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!
