Sammy Vass is Tops

What a pleasure it was to receive the following note from Ken Condon via Colin Farquharson.

"I went over for Radfords home tourney but it was cancelled due to snow!!  A hastily arranged friendly was organised for the following day at Gardner-Webb, and as it turned out, Kirsty was paired with Sammy Vass.  We couldn't have been made to feel more welcome, and Sammy's attitude, personality and demeanor on the course was apleasure!  She is a credit toher family, her University and her Country, so if you could pass this on I would be most grateful."

Florence Allan
Captain

Championship Draw for 24th April - Scratch & Handicap

0900 - Eleanor Tunn -v- Eilidh McTavish
0908 - Margot Barr -v- Magi Vass
0916 - Gilllian Dowling -v- Winnie Ross
0924 - Eilidh Mackay -v- Anne Ryan
0932 - Mary Smith -v- Julie Vass
0940 - June Nicol -v- Dorothy Lloyd
0948 - Lynne Fraser -v- Alison Bartlett
0956 - Susan Mackenzie -v- Jenny Milne


1300 - Joan Darroch -v- Christine Marshall
1310 - Doreen McCaig -v- Sally Rowan
1320 - Sheila Duncan -v- Julie Fraser
1330 - Fiona Macdonald -v- Irene Croal


Dorothy Marshall
Secretary

KELSEY TAKES BRITISH STUDENT'S TITLE

Congratulatons to Kelsey MacDonald who has just added another title to her collection.  

At West Lancashire Golf Club last week Kelsey won the British Universities' Women's stroke play title beating Jane Turner from Craigielaw Golf Course and Robert Gorden University, Aberdeen by a magnificent margin of 17 shots.  

Well done.

Florence Allan

Captain

GOOD LUCK AT THE HELEN HOLM

I am sure everyone would like to join me in wishing Kelsey, Cara and Hannah the best of luck when they play in the Helen Holm next week-end at Troon. 

DO YOUR BEST - PLAY WELL AND MOST OF ALL ENJOY THE GOLF.

As we will be at Fortrose & Rosemarkie for the County Championships we will be keeping our fingers crossed that the weather will be fine for both competitions.

Florence Allan
Captain

SAMMY VASS HELPS GARDNER-WEBB FINISH RUNNERS-UP

Well done to Sammy Vass who has found her feet as a sophomore transfer student at Gardner-Webb University, North Carolina in the 2010-2011 US college golf season ... capping her campaign by playing a big part in her college finishing second in the Big South Women's Conference Championship at The Patriot Golf Club, Ninety-six (yes, that's the name of the South Carolina town/city!) this past week.

Sammy's tied 10th place finish was just about her best performance over two years in the States, the first of which was spent as a fringe-team player at the University of Central Florida.

She had rounds of 81, 76 and 77 for a total of 234, finishing ahead of Radford University's pair of British students, Hannah Coles (15th on 238 with scores of 79-80-79) and fellow Scot Kristy Condon (27th on 245 with scores of 82-82-81).

Sammy and the rest of the Gardner-Webb University team were put under real pressure in the championship when one of their players went down with an illness at the end of the first day. 

Normally, a team counts only the best four scores from their five players. If you have only four players - as Gardner-Webb did for the last two rounds - then all of their scores count. Absolutely no margin for error.

Coastal Carolina won the Big South Women's Championship with a total of 912. Gardner-Webb were runners-up with 930 - a great performance by a comparatively small university. 

Florence Allan

Captain

DRAW FOR CHAMPIONSHIP AT FORTROSE & ROSEMARKIE 23rd April

 Abbreviations:  E, Elgin; F, Forres; FR, Fortrose & Rosemarkie, G, Gairloch; GOS, Grantown-on-Spey; I, Inverness; N, Nairn; ND, Nairn Dunbar;  MO, Muir of Ord; RD, Royal Dornoch, Ry, Reay; T, Tain.


0900 - Mary Smith (T), Anne Ryan (T)
0908 - Gillian Dowlng (N), Alison Bartlett (RD)
0916 - Jenny Milne (E), Winnie Ross (E)
0924 - Eilidh Mackay (ND), Julie Vass (T)
0932 - Eleanor Tunn (Ry), Magi Vass (T)
0940 - June Nicol (I), Lynne Fraser (FR)
0948 - Liz Coghill (RD) Susan MacVicar (G)
0956 - Susan Mackenzie (E), Dorothy Lloyd (RD)
1004 - Margot Barr (G), Christine Marshall (N)
1012 - Pat Morrison (MO), Eilidh McTavish (E)
1020 - Denise McBride (RD), Sheila Macdonell (I)
1028 - Sandra Hooker (MO), Pam Moscatti (RD)
1036 - Jenny Thornton (FR), Trish Weekes (RD)
1044 - Iris Wilson (F), Karen Mackay (FR)
1052 - Wilma Murray (RD), Fiona Hunter (GOS)
1100 - Eveline Hutton (MO),  Maureen Ritchie (MO)
1108 - Moira Rennie (RD), Seonaid Vickerman (GOS)
1116 - Lorraine Nixon (FR), Sheila Duncan (RD),
1124 - Irene Croal (G), Fiona Macdonald (RD)
1132 - Carolyn Boyd (F), Sally Rowan (I)
1140 - Kate Lawson (RD), Elaine Hill (GOS)
1148 - Irene Hart (RD), Pat Davis (F)
1156 - Julie Fraser (MO), Joan Darroch (FR)
1204 - Rosemary Bruce (MO), Anne Harding (RD)
1212 - Doreen McCaig (F), Pauline Cronin (F)
1220 - Isobella Wright (RD), Sylvia McDonald (RD)

Late entries are being accepted on 01381 621097

Dorothy Marshall
Secretary

Updated - 18th April 2011

Coaching at Nairn with Pat Smillie

Pat Smillie the England National Junior Girls' Coach for the last 15 years and Head Professional at Wilton Golf Club gave up her time last week to help raise funds for the county by hold coaching sessions for the ladies at Nairn Golf Club.  Pat who is a lifelong friend of Jane Rhodes the Lady Captain at Nairn Golf Club was pleased to help out when Jane suggested she come along for a "busman's holiday" and help raise funds for the county.  Although originally from Scotland Pat met Jane when they both played junior girls' county golf in Yorkshire.

Jane Rhodes (Lady Captain - Nairn), Florence Allan (Captain) and Pat Smillie

Forence Allan and Pat Smillie

Florence and Pat with the Wednesday coaching group

The coaching sessions took place on Tuesday 15th and Wednesday 16th March with long game in the morning and short game in the afternoon.  Unfortunately Tuesday was a bit miserable when it rained for most of the day but no-one seemed to mind and enjoyed the sessions.  You will see from the photographs, which were taken on Wednesday, that the ladies enjoyed a much better day with sunshine most of the time.

We are indebted to Pat for giving up her time and raising £550 over the two days.  This was possible as she waived her normal coaching fee and refused to claim any expenses. WELL DONE PAT

Florence Allan
Captain

Bridge Luncheon at Dornoch

The County would like to thank Marie Orr for once again hosting a Bridge Luncheon at her home in Dornoch to raise much needed funds for the county.  There were five tables of bridge players who all enjoyed the cards, the wonderful lunch provided by Marie and the afternoon tea with excellent cakes baked by her sister Jane.  Everyone brought a raffle prize and Marie provided prizes for the teams.  Over £300 was raised on the day which is much appreciated.

Dorothy Marshall
Secretary/Treasurer

Alison Bartlett wins place on Scotland Veteran Women's Team

Congratulations to Alison Bartlett ( Royal Dornoch) who joins Mary Smith and Anne Ryan on the Scotland veteran women's team to defend the Mary McKenna Cup against Ireland's senior women's line-up at Craiglaw Park in April.

Florence Allan
Captain

2011 Committee

At the Delegate's Meeting held on Sunday 27th February at Nairn Dunbar Golf Club the captain welcomed the new committee members - Lynne Fraser - vice-captain and Anne Rose - junior organiser.  With the whole committee together it was an ideal time to take a photo.

2011 Committee Members

From Left: Anne Rose (Junior Organiser), Lynne Fraser (Vice-Captain) Mary Law (President) Florence Allan (Captain) Dorothy Marshall (Secretary/Treasurer).



Dorothy Marshall
Secretary

Scottish Golf Awards Dinner - Glasgow

Here are some photos featuring Northern Counties' ladies at the Awards Dinner in Glasgow

Kelsey receiving her Order of Merit Trophy from Colin Montgomerie

Kelsey with the winning 2010 Team

Ladies' 2010 Order of Merit - Kelsey Macdonald

Kelsey with her Trophy for Ladies' Order of Merit winner

M

Mary Smith (left) & Anne Ryan (right)

Hannah McCook and Claire ?

Dorothy Marshall

Secretary 

Northern Counties' Fixtures for 2011

Details of 2011 fixtures are given below.  In addition to their own events, all junior girl members are eligible to play in the county opens provided they have a CONGU handicap.  A date for the McDermott Trophy for girls has not yet been finalised.  Once a date has been agreed I will send details to all delegates and also post the information on the WEB.

April

Sat 23^rd – Mon. 25th     County Championship     Fortrose & Rosemarkie

May

Sunday 8^th                   Adult/Jnr. Foursomes      Torvean

Sunday 22^nd                County Open                   Gairloch

July

Tues 5^th – Thur 7^th          North of Scotland C’ship   The Nairn             

 Monday 18^th               Girls’ Championship          Forres    

 Friday 22^nd                 County Foursomes           Invergordon

                                             

August

Wednesday 10^th           County Open                   Muir of Ord

September                        

Wednesday 14^th               County Open (+ Vets)      Kinloss Country          

October

Sunday 2^nd                  County Open & AGM         Newtonmore     

Entry forms are available form your County Delegate or you can contact me on dorothymarshall@talktalk.net if you do not have a delegate.

Dorothy Marshall
Secretary 

NEWS FROM YOUR CAPTAIN

Hello everyone, I hope you all had a happy festive season. 

Very soon we will be thinking of the golfing events in 2011 and already the committee is preparing for the forthcoming season.

As I reported at the AGM we now have a vice captain, Lynne Fraser from Fortrose, who has taken on this position, for which she is well suited. Lynne is well known in curling circles and comes with a great deal of experience and knowledge, which will greatly benefit Northern Counties.

We now also have a new junior organiser, Anne Rose from Muir of Ord who is a retired teacher and well experienced in dealing with juniors.

I welcome them both to the committee and hope they enjoy their term of office.

Northern Counties certainly finished the year on a high with Kelsey winning the order of merit and Hannah McCook coming runner-up in the girls’ order of merit. Congratulations to both of them for having had a great year and I am sure there will be many more successes to come in 2011. 

Kelsey did well in the first event of the Florida Orange Blossom Tour coming 17th equal with a score of 297.  Eilidh Mackay also played and returned a total of 336.  Hannah was in Spain for training earlier this month as part of the Scottish ladies training squad.

There is a very nice article on the Highland Institute of Sport website about Hannah which is well worth reading. 

Well done also to Eleanor Tunn from Reay Golf Club, whose handicap is now down to 6 and she enters the second year of the academy coaching programme.

I wish everyone a good golfing season and hope the sun shines on us all.

Florence Allan

Curtis Cup Memories Rekindled For Gillian Stewart

Gillian Stewart & Tegwen Matthews (GB & I Curtis Cup Captain 2012)

The countdown has begun for the 2012 Curtis Cup Matches at The Nairn Golf Club. The Curtis Cup itself is currently on display for a limited time in the Nairn Golf Club having been brought North by officials from the Ladies' Golf Union and the Great Britain and Ireland Team Captain Tegwen Matthews.

During her time in Nairn, Tegwen took the opportunity to link up with her former Curtis Cup teammate and Nairn member Gillian Stewart.

During an outstanding amateur career, which included 3 Scottish Women’s Championship titles, Gillian Stewart twice played in the Curtis Cup Matches. Selected for the first time in 1980 when the match was played at St Pierre, Chepstow, she played for the second time in 1982 in Denver, Colorado.

“Playing in the Curtis Cup was and is the pinnacle of amateur team golf coveted by the players more than any other team event.

I played at a time when the Americans were enjoying huge domination of the event and GB and I had not won since 1956. I think it became a psychological thing – I don’t think we expected to win and lo and behold we didn’t. This turned around in the mid 80’s into the mid 90’s when GB and I enjoyed their greatest ever period of success with 5 wins in 6 matches. The challenge for the team at Nairn in 2012 will be to believe they can win again after another period of American domination - America has won the last 7 matches. After scrutinizing the Nairn honours board, Tegwen did note, however, that it revealed 5 wins out of 5 for GB and I teams, a great start in belief building”

“I played with Tegwen in my first Curtis Cup match. She was the first Welsh player to be selected for a Curtis Cup team making her debut in 1974. She had the experience, having played in the 3 previous matches, and I was the rookie. She piloted me around and although we lost our match it is an experience I will never forget”

“There is one other Curtis Cup experience I won’t forget and it is that I scored my first hole in one the day before the match started in 1980. In 1982 I repeated this trick and scored my second hole in one, again in practice, the day before the match started”

Gillian turned professional in 1985 and joined the Women's European Tour. She won her first Tournament played as a professional and quickly established herself as one of the stars of the Tour. Her four Tour titles were the pinnacles of a playing career based on an extremely high level of consistency, evidenced by the fact that she still holds the record (79 over a 6 year period) for the most consecutive cuts made.

In 2011 the North of Scotland Championships are being held at The Nairn Golf Club the first week in July so anyone wishing to see what the course is like before the Curtis Cup is played there should try and enter this championship.

Dorothy Marshall

Secretary

LADIES' DINNER AT NAIRN DUNBAR GOLF CLUB

 

Florence Allan (Captain), Jane Brown (Speaker)
Pam Gordon

Those of you who were unable to come to our Ladies' Dinner at Nairn Dunbar on Saturday 30th October missed an excellent evening out.  In all 82 ladies attended which was a very good response.

To start the evening off the ladies were welcomed by our captain, Florence and invited to have a glass of wine or a soft drink. 

The meal provided was excellent as was the service which could not be faulted in any way.

After the meal the raffle, which had the theme of wine and chocolates, was drawn and this raised the magnificent sum of £268.

What can I say about the speaker, Jane Brown.  Jane is not a golfer but is the manageress of the Globe Inn in Dumfries and an authority on Robert Burns.  She is a very funny lady and has been all over the world as an "After Dinner Speaker" or as a speaker at "Burns Suppers".  She spoke for an hour and a half and was very entertaining and well received by everyone.

Dorothy Marshall

Secretary

County Open - Elgin Sunday 3rd October - Results

After a few people dropped out, only nineteen ladies played in the county open at Elgin on Sunday 3rd October as most people preferred to stay at home and watch the Ryder Cup.  Apart from a slight shower early on it turned into a really nice day with some very good scores.  Hannah McCook from Abernethy returned an excellent scratch score of 77.  Results were:-

1st Scratch - Hannah McCook - 77

1st Silver - Eilidh McTavish (Elgin) - 87 (13) 74 (after count-back)
2nd Silver - Sandra Hooker (Muir of Ord) 87 (15) 74

1st Bronze - Lorraine Argyle (Bonar Bridge) - 102 (30) 72

CSS for the day was 74


The AGM followed at approximately 5.30p.m.

Dorothy Marshall
Secretary

Draw for County Open & AGM at Elgin on Sunday 3 October

12.00 - M Alexander (DHR) & L Munro (Moray)
12.06 - R Topping (DHR) & F Neish (Moray)
12.12 - S Rowan (Inverness) & M Walker (Garmouth & Kingston)
12.18 - M Hayden (Tain) & L Ballantine (Garmouth & Kingston)
12.24 - P Moscati (Dornoch) & M Gauldie (Garmouth & Kingston)
12.30 - L Argyle (Bonar Bridge) & partner
12.42 - S Hooker (Muir of Ord) & V Wright (Forres)
12.48 - T Weeks (Dornoch) & D Marshall (Forres)
12.54 - M Blair (Dornoch) & M Grant (Moray)
1.00 - H McCook (Abernethy) & E McTavish (Elgin)
1.06 - B Little (Brora) & partner
1.12 - I Maclean (Inverness) & P Cronin (Forres)
1.18 - M Douglas (Dornoch) & C Marshall (Nairn)


Late entries will be accepted on 01343 544304 (Susan Mackenzie) up until Thursday 30 September thereafter entries to Dorothy Marshall, Secretary

County Open - Inverness 12th September - Results

A field of 59 members and non-members played at Inverness on Sunday 12th September.  Although there were a few showers in the morning the weather improved and it ended up being a very nice day.  The best news for most players will be that the CSS went up to 76 and the competition was "Reduction Only".  Winners were:-

1st Scratch - Alison Bartlett (Royal Dornoch) - 80
2nd Scratch - Isobel McIntosh (Inverness) - 83

1st  Silver - Lynne Fraser (Fortrose & Rosemarkie) - 83 (9) 74
2nd Silver - Mairi Orr (Royal Dornoch) - 95 (19) 76
3rd Silver - Fiona MacDonald (Royal Dornoch) 95 (19) 76
4th Silver - Margot Barr (Gairloch) - 88 (22) 77

1st Bronze - Fiona Mackay (Muir of Ord) - 101 (21) 80
2nd Bronze - Chris Waterson (Grantown-on-Spey) -106 (26) 80
3rd Bronze - Pauline Cronin (Forres) - 109 (26) 83

The final open of the year, plus the AGM, is at Elgin Golf Club on Sunday 3rd October.  Entries to Susan Mackenzie, Abbotsford House, 100 Pluscarden Road, ELGIN, IV30 1VF

Dorothy Marshall
Secretary

Captain has a new Grandaughter

Congratualtions to our Captain Florence who has just become a granny again to a new grandaughter Lara Jane out in Australia to her son David and his wife Tanya.

Dorothy Marshall
Secretary

Scotland win Home Internations

2010 Ladies Home International Champions
Back Row: Hilary Wardell (Manager), Martine Pow, Megan Briggs, Kelsey MacDonald, Rachael Watton
Front Row: Laura Murray, Louise Kenney, Lesley Nicholson (Captain), Pamela Pretswell, Jane Turner

The Scotland Ladies' Team of Megan Briggs, Louise Kenney, Kelsey MacDonald, Laura Murray, Martine Pow, Pamela Pretswell, Jane Turner and Rachael Watton, skippered by Lesley Nicholson, has won the Home International Matches at Whitchurch (Cardiff) Golf Club. The Scots scored victories over the other three home nations by beating Wales 6.5-2.5 on Wednesday, England 5-4 on Thursday and Ireland 5-4 on Friday 10th September. Congratulations to Lesley and all her team.

This follows on from the Scottish Seniors Team win in Europe last week end and marks a fabulous two weeks for Scottish Ladies golf.

Florence Allan

Captain