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

East Lothian Junior Golf League News

ELJGL Girls vs. St Andrews!

On Saturday the 28th March, a Team of 6 Girls ventured to the Jubilee Course at St Andrews for a match vs. the St Andrews University Ladies Golf Team. The University Team were led by their Captain, Kate Thomson,  a recent ELJGL Player from Dunbar. The 3 pairings consisted of Anna Zonova and Lydia Pickett vs. Louisa Forman and Palakshi Siingh, Chloe Adams and Phebe Pickett vs Helen Boyd and Abi Mitchell, and Maisie Witt and Louise Martin vs. Clara Goldstein and Meili Fabre-Marques. The St Andrews University raised 8 Players so together with Gareth Jack, former Longniddry Junior Convenor, I played against Kate and Jemima Bullock. The overall result was 2 matches each. After a round played in very windy conditions, with sand from the beach stinging our faces, we adjourned to the One Under Bar in the Rusacks Hotel for soup and sandwiches. We were grateful for the support of several parents, George Adam, Chris Martin, David Witt and most of the Pickett family! We anticipate having a return match in 2027 in East Lothian. Photos attached in order as per the Teams listed above with a stand-in from another Pickett sister for a St Andrews Player who had to leave! Dave Warren, Jt. League Secretary.

 

 

 

 

MD1 at Gullane No. 3 Results

Our 1st Match Day was successfully completed last Sunday at Gullane No.3. The weather was kind and the tee sheet was full but a few Reserves missed out!  We will request more tee times next year. The scoring was good as can be seen on this table of results. 

 

Girls’ Junior Framework!

Scottish Golf have recently announced by email their new funded pathway for “Girls to enter, stay and thrive in Golf.”  All Convenors should have received this through their Clubs, but I have sent it to all our Convenors just to be sure they see it.  The complete information on how to apply for funding etc is at this link

 

 

Ava Paterson in Dubai!

Ava, a recent Junior at Kilspindie, and now a student at Heriot Watt University, was in touch with me recently. Ava told me she was heading to Dubai, where Heriot Watt have a Campus, for a semester from January till the Spring. Ava’s Mum Eleanor, asked me if I knew anyone in Dubai, as Ava had expressed the wish to help to coach Junior Golfers whilst she is there. I recalled that Euan Bowden, and Ryan Gallacher, both former ELJGL Juniors, were working in Dubai. I viewed the “Tommy Fleetwood Academy” website where I saw that both of them are working there as PGA Professionals – see their full Team here! So, I put them in touch with each other. I believe that Ava will be seeing both soon Ryan and Euan soon, but in the meantime, Ava has met the Boss! Good luck Ava! 

ELJGL: Older News

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