Captain June Lockhart welcomed us all 49th Annual General Meeting of the West Vets at Cowglen G. C. and she opened by saying - "trust us to have our AGM on a day when the sun is splitting the skies ! However before much ado, I’ll ask Anne to give apologies for absence."
Secretary Anne Dunn stated that there were 51 apologies
Reports were given by treasurer Mo Neilson who said the association was in a healthy position helped by the cancellation of the Autumn Meeting and Secretary Anne Dunn indicated that there had been 10 resignations this year with 30 on the waiting list which should then reduce the waiting list to 20. There are 180 members including associates and Honorary Members.
The Minutes of the 2016 AGM were proposed and adopted .
MATTERS ARISING
In the first sentence, it should read “ the 48th Annual General Meeting, not the 49th.
CAPTAIN’S REPORT - June Lockhart
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| Liz Stewart and Lesley Lloyd |
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| Helen Burnet and Lilias Snodgrass |
The season started with the Spring Meeting at East Kilbride, with 82 ladies on a dry but very windy day. Despite the conditions, all seemed to come off with a smile – or perhaps it was just relief. Dorothy Horsefield emerged the overall winner, Liz Stewart won the best scratch and Lillias Snodgrass was the Super Vet. Mention has to be made of Donna Jackson who had 3 2’s that day.
The Summer Meeting at Ralston was our Championship Qualifier – and wait for it, the weather was lovely !! 78 ladies enjoyed some ‘apres golf’ on the patio, but Lesley Lloyd had the best scratch score, winning the Heather Anderson Trophy. Super Vet was Helen Burnet, but the overall winner was Ann Shanks with an incredible nett 68 – our best score of the season. Both Meetings were qualifiers.
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| Big Liz and Wee Liz !! |
Almost 2 weeks later, we were again blessed with good weather for the knockout stages of the Championship at Renfrew. Liz Stewart and Liz Keohone contested the Final, after beating Annabel Kane and Nicky Henderson respectively in the semi-finals. Liz Stewart eventually became our Champion after an excellent match, which finished on the 17th. However Liz Keohone can take heart that for the first time in her life, she was ‘big Liz’ that day, thanks to an extra 2-3cms.
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| Liz Stewart and Carole Hill |
Finally the Autumn meeting. As all 3 West Vet Matches were played in very favourable conditions, I suppose we were lucky in that this was the only fixture to succumb to the weather. There had been a few days of heavy rain leading up to the day, and more heavy rain was forecast that morning. That rain came and thankfully we knew we had made the right decision. However on signalling to Helen Burnet on her arrival that it was cancelled, she set off on an impromptu jig in the car park. The good news is that with the help of Chris Fowler in conjunction with Sandra Macdougall, we will have a system for next season to block email competitors on the day.
The Team Matches
At the end of May, the West Vets Team travelled to Auchterarder to compete for the Mid-West Trophy against Midlands. This match has been extended to 10 players – 7 for those of h/cap 10 and over (as before), but now including 3 players of h/cap 7-9. When the match started, the skies began to clear and along with the lovely scenery, the team had a wonderful day, eventually winning 7 matches to 3.
Mortonhall on the 1st of June was a perfect setting for the East v West Match for the Elise Duncan Trophy. Again it was a match enjoyed by all, but the Trophy was retained by East by the narrowest of margins 5-4. Two of the matches were halved and two went to the 18th, so next year we hope to go one better at Kilmacolm.
In August, after a great day’s golf at Kilmacolm, the West Vets, led by Vice Captain Chris Fowler, defeated the East 5-0 for the Friendship Trophy after 5 Foursomes matches. Kilmacolm was in great condition considering the previous day’s downpours, and along with good catering, both teams definitely enjoyed the day.
Having been at all 3 Matches, I can only say how impressed I’ve been by the enthusiasm and commitment of all the West players. We even have people who will fill in at the last minute, so we are never stuck. The camaraderie enjoyed by all (including opponents) on the courses and in the Clubhouses is indicative of what the Vets is all about – very enjoyable competition.
We have to congratulate some of our members, primarily Gillian Kyle, Lesley Lloyd and Donna Jackson – and we will hear more about these 3 in due course. However in the Scottish Seniors Meeting at Blairgowrie in June, Gillian, Donna and Liz Stewart made it through to the Matchplay Rounds. Donna lost by 1 hole to eventual finalist Sheena Wood, and Liz also lost by 1 hole to Tain’s Mary Smith. Gillian Kyle went on to beat Heather Anderson of Blairgowrie and then lost by 1 hole in the semi-final to the eventual winner, Fiona de Vries.
BLAIRGOWRIE REPORT – Marion Stewart -- CLICK HERE FOR ALL DETAILS
On a very wet and windy day with the wipers going at double speed I headed up to Blairgowrie with a feeling of de ja vu – fortunately as I headed north the rain eased and as I reached Blairgowrie it was dry. The West Champion Liz Stewart was playing Mary Smith in the ¼ finals of the S.V. l.G.A. championship and quickly went 3 up but a combination of Mary,s excellent putting and Liz,s sore back saw her pegged back to level par at the turn. Mary then went 3 up Liz pulled 1 back but eventually lost 2 and 1. Sheena Wood (North) Jennifer Bryans (East) and Margaret Locke(Borders) all won their ¼ finals. Sheena and Jennifer played in the final with Sheena being the eventual winner.
The Patrick Rosebowl was delayed by one and a half hours due to heavy overnight rain and at one point we thought we were not going to get playing as all the other courses in the area were closed however 7 greenkeepers squeegeed the greens and play commenced although some of the late starters finished in near darkness.
West players did well with Liz Hale winning the Patrick Rosebowl,Joanne Sharp finishing 3rd and Anna Telfer 5th which meant the West retained the Team Trophy. Liz Hale also won the Past Presidents Cup and Anna Telfer was runner up in the Buchanan Cup.
West also did well in the Tuesday greensomes(Beddows Quaich) with Alison Campbell and Moira Macleod runners up.
DATES FOR 2018 WEST VETS AND SVLGA FIXTURES
SPRING MEETING: Pollok G.C. on Wed. 4th April
SUMMER MEETING: Royal Troon G.C. on Wed. 16th May
AUTUMN MEETING: Douglas Park G.C. on Mon. 3rd September
( All tee reservations from 9.30am – 1pm)
CHAMPIONSHIP: Renfrew G.C. on Tues. 22nd May and Thurs.24th May
(First tee off time 9.30am but times will be posted on the website)
TEAM MATCHES
SINGLES MATCH V MIDLANDS (tbc but most likely Cochrane Castle on Thurs. 7th June)
LOW HANDICAP SINGLES MATCH V EAST Kilmacolm G.C. on Tues. 19th June
FOURSOMES MATCH V EAST Turnhouse G.C. on Thurs. 16th August
SVLGA TEAM MATCHES
IRISH MATCH (Mary McKenna Trophy) Royal Belfast on 8th-9th April
JAMBOREE Hexham G.C. on 6th-9th August
BLAIRGOWRIE MEETING
Championship Sun. 23rd and Mon. 24th September
Patrick Rosebowl Mon. 24th September
Beddows Quaich Tues. 25th September
SCOTTISH VETS REPORTS
Mary McKenna Trophy Report (by Donna Jackson) - read out by Lesley Lloyd
This annual match against the Irish Vets took place at Murcar on the 8-10th April on a sunny, dry but very windy weekend. Gillian Kyle, Lesley Lloyd and myself were delighted to represent the West Vets in this team of 8.
This was my first outing representing Scotland as a Vet, and it was nice to be paired with Gillian in my first match. The first day saw us winning 2.5 – 1.5 in the 4 ball better ball.
In the evening the teams went to dinner and the names were pulled out of the hat for the singles the next day. It was a fun night with lots of laughs and good banter between the teams.
The singles the following day ended 4-4, so for the first time since 2009 Scotland won the Trophy 6.5 – 5.5. It was a very close match played in a friendly spirit, but very competitive at the same time.
The match next year is in Belfast, so let’s hope Scotland can go over there to bring the Trophy back again
Vets Jamboree Report – Lesley Lloyd
The matches were played from 8th – 10th August at Frilford Heath, Oxfordshire. Frilford Heath has 3 courses and the matches were played on the Green Course which was a very well presented heathland course with lots of trees and heather to add to the challenge.
The team captained was by Kathleen Sutherland and West Vets were well represented by Donna Jackson, Gillian Kyle and Lesley Lloyd. The other team members were Jennifer Bryans (East); Fiona de Vries and Lorna McKinlay; (Midland) and Frances Millar and Sheena Wood (North).
Scotland were hoping for a good result following our success against the Irish in April however it was not to be! Although we had some good individual performances over the 3 days sadly the team lost against each of the English divisions.
The outcome of the Miller Stirling Salver went to the wire between North and Midlands. Both teams were tied on match points so the winners had to be decided by the number of game points won with Midlands lifting the trophy by a mere half a point.
Fingers crossed for better results next year when the matches will be played at Hexham Golf Club, Northumberland
SCOTTISH SENIORS REPORTS - Gillian Kyle
EUROPEAN TEAM CHAMPIONSHIPS 2017
A team of 6 senior lady golfers proudly represented Scotland at Golf Resort Skalica in the north west of Slovakia from the 5th -9th of September, lead by Captain Lorna Bennett.
The team was Fiona deVries, & Lorna McKinlay, from Midlands, Frances Millar & Sheena Wood. from the North and Lesley Lloyd & Gillian Kyle, from the West.
We flew from Edinburgh to Bratislava to be met by a very pleasant young man-Tomas, who was to be 1 of our minibus drivers for the week, and his very old minibus! Needless to say we had a flat tyre after about 15 minutes from the airport and you may have seen pictures of us dressed in high-vis jackets at the side of the motorway. We were eventually rescued after about an hour and continued our journey to Skalica in the Northwest. Our hotel was pleasant but basic and only 10 minutes from the course. The town was rather quiet with 12 churches, few shops and restaurants that often stopped serving food at 8.30!
The golf course was relatively new-built in 2009-and seemingly had no grass last May. It was fairly long (5500yds) but flat, trying to be like a links course with some very challenging holes near the end. (take the 5, Lorna would tell us)
After the practice round and opening ceremony, the competition began. The 1st 2 days are strokeplay with 5 scores out of the 6 to count. Top 8 teams for Flight A, next 7 for Flight B and final 3 for Flight C.
With top players from all over Europe there, we really needed everyone to score in the low to mid-70s to have a chance of qualifying for Flight A. We ended up in 10th place though, 7 shots behind 9th-Italy. We all know we just need to save 3-4 shots each in both of the qualifying rounds to have a chance to compete in the matchplay with the ‘big’ teams. Then anything could happen…
Day 3 saw the matchplay begin and the format is 1 foursomes and 4 singles matches. We comfortably beat Iceland (4-1) on the Thursday, Finland (4.5-0.5) on the Friday and Italy (4-1) on the final day so finished 9th overall and top of Flight B which was the best we could have done. There was a fantastic camaraderie amongst all the teams despite the fierce competition on the course and it was great to speak to other golfers from different parts of Europe.
We all really appreciated the opportunity to represent Scotland and play in this great event in Slovakia and thank Scottish Golf for making it possible. So hopefully with effective practising over the winter, Scotland could finish higher up the leader board in 2018.
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| Gillian, Lesley and Donna |
The 2017 event took place at Newport GC in South Wales from 3rd to 5th October. Scotland was represented by Fiona de Vries, Donna Jackson, Lesley Lloyd, Lorna McKinlay, Frances Millar, Sheena Wood and myself, captained by Lorna Bennett. Newport was a long, oaktree-lined course which was playing extra long after all the poor weather. After a very wet practice round, we were blessed with dry, fairly warm weather which was a real bonus.
Day 1 saw us up against a strong team from Ireland and unfortunately we were 3-0 down after the foursomes although 2 games were extremely close. Ireland won 3 singles in the afternoon so the final result was 6-2.
Day 2 brought England-a hammering in the morning was tough to take but we halved the singles matches with 2.5 points. Final score 5.5-2.5. A slight improvement.
We were determined to win back some pride against Wales on Day 3 and a good morning saw us 2-1 up at lunch. Unfortunately we only won our 1st 2 singles matches so a 4-4 draw was the best we managed.
Ireland were the overall winners with 3 wins out of 3. We were equal with Wales but they pipped us to 3rd place by half a point on the countback
Lorna Bennett had great faith in us and believes a win is round the corner for Scotland. Hopefully next year!
The team’s thanks again go to Scottish Golf for supporting this event.
ELECTION OF OFFICE BEARERS
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| Marion Stewart |
However I know she will be at the other end of the phone – and don’t think changing your number will work !
We can’t but thank you Marion for all you have done for the West Vets, so please accept this small gift on behalf of the members.
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| Sandra Macdougall |
I’m also sorry to report that Anne Dunn is stepping down as Secretary due to family pressures. On behalf of the Committee and all the members, we say thanks for all you have done and please accept this small gift on our behalf. However I’m glad to say that Anne is helping to ease a certain lady into the role, so I would like to propose Sandra Macdougall as Secretary. Could I have a seconder ?
I’m very pleased to report that Mo Neilson is continuing as Treasurer, and Mary Wylie will continue on Committee in the ‘clothing’ role.
It means that with Marion’s departure from Committee and Sandra taking over as Secretary, we require one more for Committee, and I would like to propose May Hughes of Lanark GC to join us. Could I have a seconder? May has a wealth of experience at County and Vets level, and we’re delighted she has agreed to join us.
The Committee now comprises myself as Captain, Chris Fowler as Vice-Captain, Mo Neilson as Treasurer, Sandra Macdougall as Secretary, Mary Wylie and May Hughes.
AOCB -- There then was a discussion about whether we should increase our subs for future changes -- The status quo was agreed
FINAL COMMENTS
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| Liz Hale -- Winner of the Patrick Trophy at Blairgowrie |
The prize giving took place with Honorary member Aileen Wilson presenting the prizes .
CLICK HERE FOR LIST OF PRIZEWINNERS
The Vote of Thanks was given by Liz Hale followed by West Vets Champion Liz Stewart
During the meeting Vice Captain Chris Fowler showed everyone the new gilet that can be acquired for next season. It was unanimously voted for and Mary Wylie and Chris will be looking for orders of which were take at the end of the meeting when Captain June showed it off !!
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| Some of the main prizewinners |
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| Honorary Member Aileen Wilson and Webmaster Carol Fell are presented with flowers |
