Peter Mckinlay wins the Kirkwall Open after tense play-off
Ninety-four golfers enjoyed un-seasonally (and rather un-Kirkwall Open like) warm conditions for the Kirkwall Open sponsored by J & W Gray on Saturday 26 July 2008.
Reigning Champion and lowest handicapper in the field Steven Rendall was clear favourite to retain his title, but with a number of past champions such as his father Gordon and Peter McKinlay, County Champion Dennis Harvey and Wilson Cup debutant Graham Flett all in fine form this season, Steven knew he would have a tough job to defend his title. It was also noted that the Rendall, McGinn, Fotheringham, Thomson, Tait, Smith, Farquhar and Sutherland households all had fathers and their sons competing in the competition so there was sure to be a few keenly contested family battles to be decided.
Hot sun coupled with what was at times quite a keen breeze together with speedy greens and testing pin positions ensured that any lack of concentration would be quickly punished. It was visiting Shetlander Stuart Fox who led the way in the first round, returning an excellent 67 in what were actually quite tough conditions for scoring despite the pleasant weather. Word from the course was that Stuart was as low as five under par after twelve holes. Two shots behind Stuart on 69 was Stromness golfer Ray Heddle with Orkney Golf Club trio Stuart Slater, Mark McGinn and Graham Flett all just one shot further back. However with some eighteen players within eight shots of the lead the competition was still very much wide open going into the second round.
After enjoying the fantastic lunch arranged by Dorothy Bain and all her helpers, the competitors, some earlier than others, headed out on the course again in the hope of improvement. As the final groups entered their last six holes, word was spreading from the course that Stuart Fox was struggling this time round. Indeed the feeling was that a play-off was looking likely for the second time in three years. Stewart Fotheringham added a fine 69, the joint lowest score in the second round, to his first round 75 for 144 which would ultimately see him finish three shots off the winning score. Stuart Fox could only add a 76 to his first round 67 to tie for fifth with Andrew Bonner who enjoyed a very consistent day’s golf with 71 and 72 for 143. For a time it looked as though Mark McGinn would be Champion as he headed into the last three holes on level par overall. However a costly double bogey six on the last forced Mark into a tie with Gordon Rendall on 142. In the penultimate group Stuart Slater holed a testing putt on the last for a total of 141 and it looked as though he would lay the ghosts of his play-off loss to Steven Rendall two years beforehand. However, in the last group of the day Peter McKinlay held his nerve to hole a very testing putt on the eighteenth green to return an excellent 69 and force a play-off.
And so it was that a well-oiled crowd of in excess of fifty spectators returned to the course to watch a tense three-hole play-off. It was Peter who took control from the start, though it took all of his deft putting control to two putt all the way across the treacherous sixteenth green. Stuart was unlucky not to hole his birdie putt but unfortunately he struck it slightly too hard, leaving himself a very difficult short putt back across the green which he failed to hole.
Both players made good par fours under pressure on the seventeenth hole. Stuart could again count himself unlucky not to make birdie and Peter again showed fine putting control to get up and down from the front of the green. Light was failing badly as the players hit their tee shots down the last hole for the third time on the day at approximately 9.30 pm- it was even mooted by some that the wearers of some of the louder trousers on show should be asked to stand down the middle of the fairway!
Both players landed their second shots safely onto the green with Peter the further away of the two. He again managed to roll his putt stone dead, with Stuart adding in good humour “I’ll give you that one Pete”. So it was left for Stuart to attempt a putt of around fifteen to twenty feet to force a further sudden death playoff and avoid defeat in his second Kirkwall Open play-off in three years. He could not have come much closer either- his putt hitting the back of the hole but ultimately travelling slightly too hard to drop. As Club Captain Alan Hutchison remarked, when inviting Iain Watt on behalf of sponsors J & W Gray to present the prizes, it was play-off neither player deserved to lose.
A generous selection of prizes were also presented to the winners in each of the three handicap sections. In the 0-11 handicap section William Thomson took first place completing an excellent day’s golf on 127 four ahead of Darren Sutherland. Mark McGinn took third place, one ahead of Andrew Bonner.
Fred Rutlidge’s long journey over from Doha Golf Club proved worthwhile as he took first place in Division 2 on 131 ahead of Shaun Tait and Colin Corse on 133. Erik Firth finished fourth ahead of his nephew Jack Tait on 134 and S Low on 135.
Ali Learmonth took fourth place in Division 3 on 138 behind S. Bond on 134 and Charlie Sinclair on 127. However, it was former member Archie ‘Attie’ Learmonth, returning home from Kirkcaldy, who returned outrageous scores of 62 and 58 for the lowest nett score of the day by a clear seven shots to take first place in Division 3 and overall on 120! I don’t think Attie will be playing off 25 for much longer- though I’m told he protests that Kirkcaldy is a much tighter course than Kirkwall!
There are too many people to thank here for making the day the outstanding success it proved to be. Suffice to say that a great day was enjoyed by all and all your efforts are greatly appreciated. A special vote of thanks must however go to sponsors J & W Gray for their continued generous sponsorship.
Forty-three competitors took part in the RNLI Spoon on 23 July 2008 with £115 being raised in aid of this worthy cause. Eddie Brown and Raymond Stanger must each have fancied their chances of victory, each returning excellent Stableford totals of 43 points, which in most competitions would have stood a good chance. However, the RNLI Spoon will soon be making it’s way out to Westray as Steven Hagan returned an outrageous total of 46 points to take first place. Many thanks again to all those who donated generously.
As if four rounds of golf in two days at the Wilson Cup was not enough for him, local golfer Steven Rendall travelled to Inverness Golf Club to take part in the Inverness Four day Competition on 7 and 8 July. Despite having little time to adjust to the fast greens, Steven managed a creditable 73 in the first round against a competition standard scratch of 73. However, he produced superb golf in the second round the following day, returning a 66 gross to reduce his handicap to 0.6. He therefore returned to Orkney at the weekend within 0.2 of being the first member of Orkney Golf Club to become a scratch golfer under the modern handicapping system.
An excellent entry of sixty six players took part in the Lows Open on Saturday 12 July, with Steven looking to defend the trophy he won last year. He did come very close to doing so, returning an excellent 67 in very difficult conditions to take second place, three shots ahead of Sean Fotheringhame. However, more important to Steven was that his 67 was good enough to reduce his handicap to 0.4. Club Captain Alan Hutchison was delighted to present Steven with his new handicap certificate as a momento of his achievement.
However, not even Steven could match the outrageous golf produced by Ewan Rendall. In a spectacular return to form, Ewan produced a remarkable 65 gross in extremely testing conditions. All the more remarkable was that the last par of his round was at the seventh hole. His 29 shots for the last nine holes consisted of two bogies and a blitz of seven birdies!
In the net section it was good to see a visitor from Merchants of Edinburgh Golf Club, Colin Tait, take fourth nett with a highly creditable 67 ahead of Les Howard and Kenny Inkster. Stromness golfer Brian Corsie took third place with a 65, two shots behind twelve year old Ben Sutherland, who in returning an excellent 63, proved he is more than worthy of his place in senior competitions. First place in the nett section went to Stuart Slater on 63. Stu’s lessons from the visiting professional earlier in the week are obviously starting to pay off!
Many thanks again to Lows, Solicitors whose continued generous sponsorship of this popular competition is greatly appreciated by the club.
Twenty six players took part in the Past Captains Cup on Sunday 13 July. With conditions much more favourable than the strong wind and showers faced by the players the previous day, the competition looked set for low scoring. However, the standard was perhaps not as high as expected, perhaps due to the over exuberance of some the previous evening! Third place went to Sean Fotheringhame whose consistent golf was rewarded with a second gross 70 of the weekend and a 65 nett, losing out to Gordon Rendall on a countback. However, having presented the prizes on behalf of sponsors Lows the previous evening, it was Alistair Bruce’s turn to receive a Cup on Sunday evening as, by his own admission, he produced his best golf for a couple of years in returning a fine nett 63 to take first place.
This week will see another busy weekend of golf for those who can drag themselves away from the television coverage of The Open Championship at Royal Birkdale. The Highland Park Competition will take place on Friday evening followed by the Alfred Flett Charity Competition the following day. For those who need even more golf, there is also the popular Shopping Week Open at Stromness Golf Club on Sunday. A reminder also that The Kirkwall Open takes place on Saturday 26 July. Please get your entries in as soon as possible. Please also return your sold Prize Draw Tickets to the clubhouse as soon as possible.
Finally, the club has been generously gifted by Scottish Fuels, two vouchers, each for a group of four, for a round at the excellent Dalmahoy Golf Club. The club is holding a silent auction for each voucher and it is hoped to raise valuable funds for the development of the club. Each voucher is probably worth in excess of £300 and this is very much a one off opportunity for a round at a Club which over the years has hosted top level professional competitions. Please get your bids to Andrew Bonner as soon as you can. The Auction will close on the evening of the Kirkwall Open.
The top four golfers of the year, Steven Rendall, Peter McKinlay, Martin Fleet and Graham Flett travelled over to Reay Golf Club on the weekend of 4 July 2008 to represent Orkney Golf Club in the annual Wilson Cup. Having come within a few holes of beating an excellent Thurso Golf Club team in the final at Shetland Golf Club the previous year, hopes were high that the team could go one step better this year and emulate the success of the Orkney Golf Club team who won the competition for the first time in many year in 2004.
The draw on Friday night put Orkney in a tough group with Stromness Golf Club, Shetland Golf Club and Lybster Golf Club. The winner of that group would play the winner of the other group, which consisted of Thurso Golf Club, Reay Golf Club, Whalsay Golf Club and Wick Golf Club in the final on Sunday afternoon. Orkney got off to an excellent start against Stromness on Saturday morning with Steven Rendall and Graham Flett beating Dennis Harvey and Rae Heddle by four holes and Peter McKinlay and Martin Fleet beating the newly weds Brian Corsie and Kenny Inkster by one hole. Things did not go Orkney’s way in the afternoon, however, as though Graham and Steven won their match by three holes, Martin and Peter lost their by four holes for a narrow one hole loss against a strong Shetland team. Stromness managed to beat Lybster in the other afternoon match, which left each team in the group with one victory from two matches going into the final group matches on Sunday morning.
Martin and Peter produced a tremendous performance against Lybster Golf Club on the Sunday morning to beat their opponents by seven holes. Graham and Steven managed to tie their match, which was enough to put Orkney through to the final to meet Thurso Golf Club for the second year running. Thurso, as ever, would prove to be difficult opponents with +1 handicapper Dougie Thorburn again partnering the promising youngster Brent Munro against Graham and Steven. The other match paired Orcadian exile Jim Sangster and Alan Swanson against Martin and Peter. By all accounts both matches were very closely contested, with Orkney ahead in both with a few holes left on the back nine. However, as can happen very quickly in matchplay golf, both games swung the way of the Thurso golfers in the closing holes with Thurso winning each game by one hole. Tremendous credit must however go to the Orkney players, who again did extremely well to reach the final of a competition which always produces a high standard of golf. The club is very much looking forward to welcoming all our friends from the competing clubs when the competition takes place at Orkney Golf Club next year.
Rendall family double in Club Championship
Nearly fifty competitors took part in this year’s Club Championship and DG Spence Jnr Cups sponsored by Highland Industrial Supplies. Defending champion Steven Rendall was looking to become Club Champion for the fifth time in six years but with the likes of Peter McKinlay in a rich vein of form, he knew he would have to play well to defend his title.
Steven didn’t waste any time in making a statement of intend. An outstanding 63 in the first round on Monday night gave him a seven shot lead over nearest contender Martin Fleet. Steven had chances for birdies on the Seventeenth and Eighteenth holes which could have seen him tie or beat the course record. What he would have given for playing partner Martin’s eagle on the eighteenth!
Peter McKinlay hauled himself back into contention on Wednesday evening. On what was a fairly horrendous evening for golf, Peter produced and outstanding 68 to reduce the gap between Steven and himself to five shots. An excellent 65 for Peter to Steven’s 68 on Friday evening further reduced the gap to just two shots going into Saturday’s final round. With Steven on eight under par and Peter on six under for three rounds it looked as though there could be fireworks on the course during the final round. For a time it look as though the conditions would be ideal for spectacular golf, however as afternoon passed to evening, the rain set in making conditions fairly tricky for the competitors. It was Steven who held on for victory, returning an excellent 67 under pressure for an eleven under par total and a well deserved victory by five shots. Peter also can think himself unlucky that an excellent six under par total for the four rounds was not good enough for victory and Martin Fleet was rewarded for a consistent week’s golf by taking third place.
Also competed for over the week was the DG Spence Jnr Cup, which would go to the competitor with the lowest combined Nett score from Saturday plus his lowest other round from the rest of the week. With a number of very low Nett scores being posted during the week, it was very much all to play for going into Saturday’s round. A special mention in particular to John Thomson who recorded a hole in one at the par three Seventh hole on Wednesday evening.
Jim Davies and Willie Marwick both caught the Handicap Secretary’s attention by returning frankly obscene Nett 59’s! Their handicaps have been adjusted accordingly! Willie’s 59 helped him to a total of 128 which was good enough for third place whilst Jim’s 59 gave him a total of 126 for second place. However, the story of the day came from Gordon Rendall, who just nine days short of joining the Seniors’ Tour (sorry Gordon), returned an excellent gross 67 to add to his 68 from the previous evening, giving him two nett 61’s for a total of 122. This was the fourth time Gordon had won the DG Spence Jnr Cup over a period of three decades, his previous victories having come in 1983, 1992 (when he also won the Club Championship) and 2003. With his son Steven winning the Club Championship, competition will be fierce for spaces on the Rendall family mantelpiece!
After Robert Sinclair of sponsors Highland Industrial Supplies presented the prizes, club Captain Alan Hutchison announced the team for this year’s Wilson Cup which will be played at Reay Golf Club on 5-6 July 2008. The team this year will be Steven Rendall, Peter Mckinlay, Martin Fleet and Graham Flett. Let’s hope the lads can go one better this year after giving Thurso a close run for their money in last year’s final at Shetland Golf Club. It would be great to be defending the trophy when the competition returns to Orkney Golf Club next year- good luck lads!
Graeme Farquhar wins Dewar Spence Cup by five shots
Over fifty members of Orkney Golf Club took part in the Dewar Spence Cup which was played over two rounds at Grainbank on 6 & 7 June 2008. This was healthy entry for a Cup which was first played for in 1967, when it was won by George Donaldson.
Favourable weather conditions made for low scoring, with the standard scratch being reduced to 66 in both rounds. Colin Corse and Andrew Milne led the way in the first round, each returning excellent net 61’s. Stewart Fotheringhame enjoyed a welcome return to form to be close behind on 62, just ahead of Peter McKinlay, who was looking to win the cup for the umpteenth time, on 63 and Graeme Farquhar on 64. However, with six players on 65 and a further four on 66, it was very much all to play for going into the second round.
The scoring in the second round proved to be equally impressive with 29 of the 49 who took part on the day playing to their handicap or better. Six players managed 66, four managed 65 and a further six managed 64. Sean Fotheringhame returned a fine 63 for second place on the day, though having not taken part on the Friday night, he was not in the running for the Cup.
Overall, none of the top three from the first round Andrew Milne, Colin Corse or Stewart Fotheringhame could repeat their fine form from the previous night. Jack Tait and Stuart Slater each matched their 65’s from the previous night and their consistency was reqarded with a share of third place with Willie Marwick who had a 64 for 130 overall. One shot ahead, in second place, was Peter McKinlay who added a 66 to his 63 of the first round for 129. However, no-one could match the outstanding form of Graeme Farquhar who, at the age of 18, returned his best ever gross score of 77 for a net 60 and an overall total of 124 to take victory by five shots. After the match secretary and handicap secretary found the handicap ‘slashing’ button on the computer system Graeme’s handicap was adjusted accordingly- to 12! Bandits beware! I have no doubt Graeme’s handicap will be reduced further this season if he can reproduce this fine form- well done Graeme!
Graeme’s victory also gives him ten valuable Sheila Fleet Order of Merit points, leaving him tied in third place with Colin Harcus. Willie Marwick is now in second place on 13 points with Peter McKinlay leading on 18 points. There are now only few qualifying rounds remaining for the Wilson Cup, which is in Reay this year. Steven Rendall leads the qualifying standings by some way from Peter McKinlay and Martin Fleet. However, there is still much to play for with Graham Flett, Andrew Bonner and Graham Bell amongst others still very much in contention for the fourth place.
This Saturday will see the County Championship, the Hamilton and Pitt Stop Cups, played for over 36 holes at Stromness Golf Club.
Finally, Wednesday 4 June 2008 was a special evening for the Sutherland family. Young Ben Sutherland took part in his first competition at the age of 12 and, with a handicap of 18, he showed he is clearly good enough to compete with the seniors. With over 50 juniors currently taking part in the Club Golf scheme, the future of the club is surely looking bright. Ben’s dad Kevin (Stoff), playing in the group behind, managed to hold his nerves to return a fine 62 and take first place in the Sweep that evening.
McKinlay retains the Orkney Matchplay Championship
This week saw the playing of the first major of the year with the Clark Thomson sponsored Orkney Matchplay Championship. The first round was held on Monday 26th May culminating on Saturday with the final.
The first round losers where Jim Winterburn, Graham Flett, Dennis Harvey, Paul Kemp, Ray Heddle, Andrew Groundwater and Ollie Sinclair. With Stuart Slater, Brian Corsie, John Thomson and Andrew Bonner dropping out at the quarter-final stages it left a semi-final line up of Steven Rendal –v- Martin Fleet and Peter McKinlay –v- Graham Bell.
Martin squeezed through against Steven on the 19th after squaring the tie on the 18th green, Peter eased past Graham 6 & 4 with flawless golf.
The stage was set for a re-run of last years final and at lunch Martin looked good to reverse last years result as he was 2up. He then won the 19th but the tie came to life over the last 9 hole when they shared an eagle and 7 birdies before Peter came out on top winning by 2 holes.
The nett competition ran alongside the gross and the 1st round losers where Steven Tulloch (his early morning practice session obviously took its toll), Mark Clouston, William Thomson, David Clouston, Trevor Kinghorn, Neil Price and Mallaky McFerran. The highlight of the first round play had been Gordon Rendalls hole-in-one at the 10th on his way to beating Trevor but unfortunately Gordon together with Glen Watson, Andrew Milne and Willie Marwick fell by the wayside at the quarter-final stage. The line up for the semi’s was Bill Innes –v- Keith Leonard and Martin Flett –v- Darren Sutherland. Keith beat Bill by 2 holes to set up a final against Martin who beat Darren on the 19th.
Martin was up against the course record holder Keith and just to make life more difficult he has to give him a shot in each round. Keith, who’s handicap has slipped higher due to football commitments, took a grip of the final and ran out a comfortable winner 8&7.
An open was held on Saturday alongside the finals and in beautiful conditions there was some excellent scores Drewan Smith was the nett winner with a 63 just beating Alan Cuthbertson into second place on countback. Making his seasons debut was Hamish Baillie (64) and he took 3rd place in front of Derek Aitken (64) with Wilson Learmonth 5th (65). Paul Kemp won 1st gross with a 71 beating Ray Heddle on countback with Dennis Harvey (72) in 3rd place.
Thanks again to the excellent sponsorship from Clark Thomson and the co-founder John Clark and his able assistant Lisa the Lips for presenting the prizes.
It has been noted that there was a certain irony in the conditions faced by the competitors who took part in the W. Hourston Open on 24 May 2008. The competition had to be cancelled last year with the course being waterlogged. The conditions this year could not have been much more different, with the course clearly suffering from the lack of rain this month. Neither this nor the stiff northerly wind could deter the seventy competitors from around Orkney and beyond who enjoyed an excellent day’s golf. The large entry and testing conditions were reflected in the standard scratch remaining at 67 for the day.
Returning a fine gross 72 for a net 65, John Thomson can count himself unlucky not to have claimed a prize on the day. John missed out on second place in the gross section by two shots and third place in the net section on a countback. In the gross section Peter McKinlay returned what was, given the tricky conditions, a fine 70 for second place. One shot better, however, was Steven Rendall who took first place in the gross section.
In the net section, Derek Aiken claimed third place on a count-back from John Thomson, his 65 reducing his handicap to 19 in the process. In second place was Keith Neal, whose 63 reduced his handicap to 20. However, no one could match Steven Tulloch, who overcame a sore back and a disappointing result in the Ladies Cup the night before to return an excellent 61 to win the W. Hourston Open. Steven’s well deserved victory reduces his handicap by two to 16, which will surely be reduced further before too long if he maintains this fine form.
Many thanks again to Tom MacPhail of W. Hourston for his generous sponsorship of this popular competition. Thanks also to all those whose efforts ensured the competition was a great success and was thoroughly enjoyed by all.
The competition also served as the second qualifying round of the Orkney Matchplay Championship, the first ‘major’ of the year. Those who qualified will be playing out their matches in the gross and net sections during this week, culminating in a 36 hole final at Orkney Golf Club on Saturday 31 May 2008. For those of us who don’t make it to either final, there will be an 18 hole Open sponsored by Clark Thomson. The draw will be made on the evening of Thursday 29 May 2008 so please get you entries in as soon as you can. A full report on the results of the Orkney Matchplay Championships will appear here next week.
It’s not easy to write a report about yourself winning anything without sounding boastful, so I’ll try to keep this brief this week! I did, however, promise Martin Fleet that I would manage to get a reference to Hob Nobs (see last week’s biscuit puns) in the report this week so there you go Martin! Twenty three members took to the course on Saturday 10 May to compete for the Flotilla Cup over 36 holes. The solid silver Cup was presented to the Members of Orkney Golf Club by the Commodore and Officers of the First Destroyer Flotilla in April 1909. This was the first time in a number of years that the cup had been competed for over 36 holes in one day. Though there was a relatively low turnout this year, a warm day with a moderate westerly breeze made for an enjoyable day for those who took part.
In the first round Steven Rendall produced the outstanding gross score of the morning, returning an outstanding gross 66. Steven’s score was that bit more remarkable given that he took a triple bogie 7 at the 6th. He recovered well to complete the second nine holes in just 29 shots! Will Keith Leonard’s course record of 62 be broken before the course is extended- don’t be surprised! Having won the Cup in 2005 and 2006, Steven must have fancied his chances of getting his name on the trophy for the third time. One shot ahead of Steven in the first round was Willie Marwick who returned a fine Net 64, reducing his handicap to 11 in the process. The lowest score in the morning came from myself, one ahead of Willie with a Net 63. However, with 12 of the 23 competitors returning a net score of 69 or better, there was much to play for in the second round.
The competitors then enjoyed a fine lunch prepared by the ladies section before heading out for the second round. Thanks again to all the ladies who gave up their time to help out.
Graham Flett continued his fine form this season in the second round, returning and excellent 66 gross for a net 61. I can vouch that Graham was within an inch or two of getting a hole in one on the par four fifth hole- I was standing on the green at the time! Graham also managed to hole an eight foot putt for an eagle 2 on the 11th. Willie Marwick continued his fine form from the morning, returning a 65 to tie with Graham on 129 for the 36 holes. However, I was lucky enough to hole a fifteen foot birdie putt on the last hole to beat both Graham and Willie by one shot (sorry lads) and win the Cup for the first time. A mention also to Adrian Stanger whose 65 net was the second lowest score of the second round on a count-back- Adrian’s new tee at the Seventeenth hole looks to becoming on well. Graham Bell, Jim Davies and Alan Sutherland also put in creditable performances to take fourth, fifth and sixth respectively over the two rounds to claim valuable Sheila Fleet Order of Merit points.
Peter McKinlay is top cookie in McVitie & Price Cup
Over thirty members took part in the first two round competition of this season on 2 & 3 May 2008, the McVitie & Price Cup, one of the oldest Cups belonging to the Club. Pleasant conditions greeted the players for the first round on Friday night which was surprising not really reflected in the scoring. Leading the way with an excellent Net 63 was Raymond Stanger, two ahead of Peter McKinlay, who returned a fine gross 69. With John Thomson and defending champion Colin Harcus two shots further adrift and nine players within seven shots of the lead, it was all to play for going into the second round for anyone who could find a rich (tea) vain of form!
Unfortunately for Raymond, his challenge crumbled somewhat in the second round and he could only add a 77 to his first round 63- which no doubt he found hard to digest(ive)! A testing south easterly wind and freshly cut greens provided challenging conditions and this was again reflected in the scoring on the day. The best two net scores of the day came from Paul Kemp and Stuart Kemp who each had 66’s, one shot ahead of Peter McKinlay and John Thomson. Stuart and John’s consistency over the two rounds saw them take second and third places respectively, each scoring 134 for the two rounds. However, taking the biscuit was Peter McKinlay who was top cookie by two shots over the two rounds- well done Peter!
I’ll move on now before I run out of biscuit puns! The next competition is another of the old club competitions- The Flotilla Cup- which will be played over 36 holes on Saturday 10 May- please get your names on the entry sheet in the Clubhouse by 7 pm on Thursday 8 May 2008.
Andy Clark wins Gorn Sport Open
A healthy field of fifty one players took to the course on Saturday 26 April 2008 for the first open of the season at Orkney Golf Club, sponsored by Gorn Sport. Unfortunately a strong south westerly wind was a dominant factor on the day which was reflected in higher than normal scoring, with the competition standard scratch going up to 70 on the day.
In the gross section Steven Rendall took first place with a 71 ahead of Stromness members Rae Heddle and Angus Sutherland. This was, however, a net competition and the list of prize winners in that section would perhaps suggest that those who played in the morning had slightly better conditions to contend with. In fifth place was Stevie Burns with a 70 who was edged out of fourth place on a count-back by John Dowell. William Thomson returned a creditable gross score of 76 for a net 67 to take second place, one shot ahead of Raymond Stanger who took third. However, the outstanding score of the day was achieved by Andy Clark who returned an excellent net 65 to claim victory by two shots. Andy had won his first ever competition two weeks ago in the Red Cross Cup, so he is clearly in fine form this month- he has now reduced his handicap by four shots from 27 to 23 in the space of two weeks!
Many thanks to Gorn Sport for their generous sponsorship of this year’s competition. Thanks also to Katie Foulis who presented the prizes on Saturday evening and to Sandra Shearer for organising her quiz on the rules of golf.
This week sees the first 36 hole competition of the season, the McVitie & Price Cup, which will be played for on Friday 2 May and Saturday 3 May. The draw for the second round will be made in the clubhouse this evening so please get your names on the list in the clubhouse by 6pm. A reminder also that entries for the Ladies Cup, Robertson Shield and the Nicolson Cup close at 6pm this evening so again please get your names on the lists as soon as you can.
Finally, the news you have all been waiting for- another batch of trees came home this week! Volunteers are requested to help with planting these, first of all on Thursday and Friday mornings and then on Sunday 4 May. Please feel free to turn up at around 9.30 on the Sunday morning or whenever you can thereafter. Those of you who prefer a lie in can come along at 2 if you prefer! Please bring along some gloves and a spade and plenty of energy! Any trees left over from Sunday will be planted on Monday morning.
Iain Tait wins Grainbank Centenary Competition
A healthy field of thirty two players took part in the Grainbank Centenary Competition on Sunday 20 April 2008. This was the first opportunity to play a competition over the newly tree-lined course. Okay, so the course is not quite Augusta National yet but it is hoped that the newly planted trees will in time improve everyone’s enjoyment of the course. A huge vote of thanks to all those who gave up their time on Tuesday and Wednesday last week to help with planting the trees- over 2500 trees have been planted so far. Another batch are due home in the next couple of weeks so please keep your spades and gloves handy! Details of when members can help will be announced nearer the time. As for the golf, those who took part enjoyed a grand sunny day and for some the golf wasn’t a waste of a good walk! In third place was yours truly (Colin Harcus) with 39 points, beating Bruce Moar on a count back. Steven Rendall produced the outstanding gross score of the day with a 66 for 42 points. Is Keith Leonard’s course record of 62 in danger this season- watch this space! However, even this outstanding score was not good enough to catch Iain Tait, who returned a fine net score of 62 for 44 points to claim victory and reduce his handicap by two shots to 18 in the process- well done Iain.
Congratulations are also due to those who went through to Stromness on Saturday for the Smithfield Open. Of the 15 members who went through, five won prizes. A special mention in particular to Graham Flett who, given the unfavourable conditions, shot an excellent 69 to take first gross.
The popular Gorn Sports Open will be played for on Saturday 26 April 2008. Those of you who have not already done so are encouraged to get your clubs out of the attic and get your subscriptions paid- the course is drying out nicely now. Please get your names on the sheet in the clubhouse by 6 pm Thursday 24 April 2008.
Andy Clark wins season opener
Crisp spring sunshine, perfectly manicured fairways and fast running greens. Yes, all keen golfers will be aware that the US Masters took place last weekend, heralding the unofficial start of the new golf season. Back in the real world, the new season at Orkney Golf Club got underway on Saturday 12 April with the Red Cross Cups. Unfortunately the Orkney winter has not been on the course so the twenty two entrants had to contend with very soggy underfoot conditions. Despite the testing conditions, Steven Rendall managed the lowest gross score of the day with a 71. Gordon Rendall and Martin Flett also managed creditable 73’s which placed them in third and second overall with net scores of 67 and 65 respectively. However, it was Andy Clark who had the honour of receiving the first cup of the season, returning an excellent 63 to win his first ever trophy. It was great to see one of the higher handicappers collecting a trophy- though his handicap probably won’t remain so high if he continues playing like that! It was also good to see a good sum of money raised for the Red Cross. Thanks to all who took part. The Grainbank Centenary Competition will take place on Sunday 20 April. I’m sure you will all be itching for a game after watching the Masters so please get your name on the entry sheet in the clubhouse as soon as you can.
