Elise Guy

It is with great sadness that we report the sudden and most unexpected passing of Elise Guy, a dear friend to many East Vets and a former East Vets Captain. Elise was always full of enthusiasm be it for something she was familiar with or often, for something new that she had to get to grips with! She had recently returned to having a few holes with friends after having been unable to play for some months. She will be sadly missed.

There are no further details at the moment but we send our sincerest condolences to her family in their bereavement.


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East Team to battle for the LIz Miskimmin Friendship Trophy

The now established annual match for the LIz Miskimmin Friendship Trophy, cancelled on May 23rd on the day of the "big storm" is due to be played at Pitfirrane on August 2nd. Such is the enthusiasm of our East Ladies, they have been practising non-stop at all aspects of the game since May - well maybe now and again - well there's two weeks till the game. That'll be plenty of time. Here are the names of our team:

Barbara Biggart (North Berwick)
Elinor Blair (North Berwick)
Ellice Cackett (Broomieknowe)
Cynthia Guthrie (Longniddry)
Caroline Kinnaird (Glencorse)
Ray Lynch (Murrayfield)
Sheila Lyon (Kingsknowe)

Good luck to them. Fingers crossed for the weather.

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East Retains the Elise Duncan Trophy

What a day!

The East laid on such fantastic weather for their West friends no one could fail to feel uplifted and just glad to be alive even if the golf maybe was not up to expectations - but even better if it was! The sun shone non-stop and the views over the Forth were just breath-taking. There was practically no wind and it was so still , if one could have been bothered , one could have listened in to conversations on adjacent fairways - always a dangerous occupation. It was amazing that anyone could be bothered playing any golf at all.

But they did and the most fitting result was brought in with four and a half points each. This meant that the East retained the Elise Duncan Trophy for another year which left the West having vague mutterings and "if only's" because on paper they had the stronger team and could not have been blamed for hoping this was their year. Already they are planning the return match at Troon Portland.

Results (East first)
Noreen Fenton halved with Alex Glennie
Pamela Williamson beat May Hughes 4 and 3
Karen Ballantyne lost to Helen Faulds 3 and 2
Sue Penman beat Suzanne Cadden 5 and 4
Ruth Brown lost to Jane Finnie 4 and 3
Anne Brownie lost to Pat Hutton 1 hole
Caroline Johnstone beat Jennifer Mack 1 hole
Jane Herd beat Anna Telfer 2 up
Elinor Blair lost to Janice Paterson 5 and 4

East Vets v West Vets at Gullane

The match between the East and the West Vets for the Elise Duncan Trophy will take place on Wednesday 13th July, Gullane No.1 at 3pm where team members will meet from 2pm for coffee and biscuits at the old clubhouse. After this it gets different from usual as we are unable to gather in the main clubhouse for the meal afterwards. This will be held in the Visitor Centre across the road beside the Gullane 2 and 3 courses.

Team members are requested to wear the green team jersey, a yellow teeshirt and cream slacks/ shorts/ crops. Possibly separate attire could be brought in case a change might be deemed necessary - either due to intense heat or rain.

We as a division have opted to allow the use of the skye caddies or similar make - but not any device which is an aid to club selecton in wind or slope. We have discussed this with the West who at present do not allow their use. On this occasion they will make a change to this ruling because the match is on our ground. Their team members are being advised to bring their distance measuring devices if they wish to use them.

Good luck to our team.

East Vets Championship

Noreen Fenton (Dunbar) is the East Vets Champion 2011 and will represent the East at Blairgowrie in September when competing for the Scroggie Cup. The present holder of the Scottish Vets Championship title, Karen Ballantyne, was also from the East Division.

Despite the terrible thunderstorms circling Edinburgh and the Lothians (other places too of course but on this blog we are the most important!) since Friday and threatening to erupt over Haddington all day yesterday, no more than a few drops actually fell and certainly not enough to persuade the participants to don waterproofs. The course and greens were in great condition. There was one small patch of casual water on the fairway but the only victim of the recent rains was possibly the bunkers which were like concrete with wet sand and very difficult to exit it from with any finesse.

The first game to take the tee was between Barbara Biggart of North Berwick (Summer Meeting scratch winner) and Ray Lynch of Murrayfield. This game was played out very competitively, most holes being played or won with pars. Ray was three up at the turn but Barbara won the difficult 12th with a good four to bring the scoreline back to two. This was however to be her last victory, as Ray, in great form took two out of the next three, the fifteenth with a birdie, to win 4 and 3 and therefore book her place in the final.

The other semi-final was between Sue Penman of Gullane and Noreen Fenton of Dunbar. Noreen had arrived later than the others as she had gone to Dunbar first, not by intention - she had missed the turn-off for Haddington and had to follow the dual carriageway to Dunbar before being able to turn round!

This also was a very exciting semi-final with good steady scoring. Sue took advantage at the third to go one up when Noreen went into a fairway bunker full of water. To all intents it appeared to be the only one on the course that was water-filled. Sue then went two up at the fifth which slopes from left to right and catches many unawares, even when they know it can be a problem. Noreen won the fifth with a par to go back to one down. At the ninth Sue went over the back with a well-hit iron - the pin was evilly placed minimum distance from the edge. Her return chip was generous and left her with a 20 foot putt which she holed. Pressure on, Noreen had one just slightly nearer for the half which she managed to salvage, to be still one down at the turn. She squared the game at the 10th then won the next two holes to go two up at the 12th. Halves at the next two holes in par before a dream 7 wood to the heart of the par 5, 15th green made this three up. Sue mingled with the overhanging branches at the 16th which left her with an almost impossible chip to get close to the pin. It slid past! Noreen sank her putt to win 4 and 2.

The afternoon game was very thrilling. After an exchange of pars, Noreen went one up at the sixth when Ray uncharacteristically chipped just through the green. At the sixth, Ray pulled her drive round one of the trees into heavy rough. She was lucky enough to find it along with three others and managed to get it on to the fairway, but Noreen lagged a long putt to lip the hole and that made her two up. Both on the eighth green, Ray, calmly sank a very good putt for a birdie 2 at the short 8th to bring this back to only one down. A short-lived scoreline when Noreen took the ninth with a steady par. She was then two up at the turn.

And then the fun began. A great approach by Ray at the 10th narrowed the deficit, another birdie at the long 11th narrowed it even further. All square. Unfortunately she allowed her drive at the 12th to drift into the very long grass from which she just managed to get out. Her next hit a tree and she eventually arrived 15 feet away from the hole in 5. Noreen was sitting fairly close to the hole in three. Ray sank her putt but as she said later she would have been better keeping it for another hole! One up to Noreen, the next hole was halved in par but Noreen hitched up the lead to two by winning the short 14th with a three. Never outdone, a beautiful approach at the 15th, gave Ray a four, her third birdie. Noreen had been judging her long putts very well throughout the game but left her third shot very short after a misjudged pace from off the green and failed to hole from 8 feet. Only one up. A good putt ensured a half at the 16th after she hit a less than crisp iron which just slipped off the front edge of the green.

Both on to the green at the short 17th, Ray putted first but was 5 feet short. Noreen put hers dead. Ray missed her putt and Noreen tapped hers in to win the championship.

Barbara and Sue had made it a very long day for themselves by caddying in the afternoon. Very many thanks to them and to Marjory, Vice-captain who came along to support.

Semifinals
Barbara Biggart lost to Ray Lynch 4 and 3
Sue Penman lost to Noreen Fenton 4 and 2

Final
Ray Lynch lost to Noreen Fenton 2 and 1

Semifinalist for the East Vets Championship

All the quarter-finalist games have now been completed at Haddington. The results are as follows:

Barbara Biggart beat Ros Thoresan 4 and 2
Ray Lynch beat Alice Archbold 3 and 1
Karen Ballantyne lost to Noreen Fenton 3 and 2
Fiona Hunter lost to Sue Penman at the 18th

The draw for the semi-finals at 10 o'clock on Sunday 10th July is:

Barbara Biggart v Ray Lynch
Noreen Fenton v Sue Penman

All supporters welcome


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Recap on the Scottish Seniors

All is over at Portpatrick Dunskey Golf Club and the members will thankfully be able to return to normal after the best part of a week when they together with the SLGA, devoted themselves to making the Scottish Senior Ladies Strokeplay and Matchplay Championships the success that it undoubtedly was. They even laid on fantastic weather - after the practice round that is!

Out of all those East Vets who participated in the strokeplay but did not qualify for either of the two matchplay competitions, as already said, there were four remaining who went on to the final two days. Sue Penman, Pamela Williamson, Moira Thomson and Noreen Fenton.

Sue Penman had a great Scottish Seniors. She took Ann Lowe, a three handicapper from Royal Birkdale, to the 20th hole, but unfortunately lost to the Strokeplay winner, Alex Glennie at the seventeenth. Moira went down at the first extra hole in the first round to Heather Anderson, the 2010 Strokeplay Champion. Pamela, the first winner of this matchplay championship, had a slightly easier run against Alison Bartlett of Highland Division, who had had the best scratch in the first qualifying round. Pamela won by 4 and 3. She then was the next victim of Heather Anderson, who beat her 2 and 1. Noreen had a very tight match in a low scoring match against Senior Scottish Internationalist Lorna Bennett from Midlands, who has won the title twice previously. There was a healthy exchange of birdies, but Noreen sneaked the important one at the first extra hole. She then took on May Hughes of Lanark whom she beat by 3 and 2. Noreen met Janice Paterson of Drumpellier in the semifinals and although she went into an early lead of four holes, lost these gradually when Janice started to wield her putter with intent. She (Janice)had a lovely birdie at the difficult seventh and also at the ninth. Although dormie two down at the 17th and finding herself in the left rough, totally unphased, Janice sent a beautiful iron to the heart of the green and had another birdie to bring the deficit down to one but a half was all Noreen needed at the 18th to gain the point.

In the final, Noreen met Heather. They were evenly matched from the beginning reflected by the scoreline where there was never any more than one hole in it either way. Heather started the ball rolling by taking the first with a birdie but lost it at the second to a par when she was bunkered to the rear of the green. All square again. The long third was halved in par but Noreen, trying to be too neat with her tee-shot at the fourth caught the front slope to the green and went no further. Heather went one up - but only for the length of the next hole where Noreen sank a 15 footer for a birdie. All square again.

The next two were halved in par but uncharacteristically, Heather missed a short one at the tricky eighth green for Noreen to take the lead for the first time. Both should have had birdie twos at the 10th hole where both tee shots were no more than three feet from the pin but both failed to take this golden opportunity and halved in a less prestigious three. However Heather did not miss her chance at the alternative Devil's Beeftub - known as the 11th green. She sank a lovely putt for a birdie two. All square.

The next four holes were halved which sounds very boring but the fourteenth was hardly that. Heather sent her drive into the horrible bundai on the right. Noreen was straight up the middle. Heather sensibly took a provisional. Noreen started to count her chickens (too soon). The ball in the rough was magically found and equally magically, Heather got out (just) on to the semi rough and proceeded to send a cracker towards the green. "S'gone over" someone said. Still unwisely counting chickens, Noreen went to her ball to find it was in a divot filled with soft soil and only managed to strike it thirty yards together with a load of grass-seed. One of the chickens had had it's neck thrawn. But then she put it two feet from the pin, looking like a safe four and a hole in the pocket? Heather was certainly off the green in three but got out a wedge and slotted her ball, also for a four. Half - but certainly not a boring half. Still all square.

Pass on the next hole which doesn't look much but has a very cunning green. It was also halved. Two attractive drives up to the top of the hill overlooking the green at the sixteenth. Two wedges into the green, where Noreen slotted hers for a birdie to be one up. Two halves in par at both the seventeenth and eighteenth and Noreen was the 2011 Scottish Senior Champion.