FORMER PGA champion Andrew Oldcorn has given a glowing endorsement to a computer programme that has been created by a fellow Edinburgh-based golf professional.
Sandy Stephen, who has been giving lessons at the Braid Hills Golf Centre for more than a decade, has devised what he believes is the "complete analysis tool" for golfers of all abilities.
The Personal Golf Analyser is a computer application creat
ed in MS Excel and details of a player's round are entered in the simplest of fashions – course, tournament, par, score, putts, fairways missed, putt lengths etc.
"It all started a couple of years ago when a couple of people who knew I was pretty good on the computer asked me to do a wee thing for them to keep a note not just of scores but how many putts, fairways hit and missed etc," said Stephen. Over a two year-period, during which I studied a bit more about computing, I was able to make that programme better and now I believe I have a pretty good product."
Oldcorn, who enjoyed his finest hour when winning the PGA Championship, the European Tour's flagship event at Wentworth, certainly thinks so.
"Andy was up at the Braid Hills Golf Centre recently and I showed him the programme," added Stephen. "His eyes lit up and he said it was better than the programme the Tour use.
"Paul McKechnie, one of the other professionals based at the Braid Hills, is using it at the moment and the great thing about this programme is that it's not handicap based – everyone can use it. It is also important to point out that it is not a score recorder. Yes, it records your scores but that is secondary. It is mainly an analysis tool and I am sure every club golfer would benefit from using such a programme."
Winner of the Scottish Boys' Championship in 1970 – he preceded Ewen Murray, now Sky's top golf presenter – Stephen established himself as one of the top prospects in the Home of Golf when he beat Charlie Green in the Scottish Amateur Championship just 12 months later.
After turning professional, he went on to become one of the leading players on the Tartan Tour, lifting the Scottish PGA Championship in 1988.
However, he's not played competitive golf for a decade now and is unable to get out on to the course at all these days due to a troublesome right hip.
"Hitting shots is okay but walking is a real problem," he said. "In fact, I don't think I'd even be able to walk to the top of the range. Not being able to get out on to the golf course can be frustrating, especially on a nice day, but I enjoy my teaching and I've certainly enjoyed creating my 'Personal Golf Analyser'."
For more information on Sandy's programme, log on to www.edinburghgolfrange.co.uk
IT will be a classic case of winner takes all when Lothians entertain Renfrewshire in the Scottish Area Team Championship at Prestonfield next month.
Following their 5-4 defeat to Dumbartonshire in the second round of matches, Lothians are sitting in second place behind Renfrewshire in Group B.
With two wins out of two, Renfrewshire are three points in front and also have a superior "goal difference" of two over their East coast rivals.
However, Lothians will go into that match in the Capital on September 21 knowing a victory will take them through to the final stages, to be held at Tain on October 4-5. South are favourites to go through from Group A, Ayrshire are leading the way in Group C, while Lanarkshire are currently in pole position in Group D.
NEWLY-CROWNED Scottish champion Callum Macaulay will be unable to defend his title when the South-East District Open takes place at Duddingston at the end of the month.
The Tulliallan star, who lifted the title at West Linton 12 months ago, is on Great Britain & Ireland duty that weekend in the St Andrews Trophy at Kingsbarns.
Wallace Booth, the current Scottish Stroke-play champion, has also been selected for that match against Continent of Europe, but a strong field will still assemble at Duddingston on August 30-31 for the South East event, which is a counting tournament in the Scottish Order of Merit.
CRAMOND will take on Scarifiers in this year's Sivewright Quaich final, to be played at Prestonfield on September 7.
In the semi-finals of the double foursome event for non course-owning clubs, Cramond crushed Buckstone Golf Club 7 and 5, while Scarifiers squeezed past Temple by one hole.
The full article contains 773 words and appears in Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.
