Dollar Golf Club


COUNTY NOTES
(By Hugh Hunter)

Clackmannan County Golf Union

CCGU Website
CCGU Fixtures 2012
Boys & Juniors 2011
Trophies & Winners
Alloa Golf Club
Alva Golf Club
Braehead Golf Club
Dollar Golf Club
Tillicoultry Golf Club
Tulliallan Golf Club

CCGU EXECUTIVE - OFFICE BEARERS
Honorary President
J.F.W. Hamilton
President
G. Kay
Vice President
W. Hatley
Past President
S. Kinnaird
Secretary/Treasurer
T.H. Johnson

COUNTY GOLF FEES UNCHANGED FOR 2012
At the Annual General Meeting of Clackmannan County Golf Union held at Braehead Golf Club last week, the report for 2011 showed a satisfactory financial year - probably considered very good in the present economic circumstances. It was agreed by the representatives present that the fees payable for the County events would be unchanged for another year. The entry fees for the County competitions represent good value when compared to green fees and give the County golfers a good opportunity to play the local courses and try for the prize vouchers. With no more than a few miles travel within Clackmannanshire to reach a golf course, there is the added bonus of a low travel cost in these days of high fuel prices.
The six Clubs in the County Golf Union would all welcome new members, perhaps a Golf membership is an ideal Christmas present - especially for new junior golf enthusiasts.

    Office bearers remain unchanged for 2012:
  • President - George Kay
  • Vice President - Bill Hatley
  • Secretary /Treasurer - Tommy Johnson
  • Junior Convenor - Sam Kinnaird
  • Scottish Golf Union Representative - Kenneth Ellacott.
The highly successful Clackmannan County Golf dinner has been scheduled for Braehead Golf Club on the 2nd March - tickets are very competitively priced at £22 and available from Tommy Johnson or Sam Kinnaird.

CALLUM MAKES IT THROUGH
With a determined effort, Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay made it through to the final qualifying for the 2012 European Tour. Over the par 71 course at the El Valle resort in southern Spain Callum finished in second equal position at his qualifying venue. With 20 qualifiers going forward to the final stage it was easy for Callum thanks to two fine rounds of 66 in his four rounds 11 under par total (66,71,66,71). Under the handicapping system used for Amateur golf a 66 probably represented playing to a handicap of plus 8 and it shows just how high the standard is. Out of the 18 Scots in Stage two only a few made it to the difficult stage three, none of them top Scottish amateurs from 2011. Callum will be up against a strong field with the exemptions containing many European Tour winners, it will be a six round marathon with only 30 players or so gaining Tour cards for 2012 out of a field of around 150. Even then there is no guarantee of an entry for every European Tour event - it’s a tough life!
Tulliallan golfers and the rest of the county will be wishing him the best of luck at the PGA Catalunya resort from the 10th to the 15th December - it's par 72 stadium course and measures just over 7200 yards - out of the ten par 4s, only two are under 400 yards.

Hugh Hunter 5th December 2011

NO SUCCESS FOR LOCALS AT ALLOA IN THE ALLIANCE
The Midland Alliance reached Alloa Golf Club last week with 83 competitors. Thankfully there was a respite in the weather and the fixture was played although the ground conditions were on the wet side. None of the local Alliance members could use their home advantage and most prize-winners came from outwith the County. With the course playing long, the best scratch score was a one over par score 71 from Alistair Webster. Best local score was a 74 from Braehead professional Jamie Stevenson, putting him in 4th equal place and overall there were only about a dozen scratch scores under 80. Top local senior golfer Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) finished with a 78. In both the handicap and team sections there were no local winners .......... the best net score was a 71 from J Watt (Edzell) and the team event was won with a score of 63.
It was much better in the previous fixture over the long Fairmont course where Jamie finished second equal with a scratch 75 and led his team to the top place with a net 137.

WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKINGS
The World Amateur Golf Rankings are very much biased towards American golfers — especially as they can compete in many events over the winter season. Perhaps the only good feature is that the rankings put golfers from one country into a ranking order and in connection with that, it is pleasing to see local junior golfer Lawrence Allan (Alva) break into the top 50 in Scotland. His world ranking of 1588 translates into a Scotland ranking of 47. There is a bit of disappointment for Lawrence in that he has not been included in the Scottish Boys Coaching squad for 2012. Out of the 9 players selected, 7 have World rankings much lower than him, even as much as 1000 places worse. Although he is below these boys in the Boys Order of Merit, it takes no account of performances in adult competitions. I think most County golfers would sympathise with Lawrence and wish him well in his last year in boys golf - he has a point to prove.

BACK TO SCHOOL FOR CALLUM
Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay will be back at the European Tour Qualifying School second stage to be held in Spain over four courses. Callum is one of three Scots playing 72 holes over the El Valle Golf resort course at Murcia from the 2nd till the 5th December. The course is a 6764 yard par 71 layout, the longest hole being a par 5 of 615 yards, and the four par threes are all over 200 yards. There are seven par fours of fewer than 400 yards suggesting there could be many birdie opportunities for these long hitters, but the course is described as having “numerous strategic elements to challenge golfers with a premium on accuracy that favours the intelligent player”. In other words - plenty trouble! The top scores from each of the four courses will go forward to the final qualifying played over six rounds with the top 35 players getting their European Tour cards for 2012. Local golfers will want to wish Callum every success in his quest for a return to the full European Tour.

Hugh Hunter 13th November 2011

SO CLOSE FOR CALLUM
Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay just missed out on a place in the Challenge Tour’s Grand Final for places in the 2012 European Tour. At the start of the Rome Open, Callum knew exactly what he had to do .....finish 3rd or better to give winnings of about £10,000 and ensure a ranking in the top 45. His strategy of attack paid off with his very first round of 66. Rounds of 68, 72 and 69 followed to give him a 9 under par total (equalling his best total of 2011) and 5th place on his own. Only two shots behind the winner, but unfortunately this wasn’t enough and he finished about £2,000 short and a 49th place in the rankings. His Challenge Tour place is assured for next season but it’s a visit to the Qualifying School in December to try and regain a category on the European Tour. Even missing out at Rome, he must be pleased with his performance which shows quite clearly that he has the golf game to compete at the highest level.

MIDLAND ALLIANCE
The Midland Alliance is well into its 2011/2012 season and in the latest event over the Downfield course in Dundee local golfers were out of the prize lists. Best Scratch scores of 76 came from Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) and Braehead professional Jamie Stevenson. In the handicap section Alloa’s Chris Westland finished in 4th place with a net 74. In the Amateur prize lists, Chris Westland leads County golfers with a 5th placing - Alloa’s Ray Barton and Hugh Hunter are tied with Bob Stewart in 14th equal place. In the professional prize lists, Jamie Stevenson lies in second place.

JUNIOR CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS
Alva’s Lawrence Allan has his last chance of 2011 to make a big impact on the Junior golf scene at the Duke’s course St Andrews this weekend. The double Junior and Match play Champion will represent Clackmannanshire in a field of 60 (42 boys, 18 girls) - all of them have won Championships at Junior level. Lawrence is first off at 9.00 am on Sunday.

........AND FINALLY
Golf of course is all about numbers and working out some sort of achievement, and Alloa’s Michael Niven is right there. With a long and successful golfing career stretching back to the 1950s he still managed a new achievement last week - that elusive number that equals or beats your age. In a competition at Pitlochry Michael did just that, scoring a remarkable age equalling 70, less his handicap of six, to give him a net 64 to ensure that his handicap is at a lower level than a year ago. Hope for us all then ...........Well done Michael!

Hugh Hunter 17th October 2011

TOP TWENTY FINISH FOR ALLOA JUNIORS
In the final of the Highland Spring Junior Masters held last Sunday over the Queens course Gleneagles, the two Alloa juniors put in a creditable performance. From a field of 50 boys, County Junior Boy Champion Brian McAdam finished with 28 points (19th equal) in the Stableford event and smooth swinging Gregor McEwan went one better with 29 points (16th equal) - the winner scored 36 points.

SCOTTISH ALLIANCE CHAMPIONSHIP WASHED OUT
Last week’s Scottish Alliance Championship due to be played over 54 holes was curtailed to a single round due to the weather conditions. Prizes were awarded over one round only with county players in the prize list - Seniors Order of Merit winner Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) tied for first place in the Senior Scratch division with a score of 82 and Alloa’s Ray Barton picked up the 4th equal handicap prize with a net score of 75. Experienced campaigner Alan Glass (Alloa) distinguished himself with a hole in one at the 8th and collected a special prize.

COUNTY SENIORS AUTUMN MEETING
38 County Senior golfers braved the wet conditions at Braehead in the Clackmannan County Seniors Autumn Meeting. Played in three divisions as a Stableford competition, five scores of 36 points were recorded and, taking care not to fall foul of data protection on ages, the prize-winners (in mixed order) in the three divisions are as follows:

  • Winning scratch: W Bell (Tulliallan) 27 points; M Niven (Alloa) 29; V Allan (Dollar) 30.
  • Runner up scratch: B Christie (Braehead) 21; I Peddie (Tulliallan) 20; W Hatley (Tillicoultry) 26.
  • Winning handicap: M J Todd (Dollar) 36; H Hunter (Alloa) 33; G Ferguson (Braehead) 36.
  • Runner up handicap: A Parker (Tulliallan); D Hawke (Braehead) 33; C Beattie (Braehead) 36.
  • Third place handicap: R Macdonald (Dollar) 32; B Macdonald (Dollar) 34; F Anderson (Braehead) 31.
    A team competition was run alongside the individual event with Dollar scoring 138 points (Todd 36, Allan 36, R Macdonald 34, B Macdonald 32) and finishing 1 point ahead of home team Braehead.

    COUNTY ORDER OF MERIT FINISHES
    County Secretary Tommy Johnson has completed the 2011 Order of Merit rankings with Michael Robertson confirmed as retaining his 2010 title. 1st Michael Robertson (Alva) 545 points; 2nd Jamie Aitken (Alloa) 500; 3rd Scott Moffat (Braehead) 475; 4th Lawrence Allan (Alva) 340; 5th David Milloy (Alloa) 240; 6th John Gullen (Tillicoultry) 227.5.

    CRUNCH TIME FOR CALLUM ON CHALLENGE TOUR
    With only two events left on the Challenge Tour schedule it looks like Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay will be heading back to the European Tour Qualifying School in Spain next month. Over a week ago, Callum just missed the cut by one shot after a brilliant second round and in last week’s event at Lyon, Callum started well but two over par rounds of 74 and 73 left him down the field on his two under par total of 282 (67,74,73,68). Callum plays in the Rome Open this week when the Challenge Tour moves to Italy for the end of the 2011 season.

    Hugh Hunter 9th October 2011

    • SUCCESS FOR COUNTY GOLFERS
    Following on from Jamie Stevenson’s 6th place and Ken Thomson’s 3rd equal place recently in the Midland Alliance event at Alyth, County golfers Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) and Ray Barton (Alloa) teamed up with L Bushby (Blairgowrie) and A McEwan (Carnoustie) to take the top team prize in the Midland Alliance Pro-Am at Ladybank last week. With the best two net scores counting, they finished on 130, to give them a two shot win - normally a team consists of three amateurs teamed with a professional but in their case Bob, as the low handicap amateur, took on the professional role, leading the team well. In the scratch section Braehead professional Jamie Stevenson shared second place with a level par 71, one shot behind the leading score of 70.
    The 54 hole 2011 Scottish Alliance Championships take place this week at Buchanan Castle and five local golfers, R Stewart (Tulliallan), R. Barton, A Glass, C Westland, K Thomson (all Alloa) will be competing in the field of over 70 drawn from all the Alliance golfers in Scotland.

    GLENEAGLES CHANCE FOR LOCAL BOY GOLFERS
    The Highland Spring Junior Masters Final takes place this weekend over the Queens Course at Gleneagles. 81 qualifiers (51 boys, 30 girls) will compete for the 2011 title and Clackmannan boys Gregor McEwan and Brian McAdam (both Alloa) will be hoping for a good performance in the handicap event. The number of Junior Club golfers in the county is diminishing - hopefully local Clubs will be taking some initiatives to recruit new Junior members.

    Hugh Hunter 2nd October 2011

    NO JOY FOR ALVA AT FALKIRK TRYST
    In the final of the Scottish Club Championship held last weekend at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club, the challenge of Alva Golf Club (Lawrence Allan, Steve McIvor, and Michael Robertson) did not materialise and they finished in tenth position out of the sixteen Area Club qualifiers.
    With the best two scores from three to count in each round, Alva left themselves too much to do in the second round. Best in the morning round was Lawrence with a 68 — one of only 6 sub par scores from the field of 48, their score of 145 (Allan 68, Robertson 77) put them in eighth position. In the increasingly rainy afternoon their second round total was 151 (Allan 74, Robertson 77), giving them an aggregate score of 296, finishing tenth behind the winning team from Ballochmyle (Ayrshire).

    2011 COUNTY BOYS GOLF LEAGUE
    The County Junior Golf League for 2011 has finished and holders Alva have retained their 2010 title. County Junior Convenor Sam Kinnaird commented, “In these difficult times for Junior Golf in Clackmannan County, the team of Alva boys have to be congratulated on a fine win this year. Most of the matches were played - unfortunately only four Clubs participated and hopefully next year will see a return of the other two clubs to the competition”.
    Final Results:

  • 1. Alva (5 points)
  • 2. Braehead (4 points)
  • 3. Alloa (3 points)
  • 4. Tillicoultry (2 points).

    COUNTY GOLF LEAGUE
    The County Golf League in 2011 was well supported, with all six Clubs in Clackmannan County participating. County President George Kay congratulated Alloa Golf Club, “Over fifty golfers from the six Clubs took part in the Inter Club matches, Alloa had an emphatic win with 3 wins and two halves in their five matches. Hopefully some of these golfers will improve to feature in next years County teams and we look forward to improved results”.
    Final Results:

  • 1. Alloa (8 points)
  • 2. Braehead (5 points)
  • 3. Tulliallan (5 points)
  • 4. Alva (4 points)
  • 5. equal Dollar, Tillicoultry (2 points)

    CALLUM IN ACTION
    Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay missed last weeks Challenge Tour but is back on the circuit at La Gomera in the Canary Islands. He must be hoping for third time lucky after making two cuts and finishing fairly well up the field recently.

    Hugh Hunter 25th September 2011

    • SLOW START - THEN BOB HITS FORM
    It was not the best opening day for Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart in the Senior Home Internationals at the Woodhall Spa golf course in Lincolnshire last week when he lost both his opening foursomes and singles matches to experienced Irish golfers. However, on the second day, playing with former Tulliallan member Fraser McCluskey he bounced back with a foursomes win against England, beating Charles Banks and Alan Squires by 3/2. Bob lost his afternoon singles in a close match with Andrew Stacey, going down 2/1. The Scottish Team were now in a precarious position and with the wooden spoon staring them in the face they produced a resounding victory against Wales on the last day to leave them in third place. Bob made a good contribution to the last days play with wins in both foursomes (3/2) and singles (5/3) to leave him with a fairly satisfactory performance over the three days.

    GOOD TRY FROM THE COUNTY UNDER 14 GOLFERS
    In the Frank Thomson Under 14s triangular match involving Clackmannan, Fife and Perth & Kinross, the young County team can be fairly proud of their efforts. Against much more experienced golfers from the other two Counties, and over the PGA course at Gleneagles, they amassed a respectable number of Stableford points. County Boys Convenor Sam Kinnaird was reasonably pleased, “Even from the front tees, the PGA course is actually longer than the Kings course at Gleneagles, and the boys have to be congratulated on a fine showing”. Alloa was well represented in the team with four members (Angus Boyd, Brian McAdam, Gregor McEwan and Jamie McEwan - at eleven, the youngest golfer in the event). The other two were Tillicoultry’s Jonathan Clark and Braehead’s Ryan Blyth. Best scores came form County Junior Boys Champion Brian McAdam with 24 points closely followed by Gregor McEwan on 22 and Jonathan Clark on 21. Perth and Kinross won the 2011 event with Fife and Clackmannan some distance back.

    The Under 14 Clackmannan County Golf team pictured at Gleneagles.

    MOSCOW JOY FOR CALLUM
    Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay improved on last week’s performance with a top ten finish in the Challenge Tour event held at Moscow and no doubt causing him considerable happiness in returning to a golf game of his early professional days. Callum easily made the cut with rounds of 69 and 73, and there was more sub-par golf in his third round of 71. In his last round a 3,3,2 birdie start put him among the leaders. His finishing birdie was worth a few thousand euros, a 5 under par total of 283 and a share of sixth place - but more importantly, it must have given some confidence for the remaining five Challenge Tour events, a top finish in the rankings would avoid a return to the Tour school, its still possible so best of luck Callum.

    MORE ACTION FOR COUNTY GOLFERS
    It’s a big weekend for the Alva Golf Club team at Falkirk Tryst when their three man team competes in the Scottish Club Championship. If all three hit a golf game then Alva is in with a good chance - both Tulliallan and Alloa have achieved success in the event and the winning team from Scotland competes in the European event. Just before that, the County Senior team will be competing for the Scottish Senior Team Championship at Musselburgh - its another "best of luck to both teams".

    Hugh Hunter 18th September 2011

    NOT A MEMORABLE WEEKEND FOR COUNTY GOLF TEAMS
    While the GB & I Golf Team had a memorable victory in the Walker Cup at Royal Aberdeen, it was a different story for the Clackmannan County Golf Teams. In the GARY HARVEY Boys event held a Braehead, the County Boys failed to make an impact on the other three Counties - 1st Perth & Kinross; 2nd Fife: 3rd Angus; 4th Clackmannan. Best performances came from Kevin Ross (Tillicoultry) with 2 wins, Calum Graham (Alva) 1 win and 1 halved match; Steven Watson (Tillicoultry) and Scott Beattie (Braehead) both 1 win; Rikky Alexander (Braehead) 1 halved match.
    The Junior Team members can all hit good shots but they do lack some consistency and experience. Hopefully their Braehead experience will encourage them to move their golf games on a bit.
    The County Junior Boys team will be in action this weekend at Gleneagles in the Frank Thomson Trophy.

    At the MIDLANDS TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP held over the Lansdowne course near Blairgowrie, the County Men’s team were unable to retain their trophy, finishing 16 shots behind the winners. County Team Captain Jamie Aitken led the way with a one over par score of 73.
    Results (seven out of eight scores to count)

  • 1. Perth & Kinross - 517
  • 2. Fife - 527
  • 3. Angus - 528
  • 4. Clackmannan - 533
    (Jamie Aitken 73; Darren Hulston 74; Michael Robertson 75; Ian Guthrie 76; Scott Borrowman 77; John Maxwell 78; Ross Benvie 80)

    CAPTAIN ALLAN DOES THE BUSINESS
    It was a bit better at the Scottish Schools International against England on Monday, in horrendous gale force conditions both the Girls Team and the Boys Team defeated their English counterparts. The girls won 5 matches to 1 and the boys won 8 matches to 4. The Boys Team Captain Lawrence Allan (Alva) was part of a historic occasion, the first double win in the history of the event which goes back to 1979. Lawrence himself had a good win (which incidentally sealed the team win) in the testing conditions. Down in his match against Dean Newbold most of the way and two down with four to play, he snatched a win on the last green.
    Lawrence’s World Ranking continues to improve and is now up to 1618, and close to breaking into the top 50 golfers in Scotland.

    Pictured left are the Girls and Boys Team Captains Lauren Whyte (Madras College) and Lawrence Allan (Alva Academy) with the Team trophies won by both boys and girls in the International match against England on the 12th September at Kilmarnock Barassie Golf club. On the right are the team Captains with the victorious Boys and Girls Teams.

    A LITTLE SUCCESS FOR CALLUM IN KAZAKHSTAN
    Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay looked good after a couple of rounds in the Challenge Tour event at 6 under par with a pair of 69s and a sixth equal position. He fell back a bit in Round 3 with a 76 but finished with a 71 for a four round aggregate of 285 (3 under par) and winnings of around 3000 euros.
    This week Callum travels to Moscow for the M2M Russian Challenge at the Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club.

    Hugh Hunter 12th September 2011

    • BOB AT HIS BEST IN SENIORS FINALS
    With an outstanding performance over the par 72 Lansdowne course at Blairgowrie, Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart clinched the 2011 Seniors Order of Merit. Starting the round knowing he had to fend off his two nearest challengers (playing alongside him), Bob raced to the turn in 1 under par. His nearest rival, Gordon Macdonald (Callander) dropped 5 shots in the first three holes and never pulled back the shots as Bob continued in steady fashion to return a 74, the best score of the day. A few years back, Bob had the title in his grasp, but missed a short putt - there was no mistake this time as he cruised to victory. With a maximum of 125 for his work, Bob took the Order of Merit title by over 100 points, bringing another National title to Tulliallan and Clackmannanshire. On a side note, Bob was one of only three golfers to play in ten events on the Senior circuit and now must be quietly confident for the Senior Home Internationals coming up this week at Woodhall Spa.
    Fellow Club player Phil Dempsey finished with an 81 at Lansdowne and finished in 23 equal place in the Order of Merit with 182 points.

    FEET ON THE GOLFING LADDER
    Now that the 2011 Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit is complete with James White (Lundin) being declared the winner, it is worth noting that two Clackmannan County players have managed a few points to establish themselves in the rankings. At 62nd place equal is Alva’s Lawrence Allan and 75th equal County Team Captain Jamie Aitken (Alloa) - who knows, a bit more experience might take both of them to high levels in Scottish Golf.

    Hugh Hunter 11th September 2011

    BUSY TIME FOR COUNTY GOLFERS
    Local golfers will be in action at the end of this week, when several competitions are being held. Top Boys event is the GARY HARVEY TROPHY at Braehead where teams of eight boys representing Clackmannan, Fife, Angus and Perth & Kinross will be competing against each other for the 2011 trophy. Each team plays three matches (one on Saturday 10th and two on Sunday 11th). The Clackmannan team for each match will be selected from the following boys representing four out of the six Golf Clubs in Clackmannan County. - Lawrence Allan, Reyner Kennedy (both Alva); Rikky Alexander, Scott Beattie, Grant Murray (all Braehead); Ryan Miller (Alloa), Steven Watson, Kevin Ross, Grant Carmichael (all Tillicoultry).
    The MIDLAND TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP also takes place this weekend over 36 holes at the Lansdowne Course, Blairgowrie, where teams of eight golfers representing the same four Areas as in the Boys event at Braehead will be in action. Representing Clackmannanshire will be Jamie Aitken (Alloa — Captain), Ross Benvie, Scott Moffat (Braehead), Scott Borrowman, Darren Hulston (both Dollar), John Maxwell (Tulliallan), Steve McIvor, Michael Robertson (both Alva). Jamie is confident the team will put up a good show, “Clackmannan are the holders of the Championship but will be tested over the 6,900 yard layout where hitting fairways and avoiding the trees is essential to a good score”.
    Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart as mentioned last week will also be playing over the Lansdowne course in the SCOTTISH SENIORS GOLFING SOCIETY FINALS on Thursday. Bob had a good warm up for the event recently in the Seniors Open at Buchanan Castle where he scored 68 which was the best scratch score by four shots and tied the top handicap score.
    On Monday, the SCOTTISH SCHOOLS INTERNATIONAL MATCH against England will be played (foursomes and singles) at Kilmarnock Barassie and Lawrence Allan (Alva Academy) will captain the Scottish team.
    Later next week from Tuesday 13th till Thursday 15th, Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) will represent Scotland against teams from the other Home Nations in the SENIOR HOME INTERNATIONALS. Local golfers will of course hope that Bob will find good golfing form over the Woodhall Spa course in Lincolnshire.
    Clackmannanshire should be proud of its elite golfers, all of them making their mark on the Scottish golfing scene.
    Also on this weekend is the WALKER CUP match played between Great Britain and Ireland and the United States.........but no County golfers will be playing in this!

    MIDLAND ALLIANCE
    Local golfers continue to make their mark in the new season - at Ballumbie Castle two weeks ago, Chris Westland (Alloa) tied for second place in the handicap section and, last week, Alloa’s Hugh Hunter was in a five way tie for the first handicap place on a net score of 72 while Braehead professional Jamie Stevenson took the runner-up scratch prize with a 73 — Bob Stewart just finished in the top ten with a 78.

    EDWARD TROPHY
    In the latest Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit event, Alva’s Lawrence Allan made the 36 hole cut and compiled four steady rounds (75,73,76,72) putting him in 15th place with an aggregate of 296 and quite close to many of the top Scottish elite golfers. The winning score was 281.

    WORLD AMATEUR GOLF RANKINGS
    With points gained by both players at the South East District Championship, Scott Borrowman (Dollar) has seen his ranking improve by 115 places to 1976, and Alva’s Lawrence Allan has dropped slightly to 1785.

    Hugh Hunter 4th September 2011

    2011 COUNTY JUNIOR LEAGUE — UPDATE
    The 2011 County Junior Golf League has been a headache for Sam Kinnaird the County Junior Convenor who commented, “With Tulliallan and Dollar not participating, it has been left to the remaining four Clubs to keep the League going. Matches at present are played on a handicap basis but, even with that, some Clubs are struggling to field a team. Results are almost finalised but at present Alva boys (the holders) lead from Braehead on games for and against with Alloa and Tillicoultry occupying 3rd and 4th places. With an Under 16 triangular match for the Frank Thomson trophy, there is considerable worry over the County team - hopefully local golf Clubs will be making big efforts to encourage their junior golfers”.

    COUNTY GOLFERS GO SOUTH EAST
    The first two rounds of the South East District Championship at Musselburgh were cancelled because of rain, shortening the event to 36 holes. It was good to see three locals competing - Jamie Aitken (Alloa) finished well up the field in 15th place on 144 (74,74) and, incidentally, finishing ahead of some top Scottish players including current Internationalists with Scott Borrowman (Dollar) slightly further back on 152 (80,72) and Alva’s Lawrence Allan on 154 (75,79).
    Lawrence Allan continues to progress — his world ranking has improved by a massive 499 places to 1779, his best ever ranking. Thanks to his good performance in the North District Championship he is now some distance above Scott Borrowman’s ranking of 2091.
    Clackmannan County could do with a few more golfers making their way into the World rankings.
    It's also good to report another honour for Lawrence and Alva Golf Club — he has been made Team Captain for the Scottish Schools Boys team to play England at Kilmarnock Barassie on the 12th September.

    CRUNCH DAY FOR BOB
    As mentioned last week, Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart has regained the number one spot in the 2011 Senior Rankings (and he has now been confirmed for the Senior Home Internationals). With 562.5 points he is 29 ahead of his nearest rival Gordon Macdonald on 533.75 points. The final showdown will be at Blairgowrie next week in the Order of Merit Finals when they play together. Bob has done his arithmetic, clearly if he beats Gordon there is no doubting the number one for 2011, however if Gordon wins (125 points) at Blairgowrie then Bob has to finish second (100 points) – and of course other golfers may affect the result. Best of luck Bob!!

    DISAPPOINTMENT AT GLENEAGLES
    Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay received a late call up to play in the Johnnie Walker Championship at Gleneagles last week, a European Tour event, but unfortunately just missed the 36hole cut and causing some disappointment to his supporters who followed him round.
    Next week its back to the Challenge Tour and a long trip to the Kazakhstan Open (a European event in Asia!!). With nine other Scots, Callum will be hoping for a share (preferably the biggest one) of the 400,000 euro prize fund.

    Hugh Hunter 28th August 2011

    LOCALS TRIUMPH IN COUNTY AUTUMN MEETING
    From the field of 89 last weekend, it was the home Braehead golfers that came out on top. Brian Craig (78-12=66) and Robert Murray (74-8=66) led the way from Robert Spence (78-11=67). In the scratch section, Jamie Aitken led on 73 with John Gullen (Tillicoultry), Scott Moffat (Braehead) and David Milloy (Alloa) all one shot behind on 74.
    For those golfers signed up to howdidido.co.uk, the full results of the Autumn Meeting can be found under Braehead Golf Club.
    The Autumn Meeting concluded the Harrower Trophy for 2011. Awarded for the best three scores from the Spring, Summer and Autumn Meetings, it was Alva’s Michael Roberson who won by just one shot to retain his title from 2010.
    Leading Scores:

  • 1. Michael Robertson (Alva) 69,74,75 = 218
  • 2. Jamie Aitken (Alloa) 73,73,73 = 219
  • 3. John Gullen (Tillicoultry) 75,72,74 = 221.
    The Clackmannan County Golf Union 2011 Order of Merit is still being finalised, with local Club Open competitions to be checked but, at present, Alloa’s Jamie Aitken with 275 points leads Scott Moffat (Braehead) 260 points. Michael Robertson (Alva) is on 190 and County Champion Lawrence Allan on 150.

    BOB BACK ON GOLFING FORM
    Its pleasing to see a return to form from Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart. In the North of Scotland Seniors at Elgin last week Bob shared third place with an aggregate of 142. In previous senior events Bob has sometimes opened with a not so good first round - not so at Elgin when he opened with a one over par score of 70 and added a 72 in the second round. His finish was two behind the winner, but more importantly it allowed him to reclaim the number one spot in the Seniors Order of Merit. The final event of the 2011 season at Blairgowrie will determine the number one for 2011 and its between Bob and Gordon Macdonald (Callander) - and they will play together! This return to form must make Bob’s selection for the up coming senior Internationals fairly certain.
    Fellow Tulliallan member Phil Dempsey with rounds of 76 and 71 finished in 13th place.

    MIDLAND ALLIANCE TEES OFF
    County golfers started well at the first Alliance meeting of the 2011-2012 season at Thornton last week. Over the par 70 course, golf professionals Jamie Stevenson (Braehead) and Paul Brookes (formerly Alloa) shared the top spot on 71. In the handicap section it was the local amateurs showing well with Alloa’s Chris Westland taking the runner up spot with a net 68. There were also top ten spots for fellow Alloa members Michael Niven (73 – 6th) and Hugh Hunter (74 – 9th). Midland Alliance members can look forward to a full programme of meetings — some 29 in all over generally good golf courses with one scheduled for Alloa on Tuesday 8th November.

    MORE GOOD GOLF FROM COUNTY GOLFERS
    After Bob Stewart’s good performance at Elgin, County Champion, Lawrence Allan (Alva) and Scott Borrowman (Dollar) kept the County name to the fore with strong performances in the North of Scotland Championship at Nairn Dunbar. It was Lawrence who showed the best form. After the two rounds on Saturday he found himself in 4th place (74,67=141), and playing the last two rounds in the company of Scottish Internationalists. Although falling back with a third round of 77, he regained form with a 74 to give a four round total of 292 and a share of 9th place. Although probably disappointed with his third round, he can take much consolation in the fact that his 67 in the second round was the second best round of the whole weekend in a field which contained a good number of Scottish Internationalists - proving once again that Lawrence has the golf game to compete at the highest level in Scotland. Dollar’s Scott Borrowman with rounds of 74,73,72,73 finished one shot further back in 12th position. The CSS was 74 in each of the four rounds.
    In terms of World Amateur Golf Rankings, Lawrence has moved up 158 places to 2281, just behind Scott Borrowman who is on 2184

    Hugh Hunter 21st August 2011

    • ANOTHER STEP FORWARD FOR LAWRENCE
    Although losing in the first round of the match play section, Alva’s Lawrence Allan can be well pleased with his golf performance at the British Boys Championship last week at Burnham and Berrow. From well over 200 boys, Lawrence made it to the match play stages with a two round score of 150 — right on the cut mark. In his first round over the Enmore Park course he opened with a double bogey 6 but steadied and, with 4 birdies, returned a one over par score of 72. In his second round Lawrence dropped 4 shots in the first three holes and again steadied - however a bogey, bogey finish for an aggregate of 150 gave him an anxious wait and it wasn’t until early evening that he was confirmed in the 64 qualifiers for the match play stages. It was a fine achievement — only 6 boys from the Scottish contingent of 21 made it through, most of the current boy internationalists failed. Incidentally the CSS of the Burnham and Berrow course went to 76 on the first day! Regrettably Lawrence lost in the first round to Thomas Detry (Belgium) on the 18th. Last year Lawrence missed the cut by a fairly large amount — he has clearly moved forward and in 2012, his last year in boys golf, he can build on the experience.

    ALLOA JUNIORS MAKING THEIR MARK
    It's one thing to have a good golf game on your local course and another to take that game to a different course in a National Championship - but that’s exactly what Alloa’s Beth Donoghue did last week in the Scottish Under 14’s Championships at Aberdour. Starting with two par threes and then an ugly 4 over par 8, Beth steadied to go out in 42 and back in 41 for a scratch 83. She finished well up the field, in fact the sixth best Scot in the field of 42. Hopefully she will be motivated to take her golf game to a higher level in the months ahead and maybe also others will follow her example.
    Staying with Alloa juniors, the two Alloa entrants in the Highland Spring Junior Masters qualifying event held at Turnhouse finished well up the field — Gregor McEwan with 39 Stableford points finished 7th and Brian McAdam with 36 points finished 17th.

    LOCAL GOLFERS UP FOR NATIONAL EVENTS
    Its another busy week for Clackmannan golfers - the County Autumn Meeting is at Braehead and the last chance for some of the low handicap golfers to strive for the aggregate trophies (Order of Merit and Harrower). Late entries will probably be available.
    The final Scottish Seniors Stroke Play event will be held at Elgin this week and the entry list contains four stalwarts from Tulliallan - Bob Stewart, Phil Dempsey, Phil Mawhood, and Ian Peddie. Bob will be trying to regain the number one spot in the Seniors Order of Merit, at present he lies in second place, 30 points behind former Tulliallan member Fraser McCluskey. Finally in a small entry of 40 couples, Alloa will be represented by Margaret Frame and Hugh Hunter in the Scottish Mixed Fours to be held at Mortonhall in Edinburgh this weekend.

    Hugh Hunter 13th August 2011

    DISMAL DAY AT DOLLAR FOR COUNTY TEAM
    With much of the play matching the weather conditions on Sunday the County golf team lost to a Stirlingshire side over Dollar golf course. The wet conditions favoured target golf for approach shots and it was the Stirling golfers who took full advantage. Best County performances came from experienced team members John Maxwell, who kept ahead to win at the last, and John Gullen who fought back from a one hole deficit early on to halve his match. Tillicoultry’s Scott Hunter finished strongly coming from one behind at the 15th and winning his match with a birdie three at the last where he hit a wedge to 6 ft and holed the putt.
    Results (Clackmannan names firdt)

  • 1. Michael Robertson (Alva) lost to Ryan Campbell (Falkirk) 4/3
  • 2. Allan Watson (Braehead) lost to Mark Cox (Falkirk) 3/2
  • 3. John Maxwell (Tulliallan) beat Derek Fish (Glenbervie) 2 holes
  • 4. Ian Guthrie (Alloa) lost to Ross Kane (Grangemouth) 4/3
  • 5. John Gullen (Tillicoultry) halved with Tommy Wilson (Glenbervie)
  • 6. Scott Hunter (Tillicoultry) beat Mark Hislop (Glenbervie) 1 hole
  • 7. Kevin McFarlane (Alva) lost to Stuart Haddow (Falkirk) 6/5
  • 8. Kevin Ross (Tillicoultry) lost to Liam Haldane (Stirling) 2 holes
    Match Result: Clackmannan 2 ½ - Stirling 5 ½
    (Discussions are underway to try to reschedule this match earlier in the season to give the top players experience for the Scottish Area Team Championship)

    TOP TEN FINISH FOR SCOTT IN LEVEN GOLD MEDAL
    Continuing his return to golf form, Dollar’s Scott Borrowman produced scores reminiscent (for older golfers) of Ben Hogan’s win in the Open in 1953. Hogan produced the often quoted four decreasing rounds (73,71,70,69) to take the Open with a score of 283. In last weekend’s Leven Gold Medal Scott also scored 283 with rounds of 75,72,69,67, finishing in 5th place 5 shots behind the winner and giving him some Scottish Golf Union Order of Merit points. With four 72 hole events left in the Amateur season, Scott will be hoping for continuing good scores to move up the table.

    BELHAVEN HANDICAP GOLF EVENTS
    Regional qualifying is still underway in the Scottish Golf Union Handicap events. Dollar (Steven McPherson and Jim Livingstone) will be trying to qualify at Bathgate on the 12th August for the Scottish Club Handicap Championship while at Williamwood on the 16th August, Alloa (Sheila Travers, Freda Nichols) will have the last chance of a Clackmannanshire Club to qualify for the finals of the Captains and Secretary’s Championship to be held over the Torrance course at the Fairmont hotel in St Andrews at the end of September.

    SCANDINAVIAN GOLF FOR CALLUM
    Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay is in Norway this week for the Norwegian Challenge tour event being played near Oslo. He will be hoping to improve his 69th ranking place on the Challenge Tour to try to avoid competing in the gruelling Tour Qualifying School being held in September.

    Hugh Hunter 7th August 2011

    • JUST A LITTLE JOY AT THE SCOTTISH AMATEUR
    For the four Wee County golfers who played in the Scottish Amateur Golf Championship there was a little joy, more disappointment and a number of golf lessons to be learnt. With two golfers from the six Clubs in the last 32 - no mean achievement really - County golfers can be proud of their representatives. Top performance came from Dollar’s Scott Borrowman who reached the last 16 in Round 5. Starting with a 19th hole win against Leonard Grindrod (Crow Wood) where he came from 3 down to take the match at the first extra hole with a fine approach shot followed by a 5 ft putt. In the next two rounds he had good wins — 6/5 against George Robertson (Irvine Ravenspark) and then 8/7 against Ewan Mackinnon. In round four he won narrowly by one hole against Brian Soutar (Leven GS) before losing to the 7th seed James White by 3/2.
    Alva’s Lawrence Allan won his first three rounds before losing to Neil Henderson (Glen) by one hole. Braehead’s Scott Moffat beat Michael Main in the first round but was unlucky to meet Michael Stewart in round two, where he couldn’t match the number one seed’s outward figures. Alloa’s Jamie Aitken--- three down with three to play produced some class golf to win the last three holes and take the match to the 19th hole, but the County Team Captain lost when his opponent holed from 15ft.
    All in all, a good learning experience for the four golfers — hopefully inspiring them to move on in their golf development.

    LOCAL DERBY GOLF MATCH
    The annual golf match against Stirlingshire, it’s been going for about 80 years now, takes place this weekend at Dollar when the Clackmannan team will be in action.
    Selected for the Clackmannan team are Scott Moffat, Alan Watson (Braehead), Steve McIvor, Michael Robertson (Alva), John Maxwell (Tulliallan), John Gullen, Kevin Ross, Scott Hunter (Tillicoultry).

    SCOTTISH UNDER 14’S CHAMPIONSHIPS
    The only Clackmannan County representative is in the girls section where Beth Donoghue (Alloa) will be competing with just over 40 girls for the 2011 title.

    TWO WEEK BREAK FOR CALLUM
    At present there is a two week break in the Challenge Tour schedule and Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay will be using it to prepare for the final ten tournaments of 2011 - all the events are outwith the UK, the next one is the Norwegian Challenge and there is even one in Kazakhstan (it’s a £650 + return air fare and between a 13 and 45 hour trip from Scotland unless someone has organised a charter flight for the golfers)

    Hugh Hunter 31st July 2011

    OUTSTANDING GOLF AT COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP
    It was material for a book from the Clackmannan County Golf Championship held at Braehead last weekend - the youngest County Champion ever in the 108 year history of the event - TWO holes in one from two Scotts - a Junior golfer holding three County titles and the continuance of the second golden age for Alva Golf Club. Over the well presented Braehead course, in sunny weather, 17 year old Lawrence Allan took the 2011 title in some style with a 65 in his second round which overtook the first round leading scores. In winning the title by two shots another record was set whereby Lawrence added the 2011 County Championship to his 2011 Boys Stroke and match play titles.
    In the first round, Lawrence opened quietly with a two over par round of 72 leaving him in tenth place, the leading score of 67 coming from County Match Play Champion and long hitting Scott Moffat - helped by a hole in one at the par 4 293 yard 4th hole. Scott’s double eagle or albatross was achieved with a three wood from the tee on to the green and curling down the slope and into the hole. Close behind in round one were Jamie Aitken (Alloa) on 68 and another local favourite Ross Benvie with a 69.
    With the top players fading slightly in round tw, it was Lawrence who grasped the opportunity with a well compiled 65 containing 5 birdies plus an eagle at the 296 yard uphill ninth. Another Scott, Scott Wilson (Braehead) holed his 8 iron tee shot at the par three 6th - the ball checking 5 ft from the hole and again rolling sideways into the hole - producing a spectator roar heard all around the golf course.
    In presenting the prizes and congratulating the new Champion, County President George Kay complimented the golf club and reminded the company that Lawrence Allan senior won the County Championship 33 years ago
    Full Scores (36 hole totals)

  • 1. Lawrence Allan (Alva) 137 (72,65)
  • 2. Jamie Aitken (Alloa) 139 (68,71)
  • 3. Scott Moffat (Braehead) 139 (67,72)
  • 4. Scott Borrowman (Dollar) 141 (70,71)
  • 5. Jim Muir (Braehead) 143 (73,70)
    Others:
  • 143 J Maxwell, R G Lyons, R Benvie
  • 145 M Rust
  • 146 P Macleod, M Robertson
  • 147 A Aitken, J McAdam
  • 148 S McIvor, S Horne

    In the Handicap section, J McAdam (Tulliallan) on 131 (63,68) won by four shots from S Kenny (Alva) 135 (72,63).

    In the qualifying competition to select the Clackmannan County Club representative for the Scottish Club Championship to be held at Falkirk Tryst on the 25th September, the Alva team (Lawrence Allan, Steve McIvor and Michael Robertson) on 281 won by a single shot from the home team Braehead (282) with Tulliallan 285 and Alloa (288) in third and fourth places. Alva will be making their first appearance in the National Final and will be hoping for success to take them to the European Club final later in the year.

    Pictured (L-R) J Adamson (Hcp winner); County President George Kay; Scott Moffat (3rd place), Lawrence Allan (2011 County Champion) and Jamie Aitken (Runner-up).
    George Kay presents Lawrence with trophy
    The winning Alva team - qualifiers for Scottish Club Championship (L-R) Lawrence Allan, Michael Robertson and Steve McIvor.

    THE DISAPPOINTMENTS OF GOLF
    One measure of a good golfer is the ability to bounce back from a not so good performance. Just recently, Alva’s Lawrence Allan took the Braehead Boys Open with a fine round of 66, winning by 7 shots from Grant Murray — he must have been confident on making the trip to Nairn for the Boys Stroke Play but with rounds of 75 and 76 his 7 over par score proved one shot too many to reach the final stages. His remarkable win in the County Championship is more than adequate compensation. In just over a week’s time Lawrence is one of the twenty Scots competing in the British Boys Championship at Burnham and Berrow near Bristol which, with a world wide field, the standard is sure to be high.
    Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart also had a disappointing week in the Seniors Match Play at Monifieth - with a fine 69 in his second round, Bob qualified for the match play in sixth place but lost out in the first round to Iain Stewart (Kilmarnock Barassie) by one hole. Bob quickly bounced back to win the Braehead seniors Open with a fine 69.
    Bob is also entered in the British Seniors Amateur event at the Dunluce Links of Royal Portrush Golf Club from the 3rd to the 5th August. There are 16 Scots among the 144 entries playing 54 holes with a cut after two rounds. Stretching to over 7000 yards, Royal Portrush is a Harry Colt master piece and with two holes named “Calamity” and “Purgatory” it sounds a daunting prospect before you have even hit a shot!

    COUNTY JUNIORS MAKING THEIR MARK
    It is good to see success by County Junior golfers and new names appearing - in the Glenbervie Junior Open, Braehead’s Grant Blair took 3rd place with a scratch 75 behind two local members and in the 14 and under category, Alloa’s Gregor McEwan took the first handicap spot with a net score of 64.

    NOSTALGIC TRIP FOR JOHN
    Tillicoultry’s John Gullen marked his 30th anniversary of winning the Scottish Boys Stroke play event by playing in the Bellshill Salver last weekend. In 1981 John won a play off for the title after 4 rounds of 74 - and 30 years later his score was - 74 - which gave him a top ten finish.

    MACMILLAN CARE BENEFITS FROM THE BONNY BIRDIES
    Last week’s efforts of the Bonny Birdies (Liz Stewart, Maggi Davidson, Eileen McLeod and Claire Milne) in playing a four round golf marathon over Dunblane, Muthill and Schawpark golf courses have been rewarded by generous donations from friends, family and golf supporters. To date the four have raised over £2,500 towards Macmillan Cancer Care. Liz is delighted, “We are very grateful to all those who have supported us and all the donations were very much appreciated. If anyone still wishes to support us, there is still an opportunity either directly to ourselves or via the web site www.justgiving.com/teams/forebonniebirdies which has the added advantage of a tax “top-up” for taxpayers.”

    Hugh Hunter 24th July 2011

    • COUNTY GOLFERS IN SCOTTISH AMATEUR GOLF CHAMPIONSHIP
    Four out of the six local Golf Clubs are represented in the Scottish Amateur Golf Championship next week at the 7000 yards Western Gailes course on the Ayrshire coast. First in play is Scott Moffat (Braehead) at 7.17 am on the Monday morning playing Michael Main (Thornton). The winner of this match could meet the 2010 Scottish Amateur Champion and number one seed Michael Stewart (Troon). Lawrence Allan (Alva) plays James Hendrik (Pollok) at 11.41 and the other two play on Tuesday - Jamie Aitken (Alloa) plays Daniel Thompsett (Aboyne) at 8.13 and Scott Borrowman (Dollar) plays Thomas Sharkey (Helensburgh) at 11.09. Scott is enjoying a return to form, he has made the last two cuts in Scottish Order of Merit events - last weekend he finished just outside the top twenty in the Newlands Trophy with a score of 288 (75,71,69,74). The winning score was 275. His World Amateur ranking is on the up again (at 2163) and he is back above Alva’s Lawrence Allan (at 2213). Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay of course won the Scottish Championship back in 2008.

    BACK ON THE CHALLENGE TOUR
    After a weeks break coinciding with the Open Championship, Callum Macaulay is back in action this week at the English Challenge held at Stoke by Nayland golf course near Colchester. At present Callum’s Challenge tour ranking is at 64 with just over half the events being played. His target is to get to the top ten of the rankings for next season to improve his chance of playing in the European Tour events and avoid the difficult tour school qualifying. The entry form for the 2011 European Tour School is now available - entry costs only 1500 euros!!

    LONGEST DAY FOR THE BONNY BIRDIES
    Well done to four Ladies from Dunblane - Liz Stewart, Maggi Davidson, Eileen McLeod and Claire Milne who set themselves a golf challenge last week to raise funds for Macmillan Cancer Support in memory of the late Ronnie Frame, former Captain of Alloa Golf Club. The intrepid four started at 5.30am playing 2 rounds at Dunblane, one round at Muthill and one round at Schawpark finishing at just after 7.00pm. Liz was especially pleased that the weather was kind for their marathon golf, “The four of us had a great welcome at the golf clubs, the support at Schawpark was very much appreciated”.

    The "Bonny Birdies" at 7.00pm after their golf marathon on behalf of Macmillan Cancer Support on the last green at Alloa Golf Club. (L-R): Maggi Davidson, Liz Stewart, Eileen McLeod, Claire Milne)

    CLACKMANNAN COUNTY STROKE PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
    County Secretary Tommy Johnston is pleased that there is a good entry of over 50 for the 36 hole County Championship this Saturday at Braehead. Late entries are being accepted up to and including the day of the competition. From the results a Golf Club will represent Clackmannanshire in the Scottish Club Championship to be held at Falkirk Tryst at the end of September, each Club has to nominate 3 players with the best two scores to count. Both Tulliallan and Alloa Golf clubs have done well in the past - winning the Scottish final and going on to represent Scotland in the European final.

    AND FINALLY………
    Alert viewers of the Scottish Open Golf at Castle Stuart may have picked up favourable comments from a TV commentator that “Clackmannanshire has a very good course at Alloa, Schawpark” - once again reinforcing comments made by visiting golfers and golf magazine reviews.

    Hugh Hunter 17th July 2011

    COUNTY GOLFERS OUT AND ABOUT
    Quite a number of local golfers are featuring in competitions throughout Scotland - its been a quieter week for performances. Best of the results came from Tulliallan’s Phil Dempsey in the West of Scotland Seniors at Lanark with a top ten (just) finish. Phil scored 151 (72,79), four shots behind the winning score of 147. Bob Stewart missed out on his consistent top ten finishes with two rounds of 78.

    In the Sutherland Chalice held at Dumfries and Galloway, Dollar’s Scott Borrowman finished in the middle of the field with an aggregate of 296 (73,74,75,74) while Braehead’s Scott Moffat just missed the cut with his first two round total of 152 (78,74). This weekend the Newlands trophy at Lanark is the next counting event in the Scottish Order of Merit.

    In the Scottish Under 16’s at Forfar, Braehead’s Rikky Alexander just missed the cut in the rain shortened event. Next week is the Boys stroke-play at Nairn Dunbar and County Boys Champion Lawrence Allan (Alva) will be hoping for a good performance.

    Hugh Hunter 10th July 2011

    COUNTY MIXED FOURS
    Home Club Dollar took the 2011 County Mixed Fours title winning by the narrowest of margins - half a shot!! - in this handicap event. Tillicoultry and Alloa tied for the runner-up spot.
    Full Results (best three scores from four to count):

  • 1. Dollar - 211 (C Murray & M Symington 66.5; R Smith & C Hak 78; B Smith & J McMillan 66.5)
  • 2. Alloa - 211.5 (J Allan & T Whitelaw 69.5; R Hume & H Hume 72; I Ross & S McKerracher 70)
  • 3. Tillicoultry 211.5 (J Perry & M Jamieson 75.5; S Watson & E Breingan 67; G Carmichael & B Ryan 69)
  • 4. Braehead 219.5 (V Allan & C Sikora 73; M Empson & S McKenzie 74.5; A Anderson & J Ure 72)

    Mixed Foursomes: (Back row) Ben Smith, Robert Smith, Dugdale Bradley (Dollar Club Captain)
    (Front row) Maria Symington, George Kay (County President), Charlie Murray (Dollar Team Captain), Carol Hak, Janette McMillan.

    LONG WAIT FOR THE ALEXANDER TROPHY
    In fact was 1929 and 82 years since Alva Golf Club last won the Alexander Trophy but their team produced the golfing goods last weekend at Tulliallan when they took the trophy by two shots from Glenbervie. Star of the team was Alva President Steve McIvor with a 71 ably supported by Michael Robertson and County Boy Champion Lawrence Allan.
    Full Results (Best three scores from four to count):

  • 1. Alva 218 (S McIvor 71, M Robertson 73, L Allan 74)
  • 2. Glenbervie 220 (D Fish 77, M Hislop 71, G Shepherd 72)
  • 3. Tulliallan 222 (S Horne 77, R G Lyons 71, J Maxwell 74)
  • 4. Falkirk 223; 5. Bonnybridge 26; 6. Stirling Junior & Youth Society 229; 7. Alloa 232; 8. Tillicoultry 245; 9. Stirling 245; 10. Earlsgate 248; 11. Braehead NR.

    Alexander Trophy: (L-R) Lawrence Allan, Steve Mcivor (Alva President), Gregor Kennedy.
    (Michael Robertson not present)

    CONSISTENT GOLF FROM BOB IN THE SCOTTISH SENIORS
    Although at first glance the 16 over par performance of Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) in the Scottish Seniors may look a bit ordinary, a closer examination of the numbers shows that it was quite good. Over the Irvine Bogside course where the par is two shots less than the standard scratch score Bob returned a three round total of 229 (79,73,77) putting him in 14th place. However, its 8th position if golfers from outwith Scotland are omitted from the final results. A triple bogey spoiled his first round but he rallied in the second and third rounds with six birdies and he missed a true top ten finish with 4 shots dropped late in the final round. With his nearest rivals in the Senior Order of Merit not featuring at Irvine, he should maintain his number one ranking.
    Bob is also to be congratulated on winning the Tulliallan Club Championship for the fourth time - in fact it’s a golfing silver jubilee for him as his first win was in 1986.
    The next Senior Order of Merit event is this weeks West of Scotland Seniors at Lanark, Bob is joined by fellow Tulliallan golfers Ian Peddie, Phil Mawhood and Phil Dempsey along with County President George Kay.

    CALLUM STILL MAKING PROGRESS
    It was another creditable performance from Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay in the Challenge Tour event in Sweden last week. Over the long Swedish National course Callum returned a nine under par performance (73,70,67,69) to give him a top ten finish and move his ranking up to 58. His last two sub 70 rounds must have given him more confidence - especially the last round which was bogey free and contained 4 birdies. Callum is in the south of Italy this week, playing over a slightly shorter course (6855 yards) at Acaya near Brindisi. This event also marks the halfway point in the 2011 challenge Tour season.

    OTHER GOLFING SNIPPETS
    In the Cameron Corbett tournament at Haggs Castle, Scott Borrowman (Dollar) had his best start for some time with a 2 under par total of 142 (72,70) for the first 36 holes. He continued the good work in the last two rounds scoring 73 and 70 to give him a 5 under par aggregate and a 16th placing.
    After being third on the reserve list for some time Braehead’s Rikky Alexander is now in the field for the Scottish Under 16’s Championship this week at Forfar.

    Hugh Hunter 3rd July 2011

    • BIG WEEK FOR BOB
    Top Clackmannan County Senior golfer Bob Stewart (Tulliallan) is in action this week at Irvine in the Scottish Seniors Championship, a title he won in 2007 at Elgin. Bob leads the 2011 Seniors Order of Merit with 335 points thanks to a run of good form and of course he will be hoping this will continue. Close behind Bob is Graham Bell (Downfield) with 322 points and they are both lead the rest of the Scottish Senior golfers by about 60 points. Phil Dempsey, also Tulliallan, is further back in 19th place with 82.5 points.

    WEE COUNTY CHALLENGE IN THE SCOTISH AMATEUR
    In the Scottish Amateur Golf Championship to be held at Western Gailes at the end of July, the entry of 256 contains four locals representing four of the local Clubs. Double County Junior Champion Lawrence Allan (Alva) has his first go at the event and is joined by Jamie Aitken (Alloa), big hitting Scott Moffat, the County Match Play Champion representing Braehead and finally Scott Borrowman (Dollar) who reached the later stages of the event in 2008 - the year that Callum Macaulay won at Carnoustie.
    In the R&A World rankings, Lawrence has just moved ahead of Scott with a ranking of 2096. Among Scottish golfers, he is ranked 67th - pretty good in a golfing population of well over 100,000.

    MISSED CUT FOR CALLUM
    After a run of reasonable golf scoring on the Challenge Tour, Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay just missed out on another pay day at the Scottish Hydro Challenge at Spey Valley - a four over par score of 146 (71,75) in his first two rounds missed the cut by several shots.
    Callum moves to the next Challenge Tour event to be played at the Swedish National golf course near Stockholm this week. It’s a serious test of golf measuring just over 7,400 yards with two holes measuring over 600 yards (8th at 639 yards and 18th at 601 yards). He will be hoping to move his Challenge Tour ranking of around 70 towards the top twenty.

    AND ............ ON THE LOCAL GOLF SCENE
    Two top events are contested locally this weekend — the 2011 County Mixed Fours Team Championship is being held at Dollar on Sunday 3rd July with holders Alloa hoping to retain the trophy. At Tulliallan on the same day, the Alexander Trophy is being played. This event is open to clubs in Clackmannan and Stirling - teams of four golfers play (with the best three scores to count) and it is pleasing to see five out of the six County Clubs fielding teams.

    Hugh Hunter 26th June 2011

    ROBERTSON LEADS TOP COUNTY EVENTS
    Alva’s Michael Robertson is well on his way to retaining the two top County Aggregate trophies for 2011. In the Harrower Trophy, which is decided on the best scratch scores over the Spring, Summer and Autumn County meetings, he leads by three shots from Jamie Aitken with one round to go.
    In the Order of Merit events, which cover all the prestigious Club and County events, he also leads Jamie Aitken. With the County Championship coming up in July at Braehead, there will be keen competition for the 2011 title, and the points that go with it.

    Harrower Trophy (2 round totals)

    • 1. Michael Robertson (Alva) 143;
    • 2. Jamie Aitken (Alloa) 146;
    • 3. John Gullen (Tillicoultry) 147;
    • 4. Peter Macleod (Braehead) 148;
    • 5. Steven Horne (Tulliallan) 149
    • 6 = I. Ross (Alloa), D. Beaton (Braehead) 150.

    Order of Merit (Points at 17th June)

    • 1. Michael Robertson (Alva) 170;
    • 2. Scott Moffat (Braehead) 160;
    • 3. Jamie Aitken (Alloa) 155;
    • 4. Peter Macleod (Braehead) 120;
    • 5. John Gullen 107.5;
    • 6 = R Benvie (Braehead), David Milloy (Alloa) 100

    BOB STAYS AT THE TOP
    It was another top ten finish for Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart in the Central District Seniors at Glenbervie last week when he finished 6th with rounds of 81 and 71 to finish 5 shots behind the winner. While the 81 must have been disappointing over a course he knows very well his second round of 71 recovered some ground and the points he gained keeps him at the top of the Scottish Seniors Order of Merit for 2011. Indeed his points total of 265 so far this season beats his total for the entire 2010 golf seson and, with the Scottish Seniors coming up at the end of the month, he will be in confident mood.
    Phil Dempsey with rounds of 76 and 82 finished a bit further down as did the County President George Kay.

    TENNANT CUP
    In last weekends prestigious Tennant Cup at Glasgow Golf Club over 72 holes, locals Scott Borrowman (Dollar) and Lawrence Allan (Alva) just missed the half way cut in the Scottish Golf Union’s Order of Merit event. For Lawrence, it was his first go in a National event at this level and his two rounds of 77 over Glasgow Gailes were very respectable.
    With world ranking points gained in the recent Junior tour event, Lawrence moved up 356 places to a ranking of 2093 and could soon overtake Scott in these R&A World rankings. The next counting tournament is the East of Scotland Championship held over Lundin Links this weekend.

    Hugh Hunter 20th June 2011

    STYLISH SCOTT TAKES MATCH PLAY TITLE
    With a display of awesome power from the tee coupled with a deft touch from short range, Braehead’s Scott Moffat won the 2011 County Match Play Championship against fellow Club golfer Ross Benvie over Tillicoultry last week. Scott won the first two holes and although Ross cut his lead to one hole by the 5th. Ross’s tee shot to a few inches at the short sixth was neutralised by a long putt and a half in two and, from the 7th, Scott quickly won the last two holes on the outward nine putting him 3 up. Consecutive birdies at the 13th and 14th by Scott were enough for a 5/4 win. Over 20 spectators were treated to a quality golfing display by both players over the tidy layout with several memorable shots. County President George Kay was highly impressed, “Scott has considerable potential which if developed could make a mark on top level golf”.
    The semi-finals were both Alloa v Braehead matches, but the Alloa players Ian Guthrie and David Milloy could not make use of home advantage and both lost narrowly.
    Results
    Semi Finals: Scott Moffat beat Ian Guthrie 2/1; Ross Benvie beat David Milloy 2/1.
    Final: Moffat beat Benvie 5/4.
    Scott Moffat will now take his place in the 2012 Champion of Champions at Leven.

    Pictured (L-R) George Kay, County Golf Union President, presenting Scott Moffat (Braehead) with the Match Play trophy for 2011, and Ross Benvie (Braehead) - runner up. On the right is Ian Stenhouse - President Tillicoultry Golf Club

    COUNTY SENIOR GOLFERS IN ACTION
    In the East of Scotland Seniors at Kinross, it was Tulliallan’s Phil Dempsey who outscored top local senior Bob Stewart. With rounds of 80 and 71, Phil finished in 3rd place; Bob with rounds of 78 and 77 finished in the top ten ........well just. This week these two will be joined by County President George Kay in the Central Scotland seniors at Glenbervie and, at the end of the month, Bob will play at Irvine in the Scottish Seniors Championship — a title he won a few years back.

    AND JUNIOR GOLFERS AS WELL
    In the latest Junior Tour event at Cardrona near Peebles, Alva’s Lawrence Allan finished just above the middle of the field at 14th place with rounds of 78,74,74,76, and finishing ahead of some of the elite boys.
    In the Under 16’s draw, Braehead’s Rikky Alexander is 3rd reserve for the event to be held at Forfar at the beginning of July. Out of the field of 120 no fewer than 53 (just under 50%) play their golf outwith Scotland - a fact that should cause some concern since that’s 17 more than last year.

    PAY DAY FOR CALLUM
    With his best performance for some time, Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay finished in 8th equal position in the Challenge tour event held in France. Callum scored 279 (67,69,68,75) and could have been a bit better as he dropped 4 shots in the last 6 holes. Par 5’s have given him a bit of trouble in the past - no problem this time — the two par fives yielded 1 eagle, 4 birdies, 2 pars and a bogey. His confidence must be increasing and his welcome return to form is in time for the Hydro Challenge coming up soon.

    Hugh Hunter 12th June 2011

    COUNTY MATCH PLAY UNDERWAY
    The first two rounds of the 2011 Clackmannan County Match play Championship took place last week and, of course, the usual surprise results turned up. In the eight first round matches over Braehead, top wins were recorded by holder Michael Robertson (Alva) with an 8/6 win over Dollar’s Kenneth Christie followed by a 7/6 win by Scott Moffat against John Maxwell. Closer matches came from the County Team Captain who was pushed very strongly by Tillicoultry’s Scott Baird with Jamie winning on the last green and David Milloy winning by one hole against Darren Hulston. John Gullen had a tough match against home favourite Ross Benvie who won with a deft pitch from the edge of the 15th green.
    In the quarter finals at Alva, Ian Guthrie (Alloa), 1 up at the turn, made it through against Braehead’s Peter Macleod, David Milloy in an all Alloa match against Jamie Aitken held his 3 hole lead after nine to win on the 16th and in the top match of the evening, home club and 2010 Champion Michael Robertson lost to long hitting Scott Moffat also on the 16th green. Always an incident around - one of the quarter finalists over hit the 9th green at Alva into the car park and, with considerable skill hit his own car - twice!
    Quarter-Final Results:

  • I Guthrie (Alloa) beat P Macleod (Braehead) 2/1
  • S Moffat (Braehead) beat M Robertson (Alva) 3/2
  • D Milloy (Alloa) beat J Aitken (Alloa) 3/2
  • R Benvie (Braehead) beat I Ross (Alloa) 5/3.
    Competitors were quick to praise the Braehead and Alva courses - while the Alva layout may not be to everyone’s liking, the greens were smooth, putted well and much better than the greens of some much more expensive Scottish courses.

    BOYS AREA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
    The performance of the County Boys team at the Scottish Team Championships held at Hayston last weekend could best be described as moderate, with the team finishing in eleventh place from the 16 teams - incidentally beating many much larger Areas. Star of the team had to be Alva’s Reyner Kennedy who recorded the best scratch score of the team in the afternoon singles with a 74 in cold and windy conditions and with tree lined fairways which proved difficult to hit.
    Team Captain Bill Hatley was a little disappointed, “A few lapses in concentration resulted in higher scores with off line shots and some three putts. Shots could have been saved which would have resulted in a top ten finish - that would have been pretty good for a team whose average handicap was above the handicaps of other teams. Clackmannanshire could do with keener boy golfers”.
    Team Scores (two foursomes plus three from four singles scores):

  • L Allan & R Kennedy 74; K Ross & R Alexander 81
  • Singles: Allan 75; Kennedy 74; Ross 79.
    Team Total: 383
    Winning Team: Lothians - Team Total 360.
    Alva’s Lawrence Allan will be in the field for the 72 hole Junior Tour event at Cardrona near Peebles this weekend when he will be hoping for a good performance to lift his 2011 boys ranking. Many congratulations to Lawrence on being appointed School Captain at Alva Academy - a well deserved honour.

    County Boys Golf Team about to set off for Boys Team Championship at Hayston
    (L-R) Rikky Alexander, Lawrence Allan, Reyner Kenedy, Kevin Ross

    CALLUM BACK TO SOME GOLFING FORM
    After missing four cuts in a row on the European Challenge Tour, it was good to see Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay earn some euros in Austria last weekend. With scores of 71,67,70,75, Callum finished 5th best Scot and hopefully gave him some confidence to face an intensive series of Challenge Tour events in 2011 - a couple in France during the next two weeks and then the Scottish Hydro Challenge. He needs some good scoring to lift his Challenge Tour ranking from 92nd, preferably into the top twenty to return to the full European Tour.

    ..............AND FINALLY
    Clackmannan’s golf representative to the Scottish Golf Union enjoyed his own success last week when he won the Dollar Seniors Open with a net score of 62 - a pleasant change from recording and announcing the success of others in golf. Well done to Kenneth Ellacott!

    Hugh Hunter 5th June 2011

    • BOB BACK AT THE TOP AGAIN
    Following on from his early season success, Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart finished 3rd in the Scottish Seniors event at Montrose. A 36 hole aggregate of 149 (76,73) was only two shots behind the winner and gave Bob more points to take him to the top of the Scottish Seniors Order of Merit for 2011. With 220 points, he leads by 40 points and is surely staking his claim to return to the Scottish Seniors team.
    Two 36 hole Scottish Seniors events (with points) come up in the Seniors calendar - the East of Scotland at Kinross and the Central Scotland at Glenbervie where Bob is a member.

    SUMMER MEETING SUCCESSES
    At the recent Clackmannan County Summer meetings the best scores in the first division at Tulliallan were by B. Cairnie winning with a net 67 and one shot ahead of home player Scott Walker. Top scratch score of 72 came from former County Team Captain John Gullen (Tillicoultry) which must have pleased him greatly being one shot ahead of Robert Lyons and current County Team Captain Jamie Aitken.
    The top scratch scores from both the Spring and Summer meetings will now contest the County Match Play Championship over the next two weeks.
    In the second division at Alloa Golf Club the best scores were by R. Hartley and B. Candlish both recording net 70s.

    COUNTY BOYS GO WEST
    This Sunday, teams of four boys representing the sixteen golfing Areas in Scotland will assemble at Hayston near Kirkintilloch to contest the 2011 Boys Area Team Championship. Last year, at Peebles, the County Boys team did very well and came close to a medal so the four locals will be trying hard to match that performance. Selected for the County are Lawrence Allan, Reyner Kennedy (both Alva), Kevin Ross (Tillicoultry) and Rikky Alexander (Braehead). The title is decided by morning foursomes and three from four scores in the afternoon.

    PAUL LAWRIE SCOTTISH SCHOOLS CHAMPIONSHIPS
    The Annual Scottish Schools Championships sponsored by Paul Lawrie will be held next week on Monday 5th June over the Murrayshall golf courses near Perth. Teams of three boys representing Local Authority Areas throughout Scotland will play 36 holes for Team and Individual prizes. The girl’s event is an individual entry also playing 36 holes. The top scoring boys and girls will have the chance to represent Scotland in the Annual Schools International against England to be held on the 12th September.
    Clackmannan Schools will be represented by Charlie Linton and Robert Watson (both Dollar Academy) along with Reyner Kennedy (Alva Academy).

    Hugh Hunter 29th May 2011

    ALLOA TAKE COUNTY FOURS GOLF TITLE
    Alloa cruised to a win in the 2011 County Club Foursomes tournament last Thursday at Dollar, finishing 5 up against the home team. In the semi-final ties Alloa beat Braehead 3 up - the match was tight for the first nine holes but Alloa forged ahead over the inward nine In the other semi-final Dollar (who beat Tulliallan in a first round tie) came through at the first extra hole against Alva, thanks to a 12 ft birdie putt by Scott Borrowman. Andrew Whitelaw the Alloa team Captain was delighted with the win, “The Alloa team played well to retain the title - they deserve many congratulations, a special thanks to reserve Andrew Main who turned up faithfully on each match night”.
    Match Results:
    Semi-final 1 - Alloa beat Braehead 3 UP (Alloa names first):

  • 1. Jim Allan & Robert Hume halved with Scott Moffat & David Finlay.
  • 2. Ian Guthrie & John McLaren lost to David Finlayson & Scott McChristie - 2 holes
  • 3. David Milloy & Jamie Aitken beat Ross Benvie & Sandy Douglas - 5 holes.
    Semi-final 2 - Dollar tied with Alva (Dollar names first):
  • 1. Darren Hulston & Scott Borrowman beat Lawrence Allan & Michael Robertson 3 holes
  • 2. Steven McPherson & Ken Christie lost to Allan Flanagan & Gregor Kennedy 3 holes.
  • 3. Vic Allan & Charlie Murray halved with Steve McIvor & Allan Aitken.
    Dollar win at 1st extra hole.
    FINAL
    Alloa beat Dollar - 5 UP (Alloa names first):
  • 1. Jim Allan & Robert Hume beat Vic Allan & Charlie Murray - 3 holes
  • 2. Ian Guthrie & John McLaren beat Steven McPherson & Ken Christie - 5 holes
  • 3. David Milloy & Jamie Aitken lost to Darren Hulston & Scott Borrowman - 3 holes

    COUNTY FOURSOMES CHAMPIONSHIP: With surrounding Alloa Team members, Andrew Whitelaw (Alloa Team Captain) accepts the County Fours trophy from County President George Kay.

    IT'S A DOUBLE DOUBLE AT DOLLAR IN BOYS GOLF
    History was made last week in the County Boys Match Play championships when both the Junior and Senior Stroke Play Boys Champions went on to take the Match Play titles as well. In the under-14 final, between two stylish golfers, Braehead’s Brian McAdam took on Alloa’s Angus Boyd. Brian looked to have the match comfortably in his grasp standing 4 up with 6 to play — Angus had other ideas and fought back winning three quick holes and just missed out taking the match down the last hole. In the senior Boys event, Alva’s Lawrence Allan wasted no time with a sub par performance against Braehead’s Rikky Alexander, winning on the 12th green to retain his 2010 title.
    Results

  • Anderson Trophy: McAdam beat Boyd - 2/1
  • Ponton Shield: Allan beat Alexander - 8/6

    Boys Matchplay finals (L to R): George Kay (Clackmannan County President), Angus Boyd (runner-up), Brian McAdam (Anderson Trophy winner), Lawrence Allan (Ponton Shield winner), Rikky Alexander (runner-up) and Sam Kinnaird (Boys Convenor).

    GOOD PERFORMANCE FROM COUNTY GOLF TEAM
    The six man county team travelled to Prestwick last weekend and put Clackmannanshire on the golfing map of Scotland - again. In difficult windy conditions and competing against the other 15 golfing areas the County team could hold their heads high with an 8th equal position, not bad for the smallest golfing area in Scotland. County President George Kay was delighted with the result, “Over the shorter Prestwick St Nicholas course the team returned the 4th best team score of the day, just a pity that bogeys at the last hole cost both Darren Hulston and Scott Borrowman sub par rounds”. Bill Hatley was very pleased, "There was a good team spirit and it was good to see Scott Borrowman finding some form. On the longer Prestwick course he was below par on the outward nine but dropped shots after that. Nevertheless his aggregate of 145 (70,75) gave him an 8th placing out of 96 in the individual event. The top four Area scores qualified for the final, so the Wee County was not too far away - well done boys!!”.
    Results
    Team Event (best 5 scores from 6 to count)
    8th equal Clackmannan 762 (398 at Prestwick and 364 at Prestwick St Nicholas)
    Iindivual Scores (Old Prestwick scores first)

  • Scott Borrowman (Dollar) - 145 (70,75)
  • Lawrence Allan (Alva) - 156 (75,81)
  • Ian Ross (Alloa) - 156 (73,83)
  • Jamie Aitken (Alloa) - 156 (76,80)
  • Darren Hulston (Dollar) - 157 (70,87)
  • Scott Moffat (Braehead) - 158 (79, 80)
    In the play off for the 2011 title - Fife area won, beating the North East in the final.

    WELL TRAVELLED COUNTY GOLFERS
    With the golf season well under way, County golfers are packing their golf clubs and moving out to play in several events. Lawrence Allan will be playing at the Rowallan course at Kilmaurs in Ayrshire in the 72 hole Junior tour event this weekend. This new course with a par of 71 stretches to 6709 yards and is the first course designed by Colin Montgomerie in the UK - uniquely it has a proper golf 19th hole! Bob Stewart and Phil Dempsey compete in the Scottish Seniors Spring Open at Montrose; Scott Borrowman is one of the 14 Scots playing in the Welsh Open Stroke Play this weekend at St Pierre, South Wales. And don’t forget the local golf administrators who play in the Belhaven Captains and Secretaries Regional finals — at Dunfermline this week, with Tulliallan (James Maley & Robert Nimmo) and Dollar (Dugdale Bradley & Douglas Caren) competing.

    For the rest of the Wee County golf club members, there are always the SUMMER MEETINGS at Tulliallan and Alloa on Saturday.

    Late entries are being accepted, even on the day of the competition.
    (Late entries call Tommy Johnson on 01259 761827 - Monday to Friday)
    Click here for Startsheet Div 'A' at Tulliallan          Click here for Startsheet Div 'B' at Alloa

    Hugh Hunter 15th May 2011

    • COUNTY FOURSOMES CHAMPIONSHIP
    The 2011 County Fours event got underway at Dollar last week when Alloa took on Tillicoultry in a first round tie; all matches are played to the 18th hole. In the top match the Alloa couple of Ian Ross and Jim Allan finished 4 up in their match after an earlier lead of one hole at the 7th. In the second match Tillicoultry had a hard fought 1 hole win - helped by a strong finish from Kevin Ross who hit the hole at 16 with his pitch and drove the 17th into the wind. Talking point of the match was Ian Guthrie’s tee shot from the elevated 6th tee which veered left finishing in the 14th hole - the rules of course allow a free drop off the wrong green. In the final match Alloa were never troubled and raced to an emphatic win and the overall score was a win for Alloa.
    Match Results (Alloa names first) - Alloa win 11 up.

  • 1. Ian Ross & Jim Allan beat Scott Baird & Scott Hunter 4 holes
  • 2. John McLaren & Ian Guthrie lost to Kevin Ross & Mark Walker 1 hole
  • 3. Jamie Aitken & David Milloy beat Bill Hatley & Steven Watson 8 holes
    The semi-finals and final take place this week — full reports next week

    BOYS MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIPS
    In the Senior Boys event, Lawrence Allan had to work hard for his wins to take him to the final where he will play Rikki Alexander and try to do the double for 2011 - winning both the stroke play and Match Play Championships. Also looking for the double in the Junior event is Braehead’s Brian McAdam who takes on Alloa’s Angus Boyd after two good wins.
    Senior Boys:
    Round 1 Lawrence Allan (Alva) beat Reyner Kennedy (Alva) 3/1; Scott Beattie (Braehead) beat Steven Watson (Tillicoultry) 3/2; Jordan Struthers (Braehead) beat Calum Graham (Tillicoultry) 1 hole ; Rikki Alexander (Braehead) beat Calum Boyd (Alloa) 1 hole
    Semi-finals - Allan beat Beattie 2 holes; Alexander beat Struthers 4/3
    Junior Boys
    Round 1 Brian McAdam beat Jamie McEwan 8/7; Joshua Hatcher beat Calum Reid 2/1; Gregor McEwan beat Ross Bundy 6/4; Angus Boyd beat Jonathan Clark 3/2
    Semi-finals - McAdam beat Hatcher 7/6; Boyd beat McEwan 2/1

    COUNTY MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
    Alva’s Michael Robertson as leading qualifier at Alloa is on course to retain his title - the other 7 qualifiers are Ross Benvie, Peter Macleod (both Braehead), Jamie Aitken, Ian Ross, Ian Guthrie (all Alloa); John Maxwell (Tulliallan) and Kenneth Christie (Dollar).
    A further 8 qualifiers will come from the Summer Meeting with the Match Play Championship starting on the 30th May.

    SCOTTISH AREA TEAM CHAMPIONSHIP
    Clackmannanshire will have a strong team for this event to be held over the Prestwick courses this weekend. There is a stroke play qualifying on Saturday — best 5 scores from 6 to count. The top four Areas qualify for Match Play on the Sunday.
    Clackmannanshire Team: Jamie Aitken (Captain-Alloa), Lawrence Allan (Alva), Scott Moffat (Braehead), Ian Ross (Alloa), Scott Borrowman, Darren Hulston (both Dollar).

    SCOTTISH YOUTHS CHAMPIONSHIP
    Alva’s Lawrence Allan made a great start to the event when he led the field after the first round by two shots when he scored a 67 - which later turned out to be the top equal best score of the Championship. Two bad holes in the second round saw him fall down the field with a 79 and a final round of 77 gave him an aggregate of 223 — 10 over par and a good bit behind the under par winner.

    IRISH STROKE PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
    Dollar’s Scott Borrowman was one of ten Scots competing. Only five made the cut and Scott was one of the non qualifiers with rounds of 77 and 79. Sadly, Scott has still to arrest his fall in the World Amateur rankings — he stands at 1737 — well down from his ranking just after he won the Youths Championship in 2007. On the other hand Lawrence Allan‘s world ranking has moved up 533 places to 2292 thanks to his fine performance at a top Junior event at Fairhaven.

    UPCOMING EVENTS
    Entries for the Summer Meetings are still available on the sheets at local clubs but will be closing soon - Division 1 is at Tulliallan and Division 2 at Alloa.

    Hugh Hunter 8th May 2011

    • GOLFING SUCCESS FOR BOB - EVEN MORE FOR LAWRENCE!
    While golfing success eluded the County Golf team recently in the Provan Salver, the disappointment was more than made up by the top County Senior and Junior golfers.
    First up was Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart who took the South of Scotland Seniors title at Powfoot last week, thus continuing his run of good scores in Midland Alliance events. His two round aggregate of 145 (74,71) led a trio of players two shots back. While his scores in each round were bettered by others it was only Bob that showed the consistency in both rounds and the result is a clear indication that Bob intends to press for a return to International recognition in 2011.
    Alva’s Lawrence Allan went even better in the 72 hole Fairhaven Trophy event as part of a 12 strong Scottish squad competing there. Over the first 36 holes Scotland won the Nations cup and Lawrence was one of the three nominated players in the Scottish team. It's pleasing to note they beat the English team by one shot! Only 5 Scots made the 36 hole cut and it was Lawrence who finished top Scot at the end of the tournament with a 12th equal finish on 312 (78,77,74,83) in difficult windy conditions. His finish was ahead of some experienced Scottish players and, like Bob, a few more performances along the same lines must give him a chance for Scottish selection. Lawrence will have another chance this weekend when he competes in the 72 hole Scottish Youths Championship to be held at Paisley.

    BUSY TIME FOR COUNTY GOLFERS
    It’s a busy two weeks on the county Golfing scene with the Boys Match play events (Tulliallan, Braehead, Dollar) and the County Club Foursomes Championship being held at Dollar. It will give the County players a chance to sharpen their games for the National events later - the Scottish Area Team Championship and the Boys Area Team Championship.
    Tillicoultry hosts its Open events this weekend with the scratch to 12 Division being held on Saturday and the 13-28 Division on Sunday. Hopefully Tillicoultry will take late entries, the smaller County Golf Clubs always welcome a boost in numbers - so if anyone is interested then please contact the golf club.

    Hugh Hunter 1st May 2011

    SUCCESSFUL SPRING MEETING
    Last weekend's County Spring Meeting played over Schawpark and Braehead Golf courses was well supported with almost 200 local golfers taking part and representing all six clubs in the County Golf Union. Stars of the day in the First Division at Alloa Golf Club were P. Adams who took the top handicap prize with a net 65 from an eleven handicap. County Match Play Champion Michael Robertson (Alva) sent out a signal that he will be a force to be reckoned with in 2011 when he scored a scratch 69 - 4 shots ahead of a chasing pack of golfers. In the Second Division, over the Braehead course, scoring was low and the top scores all came from non Braehead players. N. Grant led the way with a net 64 with S. Hepburn one shot behind.

    Other Results
    A Division at Alloa:
    Scratch: 1st M Robertson (Alva) - 69; 2nd D Beaton (Bh) - 73.
    Handicap: 1st P Adams (Tu) - Nett 65; 2nd K Christie (D) - Nett 66; 3rd C Lindsay (A) - Nett 67; 4th K Robb(Bh) - Nett 69; 5th C Muirhead (Ty) - Nett 70; 6th P Macleod (Bh) - Nett 70.
    B Division at Braehead:
    1st N Grant (A) - Nett 63; 2nd S Hepburn (Tu) - 64; 3rd R Naughton (A) - Nett 66; 4th B Mclaren (Bh) - Nett 66; 5th D Hawke (Bh) - Nett 67; 6th H Peddie (Bh) - Nett 67; 7th W Aitken (Bh) - Nett 67
    Matchplay Qualifiers:
    M Robertson (Alva); P Macleod (Bh); J Aitken (A); I Ross (A); K Christie (D); I Guthrie (A); S Baird (Ty); J M Gullen (Ty).

    Hopefully many local golfers will have a taste for the 2011 golf season and they will get another chance at the end of May in the Summer Meeting - entry sheets are already with Clubs.

    LAWRENCE ON COURSE FOR THE DOUBLE
    The 2011 County Boys Golf Championship was held at Alloa Golf Club last Sunday and a smallish entry of around 20 enjoyed themselves and contested the two boys Stroke Play events for the Mossman Trophy (Senior Boys) and Drysdale Trophy (Junior Boys). Alva’s Lawrence Allan was the favourite for the Senior Trophy and he duly came up with a magnificent round of 68 - probably one of the lowest scores to par ever in the event. His two halves of 34 contained no fewer than 6 birdies, two of them at the most difficult holes on the course — 8th and 12th. Nearest contender Reyner Kennedy (also Alva) was 10 shots behind.
    In the Junior Boys event, Brian Macadam returned an excellent scratch score of 77 to lift the trophy by six shots.
    Results:
    Senior Boys     (Scratch)

  • 1st - Lawrence Allan (Alva) ~ 68
  • 2nd - Reyner Kennedy (Alva) ~ 78
    Senior Boys (Handicap)
  • 1st - Jordan Struthers
  • 2nd - Calum Graham
    Junior Boys (Scratch)
  • 1st - Brian Macadam (Braehead) ~ 77
  • 2nd - Calum Reid (Tillicoultry) ~ 83
    Junior Boys (Handicap)
  • 1st - Joshua Hatcher (Tillicoultry) ~ 92-25 = 67
  • 2nd - Jonathan Clark (Tillicoultry) ~ 86-17 = 69

    Hugh Hunter (Clackmannan County Golf Union) presents the Mossman Trophy to winner Lawrence Allan with runner up Reyner Kennedy alongside

    Hugh Hunter presents Drysdale Trophy to Brian Macadam in front of the other prizewinners and competitors

    COUNTY BOYS MATCH PLAY CHAMPIONSHIP
    The top scores qualified for the 2011 events, however due to the low entry the Handicap Match Play Championship will not be played in 2011. Round 1 starts at Tulliallan on the 2nd May at 5.00 pm and the ties are below
    Senior Boys

  • Lawrence Allan vs Reyner Kennedy
  • Scott Beattie vs Steven Watson
  • Callum Graham vs Jordan Struthers
  • Rikki Alexander vs Calum Boyd
    Junior Boys
  • Brian Macadam vs Jamie McEwan
  • Calum Reid vs Joshua Hatcher
  • Gregor McEwan vs Ross Bundy
  • Jonathan Clark vs Angus Boyd.

    TOP TEAM SPOT FOR LAWRENCE
    Alva’s Lawrence Allan will represent Scotland in a top squad of 8 boys and 2 girls at the prestigious Fairhaven Junior Open played over 72 holes this week - he has a chance to make a mark in a top class field of UK Junior golfers.

    PROVAN SALVER 2011
    The County golf team travelled to Thornton last weekend in a last ditch attempt to retain the Provan Salver. It didn’t work out as the tam crashed to a 7 - 1 defeat by Fife. The only crumb of comfort was a win by Dollar’s Scott Borrowman against top Scottish player Peter Latimer by 3/2. The other team members lost by similar margins to leave Clackmannan near the bottom of the League.

    FORTHCOMING EVENTS
    Open events this weekend are the Carlsberg Open at Tillicoultry, Buick Trophy at Alloa and a Mixed Open at Braehead, while next week is the start of the County Foursomes Team tournament at Dollar.

    Hugh Hunter 24th April 2011

    • BUSY WEEKEND FOR COUNTY GOLFERS
    The first main County Golf competition takes place on Saturday when the Spring Meeting is contested at Alloa (Div 1) and Braehead (Div 2). Although the entry sheets are pretty full in the morning there is still a chance of a late entry on the day at the Golf Clubs. In the Division 1 event the first group of eight qualifiers for the County Match Play Championship will be obtained - the remaining eight will qualify from the Summer Meeting. These events are good opportunities for new Golf Club members to meet up with other local golfers and maybe even win a prize.

    COUNTY BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP
    The Clackmannan County Boys Championship is being held this Sunday at Alloa Golf Club in the morning. Again, County Junior Convenor Sam Kinnaird would welcome late entries and said, “It’s a good chance for County Juniors to test their skills on a good golf course with the best scores qualifying for the Match Play events as well as winning prizes”. Using the results Sam will pick a team to represent Clackmannanshire in the Scottish Area Boys Team championship to be held at the beginning of June at Hayston Golf Club.

    LAST PROVAN SALVER MATCH
    Also on Sunday is the last match for the Provan Salver - so far Clackmannanshire have recorded two draws and will be hoping for a good win when they take on Fife over Thornton Golf course. Selectors will be picking the County Team to represent Clackmannanshire in the Area Team Championship which is being played over the Prestwick courses on the 14th and 15th May. Teams of six players will be competing and representing the 16 Golfing Areas in Scotland.

    SCOTTISH BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP
    In last weeks Scottish Boys Championship at Dunbar, Alva’s Lawrence Allan was unable to match his fine performance of 2010. Lawrence started well with two comfortable wins — in Round 1 he defeated Ross Anderson (Stonehaven) by 4/3 and followed that with a 5/4 win over Andrew Kerr (Greenmount). However, in the third round he could not come back from a 2 hole deficit after 14 holes and lost to Eamon Bradley (Mount Ellon) by 4/2. Braehead’s Rikki Alexander put up a brave fight in his first appearance in the event but lost in the first round to Conor Marsland (Lincoln).

    SOUTH OF SCOTLAND SENIORS
    In the first main event of the Seniors Golfing calendar at Powfoot, Clackmannan has two representatives, Bob Stewart and Phil Dempsey both Tulliallan.

    Hugh Hunter 18th April 2011

    DOLLAR DRAW FOR COUNTY GOLF TEAM
    In the second match of the Provan Salver series the County Golf team could only manage a draw against a strong Angus team despite a home advantage over the tricky hillside course. Stars of the day were local member Darren Hulston renowned for his sub-60 rounds on the course. Playing at number one which always puts a bit of pressure on a team member he came up to expectations with a 3/2 win. Further wins from team Captain Jamie Aitken, Scott Moffat (who also won last week) and Alloa’s David Milloy ensured 4 points and a halved match. To retain the Provan Salver now will be difficult - a win, and it has to be a large win, over Fife in an away match is needed - a tall order for the County elite golfers indeed.
    Match Results (Clackmannan names first)

  • 1. Darren Hulston (Dollar) beat George Finlay (Ballumbie Castle) - 3/2
  • 2. Steve McIvor (Alva) lost to Stuart Smith (Downfield) - 5/4
  • 3. Jamie Aitken (Alloa) beat Ross Coull (Edzell) - 5/4
  • 4. John Maxwell (Tulliallan) lost to Gary Tough (Edzell) - 4/3
  • 5. Ian Guthrie (Alloa) lost to William Bremner (Edzell) - 5/4
  • 6. David Milloy (Alloa) beat Maurice Lindsay (Broughty) - 2 holes
  • 7. Scott Moffat (Braehead) beat Kris Harper (Carnoustie) - 5/3
  • 8. Scott Hunter (Tillicoultry) lost to Steven Cargill (Arbroath) - 5/4
        Match Result: Clackmannan 4 - Angus 4
    In the other Provan Salver match, Perth and Kinross beat Fife over Pitlochry by 4 matches to 3 with one halved.

    NO JOY AT CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS
    The two local representatives could not make an impact on the Scottish Champion of Champions at Leven Links last weekend. In tough conditions Steven Horne with rounds of 77,75,76,79 finished in a tie for 27th place whilst Alva’s Michael Robertson finished a bit further back. Last year Alloa’s Jamie Aitken finished well up the field, earning world ranking points — sadly these will now expire and his world ranking will go in the meantime. Two County players still feature in the R&A list - Alva’s Lawrence Allan moved up to 2783 thanks to points earned at a Junior tour event and Scott Borrowman (Dollar) at 1390 well below what he reached some time ago. Scott is in the select field of 39 for the Craigmillar Park Open this weekend giving an opportunity to earn points.
    Lawrence Allan (Alva) and Rikki Alexander (Braehead) will be in action next week at the Scottish Boys Championship held at Dunbar.

    COUNTY COMPETITION SEASON TEES OFF
    Entry forms for the County Spring Meeting and Boys Championship are now in the six local Golf Clubs. Tommy Johnson, the County Secretary, is hoping for a good entry, “The Spring Meeting is a good opportunity to meet with other County golfers, compete against them and develop your own game”. On the Boys side, Sam Kinnaird has some concerns, “The Boys entry has dropped in recent years and we hope that Clubs will encourage boys to playing the Annual Boys Championships - there are a number of trophies and good prizes to be won as well as having an enjoyable experience”.
    The county Spring Meeting is on the 23rd April - A Division at Alloa and B Division at Braehead.
    The County Boys Championship is at Alloa on the 24th April with the Boys Match Play following at the beginning of May.

    Hugh Hunter 3rd April 2011

    • COUNTY GOLF TEAM STARTS WELL
    In the first of their three matches in the Provan Salver, the holders Clackmannanshire started well with a hard fought draw at the Strathmore Golf course against a strong Perth and Kinross team. It’s never easy playing an away match but there were first class performances from some of the County golfers - every Club in the County Golf Union was represented incidentally. Scott Moffat took the first two holes in his match, never looked back and won with a three under par score for his 16 holes. Veteran campaigner Steve McIvor had a closer match but sealed it with a good five foot putt on the last green; John Maxwell built on his one hole lead at the turn winning on the 16th and Ian Guthrie fought back strongly from a one hole deficit at the turn also to win on the 16th with a fine 20 foot birdie putt. Although losing his match young Scott Hunter put in a good performance which drew praise from his experienced opponent Scott Michie. Team Captain Bill Hatley was delighted with the day, “It was good to see strong performances from some of the team over a testing golf layout, it must give everyone some confidence for the next two games and the Area Team Championship coming up in May”.
    Match Results (Clackmannan names first)

  • 1. Scott Borrowman (Dollar) lost to Glenn Campbell (Blairgowrie) 3/2
  • 2. Darren Hulston (Dollar) lost to Tom McLevy (Blairgowrie) 5/4
  • 3. Scott Moffat (Braehead) beat Liam Barn (Craigie Hill) 3/2
  • 4. Steve McIvor (Alva) beat George Brass (Blairgowrie) 1 hole
  • 5. Michael Robertson (Alva) lost to Alan Easton (Strathmore) 6/4
  • 6. John Maxwell (Tulliallan) beat Thomas White (Milnathort) 4/2
  • 7. Ian Guthrie (Alloa) beat Connor Neil (Blairgowrie) 3/2
  • 8. Scott Hunter (Tillicoultry) lost to Scott Michie (Kinross) 3/2
        Clackmannan 4 - Perth and Kinross 4
    The next match is at Dollar against Angus County on the 3rd April starting time 11.00.

    Pictured Back Row (L-R): Bill Hatley (Team Captain), Scott Moffat, John Maxwell, Michael Robertson. Front Row: Scott Borrowman, Ian Guthrie, Scott Hunter, Steve McIvor, Darren Hulston.

    CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS
    The traditional start to the National Golf season is the 72 hole event played over Leven Links this weekend and featuring the top Scottish golfers. Clackmannan is represented by County Champion Steven Horne (Tulliallan) and County Match Play Champion Michael Robertson (Alva). Steven tees off at 9.12; Michael at 10.24.
    Clackmannanshire had early success in the event with Steven’s father Sandy winning the very first event in 1970, followed by Alloa’s Michael Niven in 1974.

    SCOTTISH JUNIOR TOUR
    The first Junior tour event of 2011 was played at Arbroath over 54 holes last weekend - Lawrence Allan (Alva) did not find his best form finishing in 21st position with a three round total of 224 (77,72,75) on the par 70 links course. The event was won by Ewan Scott (St Andrews) with a two under par total.

    Hugh Hunter 27th March 2011

    • COUNTY GOLF TEAM IN ACTION
    In the first of three matches to decide the 2011 Provan Salver, the County Golf team take on the Perth & Kinross team at Strathmore on Sunday (27th March) at 11.00 am. The matches are decided by 8 singles games and Clackmannanshire as holders of the trophy will be keen to do well against the other three Counties.

    MORE MIDLAND SUCCESS FOR CHRIS
    Alloa’s Chris Westland reinforced his position at the top of the Midland Alliance Order of Merit when he took the top prize at Crieff last Thursday with a net score of 67 over the par 71 layout. In doing so he qualified for the Midland Championships to be held at Arbroath in April and played over 36 holes.

    SCOTTISH BOYS CHAMPIONSHIP
    Entries have just closed for the 2011 Scottish Boys Golf Championship at Dunbar. The field is restricted to 256 and a handicap limit of 5.5 was applied. The two local boys playing - Rikki Alexander (Braehead) and Lawrence Allan (Alva) have morning starts for their first round matches. Rikki plays Connor Marsland (Lincoln) at 8.29 on Monday 11th April and Lawrence plays Ross Anderson (Stonehaven) on Tuesday 12th at 10.01.
    Lawrence will get some useful practice this weekend when he competes in the first Junior Tour event of 2011 at Arbroath. The select field of 30 competes over 36 holes and includes all the top Scottish Boys — Lawrence is first out at 12.15pm along with Alasdair McDougall (St Andrews) and Ben Craggs (Glenbervie).
    Past Scottish Boys Championships attracted larger numbers of County boys, 50 years ago in the 1961 event there were 6 entries - Donald Buchanan, Sandy Stevenson, Jim Gibb all entered from Alloa Academy and playing at Tillicoultry - Jack Steven, Jim Rankin (both Tulliallan) and A.D Wight (Dollar). Three of them (Gibb, Stevenson, Wight) reached the last eight and there were high hopes … but sadly they all lost.
    County golfers will be wishing our two representatives the best of luck.

    Hugh Hunter 20th March 2011

    BEST COUNTY GOLF DINNER SO FAR…
    … And that was the general consensus at Alloa Golf Club after the annual Clackmannan County Golf Dinner and presentation of the 2010 prizes. With Tom Paterson ably chairing the evening, and a company of around 60 representing the six Clubs from the County, the evening started well with a first class meal. Then followed the presentation of 2010 golfing trophies by George Kay (Clackmannan County President). The star winners of the 2010 season just had to be Alva Golf Club taking the County League Trophy, Alva member Michael Robertson winning three trophies (County Match Play, Harrower Trophy and Order of Merit Trophy) and Steven Horne winning the 108 year old County Championship trophy. Alloa’s Vice Captain accepted the County Fours Trophy and Kevin Ross (Tillicoultry) took the inaugural Boys Order of Merit trophy (with great appreciation) donated and presented by Kenny Dowie. A special award was given to boys Scott Baird (Tillicoultry) and Lawrence Allan (Alva), explained County Vice President Bill Hatley, “Clackmannan County golf Union wanted to recognise their achievements, Scott for his role as Boys Captain in 2010 and Lawrence for his outstanding performances. Both the boys are a credit to themselves and their families".
    County Secretary Tommy Johnson took great pleasure in reminding the company that Clackmannanshire golfers under John Gullen’s Captaincy had won both the Provan Salver and Midland Team championship in 2010, an outstanding achievement for a small County.
    After the presentation the company were superbly entertained by guest speaker Eric Davidson and the evening concluded with a raffle - thanks for the donations. The whole evening must have pleased the main organisers Tommy Johnson, George Kay and Sam Kinnaird, it was unhurried and there was plenty of opportunity to socialise between the items.
    Altogether an outstanding evening and an incentive to repeat the evening next year.


    George Kay (County President) presents Michael Robertson (on the right) of Alva Golf Club with one of his three trophies.

    Special award to boys (L-R) Scott Baird (Tillicoultry), George Kay and Lawrence Allan (Alva)

    Kenny Dowie (L) presents Kevin Ross (Tillicoultry) with the Boys Order of Merit Trophy.
    (Note: This trophy is in memory of Alloa boy golfer Grant Dowie who lost his life in a car accident and was presented by his father)

    SCOTTISH JUNIOR CHAMPION OF CHAMPIONS
    Representing Clackmannanshire were John Salmond (Alloa) and Lawrence Allan (Alva) and they put in two fine scores in difficult conditions over the Duke’s course, St Andrews, last weekend. Both finished in the top ten, John 6th with a 74 and Lawrence 9th with 75 over the par 71 course. John had the best possible start with an eagle 3 at the first hole and a birdie at the 5th; a couple of double bogeys spoiled an otherwise very good scorecard. A first class performance putting him alongside top Scottish boy golfers — indeed beating some of them. On the other hand, Lawrence needed a good score to keep up with the other elite golfers and also to set him up for the Scottish Boys Championship in a few weeks time. Highlights of his round were long driving and a breathtaking shot of around 160 yards hit from a fairway bunker at the 18th finishing 3 feet from the hole and giving him a birdie 3.

    Hugh Hunter 13th March 2011

    NEW GOLFING SEASON EDGES CLOSER
    With only a couple of weeks or so until the 2011 golf season starts local Clubs will be finalising preparations for the traditional opening days. At the same time however, club officials will be looking carefully at their membership situation for the new season and hoping there will be more new members appearing. It’s very much the same throughout Scotland, very few waiting lists and plenty of opportunities to join Golf Clubs. Several local clubs have “Open Days” where prospective members can meet local officials and try their skills on the courses. Local Golf Club members can help as well by promoting their local club and persuading others to take up a most enjoyable pastime.

    “IT'S TIME TO JOIN THE GOLF CLUB”

    COUNTY JUNIOR GOLFERS IN ACTION
    The National Junior golf season starts soon as well and local juniors will be representing their Clubs and County. The first event is the Junior Champion of Champions being held at the Duke’s Course, St Andrews, this weekend. 62 of the top Scottish Juniors (44 boys and 18 girls) will play one round for the title and in the field will be John Salmond (Alloa) and Lawrence Allan (Alva) representing Clackmannanshire. The annual Scottish Boys Championship takes place at Dunbar in April with Lawrence Allan hoping to build on his fine performance at West Kilbride last year.

    COUNTY GOLFERS IN THE TOP TEN
    The Midland Alliance golf season ... it runs from August till April ... draws to a close in the next few weeks and it is pleasing to see the Clackmannanshire stalwarts finishing near the top. Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart is usually up among the best scratch scores and that includes the professional entries as well. Leading the amateur order of merit by a fair distance is Alloa’s Chris Westland with Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart in third place, then Michael Niven (Alloa) 8th and Ken Thomson (Alloa) 10th. The Alliance will be returning to Alloa Golf Club towards the end of 2011.

    AND THE COUNTY SENIORS AS WELL!
    The four year old Scottish Seniors Golfing Society (check out their web site) has been very successful in providing good competitive opportunities for the senior golfers of Scotland and locals have been very supportive. A full programme of events spread over Scotland attracts good entries - there is even a “Super Seniors” event. Alloa Golf Club with six members is in the top ten for member participation and with the other local Clubs featuring as well, it is a good example to others in the Wee County. Tulliallan’s Bob Stewart is one of the lowest handicaps in the Society and will be trying hard in 2011 to regain International honours.

    MANY CONGRATS TO CALLUM
    Finally ..... local golfers and friends will be wishing Callum every success for golf in 2011 after his marriage to Clare Marie Carlton, also a very good golfer. This addition to “Team Macaulay” hopefully will inspire Callum on his 2011 Challenge Tour campaign and we all look forward to seeing good golfing results this season. Best of Luck!!

    Hugh Hunter 6th March 2011

    SUPPORT YOUR GOLF FIXTURES IN 2011!
    The Wee County Golf Club members have plenty of competitive opportunities — each of the six Clubs in membership has a substantial golfing calendar of both men’s and ladies events. As well as catering for their own membership, Clubs run Open events of all descriptions and these competitions give local golfers the chance to play different courses at reasonable cost - for this staying in Clackmannanshire the travelling costs are also low, an important factor in times of escalating fuel costs.
    The County Golf Union runs an Order of Merit at both Men’s and junior levels covering the top County and Club events. County Junior Convenor Sam Kinnaird (Tillicoultry) is hoping for better participation in the Boys’ events, “In 2010, the entries for the County Boys’ events was very much on the low side plus some Clubs had to cancel their Boys Opens. The County really hope for better entries in 2011. We are also hoping for another good performance in the Scottish Boys Team Championship, we were so close to a medal in 2010 with a fourth equal performance from the 16 teams”.
    Well, that’s a clear message to County Junior golfers - get a handicap if you don’t already have one and join in the County Junior golf scene.it was the starting point for Callum Macaulay who reached the highest levels in the amateur game before becoming a professional golfer.

    COUNTY JUNIOR FIXTURES 2011

  • Stroke Play Championship - Alloa 24th April
  • Match Play - May 2nd (Tulliallan), 5th (Semi-finals Braehead), 12th (Final Dollar).
  • Scottish Boys Area Team Championship - Sunday June 5th Hayston.

    COUNTY SUCCESS IN MIDLAND ALLIANCE
    The first two events of 2011 played in the Midland Alliance produced more success for County golfers. Star of the Drumoig event (and whisper …in his seventh decade of competitive golf!) was undoubtedly Alloa’s Michael Niven - seventh equal in the scratch scoring, first equal in the handicap prize list with a net 73 and a member of the Pitlochry team that finished runners up in the team event with a net score of 63, one shot behind the winning Scotscraig team. In the Lundin Links event it was Alloa’s Chris Westland making full use of his handicap to win the top handicap prize with a score of 74-10 = 64.

    WORLD AMATEUR RANKINGS
    The three local golfers are still in the Amateur World rankings, although a fair way down. Dollar’s Scott Borrowman is at 1505, a good bit down from his best position a year or two back. Lawrence Allan (Alva) is at 2994 and Jamie Aitken (Alloa) at 3740. It would be nice to see some new names joining them!!
    Lawrence is in the top Boys development squad of 15 players and will be hoping for some good golfing form to have a chance of representing Scotland at top boys level in 2011. We will all be wishing him well.

    AMALGAMATION OF THE SGU AND SLGA
    Golf Club members should be aware of the amalgamation talks between the Scottish Golf Union and the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association - several meetings have been held throughout the country. Last month a joint meeting was held at Falkirk Golf Club (Carmuirs) with Stirlingshire Golf Union; there was a good turnout of Area officials and it was pleasing to see ten keen delegates from Clackmannanshire out of the seventeen. The main discussion focussed on governance issues and the delegates were pretty unanimous that a monitoring/accountability body of Area representatives should be set up to assist communication with any new Board. Further meetings are planned in February.

    Hugh Hunter 31st January 2011

    • LOOKING FORWARD TO THE 2011 COUNTY GOLF SEASON
    Now that the snow has gone (it could be temporarily of course),Wee County golf enthusiasts can smile a bit more and anticipate the 2011 competitive season in just over two months time. Club officials are putting the finishing touches to their golfing calendars--- hopefully the local golfers will support the County events as well as their own Club competitions.

    CLACKMANNAN COUNTY GOLF UNION NEWS
    The Clackmannan County Golf Union Annual General Meeting was held at the end of last year to hear the 2010 reports, appoint officials and approve the 2011 fixtures. The leading office bearers appointed were:
    President - George Kay (Alloa)
    Vice-President - Bill Hatley (Tillicoultry)
    Secretary/Treasurer - Tommy Johnson (Tulliallan)
    Team Captain - Jamie Aitken (Alloa)
    SGU representative - Kenneth Ellacott (Dollar)
    The County Executive is completed with representatives of the six Clubs in membership and a few co-options.
    George is looking forward to the new season, “Clackmannanshire players have played well in recent years and hopefully this success will be maintained in 2011 at all levels from boys to seniors.” Bill echoed this, “ Both boys and men’s teams did well in 2010 and, with team Captain Jamie Aitken taking over from John Gullen, the County hope to maintain good performances. I would also like to see more County elite players taking on the challenge of National Golf events”.

    COUNTY GOLF FIXTURES 2011
    Only the main ones are listed.

  • Spring Meeting: Saturday 23rd April, A Div - Alloa, B Div - Braehead
  • County Fours: 3,5,10,12 May, Dollar
  • Summer Meetings: Saturday 21 May, A Div - Tulliallan, B Div - Alloa
  • County Match Play: 30 May, 2,6,9 June, Braehead, Alva, Alloa, Tillicoultry
  • County Seniors Open: 31 May, Dollar
  • County Mixed Fours: 3rd July, Dollar
  • County Championship: 23rd July, Braehead
  • Autumn Meeting: 20th August, Braehead
    County Secretary Tommy Johnson is keen to see good support for the County events, “In recent years entries for the events have fallen a bit. The County Golf Union are keen to see more entries in 2011, it’s a chance to get an enjoyable game on an away local course at a very reasonable cost plus the chance to pick up some good prizes”.

    CALLUM STARTS WELL IN 2011
    After a slight loss of form in 2010, Tulliallan’s Callum Macaulay must have been encouraged by a good performance in the Kensville Challenge Tour event held in India last week. He finished the top Scot from the four who made the long trip. His score of 4 over par 292 (72,73,75,72) gave him a share of 12th place and a welcome win of a few thousand euros. Callum had the disappointment of just missing the final qualifying for the European Tour in 2011 and must now work hard to regain his tour card next year. The best route is through the Challenge tour and trying to finish in the top ten, or even better winning one. His local supporters will be wishing him well and following his progress in the many 2011 events which are fully covered on the European Tour and Scottish Golf View websites.

    Hugh Hunter 17th January 2011

    • The Wee County Success Story

    Click here for a history of Clackmannanshire Golfing successes

    TROPHIES & WINNERS 2011
    County Matchplay
    Scott Moffat
    County Strokeplay
    Lawrence Allan
    Order of Merit
    Michael Robertson
    Harrower Trophy
    Michael Robertson
    Gents' League
    Alloa
    County Fours
    Alloa
    Mixed Fours
    Dollar

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