STATE OF THE ART PRACTICE FACILITY AT PAUL LAWRIE GOLF CENTRE

Paul Lawrie and Robbie Stewart, the PLGC Director of Golf, at the opening of the state of the art short game practice area at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, Banchory Devenick on the south side of the River Dee, Aberdeen. Pictures by Cal Carson Golf Agency.

Paul is the first man to use the short-game practice facility ... and he quickly holed a 40-50yd pitch  shot ! Which must be a good omen. "Take my word for it, I personally will be using this practice facility a lot. It has everything I need to keep my short game up to the standard required for the European Tour," said Paul.

  Graeme Webster, an Oldmeldrum man, has become one of Scotland's leading golf course architects. He designed the original Aspire Golf Centre nine-hole par-3 course, driving range and putting and pitching area for John Duthie, the trawler skipper, who sold the complex to Paul Lawrie exactly a year ago. 
Paul called Graeme Webster in again to upgrade the short-game practice area while the clubhouse shop was being remodelled and extended while custom-fitting facilities for members of the public buying new clubs were installed.

UPGRADE HAS COST SIX-FIGURE SUM,
SAYS PROUD PAUL LAWRIE

The whole Paul Lawrie Golf Centre upgrade, indoors and outdoors, has cost "a six-figure sum," Paul told Scottishgolfview yestrday. 
"It makes me very proud to see the finished article after just 12 months to the day when we bought it," said Paul.
"It has been a lot of hard work by a lot of people. Graeme Webster and the Team Niblick golf design crew have done fantastic job.
"We now have a short-game practice area that is one of the best in Scotland and we are very happy with the finished product.
"It is going to take a little while to get the greens up to speed because it is new but the whole place is coming together nicely.
"Apart from a few tweaks here and there, the main bulk of the work that we wanted done has been completed."
Graeme Webster has designed courses and quality short-game practice areas for Meldrum House Hotel and Golf Club, Kings Acre in the Edinburgh area, to mention only two.

In his younger days, Graeme was a good enough golfer to consider turning professional. 
"Paul had a lot of input to the shaping of the pitching area here at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre. There are not many short-game facilities that provide you with the chance to practise 'killing' a pitch shot by hitting an upslope fulll carry and letting the ball run the rest of the way ... but you can do that here.
"It's such a big area that quite a few people can use it at once, whether they are working on their bunker play, chipping or pitch ... and we have the big practice putting green as well." 
Graeme Webster is also working with Paul Lawrie on the redevelopment of the Whitekirk course in East Lothian and with another Open champion, Darren Clarke, on a new 18-hole course near Dundee.

 BUSINESS IS BOOMING AT THE PAUL 
LAWRIE GOLF CENTRE, SAYS ROBBIE

Robbie Stewart, formerly the Director of Golf at the world-ranked links course at Cruden Bay, was head-hunted by Paul Lawrie to become Director of Golf at The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre.
"Business is booming," said Robbie at the opening of the Centre's state of the art short game practice facility.
"Golfers are starting to make their way here in numbers, which is not surprising because we have it all here ... from a nine-hole course, the newly opened short-game practice area, the driving bays, a custom-fitting facility for people buying new clubs, a refurbished golf shop and a restaurant run for us by "The Circles" chain (which is owned by a Deeside Golf Club member)."


The new Paul Lawrie short-game practice area is not available to the public on the same pay-and-play basis as the driving range and nine-hole par-3 course.  

 Robbie Stewart explains:

"We believe that access to this short game area is one of the main benefits of full membership at the PLGC and that at a cost of only £300 per annum, full membership of the PLGC continues to offer real value. 

"Full members are also entitled to unlimited play on our excellent nine-hole par 3 course and a member's discount on the cost of driving range balls.

"Anyone interested in becoming a member of the PLGC should contact info@paullawriegolfcentre.co.uk

"Our members enjoy the fact that they can typically hit a basket of balls at the range, have a putt on our practice putting green, play nine holes then finish off with a coffee and a cake from Circles coffee shop, and the whole experience can be enjoyed in around two hours. "With slow play and lack of time a real problem at the moment I believe that we are able to offer something that suits the present day busy lifestyle." 

Tel. 01224 865750

email: robbie@paullawriegolfcentre.co.uk

www.paullawriegolfcentre.co.uk

 

 

The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre is easily accessible from the Old Bridge of Dee. Head along the South Deeside Road for a couple of miles and you will find it on your right on the banks of the River Dee before you come to Ardoe.
One of Graeme Webster's assignments on the Continent has been to build a par-3 course near Munich offering businessmen in the city the chance to take an extended lunch break to play nine holes there.
Nine holes' play should take less than 90min .. compared with the 5 hours + that a round over an 18-hole course can take nowadays.
Maybe the idea will catch on at the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre with its proximity to Aberdeen!

PAUL LAWRIE GOLF CENTRE SCOTTISH LADIES OPEN TOUR .. Angus and Perthshire
"Swings" coming up in early July

The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre, of which Stewart Spence, owner of The Marcliffe at Pitfodels Hotel, and Martin Gilbert, CEO of Aberdeen Asset Global Management, are backers,  sponsor The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Scottish Ladies Open Tour on which the next four events are coming up soon:

Tuesday, July 2 - Downfield Golf Club, Dundee (18 holes)
Wednesday, July 3 - Carnoustie Burnside (18 holes)
Thursday, July 11 - Blairgowrie Rosemount (18 holes)
Friday, July 12 - Alyth GC, near Blairgowrie (18 holes). 

All the competitions have lunchtime starts, to allow players to travel long distances to get to the venues. 
No joining fee is needed to play on The Paul Lawrie Golf Centre Scottish Ladies Tour which is open to any lady professionals and lady/girl amateurs with single figure handicaps.
Entry fee is £50 per competition and amateurs can win up to the Rule of Amateur Status maximum value figure of £500.
There is room for additional entry at all four July venues.
Entries can be made online at www.scottishladiestour.co.uk

THE PAUL LAWRIE GOLF CENTRE SCOTTISH LADIES
OPEN TOUR IS APPROVED AND SUPPORTED BY THE
R and A.