East Lothian Junior Golf League

Supporting junior golf in East Lothian, Scotland

SJTC 2021 – Results and Report

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Dear all, the amount of positive feedback from the Managers of the 20 Teams involved in the recent Scottish Junior Team Championship event at Crail has been astonishing! Thanks to all of you for making a huge contribution to the success of the event. We would like to also thank those friends who kindly donated some funds to help with acquiring prizes etc, and to thank other friends who conveyed such prizes obtained from the shops at Augusta National, and from the Olympic Club, to Scotland. Having some of those prizes signed by Sandy Lyle, Ian Woosnam and Catriona Matthew is a wonderful bonus for the Players and we hope they keep them as mementos! 

We hope we can build this “free to enter” event up into being the best end of season gathering for Junior Golfers of all abilities from all over Scotland. The handicap indices of Players at Crail ranged from +2 to 31, thus fulfilling Scottish Golf’s mantra – “Scotlands Game for Everyone.” We are delighted that Scottish Golf supported the SJTC event this year, as we feel the event is a “fit” with their National Junior Framework, and we hope that the SJTC will be mentioned within their website under “Events and Competitions” and be included in their fixture list. Scottish Golf’s COO Karin Sharp visited the event at Crail to see how it was being run. We hope Karin approved.
 
If competing in future SJTC events can help to stimulate and incentivise any defunct Junior Leagues to reform, or help any Junior Leagues who might be experiencing low numbers of Players to increase participation, that would be a wonderful outcome for our efforts. 
 
I’ve already had a call from a Junior Convenor from a golfing “hotspot” asking for advice on reforming a League and I advised him that this process really starts with Scottish Golf’s  “Learn to Golf” then by forming a Golf Foundation GolfSixes League both operating at “grass roots” level, and then by building up the numbers of active Juniors in Clubs, to a point where a League can then be formed. The East Lothian League supports our local GolfSixes League and there is a drop down on our website showing this years fixtures and results. We are fortunate in having short or par 3 golf courses at Craigielaw, North Berwick, Gullane etc. Local Council Golf Development Officers, if there is one, and local Golf Professionals, may be able to help with organising a GolfSixes League.
 
Our “not for profit” East Lothian Junior League adopted a new Stableford format some years ago, similar to the format of the SJTC, and we now have over 168 registered Players with handicaps, registered through our handicapping software provider, Golf Genius. 125 of those Juniors have played in at least one of our 8 of our 10 League Match Day fixtures held so far this year. At each of these, up to 84 Players can meet to compete as individuals and as Teams and all the scores count as acceptable scores for handicaps. To help with gender equality, an all-Girls Team competes representing the East Lothian LCGA. A few Players with Home Clubs in Lanarkshire, Fife and Northumberland have recently joined East Lothian Clubs, in order to be eligible to play in events in our League. The regular absence of low handicap Players at “elite” events, actually creates more opportunities for higher handicap Juniors to gain experience, as our League only runs events on a handicap basis – up to 28 for Boys and 36 for Girls. Higher handicapped players can play but have to play off these maximums.

All the scores in the SJTC can be seen on the free Golf Genius App, by downloading the App, by then accessing the competition “SJTC 2021 at Crail” and by then entering the code “SJTC.” The Gross and Net individual scores can be seen there as well as the best 5 out 6 Team scores. I attach the prize list below and screenshots of the scores. For those Teams who have not yet received their prizes, I am currently bagging them up and will be arranging delivery, if I can get any fuel! I will be in touch. 

Regards, Dave Warren. Secretary, East Lothian Junior Golf League. 07595 301425

Pro-Am winners!

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The League Secretary Dave Warren was invited to take part in his first ever Pro-Am this week in Ian Woosnam’s Charity Pro-Am at Archerfield! He partnered football legend John Colquhoun and the “UK Golf Guy” David Jones. Much to Dave’s delight, the Team’s Pro on day 1 was Sandy Lyle, the former Open and Masters Champion. Sandy was a great partner and was very helpful with some swing tips. The format was the best 2 net scores from 4 players, for Stableford points. A very average total of 80 points was the result, which put the team in mid-table. Those points were carried over to day 2 when the Team joined Paul Eales, a Pro on the Legends Tour. Paul had 7 birdies of his own and he was ably support by his 3 Team-mates who as a Team, scored 90 points, and tied for 1st place on a total of 170. On a count back, our Team were declared as the winners, and we received some excellent prizes. A big thanks are due to DJ Russell for inviting me.  Main picture L-R  David Jones, Dave Warren, Ian Woosnam, Sandy Lyle, Paul Eales, John Colquhoun, Dougie Donnelly. Sandy, Ian, and Catriona Matthew who was also playing in the event, signed some Masters, Solheim Cup and US Womens Open merchandise for prizes for Juniors.

 

Results ELJGL Champs 2021 + Photos!

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Apologies! – Calculation and publication of the results of the annual League Championships at Royal Musselburgh took longer than expected due to a technical issue over the accuracy of handicaps on the Golf Genius system. I wanted to make sure that everything was in order first and that trophies, prizes and vouchers are going to the correct Players! The Boys U16/U18 36-hole event was shortened to 18 holes due to the danger of thundery showers, some of which did occur. The event was a qualifier for the Justin Rose and Daily Telegraph Junior Golf Championship to be held at Walton Heath. I will nominate our Boy and Girl Scratch winners Luke and Lucy, and our Net winners Daryl and Rebecca, but sadly, their scores in relation to par may not be low enough to receive an invite.

Our thanks are due to Royal Musselburgh for hosting the event. RMGC Captains Stevie Gough and Helen Findlay presented the prizes to the various age groups. Many thanks to the helpers on the day, John Anderson, Sue Warren, Steve Austin, Stuart Findlay, Shona Paton and Calum and Cammie in the Pro Shop. Our new gazebo was very useful in the rain!

Scores for handicaps were submitted through Golf Genius on the day and your Index should have been updated at midnight! There were 59 Players in total. Trophies have been retained and will be engraved as soon as possible before presentation to you. For Players who were unable to be at the prize-giving, I have retained your vouchers and will pass these to you when I next see you at one of our events. Congratulations to the Players on the following list:-

 

Photos below- Players receiving their trophies from Stevie Gough or from Helen Findlay, Captains of Royal Musselburgh, or from Dave Warren, League Secretary.

Luke Greig

Lucy Morrison

Daryl Yuill

Brodie Cunningham

 

Gabriel Ridgeway

Finlay Langlands

Rebecca Wilson

 

 

 

 

  

 

 

Grant Forrest wins on Tour!

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Grant Forrest, now 28 years old, and a former Craigielaw Junior and regular Player in the East Lothian Junior Golf League, has become the first male Player since Raymond Russell of Longniddry in 1996, to come through the ranks of East Lothian’s Juniors and achieve success on a major Professional Tour, by winning the Hero Open at Fairmont St Andrews at the weekend. Here is a link to an article about Grant’s win, as published on the European Tour website, with some excellent photos. Our sincere congratulations go to him on this achievement, gained through his years of dedication to improving his game, and we wish him more deserved success in the future. Dave Warren, League Secretary.

 

 

ELJGL Scramble incredible scoring!!

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The ELJGL held a Texas Scramble fun event at Royal Musselburgh GC on Thursday the 22nd October, the final event of the season. Details of Teams and scoring can be seen on the Golf Genius portal here and you can see the Leaderboard on the GG App on your mobile phone using the access code ELJGLTS. There were 9 Teams of 4, including 1 Team of Girls. The live scoring facility on the Golf Genius App was in use by every group, and as Teams could view the live leaderboard scoring in full during their round, this added some intrigue to the event. We first have to report a truly sensational round by the group comprising Samuel, Oliver and Cameron Mukherjee, and Joe MacPherson, aged 15, 15, 12 and 14 respectively. With very little run on the fairways, they birdied the first 15 holes, then collapsed with 2 pars, but finished with a birdie at the 18th for a gross 54, net 50.8. A certified copy of the scorecard appears below. They were not the winners of this handicap event though, as the team in the last group (pictured below) comprising Byron Archibald, Dylan Brown, Hugo Alderson and Andrew Irvine came in with a gross 60, net 50.5, finishing 0.2 strokes ahead of the team comprising Adam Nichol, Adam Macdonald, Ben Austin and Harris Munro who had a gross 59, net 50.7. Our thanks are due to Royal Musselburgh and their Secretary David Cummings, and to the Professional Callum Smith, for making their excellent and historic course available. The League were indebted also for the help in running the event, provided by the local Convenors, Stuart and Helen Findlay, and from Shona Paton and Colin Leishman. Prizes were given to the winning Team on the day, and prizes for the 2nd place Team, and for the winning scratch Team, will be presented at some time in the future.  This was the final trial of the newly acquired Golf Genius scoring system which was very successful, with the help of our account manager Nick Stocking, and the Golf Genius system will now be brought into use in full during next season.

If you click on the photos below of the Players with the Clubhouse behind, you can see a slideshow of all the Players in a “Gallery.”

 

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The winners – L-R Hugo Alderson, Dylan Brown, Byron Archibald, and Andrew Irvine, with their prizes.

 

 

Grace rules supreme!

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Grace Crawford, aged 13, has won the ProDream USA 3 day event at Longniddry with a final round of 67 v the CSS of 72! Grace won by 7 strokes from her nearest competitor! Scores here. This follows only days after Grace won the East of Scotland Ladies Championships at the Jubilee Course at St Andrews, by 2 strokes from Clara Young. Scores here. In the ProDream USA Boys’ U16 competition, identical twins Oliver and Samuel Mukherjee had identical totals to finish joint 3rd. Well done all of you! You may still be able to read Martin Dempster’s article on Grace in the Scotsman here.

Championships 2020(2) – Results

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The CSS for Girls was down 1 to 67 and was down 1 to 64 for the Boys. Results and prize list appear below. Thanks to Gullane Golf Club for hosting these Championships, and thanks to Brian O’Connor, Frances Hall, Mark Lucas and Jenni Ray for their help. The trialling of Golf Genius for our scoring worked well once Players knew to access the on-app scoring using their GGID code on their scorecard. As I knew that some Players were playing on the following day in the ProDream USA event at Longniddry, so Mrs Warren and I sorted out the CSSs last night by re-inputting all the scores onto Intelligent Golf. Your “away” scores will now have been posted through to your home Clubs. Thanks to all of for playing! There were some great scores. Watch this space for news of  some invites for special treats! 

Here is the full prize list below the photos. I will get the trophies engraved for Players, and when ready, we will make arrangements for a handover. Prize vouchers will be posted out. Golf Balls etc will be kept for you till our events start next season and I will hand them out then. Photos are, top to bottom:-

Ryan Killorn, Alexander Yuill, James Wood, Ala Gorka, Molly Paton and Adam McLean.

 

 

 

The U18s and U16s Boys Championship was played earlier in the season, and all the U15 Boys missed their chance in that section due to a clash with a larger Juniors event. They played in the event at Gullane, but were not competing for the U16s trophy. Andrew Hendry had an excellent scratch 65 with Jack Lucas and Oliver Mukherjee on 68, were 2nd but Jack prevailed on the count-back. Adam Nichol led the handicap section with a net 60, and only claimed the prize after a count-back on the last 6 holes with Owen Malcolm. 

Boys U14 Results. Congratulations to James Wood who won the scratch trophy with a 65. Fergus Brown was close behind with a 66, and Brodie Cunningham was 3rd with a 72. Adam McLean won the  handicap trophy with a superb net 58, only winning by 2 strokes from Harris Munro who had a net 60. Scott Porteous and Adam Macdonald were joint 3rd.

Girls results. Congratulations to Ala Gorka for her scratch 74 beating Lucy Morrison by 2 strokes. In the handicap section, Molly Chapman had a 65, two strokes better than Maisie Witt.

U12 Boys results. Congratulations to Alexander Yuill for his scratch 72 beating Cameron Mukherjee by 1 stroke. In the handicap section, both Ryan Killorn and Oscar Wilkinson had 62s, with Ryan having the better back 9 of 32 to Oscar’s 33.

 

 

 

 

 

 

“Golf Genius” registration

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Update 16/10/20. 107 Players have already registered through the Golf Genius portal, and it is quite easy to do so, and after registering, you can enter any ELJGL events . The steps to register for Golf Genius and enter events can be seen on the Golf Genius News article under the “dropdown”on the main menu bar on this website. 

 

Championships 2020 (1) – Results

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Here are all the scores and prizes for the recent U18s and U16s Boys Championships. There were a couple of call-offs but 17 Boys in total played in the event, over a Musselburgh course in great condition. Ciaran Paterson, off Scratch handicap, and Luke Greig off 5 handicap, took the Scratch honours with excellent gross scores of 70. Gregor Thomson successfully defended his U18s net title with an excellent 66, and Magnus Braby won the U16s net with a 68. Photos attached below. The CSS went down 1 stroke to 71. 

Our thanks to Musselburgh Golf Club for hosting the event at short notice in this difficult season, and thanks to all who played, and to all the prizewinners who then stayed for the prize-giving. The Musselburgh Junior Convenor Jim Wilkinson, and Sue Warren, were towers of strength in the registration, Covid checks, scoring etc. The League’s new gazebo tent and two-way radios got their first trial run, and greatly improved the ease of running the event. I sorted out the correct age groups, on the Golf Genius portal, and entered the remaining scores. Players’ scores were then entered through Intelligent Golf for handicap changes and Home Clubs will have been notified by now.
 
At the prize-giving, I mentioned a few ”treats” this season, instead of inviting Players to go to Pinehurst in February 2022, which trip been cancelled.  I will be liaising soon with Junior Convenors and the East Lothian Ladies on this matter, but in the meantime, the 4 trophy winners have been asked to choose from a number of options. More details later.
 
All scores and prizewinners can be seen here.
 
 
Left to right – Luke Greig, Ciaran Paterson, Gregor Thomson, Magnus Braby.
 
 
 
 
 

Muirfield Miracle Shot!

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League Secretary Dave Warren had this unusual shot at the 4th hole at Muirfield, and lipped out! Imagination (and luck) is sometimes the key to great shots!

Check out Youtube here for Secretary Dave’s dangerous and unusual bunker shot at Muirfield on the left hand side of the 4th Green. “I was hoping for £250 from You’ve Been Framed to cover my medical bills if I fell into the bunker, but instead, on my knees, with a one handed bunker shot, I nearly holed-out!” Dave’s tip for Juniors – “Use your imagination to create shots. Have fun on the practice ground with seemingly impossible shots and experiment till you find a way, as sometime in your golfing life, you will be faced with all types of shot.” Health Warning – don’t try this if there is a risk of injury to you or to others. Credit for the video goes to my foursomes partner Bob, who put me in this spot in the first place! And I didn’t need help to stand up again. If our Juniors have a great shot, or trick shot, to share on Youtube with others, I can link to it through our website. 

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