Wednesday 28 February 2018

Get into Golf coaching

Women and Girls - Would you like to learn to play golf or improve your golf skills?

We’re looking for women and girls to book into the below 6 session coaching block starting in March with PGA Pro Jane Connachan.
Some of the female members of Haddington Golf Club will be also supporting at the sessions and hope to invite you to some short hole fun competitions and social get togethers.

Then read more  —-   CLICK HERE

Tuesday 27 February 2018

Scottish Golf Chair Eleanor Cannon Answers Your Questions Ahead of the AGM



The Scottish Golf Annual General Meeting takes place this Sunday 4 March at Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club near Edinburgh.

They have taken the opportunity to speak to Scottish Golf's Chair Eleanor Cannon ahead of the meeting, to answer some of the questions that have been coming in from clubs regarding the AGM structure, the various votes taking place and the progress made since 'The Future of Golf in Scotland' conference in December.

To read the full all details go to the Scottish Golf Website

STILL TICKETS AVAILABLE FOR THE SCOTTISH WOMEN'S HALL OF FAME LUNCH -- SUPPORT BELLE ROBERTSON AND GOLF

CarolFell Ladies Golf News : BELLE ROBERTSON IS GOING TO BE AT THE SCOTTISH WO...:

 STILL TIME TO GET YOUR TICKET

CONNIE JAFFREY HAS A CAREER LOW 66




PEORIA, Ariz. – Kansas State senior women's golfer Connie Jaffrey (Troon Ladies) had a strong showing on Monday to propel her to a fifth-place finish during the final round of the Westbrook Spring Invitational at the par-72, 6,252-yard Westbrook Village Golf Club.

Jaffrey tied a career low during the final round by shooting a 6-under par 66 to finish with a 54-hole score of 8-under par 208. Both her third-round and tournament scores were the third lowest in school history. The Kilwinning, Scotland, native recorded nine birdies on Monday, including six on the back nine.

Jaffrey's performance helped the Wildcats card a 5-under par 283 in the final round, good enough for the third-lowest 54-hole score in team history. The Wildcats moved up one spot on Monday as they finished in eighth place at 8-under par 856.

Monday 26 February 2018

WEST GIRLS WIN FIRST MATCH OF 2018



Dumbartonshire Golf Union U14 Boys 1.5 : West Girls 2.5 
(played over Balmore GC by kind permission)

Megan Docherty & Katie Graham  : won
Sophie Kyle & Katy Hill : won
Claire McLaughlin & Freya Russell : beaten
Jodie Graham & Taylor White : half match

Great day to be playing golf and great result for the girls . 
Thanks to Bob Collison , Dumbartonshire U14 Boys and Balmore GC for arranging this match . 
Well done to all the girls 👍🏌️‍♀️👌

Thanks go to Allison Bell for the results

Saturday 24 February 2018

BELLE ROBERTSON IS THE GUEST SPEAKER AT DOUGLAS PARK'S SWEDISH "ABBA" EVENING

Belle Robertson and Douglas Park Ladies Captain Anne Reid

Douglas Park Social Evening 2018
The Douglas Park Choir -- Click on picture to see album of the evening

100 Douglas Park Golf Club Lady Members had a a very enjoyable evening on Friday at their Annual social evening held in the Club House.

Belle Robertson MBE who is an Honorary Member of Douglas Park was the guest Speaker.

The "Douglas Park Choir" was the "Abba "entertainment  which had a Swedish Theme to the night.

 CLICK HERE TO SEE ALBUM OF THE EVENING  --

Photos are also on Facebook -- Click Here


Thursday 22 February 2018

BELLE ROBERTSON IS GOING TO BE AT THE SCOTTISH WOMEN IN SPORT HALL OF FAME -- INDUCTION LADIES LUNCH

 D&A's Belle with Karen Maxwell and Ann Wilson
We all know now that #GirlsDoSport - and that more opportunities are occuring ever day to encourage more and more women and girls to particpate. However at Scottish Women in Sport, we believe it is important in order to move forward and continue to accelerate change, we take time to recognise the many female pioneers in sport who have largely gone unnoticed.
Recording our sporting history is an important part of moving forward and yet there are still many pioneers who go unrecognised.
This year Scottish Women in Sport will induct some of our past and present 'Pioneers of Sport' into our Hall of Fame’ on Sunday 4th March at a ladies lunch in Glasgow. Belle Robertson will be representing Women's Golf.
This will be, in part, our contribution to International Women’s Day, #PressForProgress which is on Thursday 8th March.
You can sign up to join us on the day. A delicious afternoon tea with a glass of prosecco on arrival, an Inspirational speaker, the awards themselves will be followed by some music.
Come and join us and help us keep alive the memory of those who battled to get an opportunity to participate in sport and those who are currently leading the way.
CLICK HER TO GET A TICKET AND COME AND SUPPORT BELLE AND WOMEN'S GOLF

Wednesday 21 February 2018

SHEENA MURCHIE FROM LAMLASH LEADS THE AYRSHIRE LADIES RANKING AFTER WEEK 7

The MyGolfRanking.net AYRSHIRE GOLFERS of WEEK18/07 are SHEENA MURCHIE (Lamlash Ladies) who ascends to NUMBER ONE on the MGR Ayrshire Ladies Ranking and COLIN KNOX of Prestwick St Cuthbert Golf Club who climbs to NUMBER ONE on the MGR Ayrshire Men’s Ranking.
 
AYRSHIRE LADIES
Sheena Murchie (Lamlash) 960 points
Susan Butchard (Brodick) 890 
Sally Hamilton (Loudoun Gowf) 825 
4 Alison Uppal (Prestwick St Cuthbert) 806 
5 Linda Brown (Prestwick St Cuthbert) 788 
Margaret Dalziel (Loudoun Gowf) 719 
7 Ann Clark (Prestwick St Cuthbert) 715 
8 Roz McCulloch (Girvan) 708 
9 Elinor Heggie (Girvan) 704 
10 Ann May (Brodick) 700

AYRSHIRE CLUBS – LADIES
1 Brodick 717 points
2 Prestwick St Cuthbert 703 
Girvan 699 
Lamlash 551 
Ballochmyle 479 

AYRSHIRE MEN
Colin Knox (Prestwick St Cuthbert) 1269 points
2 Martin Riddall (New Cumnock) 1163 
3 Jamie Rankin (Ballochmyle) 1014 
Andrew Carroll (Drongan) 989 
5 Neil McBride (Kilmarnock (Barassie)) 986 
6 Andrew Campbell (Kilmarnock (Barassie)) 959 
7 Graeme Gimson (Prestwick St Cuthbert) 953 
8 W F Wilson (Ballochmyle) 950 
9 C Adams (Irvine) 943
10 David Cunningham (Ayr Carrick) 940

AYRSHIRE CLUBS – MEN
Kilmarnock (Barassie) 734 points
Brodick 714
Ayr Carrick 705 
Ballochmyle 704 
Girvan 701

For up-to-date ranking lists of participating clubs the full Regional, National and International Rankings and how it works visit www.mygolfranking.net. The MyGolfRanking service is free to clubs and members so
CLUB SECRETARIES PLEASE EMAIL THIS TO YOUR MEMBERS in order that they may sign in.

Seven points arising from the new World Handicap System

From the National Club Golfer Website

Seven points arising from the new World Handicap System
It’s finally here. After a build up that would shame a heavyweight title fight, the R&A and USGA today announced the key principles of the new World Handicap System.
Set to be implemented in 2020, the two governing bodies say it is designed to “provide all golfers with a consistent measure of playing ability”.
There are six handicapping systems around the globe at present, including CONGU in the UK, and all were reviewed before the new World Handicap System was established.
So what are the major features of the new system, what questions do they raise and how might they affect our competitions? Let’s take a look…

Worldwide use of the USGA course and slope rating system

The worst kept secret in amateur golf is finally revealed. Anyone with half a brain knew that slope was going to become the standard and, in actuality, the work to prepare for this has been under way in the UK for some time.
Anyone notice that your course has been re-rated recently? That process, which has been ongoing for a couple of years now, has seen layouts looked at in line with USGA standards.
So what is course and slope rating? A course rating, in the simplest terms, is the number that indicates the difficulty of a golf course when played by a scratch golfer under normal weather conditions.
It’s based on yardage and other obstacles that affect how difficult scoring may be to that scratch player.
worldwide handicaps
The rating is usually close to a course’s par and goes up depending on how difficult the course is. The figure is the number of strokes taken to one decimal place. So, while a course might be a par of 71, it’s course rating could be 71.3.
Slope, meanwhile, is the number that estimates how difficult a course is to a ‘bogey’ golfer. In USGA terms, a bogey golfer is a player “who has a course handicap of approximately 20 on a course of standard difficulty”.
The course slope ranges from 55, which is considered simple, to 155. The higher the score, the more difficult the course.
Understand? Hmm…
Many golfers, misunderstanding the system a touch, believe that slope will automatically see their handicaps increase. But that may not be the case.
If the new USGA course rating, and slope rating, consider your club course to be easier than the current CONGU rating, then your handicaps are going down.

Calculating handicaps on an average

The R&A and USGA say handicaps will be calculated using the best eight of the last 20 scores and “factoring in memory of demonstrated ability for better responsiveness and control”.
There’s a couple of questions here. Why eight scores? Is that an arbitrary number or is there a method behind using that particular figure?
What on earth does “factoring in memory of demonstrated ability for better responsiveness and control” mean?
Does it mean that if someone remembers I scored 40 points in the April Stableford then my average can be adjusted based on the fact I have ‘demonstrated’ my ability to shoot that score in the past?
It might. But reading further, however, it appears the aim is to suggest something of the opposite – that a temporary loss of form “should not automatically lead to an excessive increase in handicap”.

Allowing both competitive and recreational rounds to count for handicap ability

This is the thing that is going to get some golfers excited. By excited, I mean angry.
Just over a year ago, when England Golf announced that clubs should monitor roll-ups and swindles during non-qualifying periods in order to crack down on potential ‘bandits’ there was an outcry – both from clubs who thought they’d have to administer it and players.
worldwide handicaps
I know of some clubs, and organisations, who simply refused to take on the guidelines.
What is crucial when allowing recreational rounds to count for handicaps is how it is administered.
Given that the governing body’s announcement merely outlines the proposal, little is revealed about how that will actually happen.
I’ve little problem with a golfer who has a good round putting in a retrospective card for handicap purposes. I’ve always felt the need to declare a supplementary before going out was tedious.
But just as the supplementary system is routinely abused by players looking to quickly edge their handicap up, so the use of recreational rounds – particularly when they count for a mark that’s made up of average scores – will need to be tightly policed.
And it’s clubs, not the new handicap administrators, who will have to do that.
The other key thing to consider is: if you are going to allow recreational rounds to count, doesn’t everyone have to do it?
I’m not sure if a situation where some are putting in recreational scores, and some aren’t, wouldn’t skew the system.
Couldn’t some players just protect their marks by not using recreational rounds, while others see far more volatile moves because every score counts?

A minimal number of scores needed to obtain a new handicap

This will be 54 holes and the crucial bit is that it can be from any combination of 18-hole and 9-hole rounds – although associations will be able to set their own minimums.
This is already the case with CONGU, although 18-holes is the preferred option and is required at some clubs.
There seems no reason, though, in this era of everyone apparently not having enough time to play golf, to force players to play a trio of successive 18-hole rounds to gain a handicap.
The 54-hole recommendation offers a little bit more flexibility and that is to be welcomed.
worldwide handicaps

How course and weather conditions will apply

The R&A and USGA says there will be a “calculation that considers the impact that abnormal course and weather conditions might have on a player’s performance each day” and “daily handicap revisions, taking account of the course and weather conditions calculation”.
I think we already see something of the former in our CONGU competitions. It’s competition standard scratch.
In added notes on the R&A’s website, it’s stated that “the new system will consider the impact of daily course or weather conditions on each golfer’s performance. Such adjustments will be conservative and will only be made when there is a clear evidence that an adjustment is warranted”.
By submitting a score “as soon as practicable after the completing the round” – The R&A advise before midnight on the day of play – it can then be included in the daily Course Conditions Adjustment Calculation.
The point of this is to allow players to have an updated handicap the very next time they play.

A limit of nett double bogey on the maximum hole score (for handicapping purposes only)

Nothing much to see here. This goes by the sleek name of the ‘Stableford/Nett Double Bogey Adjustment’ in medals. In Stableford, of course, you just pick up.

A maximum handicap limit of 54.0 to encourage more golfers to measure and track their performance

CONGU brought this in from January 1 to a predictable outcry. Anyone hoping 54-handicappers would go away can now be assured they are here to stay.

Tuesday 20 February 2018

GOLF’S NEW WORLD HANDICAP SYSTEM DESIGNED TO WELCOME MORE GOLFERS



20 February 2018, St Andrews, Scotland and Liberty Corner, N.J., USA:

The way golfers around the world will calculate their handicaps is set to be transformed by a new system developed by The R&A and the USGA, with key features designed to provide all golfers with a consistent measure of playing ability.

The new World Handicap System, to be implemented in 2020, follows an extensive review of systems administered by six existing handicapping authorities: Golf Australia, the Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU) in Great Britain and Ireland, the European Golf Association (EGA), the South African Golf Association (SAGA), the Argentine Golf Association (AAG) and the USGA.

The new system will feature the following:

Flexibility in formats of play, allowing both competitive and recreational rounds to count for handicap purposes and ensuring that a golfer’s handicap is more reflective of potential ability

A minimal number of scores needed to obtain a new handicap; a recommendation that the number of scores needed to obtain a new handicap be 54 holes from any combination of 18-hole and 9-hole rounds, but with some discretion available for national or regional associations to set a different minimum within their own jurisdiction

A consistent handicap that is portable from course to course and country to country through worldwide use of the USGA Course and Slope Rating System, already successfully used in more than 80 countries

An average-based calculation of a handicap, taken from the best eight out of the last 20 scores and factoring in memory of demonstrated ability for better responsiveness and control

A calculation that considers the impact that abnormal course and weather conditions might have on a player’s performance each day

Daily handicap revisions, taking account of the course and weather conditions calculation

A limit of Net Double Bogey on the maximum hole score (for handicapping purposes only)

A maximum handicap limit of 54.0, regardless of gender, to encourage more golfers to measure and track their performance to increase their enjoyment of the game

Quantitative research was conducted in 15 countries around the world, through which 76 percent of the 52,000 respondents voiced their support for a World Handicap System, 22 percent were willing to consider its benefits, and only 2 percent were opposed.
This was followed by a series of focus groups, in which more than 300 golf administrators and golfers from regions around the world offered extensive feedback on the features of the proposed new system.

This feedback has helped shape the WHS, which has been developed by The R&A and the USGA with support from each existing handicapping authority as well as the Japan Golf Association and Golf Canada.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “We are working with our partners and national associations to make golf more modern, more accessible and more enjoyable as a sport and the new World Handicap System represents a huge opportunity in this regard.
“We want to make it more attractive to golfers to obtain a handicap and strip away some of the complexity and variation which can be off-putting for newcomers.
Having a handicap, which is easier to understand and is truly portable around the world, can make golf much more enjoyable and is one of the unique selling points of our sport.”

Mike Davis, CEO of the USGA, commented, “For some time, we’ve heard golfers say, ‘I’m not good enough to have a handicap,’ or ‘I don’t play enough to have a handicap.’ We want to make the right decisions now to encourage a more welcoming and social game.
We’re excited to be taking another important step – along with modernising golf’s Rules – to provide a pathway into the sport, making golf easier to understand and more approachable and enjoyable for everyone to play.”

The tenets of the new system focus on three main objectives:

to encourage as many golfers as possible to obtain and maintain a handicap; to enable golfers of differing abilities, genders and nationalities to transport their handicap to any course globally and compete on a fair basis; and to indicate with sufficient accuracy the score a golfer is reasonably capable of achieving on any course around the world, playing under normal conditions.

Given worldwide alignment towards a single system, all parties will now embark on a two-year transition period targeting implementation in 2020. When adopted, the World Handicap System will be governed by The R&A and the USGA and administered by national and regional associations around the world, with safeguards included to ensure consistency as well as adaptability to differing golf cultures.

The existing six handicapping authorities represent approximately 15 million golfers in 80 countries who currently maintain a golf handicap.

The announcement is the latest step in a multi-year collaboration between The R&A and the USGA, as well as national and regional golf associations around the world to introduce one set of Rules of Handicapping, aimed to support modernising, growing and improving accessibility of the sport.

As an extension of their support of the Rules of Golf worldwide, Rolex has made a commitment to support The R&A’s and the USGA’s efforts to implement a World Handicap System. The Swiss watchmaker’s contribution to excellence in golf is based on a rich heritage stretching back more than 50 years, forged through pivotal partnerships at every level of the game, from the sport’s leading professional and amateur competitions and organisations, to players at the pinnacle of their sport worldwide.
To provide feedback on the new World Handicap System or for more information, visit www.randa.org. Golfers are encouraged to follow and join in the conversation on social media by using #golfwhs2020.

Monday 19 February 2018

Douglas Park Open Greensomes Stableford


The Ladies’ Open  Greensomes  Stableford at Douglas Park Golf Club is on Friday 22nd June 2018
Tee Off Times 8am – 4pm
Entry Fee per Couple  £10

LANARKSHIRE'S ANNE BURDEN HAS DIED

It is with much sadness that Lanarkshire Ladies' County Golf Association have announced the death of Anne Burden.

Anne sadly has been ill for the past four years following a stroke but up until then was a very active lady, heavily involved in dance and in golf. and a well liked and respected member of LLCGA

Anne was a member of the Lanarkshire County Team from 1964 to 1984, during which time Lanarkshire won the County Finals 4 times.

She was County Captain from 1979 to 1981. She has been successful in many County Competitions and in 1976 won both the Blackjack Cup and County Championship.

She was made an Honorary Member of the County in 2003 and Honorary President of LLCGA from 2013 to 2015.

From 2001 to 2006 she was a Scottish International Selector and was also captain of the West Vets in 2003 - 2004.

She had also been a member of The Ladies Golf Club Troon, Cambuslang Golf Club and East Kilbride GC
.
We extend our sympathy to her son Mike and daughters Bobbi and Katy. and her grandchildren.

Anne's funeral is at 2pm on Thursday the 8th March at South Lanarkshire crematorium then everyone is welcome to join the family at Cambuslang GC afterwards.

Sunday 11 February 2018

Kylie Henry finishes in 7th Place in Australia



West of Scotland's Kylie Henry finished T7 on 210 today in the ActewAGL Canberra Classic with scores of 68, 70 and 72

CLICK HERE TO GO TO THE KIRKWOODGOLF WEBSITE

Saturday 10 February 2018

Thursday 1 February 2018

DETAILS OF THE SCOTTISH GOLF AGM


Scottish Golf is delighted to announce details for the 2018 Annual General Meeting (AGM), which takes place on Sunday 4 March in Edinburgh.

Dalmahoy Hotel & Country Club, easily accessible on the outskirts of the capital, is to host the event, and they very much hope you can attend.

CLICK HERE to read more