January 26th 2008
ALL TO PLAY FOR IN WINTER LEAGUES
Last week saw the leaderboard “tighten” considerably with the vaulting into second place of the pair of Cal Robertson and Richard Galloway. Only ten points separate the top five teams, and with fifteen points available for the (outright) winning team, there remains all to play for with six remaining Saturdays of the league left. Match and Handicap secretary, Dave Gilmour, pointed out to me how their remarkable consistency (dare I mention stealth again?) has seen them move up the table. They have scored in nine of the last twelve starts, and more recently, in eight of the past nine. Had they not been unfortunate last Saturday to share the leading score with four other teams, then they could easily have moved closer still to long-time leaders, Magnus and Murdo Johnson. Their fantastic three-under par gross score (46) for ten points was only eclipsed by Brian Geddes and Colin MacRitchie’s, one shot better, four under par (45). Unfortunately for the latter pair, they have a +1 handicap, so they managed only to share top slot.
Donnie Murray and Duncan MacLean, Peter Dickie and Stewart MacDonald plus the pair of Kenny ”Five” MacIver and Allan “Biddley” MacLeod also scored nett 46’s to claim 10 points. I have never been able to determine whether a decent night on the town prior to a game of golf is either detrimental or beneficial to a good score, and with several of the major points scorers on Saturday having enjoyed the hospitality on offer at the previous evening’s Burns Supper, then I must conclude that the jury remains firmly undecided.
One thing the jury most certainly was unanimous on was the roaring success of the evening in celebration of Rabbie.
Captain Sandy Bruce presided over events with his usual mix of droll humour, charm and ability to let things flow. He can be relied upon to ensure things go according to plan, and underestimates his capacity to engage everyone when he does what can be very difficult as “MC” on such an important event in the Golf club calendar……Relax.
He did a magnificent job.
When it comes to relaxing, Domhnall Hamish MacLean and Davie Rattray are past masters at ensuring they cast all inhibitions aside when addressing a crowd. Both were in superb “trim” on Friday Night and it is not without strict adherence to the six P’s (mentioned last week) that they make such a difficult “performance” look seemingly effortless. They may have six different interpretations of the P’s I mentioned, but they nonetheless enthralled their audience with impeccable renditions of Burns’s finest.
Margaret Anne, of the Tong choir, replied on behalf of the lassies (to Sandy’s toast), and her companions entertained us all with a medley of songs from the bard.
The highlight of the evening, and I doubt anyone will disagree, was the introduction to the audience of Mr Lu. Now many older golfers reading this, and not having attended on Friday night (where were the senior section?...next year lads!) may well remember a Mr Lu from the 1971 Open at Royal Birkdale: “Our” Mr Lu (we will call him ours from now on, having been adopted by the Tong Choir) is a teacher on an exchange visit from China, and a man blessed with a fine voice and remarkable talent. Translating “Auld Lang Syne” from Scots into English, thence into Chinese, is something none of us had ever seen attempted, far less sung, unaccompanied, in front of a bewildered, but appreciative, audience. Without Kenny John “Pongo”, our own resident expert on all things Chinese, to vouch for its authenticity, we were all amazed by this virtuoso performance, and a few souls even attempted the chorus by the time he was done.
His thunderous applause almost brought the house down.
He stole the show like no “turn” in the club has for many a year.
Domhnall Hamish and the deputy director of Finance are brushing off their passports for the return trip to Shanghai next January.
Scott MacAulay won the Junior section on Saturday, a result which sees him close to within a point of leader Stuart of the same clan. A tight finish (at this point) seems assured, and there are still a few players with a decent chance of claiming the title.
From our senior correspondent;
Another spell of generally wet and miserable weather restricted golf to the early part of the week. Scoring was some way short of the usual standards.
Dennis Hall maintained his recent consistent form with 24 points, followed by the trio mentioned below. The rest of the field were all five or six shots off the mark. In wet conditions our seniors are finding the current course layout very demanding – things will surely improve.
Not much change in the leading positions in the league table, Dennis Hall and Norrie Munro continue to battle for top spot, but the margins are small and there is a long way to go before anything is decided.
The (Summer) Match Play Entry Sheets are already up (summer??) and attention should be paid to the change in conditions of entry whereby participants must pay before the 12th April or be excluded from the draw.
Match & Handicap are performing their yearly handicap review this week whereby adjustments to a player’s handicap may occasionally be made, and also players having not returned the requisite 3 qualifying competition scores may see their handicaps lapsed.
This Friday sees the second quiz for the Spring Cup (best three from four), and all and any teams are still welcome (prizes on the night) starting around 7:30 for 8 pm. Usual format, teams of four, £5 per team.
Following the success of the last quiz, turn up early for the best seats.
Scores Saturday 26.01.08 Gross H/C Nett Points
D Murray & D Maclean 55 9 46 10
P Dickie & S Macdonald 52 6 46 10
C Robertson & R Galloway 46 0 46 10
B Geddes & C Macritchie 45 +1 46 10
All Macleod & K Maciver 51 5 46 10
D Rattray & KN Macdonald 55 8 47 6
M Smith & Coi Macaulay 52 5 47 6
Ross Macrae & P O'Brien 55 7 48 4
J Gillies & G Brown 57 8 49 1
A Macintosh & JD Macintosh 53 4 49 1
DJ Smith & D Macleod 52 3 49 1
M (Griddy) Macleod & K Macrae 50 1 49 1
A Morrison & JR Gillies 60 11 49 1
DJ Macleod & A Reeves 53 4 49 1
League Leaders Points
Murdo & Magnus Johnston 80
C Robertson & R Galloway 76
Ali Nicolson & Al"Greens"MacLeod 75
J Duncan & G Macaskill 74
J Gillies & G Brown 70
Junior Scores 26.01.08
Scott Macaulay 58 5 53 10
Kevin Gillies 78 19 59 8
Charlie Morrison 70 8 62 4
Stuart Macaualay 81 19 62 4
League Leaders Points
Stuart Macaulay 77
Scott Macaualay 76
Kenneth Macleod 71
Senior Scores 26.01.08 Points
Dennis Hall 24
Duncan MacLean 22
Norrie MacLean 22
D.J.(Zebo) MacLeod 21
League Leaders Points
Dennis Hall 238
Norrie Munro 237
Norrie MacLean 229
‘Bronco’ MacArthur 225
Norrie Mackenzie 222
Duncan MacLean 222
Scott Macaulay