Get your golfer a Blacktee diary – Review
In the age of computers and online synced diaries I still love a good desk diary. It’s quick and simple and sometimes the old ways are best. Combine some golf with that and I’m in.
A meeting I was at recently required everyone to agree on a date we could all meet up again in December. So out came a whole variety of mobile phones, PDAs, laptops and what-not, in an effort to find a suitable date. Suffice it to say, it took ages to sort out. All I needed to do was flick to the right page and the job was done…you can’t beat a good desk diary.
I usually receive a few diaries from all over the place coming up to Chrimbo but the Blacktee Journal will be my diary of choice for 2010 without doubt.
The first thing that impressed me was some information about wedding anniversaries on the “Did you know” page near the front. Turns out that the present I should buy my wife for our upcoming third wedding anniversary is Leather. Fan-bloody-tastic! Thanks Blacktee…
This journal has everything . Nice and big, quality feeling pages with your days layed out from 7am – 8pm, a slot for your Sunday tee time and the Majors pre-marked in for you. Lovely.
At the end of each calendar month sits an advice page to help you out on every aspect of your game from mental preparation to smashing the ball down the fairway with the big dog. Some useful bits in there I can assure you.
The Journal even has “game trackers” where you can note down everything about your rounds so you can keep a track of your progress as the year goes on. You can track things like, how many greens in regulation you hit, saves, up and downs, etc . Perfect.
The journal also offers an address book at the back and has a lovely fit and finish for the price of just £19.99.
The idea for the Blacktee Diary came from its owner Alan Reed. The press release says that he, “turned his back on a lucrative career in the city to pursue his dream of inaugurating an aspirational golf marque dedicated to encouraging individuals to strive to be the best they possibly can.”
OK, now I’m not sure it’s encouraging me to be “the best of the best of the best, SIR!” It’s a nice diary at the end of the day. You simply have to admire the guy’s spiel though…
He explained: “I believe as individuals we should always be striving for that little bit extra – never accept second place. We are all capable of achieving more, but first we must fight the battles inside, before we can win the war outside.”
“In life, it is often said that we regret not the things we do, but the things we don’t do. And the same applies to golf. Golf is about risk and reward. We’ve all walked off the green with a par knowing that a birdie was there for the taking if we’d just had a bit more belief. A hero dies once, but the coward dies a thousand times.”
What a quote-mongerer! It’s hilarious. OK, so if I stuff a putt for birdie, does that mean I didn’t have enough belief? Or could it be that I’m just shit at golf? Probably the latter. Does that also mean I’m a coward and will die a thousand times ? Shit, I hope not!
He continues: “So golf, like life, is about being positive: think big, think better. As Bill Shankly once said: ‘Aim for the sky and you’ll reach the ceiling; aim for the ceiling and you’ll stay on the floor.’ Collectively we all need to aim for the sky; seize every opportunity that presents itself. That’s what Blacktee is all about: aspiration of greater achievements.”
“The decision to launch Blacktee with the 2010 journal was easy, for while it is practical, stylish and carrying top-end production values, it is also a year-long reminder of the challenge to better yourself every day.”
OK mate, calm down – it’s only a bloody diary, jeez! I’d love to meet Mr Reed though, you can tell this man’s got plans although I reckon he should write a quote book next…
Anyway, when all is said and done, the man has made a nice job of the Blacktee Diary and it’s cheap enough to get for your favourite golfer this Christmas.
It’s available from Harrods Golf Department or online at the company’s website at www.blacktee.co.uk.
Remember… “Man who walk through airport turnstile sideways….going to Bangkok.”
I love this and will be on my xmas list