East Lothian Junior Golf League

Supporting junior golf in East Lothian, Scotland

County Cup Final 2024/5 – Result!

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The final of the 2024/25 Junior County Cup was played on the 23rd March between the 2 Teams from Kilspindie and Gifford. The venue was Longniddry, which was in excellent condition.  The two Teams are pictured below. The Gifford Team were receiving 6 handicap strokes in the first match, and 4 strokes in the second match. Gifford went into an early lead in both games, and steadily increased their lead to emerge victorious, in the double aggregate foursomes format, by the winning margin of 9 holes up with 7 to play. The Match was played in excellent spirit, but both Teams often made tactical and playing errors, which at one hole resulted in a half in 8 strokes! The Junior Convenors for both Teams, Shona Paton for Gifford, and Chris Stirling for Kilspindie, were present and watched all the play. The Referee, League Secretary Dave Warren, was kept very busy having to rule on various situations! Prize vouchers were awarded to the 8 Players in the Final, and vouchers will also be given to the Players who played for either Team in the earlier rounds. James Hamilton of Gifford, the Team’s Captain, accepted the Trophy, the first trophy ever won by Gifford since they joined the League! Shona Paton was deservedly delighted with her Team’s performance, and all told, 8 different Gifford Players had played in the 4 Matches en route to the title against strong Teams from Royal Musselburgh, Longniddry, West Links Bass and Kilspindie. The League provided drinks and excellent sandwiches supplied by the new Caterer Rachael McGlashan. Many thanks to Longniddry for hosting the final, and to all Players and Convenors involved in the event. A special thanks are due to Chris Stirling, for again organising this year’s event. It is proposed to start next year’s event at the beginning of September 2025 in order to allow for any weather postponements over next winter. Dave Warren, League Secretary.

Top – The winning Gifford Team L-R Rory Burns, James Hamilton, Shona Paton, Innes Logan, Murray Snodgrass.  Below – The Kilspindie Team L-R Cameron Brown, Liam Graham, Finlay Perry, Tommy Tunnock

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pre Pinehurst trip lunch!

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Seventeen Players who are going on the next League trip to Pinehurst USA from the 7th to the 17th February, attended a lunch at The Glen Golf Club on Sunday the 12th of January. Many of the Players’ Parents also turned up, swelling the numbers to 52. Dave Warren, the League Secretary, welcomed everyone to The Glen. The 4 other Leaders on this trip were present –  Sue Warren, Brian O’Connor, Jean Waddell, and Gordon Smith. After an excellent meal, Dave gave details about the arrangements for travel, accommodation, golf, meals and other aspects of the trip. Team kit and golf bags were issued to every Player.

 The Photo below shows the Players who are going to experience this wonderful opportunity. Reports will follow.

Front Row L-R Maisie, Katie, Louise, Ava,

Middle Row L-R Thomas, Harris, Jamie, James, Rory A, Diarmuid, Angus.

Back Row L-R Sami, Rory McA, Josh, Murray, Harry, Liam. Apologies from Kai received. 

Kai Laing sent his apologies as he was playing in Winter League match for Dunbar.

Grace Crawford wins the Justin Rose!

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Our League Member Grace Crawford, of the West Links Juniors Club, has just won the prestigious Justin Rose Telegraph Junior Golf Championship, played at Quinta De Lago in Portugal. There is a report here. Grace was even par for the 3 rounds and won by 2 strokes, in her final Junior event before heading to Alabama to start her college course on a scholarship. I have sent Grace our congratulations on adding another impressive title to her name, to add to the Scottish Womens Open Strokeplay and the R&A U16s Championship she has won before. Grace has kindly sent me these 2 photos. Scoring can be seen here at Golf Genius. 

Grace Crawford

 

Grace Crawford, Charlie Rusbridge and Justin Rose

Golf Sixes Regional Final

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A Message from Scottish Golf via Katy at North Berwick:- Thank you to everyone who attended and supported our GolfSixes League Regional Final at Kingsknowe Golf Club. It was great to see so many mixed groups from across this season’s leagues out there.  We hope all players, club representatives and families enjoyed the day! Results for both fixtures are below. The GolfSixes page on Scottish Golf’s website, can be seen here. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A huge congratulations to our winners, Dundas Parks Golf Club and Crichton Golf Club who progress to our GolfSixes League National Final! Well done again to all teams who took part on the day, having had hugely successful seasons within their own leagues. Thanks once again for your ongoing support, we look forward to working with you again next season! Best wishes, Junior Golf Support Team

E:       juniorgolf@scottishgolf.org 

W:     www.scottishgolf.org 

A:     Arrol House, Viking Way, Rosyth, KY11 2UU

Watson Cup Scoring!

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Scoring – the scoring in the Watson Cup can be seen at this Golf Genius link –https://www.golfgenius.com/pages/5056144

Good luck to our Team! 

On the 12th October, the 2024 East Lothian Watson Cup Team departed for South Carolina to compete against the best Juniors in the South Carolina Junior Golf Association. The Team of 9 Boys comprises, in alphabetical order, and their East Lothian Clubs:-

Ben Austin – Haddington, Jack Collingswood, Sean Gallacher, Andrew Irvine, all West Links, Kai Laing – Dunbar, Kaylen Martin – Longniddry, Cameron Mukherjee – Gullane, Lewis Russell and Alexander Yuill, – both Craigielaw. The Team is being led by Ric Foulner and Jack Rogan. Jack was the Captain of our Team in 2018. Ric is the Junior Convenor at West Links Juniors, North Berwick, and was on the Committee for the match in 2022. Dave Warren, League Secretary and President of the East Lothian Watson Cup Team, is sadly unable to attend this playing of the Watson Cup.  Provost of East Lothian has sent greetings to the Governor of South Carolina 

The excellent itinerary has been put together by Jack Rogan and Ric Foulner, and they have worked very hard to set all this up so thanks are due to them. The schedule is as follows:-

Day 1 – October 12th/13th Travel from Edinburgh to Charleston USA and drive to Beaufort, SC
Day 2 – October 13th – Golf at Long Cove Club 
Day 3 – October 14th – A  day of practice at a local club  in Beaufort then relaxation.
Day 4 – October 15th – Drive to Yeamans Hall, 1st Practice Round/Day, Begin stay at Yeamans Hall onsite
Day 5 – October 16th – Yeamans Hall, 2nd Practice Round/Day, Opening Dinner/Ceremony 
Day 5 – October 17th – Yeamans Hall, Fourballs and Foursomes
Day 6 – October 18th – Yeamans Hall, Singles and Trophy Presentation, depart for hotel
Day 7 – October 19th – Golf at Seccession, return to hotel
Day 8 – October 20th – Check out of hotel and make way to airport in the afternoon. Some chill time in Charleston if desired after checking out
Day 9 – October 21st – Arrival back in Edinburgh – but Andrew, Cameron and Jack have travel to other destinations in the USA.

I would like to thank all our donors and helpers for assisting us in making all the arrangements, and also Alexander’s Dad, Calum Yuill., who is present supporting Jack and Ric, and the Team.

The Provost of East Lothian has sent a message of greetings to the Governor of South Carolina, and the Officials of the SCGA and the SCJGA.

A link to photos should appear on this page when available. 

Results from the SJTC at Panmure!

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Congratulations to Turnhouse GC for winning the Scottish Junior Team Championship at Panmure, and to West of Scotland Girls as the leading all-girls Team!  Photos attached. Commiserations to runners-up Glasgow GC!
 
Detailed scoring at the SJTC can be seen on the Golf Genius App, by entering only the code SJTC24 on the sign in page of the App. Attached is a list of prizes and the winners. As few Teams were able to stay for the prize giving, I have delivered them if local, or posted them out to more distant Clubs.
 
The feedback from Convenors, Parents and Players at the SJTC event on Sunday at Panmure has been fantastic. Our sincere thanks are due to Convenors, and all the Parents, for the participation of 119 Players in 20 Teams, from as far away as Ayrshire and Aberdeenshire. The field included 25 Girls, a far cry from the 1 girl amongst the 120 competitors who attended the inaugural SJTC in 2017! The event gave all of the Players a rare chance to play one of Scotland’s most fabled courses!
 
I would like to thank the Management, Staff and Members of Panmure GC, for the warm welcome we received and for the access granted for practice rounds, and for the excellent clubhouse facilities, catering, free range balls etc, as well as providing a golf course in tip top condition. The assistance from so many volunteers from Panmure members as starters and spotters etc was much appreciated, due to the recruitment work put in by their dedicated Junior Convenor, Euan Kerr. 
 
Reece, of Panmure Member and Visitors Services, and Panmure’s  Concierge, Fraser, F&B Managers Craig and Jo, and their staff in the Clubhouse, and Dom the Assistant Professional, were in attendance for most of the day and ensured that the long day ran efficiently. David Brodie, the Panmure GM, was involved at the start of the inception of the SJTC whilst he was GM at Glenbervie in 2017, and was again instrumental in Panmure’s hosting of the event. 
 
Our thanks also go to Ian Howarth, former President of Scottish Golf, who donated the trophy and medals, but sadly was unable to attend on the day due to the sudden illness of his wife Audrey to whom we wish a swift recovery!
 
The scoring and other organisational functions, etc, were handled from within the ranks of the East Lothian Junior League, and I thank Sue, Gareth and Chris for the long hours they put in, with particular thanks to Jenny Potter of “Golf Genius” for her assistance on the preparatory work, and for being contactable in case of any problems.
 
We thank Rory Anton, who attended the start of the event to represent Scottish Golf, and hope Rory left with a good impression. I now respectfully ask all Convenors, if they think the concept and format of the free-to-enter SJTC event has any validity and importance to Players in Junior Leagues in Scotland, to write to Robbie Clyde and Fraser Crawford at Scotland Golf and support my contention that SG could adopt this event and include it in their portfolio of annual events. As far as I know, Scottish Golf have handicap events for Men and Women, but do not have a handicap event for Juniors. England Golf have, for some years, held a handicap Team event for Juniors. I am concerned about the number of costly Junior events now being run in Scotland by profit making organisations who are not affiliated to Scottish Golf and are therefore not authorised to hold “qualifying events” for handicap purposes. They may not have the required Child Welfare and Protection and other authorisations, to work in the area of Junior Golf. As far as I am aware, the East Lothian Junior Golf League is the only Junior League in Scotland affiliated to Scottish Golf, and we have to be because the League is run on a Strokeplay Stableford  basis, and not on the traditional Matchplay format. We abandoned that format several years ago.
 
The running of the SJTC is a large task, and I am doubtful that I will be able to be the sole Organiser for much longer. I see this as a golden opportunity for SG to now step forward and take on the organisation and running of the SJTC event. Such adoption would provide SG with an opportunity to raise awareness of the role of SG amongst our up and coming youngsters with higher handicaps, and that SG are there for them even if they never make it into any of their elite events for scratch golfers. That said, there were still 8 Boys playing on Sunday who possessed plus handicaps!
 
I hope to see some of you at the next SJTC at North Berwick West Links on Sunday the 28th September 2025!
 
Regards, 
 
Dave Warren
SJTC Organiser 2017-2024
07595 301425

 

 

 

 

 

Lothians Championships – Sam Hall and Ryan Killorn!

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Sam Hall of Gullane GC, and a recent Junior in our League, pulled off a great win in the recent Lothians Mens Championships. Scoring etc can be seen at this link – 

The matchplay rounds for the Lothians Boys Championship have now been completed at the usual venue, the Braid Hills. Scoring can be seen at  this link. Ryan Killorn, of West Links Juniors, won his semi-final at the 20th after being 4 down, and reached the final. Ryan was 2 up after 11 holes against George Jackson when play was abandoned due to the weather. The remaining holes were played out at a later date. George fought back well to pip Ryan by 2&1. There is a report on the final and a photo here. Well played Ryan, one of the youngest ever finalists ever at age 13! (Our photo of Ryan was from a few years back!)

Juniors’ visit to Women’s Open!

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A group of Juniors were invited to take part in a visit to St. Andrews for the recent Women’s Open Championship, on the Saturday – the best day for weather out of the 4 Championship days. Some of the League’s regular Lady helpers were also invited as a thanks for their work during the season. Shona Paton, Jean Waddell and Sue Warren, accompanied me, and 8  Juniors on the trip. Another Girl member of the League, Daisy Black, was also there with her Mum. The 4 girls were Chloe Adam, Sofia Smith, Katie Mackenzie and Anna Zonova. The 4 Boys were Harris Munro, Rory Papakyriakou, Max Elgin and Archie Brownlee. The group travelled by train and bus to the “Home of Golf” and enjoyed seeing the world’s best golfers in action. The 4 Leaders were invited by VP Marc Eubanks, into the Rusacks Hotel, part of the Marine and Lawn Hotel Group, who are sponsors of the League, where they enjoyed some wonderful and deserved hospitality, and the amazing views of the course from the top floor. Anna and Katie were invited by R&A Members Gillian and David Kirkwood, to tour the R&A Trophy room to see the wonderful history on display there.

 

SJTC at Elderslie – Results!

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The Scottish Junior Team Championships have been organised by our League since 2017, and the 2023 event has now been held at Elderslie GC, near Paisley. Both West Links Junior Teams, Bass and Fidra, took part in the field of 20 Teams, each with 6 Players. All the scores, both Team and Individual, can be seen on the free Golf Genius App by signing in with the code JMTJYY. Below is a copy of the e-mail sent to the host Club, together with a photo of all the prizes, a photo of the winning Team Braehead with the donor of the Trophy Ian Howarth, past President of the SGU, and Douglas Ross, Captain of Elderslie, and lastly a list of winners and prizes. 

Dear Secretary Kelly, Captain Douglas and Junior Convenor Graham, and all the other Committee Members and Managers at Elderslie GC, thank you to ALL the members and staff (too many to mention individually) for hosting our 2023 SJTC event on Sunday the 24th September and making your excellent course available for the day, and for practice rounds. Please circulate our thanks to all those involved. 
 
Elderslie, as a Club, “raised the bar” to a level I have never experienced before at any Junior event in my 20 year involvement in such events!
 
Graham, the host Junior Convenor, rallied a huge number of volunteer members to assist on the day as Starters, Referees, Scorers, Ball-Spotters, etc etc. 
 
John and his Greens staff were magnificent as they worked tirelessly in the adverse conditions to ensure the course was set up and presented well, and continued to ensure that it remained playable throughout the very wet afternoon! 
 
Scott and Alistair in the excellent Pro Shop, kept things moving too, and provided range balls etc. 
 
The Food and Beverage Staff in the Clubhouse made the day a very special day for all the competitors involved by providing an excellent Junior-friendly and affordable menu. All the service and hospitality in the Clubhouse was friendly and superb. 
 
Thanks are also due to Kenny the “Tech Guy,” for the provision and set-up of an extra TV so our live leaderboards could be shown, albeit in direct competition with the Solheim Cup on the other TV!
 
My helpers on Scoring and Prizes display and distribution, Sue, Gareth and Michael, did an extraordinary job in getting all the scores on to the Golf Genius scoring and handicap system which had been expertly set-up in advance by Jenny Potter of Golf Genius. 
 
A representative of Scottish Golf had planned to attend, but a family emergency intervened. We hope they will attend this event next year.
 
Despite the very poor weather in the latter stages of the event, 119 Junior Golfers from 20 Clubs from all over Scotland completed the 18 holes! I was delighted that we could accommodate 2 teams of Juniors from the host Club. Thanks to ALL the Players, Convenors and Parents who braved the elements!
 
All the scores, both Team and Individual, can be seen on the free Golf Genius App by signing in with the code JMTJYY.
 
Thanks also to our friends at the R and A, who provided Open Championship merchandise as prizes. Mike, a special friend from the USA, acquired and delivered merchandise from US Masters and Augusta Womens Amateur Championship as prizes. Catriona Matthew, one of our Patrons, acquired merchandise from a US Womens Open and had signed caps etc for the Girls’ prizes. 
 
Thanks also to Ian Howarth, past President of the SGU, who was present again, and presented the trophy and medals to the winning Team Braehead GC, comprising 2 Girls and 4 Boys. They compete in the recently formed Forth Valley Junior Golf League. Team Photos below.
 
A strong Team from West Links Juniors, from my home Club of North Berwick, also competed, but caught the worst of the afternoon weather! However, they still won 4 of the 5 Boys’ Scratch prizes available! 
 
Braehead’s Junior Convenor Lyn Parsler, thanked all those involved on the day.
 
We now look forward to the next SJTC, which will be played at Panmure GC in Angus, also a wonderful links course! The date set is Sunday the 29th September 2024. We hope to see some of you again there. We are seeking a venue for 2025!
 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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