Winter League v Tantallon Sat 27th 9.30am

Team is Greg and Michael Williams - keep up the good work

Oliver Ladbrooke and James Fox are also oplaying a bounce game v Tantallon - 9.44am on No 3 - good luck

Iain

Remember Mark Dickson ?

Grant Carnie jt 25th, Mark Dickson jt 71st
at Hilton Head, South Carolina

University of South Carolina-Aiken students Grant Carnie, a senior from Ellon, Aberdeenshire, and Mark Dickson, a freshman from Gullane, finished joint 25th and joint 71st respectively in the field of 90 players at the Wexford Plantation Intercollegiate 36-hole tournament at Hilton Head, South Carolina this week. 
Over a par-72 course of 6,828yd, Carnie, who reached the quarter-finals of last year's Scottish amateur championship by beating the seeded Gavin Dear, scored 78 and 72 for 150; Dickson 78 and 80 for 158. 
Jackson Taylor (Davidson College) and Lee Bedford (Wake Forest University) tied for first place on 142. Both men scored 72 and 70.
Wake Forest (583) won the team title by one shot from Francis Martin College with Davidson College third on 589. South Carolina-Aiken finished tied sixth with a score of 606 in a field of 17 teams.

£1million jackpot on offer at Archerfield !!

£1million jackpot on offer at Archerfield

Links from August 3 to 6

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ED HODGE, CAPITAL CITY PRESS
A unique high-stakes golf event, where the winner will walk off with a mouthwatering £1m jackpot, has been announced.
The eagerly-awaited tournament will be held/hosted at Archerfield Links, the private members' club in East Lothian.
Organisers hope to attract a star-studded worldwide field to the exclusive venue for the lavish 'Cool Million Challenge' which will combine golf and gambling for a prize fund in excess of £2m.
It is hoped former Ryder Cup captains Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam will take part in pursuit of the largest first prize in an unsanctioned event in the world this year.
Big-name US-based seniors have also been earmarked to compete over the Dirleton Links from August 3-6, along with leading ladies such as Laura Davies.
Promoter David Copeland, an entrepreneur in the online gambling industry and a keen golfer, is behind the concept to mix a high-stakes wager with an exciting pro tournament, two weeks after The Open at St Andrews.
Restricted to 60 talented golfers around the world meeting a strict criteria, commercial or individual sponsors - the gamblers - face the ultimate challenge to place their bet on a chosen player to win the £1m.
The professionals will compete over two rounds of stroke play, with the top 16 playing straight match play to establish the champion. The entry fee for the competition - poised to be televised - is set at £50,000 per golfer, representing the sponsor's bet.
Copeland said: "I'm a gambler so I wanted to launch a golf competition with a high level of entry fee for a relatively small field. That gives everyone a chance of a top prize, namely the £1 million figure.
"I had to find a venue that was really exclusive, really private and there are not many clubs like Archerfield. I'm using my contacts globally in the gambling industry and commercial world, in terms of sponsorship, to drive together 60 teams.
"We didn't just want a Tour event. We're not looking for golfers in the top 500 of the world rankings, or those with a current European or US PGA Tour card. We're looking for guys off the Nationwide Tour, the Challenge Tour and the Seniors.
"There are also people around the world gambling extremely high stakes whom you have never even heard of, professionals in Las Vegas who don't need to play on Tour but can win big money in gambling games.
"Over a course that is not overly long, we have also decided to include female golfers of any ranking and standard. We are hoping to have some of the world's top 10 playing in it.
"Could they beat a guy off the Challenge Tour over Archerfield, or a leading Senior? So you start to have a dilemma and peak the interest of the gambler of where they think the value lies."
Archerfield Links, designed by David J Russell, continues to grow in stature, having already hosted Gary Player's European Invitational, as well as Sir Ian Botham and Ronan Keating's Celebrity Challenge.
The Ladies Scottish Open will also make a welcome return to the calendar at Archerfield from August 18 to 20 this year.
For more information, contact David Copeland on 01355 588 970 or go towww.coolmillionchallenge.

Gullane take pole position - Old Guys Doing V Well !

Evening News 

 24 February 2010

By MARTIN DEMPSTER

GULLANE stamped their authority on proceedings as
league leaders Longniddry came to visit in the latest
round of matches in golf's East Lothian Winter League.

Longniddry, last year's Division 2 champions, had topped
the table since mid-November, but Jeff Aitken's men
took full advantage over their home course and handed
out a whitewash that meant they now move ahead
on hole difference, and with a game in hand.

There was a close tussle at the top of the order, but
the experienced Scott Walker and Duncan Low
prevailed on the home green. With everything going the
home team's way elsewhere on the course, that win
was enough to ensure the hosts took all they could.

At the other end of the table, Craigielaw completed a
successful raid on lowly Kilspindie, making relegation
now a certainty for the hosts, and at the same time
 preserving their own Division 1 survival hopes.

Dunbar's impressive recent progress was halted by a
resurgent Royal Musselburgh side, themselves spurred
into action by the threat of relegation.

Indeed, whilst Longniddry and Gullane slug it out for the
title over the league's closing weeks, the more enthralling
tussle will surely be the one for survival.

The impending league restructure means three teams
will be relegated this term, with a fourth going into a
relegation play-off with the Division 2 runners-up.

With Kilspindie already relegated, Royal Musselburgh,
Dunbar, Tantallon, Craigielaw and Haddington find
themselves battling it out for just two guaranteed survival
places and all eight teams are in action on Sunday.

Go Rachael !

Captain Lesley Nicholson tips

Rachael Watton to step up 

-
FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWSBy MARTIN DEMPSTER
Rising Lothians star Rachael Watton has been pinpointed as one of the players capable of forcing their way into the Scottish women's team this year.
Lesley Nicholson, who has been re-appointed as captain by the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association, believes the Mortonhall ( & Gullane ) player, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, can be among those vying to fill the gaps left by the departure of Carly Booth and Kylie Walker to the professional ranks.
"Rachael has come on leaps and bounds," said Nicholson. "I have played with her a couple of times and she's a great striker of the ball."She also has a tidy short game which is a real benefit at the top level."
Nicholson, who has been appointed to lead the Scots in both the European team championship and the Home Internationals, is also hoping to see Jane Turner retain her place in the side.
"Jane really impressed us all on her debut in last year's Home Internationals," she added. "It can be a daunting experience when you are winning your first cap but she took it in her stride."
The Scots agonisingly missed out on a first success in the Home Internationals for 18 years as they lost to Wales on the final day at Irvine Bogside last September.
But Nicholson insisted: "It is only a matter of time until we get over that final hurdle again. The whole set-up has come on leaps and bounds since Kevin Craggs came on board as the Scottish national coach."

Winter Stableford Series

The overall top finishing positions are

1    Alasdair Simpson  72 points
2    Jamie Black  71 points
3=  Oliver Ladbroke  & Graham Swan 68 points

Congrats to Ally who had a fine closing nine in one under par today for 22 points to steal the Quaich from Jamie !!

Elie boys and girls open tournament entry forms April 13 - 15

Entry forms for the 58th Elie Sports Club open amateur tournament for boys and girls from Tuesday to Thursday, April 13 to 15, can be downloaded at http://www.golfhouseclub.co.uk/uploads/entry-form-2,3,-2010.doc

The tournament, played under a match-play format, is open to boys and girls in four age-group categories: Under-12s, Under-14s, Under-16s and Under-18s.

SLGA Under 16 Girls Strokeplay Championship

The Girls under 16 Championship takes place at Strathmore Golf Centre on 8 - 9 April. Entry form available on the SLGA website http://www.slga.co.uk/images/stories/entry_forms/u162010.pdf

£20 to enter , entry due in by 8th March. No handicap limit. 

Maybe the Gullane Girls should give it a go ! 

US KIDS 2010

This takes place again this year with Gullane, Craigielaw and Longniddry being the host venues

Dates are 1-3 June with the Van Horn Cup taking place on Gullane No 1  Friday 4 June

( NB date clash with Lothian Boys Knock-out Stages )

More details and entry form on http://www.uskidsgolf.com/

Ages / courses are as follows

Gullane No 2 - Boys 14, Girls 14 , Boys 15-18 , Girls 15-18

Gullane No 3 - Boys 9, Boys 10, Girls 10, Girls 11, Girls 12, Girls 13

Craigielaw  - Boys 11, Boys 12 , Boys 13

Longniddry Boys 7 ( & under ) , Boys 8 , Girls 8 ( & under ) , Girls 9

You will note that there is a new 15-18 category for both Boys and Girls so all Gullane Juniors are able to enter subject to school commitments etc. The entry fee is detailed on the US Kids website - expensive I know but a great international experience for our young golfers. It is hoped GGC / GLGC will again be able to make some financial support to help local entries.

Please contact Alasdair Good or me for more info

Iain
07711 745719

Faldo Series extends deadline for UK entries - now 1st March

The world-renowned Faldo Series announced today that it has extended the deadline until 5pm on Monday March 1st for entries into this year’s 9 UK events.

The 2010 Faldo Series will attract in excess of 5,000 boys and girls aged between 12 and 21 and comprises of 30 events in over 25 countries throughout the UK, Europe, South America and Asia with the winners from all the qualifying events being invited to compete in either the Faldo Series Grand Final in Europe or the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final in China both of which are hosted by the six-time Major champion himself. This year’s European Grand Final will take place over the Faldo Course at the magnificent Lough Erne Resort in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland on September 21 - 23. 

Last year’s European Grand Final was staged in the Olympic city of Rio de Janeiro and was won by England’s Jonathan Bell, who posted rounds of 70, 69 and 73 for a 4-under par aggregate of 212 and a one stroke victory over 2009 British Boys’ champion, Tom Lewis. England’s Holly Clyburn was crowned 2009 Faldo Series Girls’ champion, ahead of Scotland’s Carly Booth.

This year’s UK Championships will be staged at the following prestigious venues:

Frilford Heath Golf Club, Oxfordshire, March 31-April 1
Moortown Golf Club, Yorkshire, April 7-8
West Lancs Golf Club, Lancashire, April 22-23
Walton Heath Golf Club (Old Course), Surrey, May 5-6
Royal Ashdown Forest Golf Club, East Sussex, May 18-19
Notts Golf Club (Hollinwell), Nottinghamshire, June 9-10
The Roxburghe Golf and Country Club, Kelso, June 23-24
The Vale Resort (Wales National Course), near Cardiff, August 17-18
Trentham Golf Club, Staffordshire, August 25-26

The Faldo Series is underwritten by its founder and receives support from a range of partners including Lough Erne Resort, The R&A, the European Tour. The PGA also supports the Faldo Series within the UK.

Click here to download an entry form  - age groups and handicap limits are detailed 

Winter Stableford & Winter League - Sun 21 February 2010

The third & final winter stableford was played on Sun 21st in excellent conditions on No 1.

Boys results

* = handicap reduction - well done !


CSS Score : 71
Course Par : 71



Gary Brownlee       38   13    AWAY
Peter Legget             37   4 *
Graham Swan          37   13 *  12.2
Alasdair Simpson     36   4     AWAY
Jamie Black             33   11   10.7
Michael Williams      32   10   10.0
Oliver Ladbrooke     29  16   15.8
Scott Young             36  26    25.6  No Signature
Adam Munro           14   24   24.4  No Signature
Craig Spinks            13   22   22.1  No Card
Gregor Wood            9   21   21.2  No Signature

6 girls also played inc 10 yo Charlotte Munro in her first medal !

Clara Young

Anna Fox

Lauren Bryce

Lara Frostwick

Charlotte Munro

Sarah Dunlop

Girls results to follow when received from GLGC as will results of overall winter stableford series

Winter League

The mens' team beat top of the table rivals Longniddry 5-0 and Lesley Atkins and Duncan McLean also played well to win the junior match  5 and 3.

Next match is at home to Tantallon on Sat 27th @ 9.30 am - team will be Michael Williams and Greg Houlston

Well done all ( apart from the few comments above ! ). Great to have 19 playing in February.

Iain

Winter Stableford - Sun 21 Feb

The third stableford competition of our winter series takes place on Sun 21 Feb on No 1 at 12noon ( last year's card is out by a day for this event  ). Please feel free to play even if you haven't played in previous two - the second one was a non-counter anyway.

 

Places are limited for this and the course will be busy otherwise so you must book in advance with the Starter ( No1 )  843115

 

We will sort pairings on the day and everyone will be welcome in the Members Clubhouse afterwards to warm up ! 

 

Gordon will officiate on Sunday assisted by Alan Williams, as I have rugby commitments.

 

I'll shortly be updating the blog with more info regarding the coming season so please so please check back regularly. Suggest you get out there on Sunday to dispense with a few cobwebs.

 

I'd also like two volunteers to play winter league v Longniddrry  @ 9.30am on No 1 on Sunday  ?

 

Subs and card for 2010 will be out soon

 

Please pass on the word to anyone else out there not on this email circulation and encourage each other to play !

 

Iain

 

01620 843597

07711 745719

 

http://gullanejuniorgolf.blogspot.com

FALDO SERIES 2010

Junior Golf News - Faldo Series Announces UK 

Fixture List For 2010 Season

Friday, 11 December 2009

The Faldo Series has  announced its schedule of UK Championships for the forthcoming season with nine tournaments being played on some of the most famous courses across England, Scotland and Wales.

The Faldo Series will visit several world-renowned venues in 2010, including US Open qualifying venue Walton Heath in Surrey, former Ryder Cup venue Moortown in Yorkshire and European Challenge Tour hosts The Vale of Glamorgan in south Wales.

Open Championship qualifying venues also feature on the schedule of Faldo Series UK Championships, including Royal Ashdown Forest in East Sussex, Nottinghamshire’s Hollinwell, Trentham in Staffordshire and West Lancashire.

Frilford Heath in Oxfordshire and The Roxburghe in Kelso, two of the most picturesque and highly-rated courses in England and Scotland respectively, complete the stellar line-up of Faldo Series hosts in 2010.

Supported by The R&A, the European Tour and the PGA, more than 1,000 leading young golfers are expected to apply for the UK Faldo Series which also operates in over 20 countries across Europe, South America, the Middle East and Asia. Participants will hope to follow in the footsteps of former Faldo Series winners and European Tour stars Nick Dougherty, Rory McIlroy and 2008 Ladies European Tour Rookie of the Year Melissa Reid.

Competitors in the UK will only be one win away from a place in the Faldo Series Grand Final, an R&A World Amateur Golf Ranking event hosted by six-time Major winner Nick Faldo and recently won by England’s Jonathan Bell in Brazil. For the five age-group champions, an invite to the Faldo Series Asia Grand Final at Mission Hills Golf Club in China will be on offer, plus the opportunity to play in a flagship European Tour or Ladies European Tour event for the overall boy and girl champion.

Faldo commented: “I’m very excited about the UK schedule for 2010 and am extremely grateful to the host venues for their support. I am proud of the part we have played over the past 14 years in helping to identify and nurture some of the UK’s most talented young golfers. I wish all the competitors the best of luck and look forward to meeting the winners at the Faldo Series Grand Final.”

Faldo Series UK Championships are open to boys and girls aged 12 to 21 with handicaps of 12 or below. Full details on how to apply can be found at www.nickfaldo.com.

The full Faldo Series schedule, also featuring tournaments in continental Europe and South America, will be announced early in the New Year.

Faldo Series Media Release

ENTRIES DUE IN BY 24th FEB 2010 - COST £60 ! 

HANDICAP LIMITS ETC ON THE WEBSITE 

NEWS FROM THE INDIAN POST !

Junior’s Golf Matches in Scotland

12 FEBRUARY 2010 

For the first time, India’s up and coming junior golf  talent are invited to play competitive golf against junior golfers from Scotland, thanks to a new programme offered by The Indian Golf Company. 6 Indian juniors are getting the opportunity to play competitive golf against scottish juniors at two prestigious golf courses i.e. Gullane & Dalmahoy.

One practice game and a match against each club has been secured making it a total of 4 rounds of golf. The 7 day package will also include a visit to St Andrews & The British Golf Museum. The cost of this 7 day package includes boarding and lodging and ground travel. Based in Scotland, The Indian Golf Company provides international golf holidays and junior golf camps in St Andrews and throughout the United Kingdom. The company’s newest camp will allow Indian juniors to benchmark their golfing prowess against their international counterparts.

The matches will be held on championship golf courses of the highest calibre in and around Edinburgh. One the courses selected is the links-style Gullane Golf Course, which has a long history of hosting international championship golf events and is an Open Championship qualifying course. Another course is the lush Dalmahoy Golf Course , which has hosted the Solhiem Cup and regularly welcomes the Scottish Seniors Open, a senior’s event on the European PGA. The junior golf conveners of both these clubs, on behalf of their respective junior members, are excited at the prospect of hosting junior challengers from across the globe.

LOOK OUT FOR YOUR 2010 FIXTURE LIST FOR DETAILS OF THIS AND OTHER NEW OPPORTUNITIES THIS COMING YEAR ! 

Winter League v Longniddry

Pair is Michael Williams & Scott Gillies

We lost last week despite  Lesley & Alex playing well at Royal Muss

9.30am  tee off on No 1

Former Gullane GC Junior Member !!

Driver commits to Scotland

[ on no he hasn't ! ] 

Hearts winger pledges his allegiance to Scotland after talks with new international boss Craig Levein

Andrew Driver who has represented England at under 21 level has ruled himself out of contention for Fabio Capello’s World Cup squad by committing himself to Scotland.

The 22 year-old Hearts winger qualifies to play for Scotland through the recent introduction of a rule under which players schooled in a country for more than five years can represent its national team.

National team boss Craig Levein now plans to give the player the chance to earn his first cap in the March friendly with Czech Republic at Hampden, after he showed an enthusiasm to be involved with his adopted country.

Only an error in calculating exactly how long 22-year-old Driver spent in school in Scotland stands in the way of him being in Levein’s plans and the Scotland manager quipped that office staff were doing the necessary checks to confirm him as eligible for Scotland.

"Andy Driver gave me the nod yesterday that he is dead keen,” Levein said at Hampden on Friday. "I said 'Do you want to go away and think about it?' He said 'No, my mind is made up, I want to play for Scotland'.

"We need to find out he meets the criteria exactly, that it's five years schooling and not four years, 11 months and 26 days."   [oops ! ]

Oldham-born Driver and his family moved to North Berwick ( GULLANE ACTUALLY ) when he was 11 years old. He turned out for Hutchison Vale before being picked up by Hearts, making his first team debut in 2006.

He represented Scotland at schoolboy level before Stuart Pearce called him up to the England under 21 squad for the 2009 European Championships. He made one appearance against Germany in the group stages but hasn’t been considered for a call to play in Fabio Capello’s full squad.

Driver’s 2009/10 season has been dogged by injury and he has made only 11 appearances for Hearts this season.

He missed the start of the season with a heel injury and was then dogged by a knee injury that required him to see a specialist in London.

The 22 year-old winger hadn’t featured for Hearts since the O-O derby draw against HIbs on November . He made his return to top team action in new Hearts gaffer Jim Jeffries' first game in charge of the Tynecastle club in Saturday’s 1-0 away defeat at St Johnstone.  

Celtic’s 14 year-old Somali-born Islam Feruz became the first player selected for Scotland under the new school ruling when he was called up for the Uefa Under 17s Championship qualifier against Cyprus at East End Park in October.

[ SHAME WAS THAT DESPITE HAVING GGC MEMBERSHIP HE NEVER PLAYED IN ANY COMPS OR OBTAINED A HANDICAP !! ][ Double shame that he didn't complete 5 full calendar years at NBHS.....he was there from S1 to S5 but that didn't quite do it .... ] 

Winter League v Royal Musselburgh 6th Feb

Team for junior winter league on Sun 12 noon away at Royal Musselburgh is Lesley Atkins and our Junior Champion from last year Alexander Wilson - both in photo below

Lets see if we can give our Old Guys the encouragement they need to stay at the top of their league - last week we lost to Haddington

Iain

07711 745719

Warm weather outing in Spain for LA

Gullane's Lesley Atkins finishes third in Spain

Leon Fricker, Bronte Law win Andalucian
Junior European Open titles
FROM  "DAILY EXPRESS"

Bronte Law, pictured right by Cal Carson Golf Agency, retained her Andalucia Junior European Open girls' title by 10 shots on a warm but windy final day at Finca Cortesin.
And pre-tournament favourite Leon Fricker (Yelverton, Devon) won the boys' event by two shots from Yorkshire's Jonathan Fisher, whose brave bid was hit by a three-putt on the penultimate hole.
With Britain shivering under a new cold snap, the country's top juniors went into action at the event, held in association with the Daily Express, on the fifth and final day in Spain. But the winds were so strong that three and four putts were seen on some greens.
Law took a three-shot lead over Scotland's Lesley Atkins into the final round but saw that wiped out after just four holes after struggling on the greens.
A birdie on the long, par-5 eighth saw her regain the lead and Law never looked back as East Brighton's Tiffany Hewetson shot the best round of the day - 85 - to pip Atkins for second place.
Fricker, on five under par, led by four from Fisher and East Devon's David Black, who refused a practice round.
But Fisher had drawn level by the par-3 17th, where he had a putt for the outright lead only to end up with a bogey, and Fricker birdied the last to make sure.
FINAL PLACINGS
Played over Alcadaisa Links and Finca CortesinBoys
218 Leon Fricker.
220 Jonathan Fisher.
223 Craig Cameron.
225 David Blick.
228 Julian Taylor.
229 Joshua Johnson.
231 Paul Kinnear.
235 Adam Woodhead.
Girls
227 Bronte Law.
238 Tiffany Hewetson.
239 Lesley Atkins.
252 Alison Knowles.

The Old Guys look like they want to catch on to this League winning thing ??

East Lothian Winter League

Gullane, Haddington move in opposite directions

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Haddington resumed their campaign in the East Lothian Winter League following a seven-week break enforced by snow and ice but were caught cold by visitors Gullane at the weekend.
In a close encounter at the top of the order, Duncan Low and Scott Walker came out on top for the visitors against Steven Lamb and Law Hardie.
With an advantage established in the lower order matches, that result tipped the scales in Gullane's favour and, in the end, the Haddington skipper Andrew Doctor's emphatic win, in the company of Keith Nicholson, proved to be the only one for the hosts.
That result saw Gullane move into a share of the lead in a league they last won 29 years ago, and sent their hosts into a relegation scrap with Royal Musselburgh, Dunbar, Tantallon and Craigielaw – four teams that have, between them, claimed the league title in 18 of the last 19 years.
Meanwhile, leaders Longniddry slipped up for the first time this season on the road at Royal Musselburgh. After eight straight wins, Chris Wood and Michael Bacigalupo tasted defeat for the first time this term at the hands of the experienced pairing of Ian Gordon and Cammy Boyd and that was enough to secure victory for Royal.
That result didn't alter the league position of either team, but the title race suddenly seems wide open and, with three, perhaps four teams to be relegated this term, there's plenty still to play for at either end of the table.
As usual, the Dunbar v Craigielaw clash was a tense affair. In recent years these teams have gone head to head for the title more often than not, but this time it was a battle for survival. With three out of five matches going the distance, there was really nothing to pick between the sides but, in the end, it was a triumph for experience over youth, with John Archibald and Gary Queen securing the vital point for the hosts on the final green.
In Division 2, both North Berwick and Winterfield bade farewell to their promotion hopes after suffering home defeats at the hands of Glen and Whitekirk respectively. However, the wins were significant for both visiting sides, who will now slug it out for one guaranteed promotion spot over the next five weeks.
Musselburgh Old kept their slender promotion hopes alive with a hard-earned win at home to lowly Thorntree.