Arrived in Nairobi on Monday night.  Unfortuately my golf clubs did not arrive with me.  I had to wait until Wednesday before the Airline delivered them to my Hotel.  This meant I could only walk the course on Tuesday, and no practice was allowed on the course on the Wednesday.  I felt this hindered my preperation as I struggled to find the pace of the Greens in my first round, finishing with a seven over par.  Yesterday I shot level par, holing many more putts.  The course was very good and the weather excellent.  Just arrived back in Edinburgh and again without golf clubs.  The Airline assure me they will arrive later today!

I am travelling today to Spain to play in a local tournament, home on Friday, then off to Bogota to play in my first European Challenge tournament of the season which starts on 19th of this month.  I have been working very hard over the winter with my new  short game coach, Mark Roe and feel very positive for the coming season.

Elliot, Zack and I have recently joined Archerfield Golf Club,  in East Lothian.

Currently in Florida with my brothers enjoying the warm weather. Playing golf and practicing everyday is a pleasure as w.hen we left Scotland it was snowing heavily. Home next week then off to play in Spain.

My young brother joined the professional golf ranks yesterday. I am delighted all three of us will now be playing under the professional banner. We have all played golf for a long time now and contunue to supported each other. Good Luck Zack.

It is unbelievable for me to think a year has flown by since I competed in only my second event as a professional, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, and a great feeling to be back in the tournament this year. As ever, the entry list for this week reads like a Who’s Who of world golf; Montgomerie, Els, Campbell, Westwood, Harrington to name but five. And the unique format – we play with amateur partners and over three different courses – makes this a fun week.

Yet while a lot of the top players are winding down for the season, I am entering a crucial time. A good week at Kingsbarns, St Andrews and Carnoustie could make a massive difference to my ranking; the prospect of European Tour Qualifying School is also just over the horizon so provides extra incentive to do well. It is helpful to have some competitive golf, and against some of the best players in the game, at a time where typically I may just be practising hard for that qualifying trip to Spain.

So there is no shortage of focus as I take a serious look at each course before the real stuff starts tomorrow. St Andrews is the venue out of the three which I have the most experience of. Aside from this tournament a year ago, I have played in the Open Championship there, won the St Andrews Links Trophy three years ago and also progressed to the matchplay stage of the British Amateur Championship.

I reached the fifth round of a British Boys’ Championship at Carnoustie but the only other time I have played Kingsbarns, apart from in this tournament a year ago, was with the Walker Cup squad before heading to America in 2005.

Because of the nature of the celebrities who participate, you can get some cracking draws so I am looking forward to that announcement this morning. Last year, I was paired with Ian Botham with Sam Torrance and his son, Dan, making up our four. Not your average fourball, so it was great fun even though I just missed the cut.

An important feature can also be what order you are drawn to play the courses in. Carnoustie was good for me last time around, I double-bogeyed the first but recovered to shoot level par. Either way, I am excited about the week and being involved in a tournament which carries a great deal of interest for all kinds of reasons. I just hope it warms up a little!

I can no longer lay claim to being a world champion, unfortunately, after finishing second when attempting to defend my Hickory Championship crown at Craigielaw last week. A score of 74 was decent enough in a strong wind, I played pretty well, but lost out by a shot to Carnoustie’s Lindsay Mann, himself a former Walker Cup player. I played with Lindsay and his achievement was even more impressive considering he snapped his driver on the first tee; not a rare occurrence when playing with pre-1935 equipment.

Being a professional golfer is what I have always wanted to do since I was a young boy and now I am actually doing it!

I’ve really enjoyed it and I think that’s the key, I’ve learnt so much this year but the enjoyment thing is definitely key to progressing and being in the big tournaments and even winning.

It’s been a real eye-opener turning pro, every week throws up something different whether it’s dealing with the hotels or the airport or perhaps even on the course itself, which is nice! You spend a lot of time on your own as well as a pro, which is very different from being an amateur so I have had to learn to cope with that.

On the playing side of things I have picked up most by watching the old pros, the guys who have been doing this for 20-30 years. They know how to get the job done, even when they are not playing well they manage to stay in the tournament through their short game. Whereas several times this year I have played well, shot around level-par for two rounds and still not made the weekend, which is hard.

I have had some good weeks and some not so good weeks but I am really trying to learn from both, since it’s all anew environment for me. On the good weeks I have tried to learn from my game and in the bad I am trying to take something away from the emotions. It’s all about getting myself ready and able to compete in the coming years.

So for instance one of my biggest strengths is driving, I hit it fairly long and straight which gives me an obvious advantage but I’ve got learn to capitalize better from those positions. This will then take the pressure off other areas of my game and allow me to move forward.

I’ve just spent the week at the Dunhill Links, which is a fantastic event. It’s got a great fun vibe and it’s nice for us pros to have something different. You know most weeks are played in a very serious atmosphere, which is great, but when you have an amateur on your team it does change the mood. There are also loads of parties going on but I try and stay away from those!

I played well actually, especially so on the first day in really tough conditions at Carnoustie. But in the end three bad holes on the third day cost me, which I suppose is something else I have to learn from!

Then the last few days I have spent at the Carrick in Scotland having a great time at the Magners Scottish Final, which is a great club competition to be a part of. I have a good connection with Magners, they are a young brand going somewhere and hopefully I am the same! I went up there and talked to the finalists and helped them out on the range and then played 9-holes with a few of them. It was a cool day and I’m delighted to be involved. They have got a competition in Wales as well and it’s really important to me to help out club golf.

Now the focus turns to Q-School and trying to secure my card for next season on the European Tour. It’s something I am getting myself in good shape for and hopefully it’ll go well. My brother Elliott came through first stage at the Oxfordshire so we will be out in Spain together, which is great. Our youngest brother will also come and caddie for one of us – he is playing full-time as an amateur at the moment. The three of us on Tour now that would be good…

My third round in Italy was a bit up and down. Had an eagle, by holing my wedge on the 12th, then followed with a double bogey on the next hole. A frustrating day as hit 15 greens in regulation, with a few putts just lipping out. Finshed 2 over. Yesterday I shot 4 under to finish tied 25th. Played well, pleased that my hard work with my wedges is paying of.

I am playing in Italy at a Challenge tour event at the Margara Golf Club. Yesterday I played well, shooting 4 under, had 6 birdies and 2 bogeys. Today I shot 3 under, 5 birdies and 2 bogeys. Lying in 13th position and looking forward to playing at the weekend.

Played Kingsbarns on Friday and St Andrews on Saturday, in very cold and windy conditions. I took a nine at Kingsbarns and had two triples which cost me. Played solid apart from that. The weather made the courses very demanding.

Played Carnoustie today played good, gave mysef many birdie chances. Ended up with one over but fairly happy as probably the hardest course of the three to play out of the way. Playing Kingsbarns tomorrow forecast not as good as today but looking forward to the challenge.