA) 71 73, P Waring  (Eng) 74 70, D Howell (Eng) 73 71, G Mulroy (RSA) 72 72, S Kim (SKor) 73 71, B Rumford (Aus) 73 71, S Lowry  (Irl) 76 68 
MISSED THE CUT

145 T Björn (Den) 74 71, R Gonzalez (Arg) 72 73, P Whiteford (Sco) 72 73, D Huizing (Ned) 73 72, R Green (Aus) 74 71, E De La Riva  (Esp) 73 72, G Storm  (Eng) 74 71, J McLeary  (Sco) 74 71, E Molinari  (Ita) 74 71, M Kieffer (Ger) 73 72

146 M Warren (Sco) 70 76, A Otaegui  (Esp) 72 74, R Finch  (Eng) 75 71, J Campillo (Esp) 74 72, B Stone (RSA) 76 70, R Jacquelin (Fra) 72 74,

147 G Havret  (Fra) 70 77, P Larrazábal (Esp) 71 76, A Levy (Fra) 79 68, B Wiesberger  (Aut) 71 76, J Dantorp (Swe) 79 68, J Jeong (SKor) 73 74, A Pavan (Ita) 72 75

148 A Sullivan (Eng) 71 77, A Al Kaabi (am) (Qat) 78 70

149 N Fasth (Swe) 79 70, M Madsen  (Den) 74 75, J Parry (Eng) 69 80, M Williams (am) (Eng) 74 75

150 J Hahn (USA) 74 76, G Maybin (Nir) 74 76

151 R Kakko  (Fin) 73 78, M Nixon (Eng) 76 75

152 J Kruger (RSA) 72 80

153 T Levet (Fra) 80 73, C Arendell (USA) 76 77,

156 J Hansen  (Den) 79 77, P Lawrie (Irl) 80 76,

157 A Al-Shahrani (am) (Qat) 73 84

EUROPEAN TOUR COMMUNICATIONS

FOR THOSE AGED 35 AND OVER

MID AMATEUR GOLF TOUR ANNOUNCE

SCHEDULE FOR 2014

Mid Amateur Golf (www.midamgolf.co.uk) are pleased to announce the schedule for the 2014 season that starts with a 36 hole event at The Open qualifying venue at Littlestone in Kent and will be the first event on the Mid Amateur Golf Tour Order of Merit, which was won last year by Stephen Creed of Maxstoke Park.

The schedule for 2014 includes events at Littlestone, Ganton, Royal Blackheath, Machynys Peninsula, Sunningdale, Hankley Common, Liphook, Porters Park, Berkhamsted, Hollinwell, Old Fold Manor, Berkhamsted and many more with the event at Machynys Peninsula forming part of the R and A and USGA World Amateur Ranking for 2014. (WAGR)

“2013 was a great year for us with more and more people joining the tour and entrant numbers increasing and 2014 promises to be even better with a revised format for the Order of Merit with some great prizes and a grand final overseas.”  commented Jason Morris, Director of Golf at Mid Amateur Golf. 

“For 2014 players will be able to compete in a year-long series of events at some of the best courses in the UK and will be trying to qualify for the complimentary finals day at Moortown Golf Club on the 8^th October where 6 lucky winners will be whisked off to an overseas venue for an all-expenses paid grand-final.” added Jason.

The Mid Amateur Golf Tour is open to any male golfer aged 35 years or over on the day of play and anyone with an active CONGU handicap can enter to play.   

There is no ballot system with the events that are run by Mid Amateur Golf – they are on a first come first served basis which allows everyone the opportunity to enter and play in the events.  You do not need to be a member of the tour but only tour members can win the order or merit and qualify for the finals day at Moortown. 

There is also a new Team event in 2014 being held at The Wildernesse Club in Kent which has a limited field and is already half full.

“The Mid Amateur Golf Tour is rapidly becoming the tour to compete on.  The best courses, professionally organised and some great prizes – what more could you want?!” 

Players can register for the tour and order of merit at www.midamgolf.co.uk.

                                MID-AMATEUR SCHEDULE 2014      
Event              Venue        Date        H/C Limit     Entry Fee
                                       
Mid Amateur Open        Littlestone            April 2nd          12        FCFS        £75
Midland Mid Amateur   Wellingborough    May 15th            9        9               £38
Mid Amateur Open        Royal Blackheath  May 16th         12        NONE       £95
Mid Amateur Open        Old Fold Manor    May 23rd           9        7                £60
Mid Amateur Open        Ganton                  May 30th          12        FCFS        £95
Welsh Mid Amateur       Machynys Peninsula  June 12-13   12        FCFS        £100
Mid Amateur Open        Vicars Cross        June 28th            11        New event  £30
English Mid Amateur     Worksop              July 4th - 6th        9        5                TBA
Mid Amateur Open        Hollinwell           July 13th              6        7                 £60
Mid Amateur Open         Letchworth         July 14th               9        New event  TBA
Mid Amateur Open        Wildernesse        July 18th              18        FCFS         £260
Mid Amateur Open         Farnham             July 25th              18        NONE        £30
Dartmoor Trophy           Woodbury Park   July 31st                7        7                TBA
Mid Amateur Open        Hankley Common August 8th            5        4                £70
Gerald Micklem Cup     Sunningdale         August 29th           2        1                TBA
Mid Amateur Quaich     Berkhamsted        September 10th     9        6                TBA
Mid Amateur Open        Porters Park         September 15th    TBA        6           TBA
Mid Amateur Open        South Herts          September 17th    TBA        8            TBA
Pearson Trophy              Liphook               September 20th    8        5                  £50
Mid Amateur Open        Trevose                September           TBA        9             TBA
                                       
Scottish Mid Amateur    TBA                  TBA                        12        FCFS        TBA
                                       
                                       
Tour OOM Finals Day   Moortown         October 8th        N/A        Qualify        FOC
                                       
Mid Amateur Golf Tour  Overseas        Feb/Mar 2015        N/A        Qualify        FOC
Grand Final                                       

                                   FCFS .. First come, first served (entries)

GERMAN KNAPPE WINS TURKEY PLAY-OFF

DAVID LAW FINISHES JOINT FIFTH IN 
DEFENCE OF SUENO DUNES CLASSIC

FROM THE GERMAN PGA PRO GOLF TOUR WEBSITE

With a brilliant final round seven-under-par 62 and a play-off victory over Faycal Serghini from Morocco on the first extra hole German Alexander Knappe secured himself the trophy of the Sueno Dunes Classic 2014 in Belek/Turkey. 
On the final day of the first tournament of the 2014 season the 24 year old from Brilon climbed from T13 to the top of the leaderboard and birdied hole 18 twice in a row just at the right time.
"I am absolutely happy and I never expected to win when I teed off this morning", Knappe said after the triumph that also makes him the first No. 1 of the Pro Golf Tour Order of Merit in this young season. 
After scoring rounds of 68 and 69 on the par 69 Sueno Dunes golf course on days 1 and 2 in Belek Knappe made eight birdies in his third round 62 and only one bogey. 
This brilliant performance let him improve from T13 to T1 and made him a participant of a play-off with Faycal Serghini who also finished on eight-under-par 199. 
The Moroccan scored 68, 65 and 66
In the play-off both used their driver from the tee of the 360m par 4 18th hole.

Knappe's shot found the middle of the fairway but Serghini ended up in the semi rough. From there he saved par with a brilliant up and down but Knappe's winning birdie putt found the centre of the hole from seven or eight feet.. After a short break of only one day tomorrow when the field will play their practice rounds the players will tee off again on Saturday when the first round of the Sueno Pines Classic is scheduled. 

SUENO DUNES CLASSIC
Belek, Turkey
LEADING FINAL TOTALS
Par 207 (3x69)
199 Alexander Knappe (Ger) 68 69 62, Faycal Serghini (Mor) 68 65 66 (Knappe won sudden death play-off with birdie at first extra hole).
200 Moritz Lampert (Ger) 65 70 65
201 David Antonelli (Fra) 67 68 66
202 David Law (Sco) 65 67 70, Fabian Becker (Ger) 67 68 67, Fernando Garcia Grout (Spa) 68 67 67
203 Ramon Schilperoord (Net) 66 69 68
204 Tiago Cruz (Por) 64 69 71, Ahmed Marjane (Mor) 70 68 66
OTHER SCOTS' TOTALS
211 Jordan Findlay 72 68 71 (T34)
213 Kris Nicol 72 70 71 (T39)
215 Conor O'Neil 70 72 73 (41st)
216 Philip McLean 72 67 77 (T41).

GOLF AND LEISURE RESORT NEAR DUNDEE BECOMING A MUST-VISIT VENUE

NEW-LOOK PIPERDAM AFTER £250,000 INVESTMENT BY OWNERS

 A drawing of how the Pipedram 14th will look.

NEWS RELEASE 

Piperdam Golf and Leisure Resort, Dundee is bucking the trend by investing £250,000 this winter on an exciting redevelopment of its 18-hole Osprey course. 
While other clubs in the country have tightened their belts in the last couple of years, Piperdam, located a mere 2.5 miles from the city of Dundee, have invested in the future with the appointment of a new PGA professional, construction of a fabulous nine-hole “wee piper” golf course, improvements to the driving range and short game area and an extensive clubhouse extension, housing the new professional shop and bespoke changing rooms. The restaurant has also been extended out to the edge of the loch, allowing wonderful views to accompany the already well renowned and excellent food. 
Since Piperdam's Osprey course was opened in 1998 it has matured with age, but it has to be said that during the early years many found it rather hilly and uninspiring and not well prepared to accommodate golfers of all ages and ability. However, those days are gone. The Piperdam of today has developed into a well maintained parkland course offering wonderful views, many bordered by water, a fantastic blend of holes that are a challenge, however very playable to all levels of golfer, and with clubhouse, leisure and restaurant facilities second to none. 
Piperdam's rise out of mediocrity started when Shaun Anderson was appointed head greenkeeper. 
Through his and his team's dedication, enterprise and expertise, and the backing of considerable investment from the owners on new equipment, the course developed year-on-year. 
In 2010 PGA professional Owen Leslie was appointed as Director of Golf. Under Owen’s guidance the golf offer, in particular the development of member coaching and golf schools and development of the club golf shop, has grown. In recent years turf quality of the teeing areas, fairways and greens at Piperdam have proved a match for any.
There remained, however, some major issues regarding the lay-out and design of a number of areas of the course. By taking the views of both members and visiting golfers into consideration, Piperdam identified that Hole 5 was regarded as having an overly severe climb from tee to green, for the enjoyment of the majority of golfers. 
Also the carry over water hazards on a number of holes was excessive for ladies, seniors, juniors and high handicap/beginner golfers. The position, too, of some of the lateral water hazards was deemed, by the same group of golfers, to be badly positioned in relation to course strategy. 
It was difficult to hold a tee shot on the fairway of Hole 8, due to the very strong sideways slope on the fairway. The approach the green, on this already challenging Par 4 , was ”blind“ for the the vast majority of golfers.
Par 5 holes were all a bit too long and uninspiring. The way ahead was clear, the great improvement in turf and playing surface condition was not enough, substantial changes had to be made to provide a golf course that could actually be played and enjoyed by all levels of golfer.
Furthermore the aim would be to create a golf course full of challenge, great yet fair strategy and more “risk and reward” holes that would provide enjoyable and exciting golf for all. 
The man charged with the task of carrying out this transformation was renowned Scottish golf course architect, Graeme Webster, and his talented band of construction specialists at 'Team Niblick"
Reflecting on the challenges faced, Webster confirmed that he is enjoying playing his part in making Piperdam a must-play venue, when he said:
"I have been working with Owen and Shaun on the Piperdam redevelopment for a number of years now, with a series of "off-season" upgrades and improvements.These consisted of mainly repositioning and reshaping of bunkers and drainage work. 
"Autumn 2013 ,however, saw us embark on the most ambitious project of course changes. The owners, Phil and Lynda Mulholland, have shown great faith and ambition, investing circa £250,000.00 to support the changes. 
"Piperdam has never really appealed to the lady, senior, junior or high handicap golfer due, in the main, to the very long forced carries over water at holes one, 11 and 12, the hill climb on hole 5 and the very severe slope of the 8^th fairway.
"All of these issues have been identified and are being rectified ,in a project we passionately call 'The New Course-Piperdam’ 
"Hole 1 will see a new ladies /senior tee constructed around the edge of the loch where the tee shot will play along the loch edge, to a new shaped area of approach, that will welcome shots played in from the new tee site.
"The green site will be re-bunkered to accommodate tee shots from both the existing and the new tees.
"A new ladies/senior tee will be built on the llth hole, greatly reducing the all or nothing carry to a less demanding 50 metres. 
"A section of the stream that crosses the 12th fairway,will be piped at the common driving distance for ladies and seniors , creating a new area of fairway.
"The water features on either side of this new area of fairway will be enlarged and reshaped, retaining the drama of the tee shot. 
"We have decided to completely remove the fifth, which involved a steep climb to its greensite, and sixth holes.To accommodate this change ,we have remodelled a number of holes on the more gently undulating lower section of the course,where we have space and available unused areas to comfortably accommodate the changes.
 "The Par 5 holes 15 and 18 have always been deemed as overly long and a little “bland”,with water features being positioned poorly in relation to playing strategy. Both holes have been shortened ,re-bunkered and had their water features repositioned and reshaped to provide two exceptional and very strategic Par 5s, with fairer and greater “risk and reward” options.
"Two outstanding new Par 3 holes now nestle into the new layout at holes 15 and 17.
"The old 17^th hole, at 220yds an overly long Par 3 for many, has been extended to a short  par 4 with various tees being positioned to provide “risk and reward” options for the golfer of between 250 and 311yds.
 "Around three dozen established fir trees have been transplanted down the right hand side, to frame and shape the hole. 
"The former 8^th hole, much maligned for its strongly slopping fairway,will be totally transformed with the reshaping and re-contouring of the fairway.
"The high ground between landing area and green site will also be lowered in the shaping works,allowing a view through to the greensite from the currently “blind” second shot. 
"I have no doubt at all ,that Project 'The New Course-Piperdam' will produce changes and upgrades to the 18 hole golf course that, supported by the wonderful “off course” facilities  and the continued investment and commitment  by the owners to providing first class quality and service, will firmly position the resort near the top of Scotland’s “must play” and “must stay” golfing venues. 
Piperdam's Director of Golf and resident PGA Professional Owen Leslie was equally upbeat about the future when he added: 
"I have been delighted with how things have progressed and seeing our plans come to fruition is really exciting. Graeme and his team are obviously experts at what they do, and the quality of their work has exceeded my expectations. 
"It has also been great to see how Shaun and his greenkeeping team have been able to play their part ,in working alongside the Niblick specialists in the construction works .There could hardly have been a more exciting winter project for them.
 "Over the winter Piperdam will undergo a miraculous transformation, by the time the season gets underway it will boast a very different layout which will complement the exemplary course conditions and exceptional playing surfaces.

"Anyone heading to Piperdam this spring will be amazed at its transformation, and delighted with what will be on offer.
"Despite the huge investment in the creation of the 'The New Course-Piperdam'  and its wonderful off course facilities ,membership and golf will still remain available at tremendously competitive rates. Adult  memberships, for example, are available for as little as £32 per month. 
"This also includes a host of benefits, including unlimited golf on both courses, buy-one-get-one-free on range-tokens, an unlimited number of member's guests throughout the year, and reduced member rates for everything from lessons and golf-buggies, to food and drinks in the bar and restaurant.
"And as a last thought. One of the biggest concerns from most golfers today is that most clubs go onto winter hours (some from October-March) with their clubhouse opening times and catering with limited menus. 
"Not so at Piperdam, where the restaurant and full catering are available 365 days a year and where a warm open fire and friendly staff are there to welcome you on a cold winter's day. 
"With the magnificent changes to the golf course, off course and leisure facilities, could Piperdam be on the verge of producing one of the finest offers available in Scottish golf?" 

PIPERDAM YARDAGES
All par-71
Black tees - 6,295yd
White tees - 6,139yd
Blue tees - 5,801yd
Red tees - 5,154yd  

DATES FOR ABERDEEN GOLFERS' DIARY

FROM STEWART ALLISON
Aberdeen Links Championship Secretary
After consultation with the clubs and players, the 36-hole qualifier for the Aberdeen Links championship will will be held on the weekend of  Saturday/Sunday, May 25/26 instead of over two consecutive weekends as in the past.  
This will reduce the duration of the programme from three weeks to two.
.

ABERDEEN LINKS CHAMPIONSHIP 2014

23^rd May             Seniors’ Strokeplay 1^st Round

                   

24^th May             Links Championship/Murray Cup

                    1^st Qualifying Round

25^th May             Links Championship/Murray Cup

                    2^nd Qualifying Round

30^th May             Seniors’ Strokeplay 2^nd Round

 

 MATCH-PLAY PROGRAMME

26^th May             1^st Round – Links Championship

27^th May             1^st Round – Murray Cup

28^th May             2^nd Round – Links Championship

29^th May             1^st Round – Handicap Shield

                    2^nd Round – Murray Cup

30^th May             Quarter-finals – Links Championship

                    Quarter-finals – Handicap Shield

                    Quarter-finals – Murray Cup

2^nd June             Semi-finals – Links Championship

                    Semi-finals – Handicap Shield

                    Semi-finals – Murray Cup

4^th June             Final – Handicap Shield

                    Final – Murray Cup

6^th June             Links Championship Final