June 30th 2007
Golf Week starts this Saturday
The eagerly awaited golf week starts this Saturday with a two round 36 hole stroke play competition with close on 100 golfers taking part. Over the week there are varied competitions which both members and visitors alike enjoy and it is great to see so many players taking part.
Linked to Golf Week our esteemed Captain touched base with a blast from the past in the form of Douglas Cumming. Senior members will remember Doug, his mother Vie and father Iain. Iain Cumming came to Stornoway with the British Linen Bank and soon made an appearance on the Committee, he was the brain behind the Golf Week. He was club champion in 1954 and served as club captain in 1962 & 1963. Douglas himself was club champion in 1965 his big powerful hitting got him into all kinds of trouble when on one occasion when the course had real par 3’s playing from the current Heather tee to the Redan green, Doug let fly, the then green keeper George Hampton was not too pleased to find a ball landing on the green on which he was working !. Doug now concentrates on the the game of bowls, which is less dangerous. Mother Vie was also a very good golfer and was Lady Captain in 1959, 1960 and 1966.
Looking ahead to Saturday the weeks of practice have come to an end and most will be hoping that they haven’t peaked too early as this is their chance to win one of the most sought after trophies on our golfing calendar. Talking of trophies, could all winners from last year who still have them please return them to the clubhouse by tomorrow. The first tee off time is 6.30am so our starter John is in for a busy day. Anyone wishing to check their tee off times, as well as checking the club noticeboard, can log onto
www.masterscoreboard.co.uk/stornoway
The opening two qualifying rounds are always a tough challenge with players such as Dol Hamish and Dave Rattray, who are no longer Juniors, testing their capacity and ability to the full.
Our usual correspondent Norrie T, is managing the Western Isles Team at the Natwest Island Games in Rhodes and he sent me this brief report shortly after they arrived:
”We played our first practice round on Saturday afternoon. The course is bare, to put it mildly, and the fairways very poor ( dry, arid, little grass, and lots of loose stones)...but the "preferred lie " option helps with making your second shot more playable, but if you miss the ( defined by white lines) fairways, then prepare for the worst. The lies are not good.
The greens , however, are superb, and the layout of the course is fantastic. If this course had been in Scotland , it would be of Championship standard, there are 5 par fives, very tricky par three's , and placing the ball in the correct spot off the tee is of paramount importance. The wind and temperature are fierce, and water intake is the most important thing to consider when setting out.
Norrie, Andy, Kevin and David will be playing in extreme conditions, on a very hard course, against some very able opposition”.