LIZ STEWART WINS THE WEST VETS CHAMPIONSHIP

Liz Stewart -- 2017 West Vets Champion

Many congratulations go to RLCGA's Liz Stewart who won the West Vets Championship yesterday beating Ayrshire County Champion Liz Keohone.
To Read the Full report go to the West Vets Website 

DRAW FOR INTER COUNTY FOURSOMES FINAL AT COCHRANE CASTLE GOLF CLUN

TIME SHEET - CLICK TO ENLARGE 

The West of Scotland Inter County Foursomes finals are on Wednesday 7th June at Cochrane Castle 

Colour Codes:  Green - Ayrshire,  Blue - D&A, Pink - Renfrewshire and Red -  Lanarkshire 
Please Note Handicaps will be adjusted on the Day of Play 

CLICK HERE TO PRINT OUT THE DRAW 

DENISE COWAN LEADS THE QUALIFIERS FOR THE COUNTY ROSEBOWL

The qualifiers for the 2017 County Rosebowl  - aggregate nett scores from the County Championship qualifier over Pollok Golf course and the Spring Meeting over Ranfurly Castle are: 

1. Denise Cowan (74 + 73 = 147) - Ranfurly Castle
2. Donna Jackson (77 + 72 = 149) - Cochrane Castle
3. Alyson McGinnigle (75 + 77 = 152) - Cowglen
4. Anne Judge (72 + 80 = 152) - Ranfurly Castle
5. Gillian McLeod (84 + 69 = 153) - Williamwood
6. Marion Stewart (73 + 80 = 153) - Kilmacolm
7. Shirley Back (75 + 79 = 154) - Gleddoch
8. Carol McNally (76 + 79 = 155) - Williamwood

MATCHPLAY DRAW:

Denise Cowan (1) v Carol McNally (8)
Alyson McGinnigle (3) v Marion Stewart (6)
Donna Jackson (2) v Shirley Back (7)
Anne Judge (4) v Gill McLeod (5)

1st round be played by 17 July 2017
Semi-Final by played by 14 August 2017
Final to be played in September with venue and date to be advised.

Qual No.	1st Round	Semi Final	TBA September 2017
	To be played by  Monday 17th July 2017	To be played by  Monday 14th August 2017	Final date and venue to be arranged
1	Denise Cowan (Ranfurly Castle)
8	Carol McNally (Williamwood)
5	Gill McLeod  (Williamwood)
4	Anne Judge Ranfurly Castle)
3	Alyson McGinnigle (Cowglen)		-
6	Marion Stewart  (Kilmacolm)
7	Shirley Back (Gleddoch)
2	Donna Jackson (Troon Ladies)

EILIDH BRIGGS WINS THE MUNROSS TROPHY AT MONTROSE

Eilidh Briggs 

Renfrewshire County Champion Eilidh Briggs shot a brilliant second round of five-under-par 68 over the Montrose Medal links course today (SUNDAY) to clinch a two-stroke victory in the 36-hole Munross Trophy open women's tournament.
Briggs had led the field at the end of the first round with a 71, finishing with birdies at the 14th and 15th, an eagle 3 at the 17th and a birdie at the 18th after running up a double bogey 6 at the 11.
With young Jillian Farrell (Cardross) and former Scottish champion Gabrielle MacDonald (Craigielaw) shooting 69s in the afternoon, Briggs needed to be at her very best to hold the twin challenge at bay and she did so with her 68 (36-32).
Her second round, in fact, started inauspiciously with bogeys at the first and second but Eilidh slipped into top gear with birdies at the fifth and sixth and came storming home with birdies at the 10th, 14th, 15th, 16th and 17th.
Farrell finished second on 141 with MacDonald third on 144 and Hannah McCook (Grantown on Spey) third on 145 (74-71).
New Aberdeenshire champion Molly Stewart (Murcar Links) tied for fifth place with the Angus title winner Gillian Paton on 146.

MUNROSS TROPHY WOMEN'S OPEN TOURNAMENT
Montrose Medal course.
Par 146 (2x73) SSS 73 CSS 73 73
LEADING SCORES
139 E Briggs (Kilmacolm) 71 68
141 J Farrell (Cardross) 72 69.
144 G MacDonald (Craigielaw) 75 69.
145 H McCook (Grantown on Spey) 74 71
146 M Stewart (Murcar Links) 73 73, G Paton (Royal Montrose) 73 73.
147 L Duncan (West Kilbride) 72 75, R Foster (Turnberry) 72 75
149 K K Brown (Strathaven) 76 73, A McKay (Crail GS) 75 74. M Briggs (Kilmacolm) 72 77
150 R McIntyre (Carlisle) 72 78
151 J Mackintosh (Hazlehead) 75 76, E Hale (Troon Ladies) 74 77, E Henderson (Loretto School) 73 78.
153 C Taylor (Nairn) 78 75.
154 M M Richmond (Strathaven) 76 78.
155 C Queen (Drumpellier) 77 78, P Wilson (Burntisland) 77 78, S Stichbury Gullane) 75 80.

DONNA JACKSON ON SONG AT SPRING MEETING AT RANFURLY CASTLE

The dry weather continued for our Spring Meeting at Ranfurly Castle Golf Club and although the course was in excellent condition many competitiors found the course tricky with scoring difficult justifying a CSS of 75.

Donna Jackson (Troon Ladies) pictured left won the scratch with a gross 74 which included birdies at the 8th, 11th and 17th.

In second place was Denise Cowan (Ranfurly Castle) with a gross 79 and Gill McLeod (Williamwood) finished in third place with a gross 81.

Birthday Girl Gill McLeod (Williamwood) pictured below playing off a handicap of 12 was the overall winner of the Spring Meeting with a fantastic nett 69 despite having a quadruple bogey 8 at the 15th and a double bogey 7 at the 8th !

Gill McLeod

 RESULTS :
Divison 1 (Handicap Scratch - 12)

1st: Gill McLeod (Williamwood) 81 (12) 69.
2nd: Donna Jackson (Troon Ladies) 74 (2) 72 
3rd: Denise Cowan (Ranfurly Castle) 79 (6) 73.

Lois Brown

Divison 2 (Handicap 13+ ) 

1st: Lois Brown (Ranfurly Castle) 87 (14) 73. 
2nd:  Linda Hay (Eastwood) 88 (13) 75 (bih) 
3rd: Nancy MacGadie (Ranfurly Castle) 90 (15)  75

SSS 73, CSS 75

RENFREWSHIRE TEAMS ANNOUNCED.

The Renfrewshire Team to play in the 2017 Inter-County Jamboree at Hamilton GC from 12th-14th June will be-
Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm)
Denise Cowan (Ranfurly Castle)
Donna Jackson (Cochrane Castle)
Gillian Kyle (East Renfrewshire)
Alyson McGinnigle (Cowglen)
Jennifer Rankine (Haggs Castle)
Liz Stewart (Greenburn)
Carol Whyte (Milngavie)
Res Julie Wilson (Williamwood)

The Renfrewshire Girls' Team to play in the Kennedy Salver at Clober GC on June 19th will be-
Hannah Carson (East Renfrewshire)
Caitlin Caulfield (Whitecraigs)
Emily Crusher (Eastwood)
Romy Erskine (Kilmacolm)
Niamh Kinney (Erskine)
Alison Macnab (Ranfurly Castle)
Heather Mushet (Elderslie)

Spectators in 'pink' will be welcomed and most appreciated at both events.

EILIDH FINISHES TOP SCOT IN IRISH WOMEN'S STROKEPLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

Eilidh Briggs (Kilmacolm) finished as the leading Scot, in 12th place behind winner Maria Dunne (Skerries), in the Irish women's open amateur stroke play golf championship at Co Louth Golf Club today.

Eilidh  had rounds of 75, 76 and 76 for a total of eight-over-par 219.

IRISH WOMEN'S OPEN AMATEUR STROKE PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP

Co Louth Golf Club.

LEADING FINAL TOTALS

Par 219 (3x73) SSS 77 CSS 76 77

216 M Dunne (Skerries) 66 76 74

218 S Lamb (Clitheroe) 71 76 71, G Clews (Delamere Forest) 67 75 76

221 K O'Connor (Wales) 72 74 75, C Kauffmann (Germany) 69 76 76, L Bailey (Kirby Muxloe) 71 73 77

SCOTS' TOTALS

227 E Briggs (Kilmacolm) 75 76 76 (T12)

229 C Goadby (St Regulus) 76 76 77 (T16)

232 H McCook (Grantown on Spey) 78 79 75 (T22)

236 G MacDonald (Craigielaw) 77 78 81 (35th).

To read the full report go to KIRKWOOD GOLF WEBSITE

SUCCESSFUL GIRLS' DAY DESPITE THE WEATHER!

15 girls arrived at Mearns Castle Golf Academy this afternoon after a day of persistent heavy rain. Ever optimistic, Captain Gillian and her team persuaded them all to warm up on the range and be ready on the 1st tee as it was going to dry up-and it did!
They all played a 'Flag Competition' according to their handicaps or age. The 'Handicap' group received 36 shots plus half their handicap and had to put their flag in the ground when they had run out of shots. The others were split into age groups and played off the blue tees and all had 36 shots. Again stopping when they had run out of shots. 
Many thanks go to Mearns Castle Golf Academy for courtesy of the course and the range balls for warming up.

Results-
Handicap 1st-Sophie Kyle (East Ren)
                2nd-Emily Crusher (Eastwood)
                 3rd-Hannah Carson (East Ren)

Age 5-7 1st-Katie Thyne (Caldwell)
              2nd-Amy Vine (Eastwood)

Age 8-10 1st Ella McGrath (Caldwell)
                2nd Gracie Phimister (Elderslie)
                3rd Natalie Vine (Eastwood)

Age 11+ 1st Jennifer Lynagh (Caldwell)
               2nd Beth Rogan (Paisley)
               3rd Katie Dunne (Paisley)

Thanks must also go to the helpers-Linda Ellery, Liz Stewart, Liz Hale and Niamh Kinney for walking with all the groups.

COUNTY FOURSOMES AT WILLIAMWOOD - HOME PLAYERS DO WELL

Lorraine Morris and Gill Unick - Handicap Winners and 3rd scratch

Shona McVey and Gill McLeod - Handicap Runners Up and 2nd Scratch

The 82 competitors (41 pairs) in today's County Foursomes at Williamwood continued to play in dry, sunny conditions even thought it was a bit chilly when the wind blew!!! The course was in excellent condition but many found it hard to control their approach shots into the green.

Alyson McGinnigle (Cowglen) along with her partner Carol McNally (Williamwood) continued her winning streak from yesterday's West of Scotland Championship and they carded a gross score of 78 to win scratch.

Gill McLeod and Shona McVey (both Williamwood) finished 2nd with a gross score of 83.

Williamwood continued to dominate over the field with Gill Unick and Lorraine Morris taking 3rd place with a gross 83.

The handicap section was won by Gill Unick and Lorraine Morris (Williamwood) with a nett 69.5.

Gill McLeod and Shona McVey were 2nd with a nett 71 and Alyson McGinnigle (Cowglen) and Carol McNally (Williamwood) finishing 3rd with a nett 72.5.

Well done to all the winners and competitors - judging from comments a good day was had by all.

COUNTY FOURSOMES -- WILLIAMWOOD GOLF CLUB
MONDAY, 8 MAY 2017

ENTRANTS : 41 COUPLES

Scratch

1st​:  Alyson McGinnigle (5) – Cowglen​ / Carol McNally (6) – Williamwood - 78
2nd: ​Gill McLeod (12) – Williamwood​/ Shona McVey (12) – Williamwood  83(bih)
3rd​: Gill Unick (16) – Williamwood​ / Lorraine Morris (11) – Williamwood 83

Handicap

1st​:  Gill Unick (16) – Williamwood​ / Lorraine Morris (11) – Williamwood 69.5
2nd: ​Gill McLeod (12) – Williamwood​ / Shona McVey (12) – Williamwood 71
3rd: ​Alyson McGinnigle (5) – Cowglen​ / Carol McNally (6) – Williamwood 72.5

The following qualify to play in the Inter-County Foursomes on 7th June 2017 at Cochrane Castle:

Scratch 

1. ​Alyson McGinnigle/Carol McNally (Cowglen/Williamwood)​78
2.​ Gill McLeod/Shona McVey (Williamwood)​ 83

Nett

1.​Gill Unick / Lorraine Morris (Williamwood)​ 69.5
2.​Muriel Young / Marilyn Muir (Old Ranfurly)​ 73.5
3.​Anita McMillan / Morag Key (Erskine/Ralston) ​74
4.​ Pamela MacKenzie / Lilias Snodgrass (Ranfurly Castle)​77

The following nett scores quaify to play in the Commonwealth Spoons on 11th September 2017 at Alyth Golf Club:

1. Gill Unick/Lorraine Morris (Williamwood)​ 69.5
2.​ Gill McLeod/Shona McVey (Williamwood)​ 71
3.​ Muriel Young/Marilyn Muir (Old Ranfurly)​ 73.5
4.​ Anita McMillan/Morag Key (Erskine/Ralston)​ 74


RESERVE LIST 
Inter-County Foursomes Finals

Scratch

1.​ Gill Unick/Lorraine Morris (Williamwood)​ 83
2.​ Murial Young/ Marilyn Muir (Old Ranfurly)​87

Handicap
1.​ Jean Sloan/Maureen Mitchell (Cathcart Castle)​ 77.5 (bih)
2.​ Fiona Armour/Brenda Conway (Renfrew)​ 77.5
3.​ Sandra Littlejohn/ I. Donnelly (Erskine/Gleddoch) ​77.5

Commonwealth Spoons

1.​ Pamela MacKenzie/Lillias Snodgrass (Ranfurly Castle)​ 77
2.​ Jean Sloan/Maureen Mitchell (Cathcart Castle)​ 77.5 (bih)
3.​ Fiona Armour/Brenda Conway (Renfrew)​ 77.5
4.​ S. Littlejohn/I. Donnelly (Erskine/Gleddoch)​ 77.5


Thanks go to Sandra Littlejohn for the results and report and Gillian Kyle for the photos

RENFREWSHIRE WINNERS IN THE WEST -- ALYSON MCGINNIGLE TAKES THE TITLE AND NIAMH AND ROMY ARE THE JUNIOR TEAM WINNERS

Alyson McGinnigle - 2017 West of Scotland Champion  and Handicap Trophy Winner

A great round of golf from Alyson McGinnigle (Cowglen) saw her lift the West of Scotland Trophy today plus the silverware for the best handicap score too.
Her round of 76 matched Emma Hale's of Ayrshire but Alyson had the better inward half.

Niamh Kenney and Romy Erskine - Renfrewshire Junior Team Winners

Our 2 juniors-Niamh Kinney (Erskine) and Romy Esrkine (Kilmacolm) won the Junior Team trophy as they had the lowest total of their net scores.
Ayrshire won the Seniors Team Trophy with a total of 156 as their best 2 scores. Renfrewshire weren't far behind on 160

LEADING SCORES --  -- SSS 75,  CSS 76 

76 Alyson McGinnigle (Cowglen), Emma Hale (Troon)

77 Susan Wood (Drumpellier) 

79 Megan Briggs (Kilmacolm)

80 Lorna McClymont (Milngavie) Audrey Thomson (Loudoun Gowf)

81 Ruth Hunter (Lanark), Liz Stewart (Greenburn) 

82 Liz Wilson (Kilmarnock Barassie)

83 Gillian Kyle (East Renfrewshire), Janice Paterson (Drumpellier) Susan McGrenaghan (Mount Ellen) Lorna Ronnie (Kilmarnock Barassie)

DRAW FOR THE COUNTY FOURSOMES

The draw for the County Foursomes at Williamwood on Monday 8th May has been done -- You will find it on HowDidIDO

SCOTTISH GOLF NEWSLETTER - APRIL

Welcome to the latest edition of our monthly newsletter, as the golf season moves into full swing. As we seek to strengthen our communication activities and keep you and others fully up-to-date with our latest activities, we would be grateful if you could distribute the newsletter to the rest of your committee and relevant club members.

CLUB FORUMS THIS SUMMER

We are currently making plans for club forums at various locations this summer, with Area and County officials and club representatives to be among those invited to attend. This will see more consultation on our strategy, including preparation for the reviews of our committee and Board structures linked to our articles. Please look out for further communication to come.

Activity is being seen at Area and County level with regard to amalgamation, with a mix of club consultations taking place and committee groups starting to explore potential amalgamation. There are a couple of groups that have reached out to us for support and we will continue to facilitate these requests as and when the respective associations request our input. We know each Area and County is progressing at their own speed, so if any Area or County would like to discuss the issue or seek support please contact Karin Sharp at The Duke’s office in St Andrews.

MAJOR STAKEHOLDERS COMBINE TO BENEFIT AM-PRO TRANSITION

Building on our media announcement with Stephen McAllister last month to help drive new investment for Scottish Golf, last week saw an exciting new support package announced designed to ease the transition from amateur to professional golf for Scottish players. This new initiative will harness the combined support of key stakeholders, Aberdeen Asset Management, SSE Scottish Hydro and Bounce Sports Management, as well as ourselves.

The launch at Edinburgh Castle generated excellent media coverage in national press, as well as BBC & STV coverage. Indeed, the story led the BBC golf website home page on the evening of the announcement.

> View more information

With the Scottish Golf Support Limited programme for young professionals coming to an end, we are under pressure with our funding, via sportscotland, as you know. We have therefore been continuing to make representations regarding the value and significance that golf has to Scotland. With the news last week of the Scottish Enterprise and VisitScotland report on the value and economic impact of golf tourism in Scotland (£286m per year), this research is another significant aid to represent what golf can deliver for Scotland. At a time when resources are tight, we need to be able to show the value of golf to Scotland and this research gives significant insight and data to help with this case.

MARKETING WORKSHOPS: PLACES STILL AVAILABLE

Our Club Marketing Workshops are well underway, under the theme of ‘Marketing on a Budget’, with our team on the road. Workshops were held at Scotscraig and King’s Acre last week, with Bathgate, Deeside and Haggs Castle to follow. Places are still available at these workshops should you be interested. Clubs have benefited from our insights and experience, providing them with practical tools, ideas and good practice case studies in the ever increasing modern world of marketing and communications.

> View dates and venues

PING SCOTTISH MIXED CHAMPIONSHIP

The PING Scottish Mixed Championship is a unique new addition to the domestic handicap amateur calendar in 2017, as we brings male and female golfers together in a fun-filled format for all ages and abilities to add further value to club membership. We’re looking for more clubs to host a qualifying event for this exciting competition so please assist if you can.

                                                                                                                 The free-to-enter championship is open to all golf club members in Scotland holding an official handicap, from juniors to seniors. Golfers can compete in a mixed event at local club level (stableford format), with the top 40 club pairings nationwide going forward to the Grand Final over the superb Queen’s Course at Gleneagles.

All clubs running a PING Scottish Mixed Championship qualifying event will go into a prize draw with one lucky club winning a superb prize package from PING and Scottish Golf.

> View more information

SCOTTISH GOLF MEMBERSHIP CARD OFFERS

As the new golf season is well underway, we are keen to grow the number of clubs offering preferential green fee offers to Scottish Golf Membership Card holders via the online Members Clubhouse. With 57,000 golfers now registered for the Members Clubhouse, this platform provides a great opportunity for clubs to market with us. We would be delighted if you could please highlight this opportunity to clubs on your travels.

Some of the key benefits to participating clubs include: Generating additional visitor green fee income; raising the profile of your club among fellow golf club members in Scotland and adding value to being a member of a golf club in Scotland. We have created a promotional resource (link below) to help clubs better understand the benefits.

> Scottish Golf Membership Card |Promotional Resource

WORLD HANDICAP SYSTEM IN PIPELINE

As you may be aware, The R&A and USGA are working with golf’s handicapping authorities to develop a single World Handicap System for the game. More than 15 million golfers in over 80 countries presently have a handicap, currently delivered through six different systems around the world. The aim of the proposed handicap system is therefore to adopt a universal set of principles and procedures that will apply all over the world.

>View more information

It was good for me to meet partners from The R&A and other golfing bodies at the recent R&A International Conference in St Andrews. The Conference attracted over 70 different golfing nations from across the world. This continues the theme that we will be more successful working with partners to achieve shared objectives.

SCOTS OFF TO STRONG SEASON START

The new season has seen strong starts from a number of leading Scottish amateur players. Craig Howie from Peebles and Drumoig’s Connor Syme both gave their Walker Cup hopes an early boost with victories in the Craigmillar Park Open and Battle Trophy respectively. It’s great to see Connor (10) and Robert MacIntyre (6), from Glencruitten, both currently ranked inside the top 10 of the World Amateur Golf Ranking.

Aboyne’s Shannon McWilliam (pictured above), still aged only 17, has also been shining in the female game after her second-place finishes at the Scottish Girls’ Open in Montrose and the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open at Royal Troon & Troon Portland. Let’s hope Scottish players continue to impress!

SCOTTISH GOLF ANNUAL REVIEW

As a reminder, I’m delighted to advise that Scottish Golf’s Annual Review for 2016 was recently published, with hard copies handed out to attendees at our Annual Meeting & AGM.

The Review outlines all of our activities for 2016, including across our pillars for Finance, Effective Organisation, Participation, Clubs & Facilities, Workforce, Affinity and Performance. All the winners from our various events in 2016 are also featured, as well as key numbers across our work being brought to life. Further coverage of our numbers via infographics is currently being promoted on our social media platforms and in e-newsletters.

> View Annual Review

On behalf of Scottish Golf, thank you for your continued support and I look forward to seeing many of you across the country as the season continues.

 Blane Dodds, Chief Executive