SEASON'S GREETINGS

                

  Merry Christmas to all readers of the East Vets Blog!  

  To see your festive greetings card click here 

2015 AGM UPDATE

Following our successful and enjoyable AGM, Prizegiving and lunch on 16th November, some links are now available for viewing.  Congratulations again to all the Prizewinners (click on the highlighted link). The Minutes and Captain's report may also  be viewed by clicking on the following links:Minutes and Report

Watch out for our festive greeting to all East Vets members (and other readers!) closer to Christmas.

2015 AGM AND PRIZEGIVING

The 2015 Prizegiving and AGM were held at Gullane Golf Club on Monday 16th November. Over sixty ladies attended the event with only a few not able to stay for the delicious lunch which followed the business proceedings. The main trophy winners are shown above (left to right : Elinor Blair, Carol McLeod, Karen Ballantyne (Champion), Jane McMinn, Dulcie Barnes, Jean Bryden, Ray Lynch and Sandra Kempston . 


An account of the AGM and list of the 2015 Prizewinners will be posted to this Blog shortly. More photos may be viewed by clicking on this link


The new Committee are as posted aside, and the 2016 fixtures may be found by clicking on the Fixtures button (above, left)


After the AGM had concluded, Anne Brownie said a few words about Katherine Thomson who demitted office after seventeen years in the combined role of Secretary and Treasurer. Anne was delighted to present Katherine with a bouquet of flowers (see below) on behalf of the East Vets Division together with other gifts from a collection amongst members.



2015 AGM/PRIZEGIVING/LUNCH

Our Annual General Meeting takes place at Gullane Golf Club (Members' Clubhouse) on Monday 16th November 2015.  Notices for the AGM, including the agenda were distributed by email earlier this month in which it was also indicated that a further email would follow outlining the proposals for which the Committee intend seeking approval at the AGM. This email should be with members no later than 27th October.

A copy of last year's AGM Minutes may be viewed by clicking on the following link : 2014

CAPTAIN'S UPDATE FROM BLAIRGOWRIE

Congratulations to Sheena Wood of North Division who won the Scroggie Cup in beating Fiona de Vries (Midland) in the final of the SVLGA Championship at Blairgowrie on 20th and 21st September.

East Vets Champion, Karen Ballantyne, was narrowly beaten at the 17th hole by Fiona de Vries in her quarter-final tie. Fiona  had a tough semi-final with Lesley Lloyd (West) which went to the 20th hole, playing in some of the worst of the rain which also badly affected the Patrick Rosebowl.

Not what we wanted to see!!!!!!!

Monday was the day for the Patrick Rosebowl and the forecast was for a bit of morning mist and light rain which would clear away. Wrong! Mid morning the heavens opened and casual water started building up making life very difficult for players, organisers and greens staff. A flood (pun intended!)of  NRs from mid to late morning start times showed how miserable conditions were and how difficult it was to keep playing golf. 

There were some good scores nonetheless if players managed to escape the worst of the conditions and tight competition for the prizes with multiple net 76s being determined on the better inward half. A full listing of the results from Day 1 follows later in this report (as taken from kirkwoodgolf website). Sadly no East Vets featured in this prize list. However, East Vets had some consolation with a clean sweep of the prizes in the five club competition held over the Wee Course for the Small Cup. Pictured below is winner Dorothy Thomson (net 30.5); the runner up  was Barbara Biggart(net 32) and in 3rd place Anne Brownie (net 33.5)!

Dorothy with the Small Cup

Day two was a greensomes competition for the Beddows Quaichs. The rain had gone, the sun even ventured out and Sue Penman and Ros Thoresen were narrowly pipped by a mere .8, ending in second place with a net 72 after having been leaders in the clubhouse for a while. Other East Vets also posted good scores: Kate Johnston and Fiona McLaren with net 73 and Alice Archbold and Elinor Blair with net 74.2. Well done ladies.

 

Full results from Day 1 below with photo taken from Kirkwood Golf website:

L to R Bev Brown, Jen Petrie, Gillian Wallace, Sheena Wood,
Fiona De Vries, Isobel McIntosh, Emma Wilson, Lesley Lloyd

Patrick Rosebowl      Gillian Wallace (Midland) 79-5  =74
Smith Medal              Jen Petrie (North)  89-13=76. bl6
Third                          Heather Anderson  (Midland)  81-5=76 bl6
Fourth.                      Mary Robinson (North). 92-16 = 76. bl3
Fifth.                          Joanne Sharp (West)  86-10=76

Scratch Lyon Picture. Gillian Wallace ( Midland) 79

Best Nett Bronze. Catherine Corstorphine Salver.  Aileen Stone( Highlands). 103-22=81

Prizes for ladies 65-69
Scratch. 
Allen Plate.  Anna Telfer ( West). 83
Handicap
Buchanan Cup Jen Petrie ( North). 89-13= 76
Runner-up.  Emma Wilson. 86-10=76

Prizes for ladies over 70
Past President's Quaich. Isobel McIntosh ( Highlands). 85-7=78 bih
Runner-up    Bev Brown( Midland)  88-10= 78

Lyon Trophy
Division with best three nett scores in the Patrick Rosebowl.  Midland

MATCH VS BORDERS VETS AT PEEBLES GC

Our East Vets annual match against Borders Division took place on Wednesday 9th September at Peebles Golf Club. The result was a win for Borders Vets by 4 to 2 on a very enjoyable day of friendly greensomes golf. The following report and photos are supplied by Caroline Kinnaird who captained the East Vets Team in this match:

After coffee and bacon rolls everyone made their way to the first tee. It was a dry day but there was a strong cold wind making it tough.There was some excellent golf played with some very close matches.The course was in excellent condition and the views impressive. The Borders team were just too strong and won four games to two.We were treated to a lovely meal followed by fantastic sweets.  Thanks to Janice the Borders Captain and her team for a very enjoyable day.

 Individual match results:

Jane Neville and Helen Holton lost to Sheila Cuthbertson and Sheila Horsburgh 1up

Anne Rorrison and Kate Brannan lost to Mary Brydon and Venetia Scott 4/2

Fiona McLaren and Anne Hanna won against Diane Keddie and Frankie Brogan  2 up

Katie Gillies and Moyra Statham won against Alison Smith and Elspeth Bell 1 up

Maureen Cranston and Jane Browitt lost to Lynne Flannigan and Val McKean 3/2

Sandra Dickson and Irene Gray lost to Sandra McCarthy and Janice Cambridge 2/1

 

 

 

 

AUTUMN MEETING AT LIBERTON GC

18th Green at Liberton GC-bathed in sunshine!

On a glorious day at Liberton Golf Club, there were some excellent scores and the CSS remained equal to SSS at 68.

 Two ladies recorded excellent net 64s! They were Elinor Blair (North Berwick) playing off 10 and Ann Hanna (Murrayfield) playing off 22; Elinor is the overall winner on the better inward half with Ann the winner of best net in Bronze Division. Sandra Liddle (Mortonhall) posted the other sub SSS/CSS score with a net 67 whilst Karen Ballantyne (Craigmillar Park) and Kate Johnston (Baberton) both matched the CSS with net 68s. Very well done to all these ladies who clearly enjoyed the lovely blue skies, sunshine and condition of the course.  The full listing of net scores may be viewed by clicking here .

Three ladies returned wonderful gross 74s! They were Jennifer Bryans (Harburn), Elinor Blair (North Berwick) and Noreen Fenton (Dunbar); the winner was Jennifer Bryans on the better inward half. Hot on their heels was Karen Ballantyne with a gross 75.

Two ladies enjoyed the greens so much that they had two twos apiece: Elinor Blair and Dorothy Thomson (Gullane Ladies). Three other ladies recorded twos - Jennifer Bryans, Kate Johnston (Baberton)  and Janette Laing (Musselburgh).

It was such a beautiful autumn day that there was lots of relaxed chatter in the clubhouse afterwards and hardly any talk of bunkers and the shots that got away - sunshine and smiles were the order of the day.

WINNER OF THE RAMSDEN CUP

Congratulations to Jane McMinn of North Berwick GC who is the 2015 Winner of the Ramsden Cup.
The final was played over a neutral course, Liberton, between Fiona  MacLaren of Baberton GC and Jane, with Jane emerging the winner by the margin of  3& 2. 

WINNERS OF THE 2015 FRIENDSHIP FOURSOMES

Congratulations to Ray Lynch (Murrayfield) and Sandra Kempston (Craigmillar Park), winners of the 2015 East Vets knockout competition for the Friendship Foursomes Trophy. Runners Up were Vivien Mitchell and Pat Meikle (both Lochend).

AUTUMN MEETING DRAW

The Draw for the Autumn Meeting on Monday 7th September at Liberton Golf Club has been issued to entrants and may be found under the "Draws"  button above.
A balance of £15 is due from players who paid deposits on entering, otherwise £17 is due on the day.
Here's hoping for fine weather for our final medal competition this season.

FOURSOMES MATCH VS WEST VETS

The annual foursomes match for the ASP friendship Quaich was played at Kilmacolm on Tuesday 18th August. It sounds as if our team had a lovely day at Kilmacolm but unfortunately we lost by three games to two.

 Thanks for the following report and photo from Vice Captain Caroline Kinnaird  :

Louise Campbell and Sue Cowie lost to Carol Fell and Anne Judge 6/4

Joanne Watt and Dorothy Thomson won against Cathy Morton and Marion Stewart 4/3

Jane Neville and Fiona Ford won against Helen Robertson and Enid Young 4/3

Vickie Sandeman and Tricia Smith lost to Lynn McColl and Karen Maxwell 4/3

Val Hallam and Phyl Early lost to Annabel Kane and Morag Key 5/3

Caroline presenting the ASP Trophy to June Lockhart

 

We were met by a very warm welcome by the West Vice Captain June Lockhart and her team. We were served Tea/Coffee and Bacon/Sausage rolls before the match.The weather was sunny and warm all day, everyone played in polo shirts.The ladies vice captain of Kimacolm Susan Reid announced each team on the tee and wished everyone a good time.

The course was in fantastic condition and the views were beautiful. Everyone had a great time.

Shots of the matches had to go to the second group out at the par 3 second hole.Dorothy's tee shot bounced left off the back of the right hand bunker,bounced of the next bunker onto the green and rolled to 2 feet from the pin. Marion for the west followed.Her tee shot went right of the green hitting the wall on the right and kicking onto the green to finish 5 feet from the pin.Cathy missed her putt for the west leaving Joanne to hole her putt for a 2 to win the hole for the East.

The matches were played in great spirit.

We were treated to a fabulous meal after which I presented the Friendship Trophy to June and thanked all involved, saying that we looked forward to winning it back next year.


Carol Fell of West Vets has posted more photos from the match on the West Vets website which can be viewed by clicking on this link. (Some lovely photos from Carol.)

RAMSDEN CUP & AUTUMN MEETING

Congratulations and best wishes to the two Finalists of the Ramsden Cup :
Fiona McLaren (Baberton) and Jane McMinn (North Berwick).
Their progress to the Final, to be played at Liberton GC as a neutral venue, can be viewed by clicking on the knockout chart in "Draws".

Our Autumn Meeting is being played at Liberton GC on 7th September and the Draw is being made this Friday 21st August.  If any members who have not already entered wish to do so, please contact Katherine Thomson by the end of Thursday 20th August.

2015 CHAMPION : UPDATED REPORT

 

 And the winner of the 2015 ESVLGA Championship is Karen Ballantyne who successfully defended her title against fellow Craigmillar Park member Mairi Pollock by the margin of 2 & 1. 

 

 

After the lovely sunshine enjoyed at the conclusion of the semi-final matches and over lunchtime, a few clouds rolled in for the Final. However the blue skies were still around whilst we were treated to a display from the Red Arrows at the nearby East Fortune Air Show together with a variety of other planes.  It's not often that our ESVLGA Championship Final has its own Red Arrows "fly past" to mark the occasion.

 

Wow, so close together!!!

After the clouds rolled in and brought some rain there came a step back in time





 Back to the golf on display!  Continuing with her good putting touch from the morning, Mairi eased to a 2 up lead after seven holes. The tricky eighth hole resulted in a half but a regulation par 4 at the ninth by Karen, meant that Mairi's lead reduced to 1 up at the turn and the match was squared by Karen at the eleventh hole.  Karen took a short-lived lead at the thirteenth with Mairi immediately winning back the par 3 fourteenth. However, Karen's pitch onto the fifteenth green rattled the flagstick and dropped into the hole meaning Karen went back to 1 up and she doubled her lead with an excellent pitch into the sixteenth green and a conceded birdie putt.  A half in par 3 at the seventeenth was not enough for Mairi to take the match up the eighteenth and thus Karen Ballantyne became the 2015 ESVLGA Champion.  Congratulations Karen.

 

Karen will represent the  East Division at the  SVLGA Championship at Blairgowrie on 20th/21st September and will be presented with the Lady McInnes Shaw Championship Cup at the AGM/Prizegiving at Gullane in November.

 

 

UPDATE FROM HADDINGTON ON CHAMPIONSHIP SEMI-FINALS

The morning Semi-Final line-ups are pictured below. In the first semifinal Mairi Pollock (Craigmillar Park) against Ruth Brown (Mortonhall) and in the second semifinal Karen Ballantyne (Craigmillar Park) against Morag Wardrop (Turnhouse).

 All smiles on the first tee on a dry, still morning - just perfect for golf!

 

 Mairi Pollock recorded a 2 up win over  Ruth Brown in the first of the morning Semi-Finals in a very closely contested match which was real nip and tuck for most of the way round, never more than a hole in it.  Both Mairi and Ruth birdied the par 5 fifteenth hole to keep the match all square followed by another half on the sixteenth.  Mairi took advantage of a wayward tee shot from Ruth at the  short seventeenth hole and then holed a good putt on the eighteenth to ensure that the match was finished in regulation.  

In the other Semi-Final,  defending Champion Karen Ballantyne won by a margin of 6&5. Karen established an early lead with wins at the first three holes, then winning the fifth and sixth followed by birdieing the ninth to turn 6 up. Karen recorded a lot of solid pars whilst Morag's ball just didn't seem to want the bottom of the cup .... with the exception of a fine birdie at the long eleventh hole. However, Karen's steady play saw the match finish at the thirteenth.
The Final is therefore an all Craigmillar Park contest between Mairi and Karen, pictured below before teeing off:

CHAMPIONSHIP SEMIFINAL LINE UP NOW KNOWN

The Semi-Finals and Final of our ESVLGA Championship take place on Saturday 25th July at Haddington Golf Club, and spectators will be very welcome. The semifinal line-up is now known:
10 a.m. Mairi Pollock  (Craigmillar Park)  vs  Ruth Brown  (Mortonhall)
10.07 a.m.   Karen Ballantyne (Craigmillar Park) vs Morag Wardrop (Turnhouse)

In order to reach this stage of the Championship Draw, the story of the quarter-finals was as follows:

Mairi Pollock came through a very close  semifinal against Dulcie Barnes (Gullane Ladies). There was never much in this match  with both players scoring well and a lot of halved holes.  Dulcie was the first to win a hole (at the 6th) with the 8th and 9th holes being exchanged, leaving Dulcie one up at the turn. Mairi won the 12th to take it back to all square and then won the 15th and 17th to take her first lead of the match and progress to the semifinals. Mairi's next opponent is Ruth Brown who had a more comfortable quarter-final win against Cynthia Guthrie (Gullane Ladies) by the margin of    6 & 5.


On the other side of the draw, a very close tussle between Karen Ballantyne, our defending Champion, and Anne Brownie (Gullane Ladies) went all the way to the 18th green.  The first few holes were halved in par before Karen eased to a lead of three after nine holes. Karen made an excellent par save at the 10th after being in the fairway bunker off the tee to halve the hole and Anne failed to capitalise on a good position at the par 3 14th hole to remain three down. This seemed to spur Anne on as she won the next three holes to level the match standing on the 18th tee only to see her putt narrowly fail to drop on the 18th green, leaving Karen to hole hers and secure the 1 up win.  Karen's opponent  is Morag Wardrop who won her quarter final against Pamela Williamson of Baberton. This tie started off very evenly balanced and was nip and tuck for the first eight holes before Morag won five holes in a row  to go dormie five up. In deteriorating weather ( i.e. heavy rain!!) and with a sore wrist, Pamela conceded the tie to Morag and both players were relieved to get out of the downpour!!!


The Final will be played at 3pm. Good luck to all the semi-finalists.

SUMMER MEETING AND CHAMPIONSHIP QUALIFYING

What a lovely summer's day for our Summer Meeting at Haddington! Comments of "remembering how to play golf without gale force winds" and "how nice to feel some warmth again" were reflected in some hot scoring!  Haddington GC was in good condition with the "lighter" rough deceptively tough to play from whilst once again the sloping greens caused a few mis-reads and resulting cries of anguish.

Several scores to match the beautiful weather were posted with ten players equal to or better than par. The best net score came from Jean Bryden with a fantastic 65. Playing off  a handicap of 22, that was 8 below the CSS so welcome to Silver Division, Jean. In Silver Division, Mairi Pollock posted the best gross and net scores with a 78 scratch, net 69 (so that will be a handicap reduction for Mairi  too).  Mairi is therefore leading qualifier in the Championship. Very well done to both for such good scoring.   A summary of the leading scores follows below:

Silver Division : Net Scores
Mairi Pollock           Craigmillar Park       69
Janet Fairweather     Musselburgh            70  (bih)
Morag Wardrop       Turnhouse                 70  (bih)
Dulcie Barnes           Gullane Ladies        70
Marion Glauch         Mortonhall               72   (bih)
Sandra Dickson        Mortonhall               72   (bih)
Ruth Brown              Mortonhall               72

Bronze Division :  Net Scores
Jean Bryden              Dundas Park            65
Christine Reid           Kilspindie               74

Scratch Scores
Mairi Pollock           Craigmillar Park       78
Morag Wardrop        Turnhouse                79 (bih)
Karen Ballantyne      Craigmillar Park      79 (bih)
Ruth Brown              Mortonhall               79
Cynthia Guthrie        Gullane Ladies         80 (bih)
Janet Fairweather     Musselburgh             80 (bih)  (*)
Anne Brownie          Gullane Ladies         80  (best last 6)
Pamela Williamson  Baberton                   80  (best last hole)
Dulcie Barnes           Gullane Ladies         80
(*) Unavailable for matchplay.
The Draw for the Championship Matchplay Knockout is posted under Draws.

The CSS was 73 (equal to SSS/Par).  Scores have been sent to the CDH this evening but if you played under your handicap or had a stableford adjustment you should cut your own handicap until your Home Club has been able to process your handicap reduction.

The full results may  be viewed at Masterscoreboard using this link : Results

NB  a mobile phone was found in the carpark, probably a Murrayfield member so if you think it is yours please contact Anne Brownie

EAST DIVISION WIN ELISE DUNCAN TROPHY MATCH VS WEST VETS

The annual scratch match between the East and West Divisions of the SVLGA for the  Elise Duncan Trophy took place on Tuesday 2^nd June at Mortonhall Golf Club.  The West had held the upper hand the last three years and despite fielding a very strong team in 2015, our East Vets team members rose to the occasion and posted a 6 to 3 victory in regaining the Elise Duncan Trophy.


 Our winning team is pictured below with Captain Anne Brownie holding the Trophy.

Apologies for the quality of the above photo

More (sharper) photos of players from both sides and the scenic Mortonhall golf course may be viewed from this  link to photos .

The unseasonable windy and cold weather made for challenging conditions out on the golf course but the overnight rain had cleared away and the sun shone as seen in many of the photos.  Fortified with delicious home made scones, the two teams played out some very competitive matches and some sparkling golf was on show despite the blustery conditions. As is so often the case matches are decided by how well the putter is working and, for the most part, our East players fared better on the true but tricky  greens although good putts were holed on both sides.
There were four halved matches, one win for the West and four wins for the East.   In fact, after the first six matches, it was evenly poised at three points apiece  but the East won the last three games to close out the 6-3 win.  (Full results follow below.)  
 A very competitive and enjoyable day’s golf was rounded off with a lovely meal in the Mortonhall  Clubhouse where Marion Stewart, West Vets Captain,  presented Anne Brownie with the Elise Duncan Trophy.

RESULTS (East players first)

Anne Hanson ( Glencorse) lost to Lesley Lloyd  (Hayston)  by 3 &2

Noreen Fenton (Dunbar) halved with Gillian Kyle (East Renfrewshire)

Lesley Johnstone (Gullane Ladies) halved with Liz Stewart ( Greenburn)

Jennifer Bryans (Harburn) halved with Carol Whyte (Milngavie)

Pamela Williamson (Baberton) won 4 & 2 over May Hughes (Lanark)

Hazel Saunders ( Gullane Ladies) halved with Jane Finnie (Troon)

Anne Brownie (Gullane Ladies) won 6 & 5 over Sheena McDonald (Milngavie)

Jane Herd (Musselburgh)  won 1 up over Anna Telfer (Milngavie)

Ruth Brown (Mortonhall) won 2 & 1 over Lorraine Campbell (Cardross)

EAST WIN LIZ MISKIMMIN FRIENDSHIP QUAICH

What an enjoyable day up in St Andrews!  Great fun, good golf (with lots of birdies and even eagles!), wonderful company and fellowship,  lovely  food  and ………………..

a four to three win for East Vets against the Midlands Vets. 

(Full results at the end of this report.)

Pictured above is the winning East Vets Team with Captain Anne Brownie holding the Liz Miskimmin Friendship Quaich, followed by a photo of both  teams. 

Other photos  can be viewed by clicking here
This annual match between these two SVLGA Divisions was played over the Jubilee Course in St Andrews on 19^th May 2015. The strong North West wind  made a few holes play very long but then helped on others with players on both sides (Tricia Chillas of Midlands and Mairi Pollock of East) recording eagles on par 5s. Some  wonderful shot-making was on display and  several matches could have gone either way before one player pulled away whilst in others substantial leads were eaten into, keeping the outcome uncertain for a bit longer. Linda Grieve and Ruth Brown both recorded good 5 & 4 wins for the East whereas the first two matches were won by Dawn Butchart and Elsie Hutcheon for  Midlands : the match was delicately poised at two wins each.

Cynthia Guthrie then claimed Game 4 for the East at much the same time as Carol Brown lost her tussle with Tricia Chillas making it three apiece.  At this point it became known that the East would retain the Trophy as Mairi Pollock displaying a wonderful touch around the greens had gone to dormie four up against Katherine Keir.  Nonetheless it was a nail-biting last few holes to see whether Mairi could secure the outright  win for the East with Katherine mounting a valiant fightback, taking the game to the 18^th green.

There was just time for a quick few photos outside the Links Clubhouse before a hail storm  came whipping through. As seen from the flyaway hairstyles in these last photos (follow link above), it really was pretty windy even though the sun did come out on occasion! After the photo-shoot a delicious meal was enjoyed in the Links Clubhouse to round off a day of  competitive  yet friendly matches  in  the spirit of the Liz Miskimmin Friendship Quaich.  Thanks go to Midlands Captain, Bev Brown, for her excellent organisation of the 2015 Match.

Individual results (East names first):
Sue Penman (Gullane Ladies) lost to Dawn Butchart (Strathmore)  2 down
Hazel Saunders (Gullane Ladies) lost to Elsie Hutcheon(Ladybank) by 4 & 3
Linda Grieve (Musselburgh)  won  vs  Gillian Wallace (Blairgowrie) by 5 & 4
Cynthia Guthrie (Gullane Ladies) won  vs Fiona Hill (Crail) by 2 & 1
Ruth Brown (Mortonhall)  won vs Shelagh Quinn (Stirling) by 5 & 4
Carol Brown (Mortonhall) lost to Tricia Chillas by 3 & 2
Mairi Pollock (Craigmillar Park) won vs Katherine (Elie)  2 up

SUMMER MEETING DRAW / HASTINGS TROPHY / MATCH UPDATES

This is a busy time of our golfing season! What a shame that so many games are being played in cold, windy conditions. Can it really be that our Summer Meeting is only three weeks away?  Let's hope that the jet stream bringing all this cold air to Scotland changes direction soon.

 Meantime the Draw for the Summer Meeting at Haddington GC on Tuesday 9th June can be found under "Draws"; this is our Championship Qualifying round with the matchplay to be played in July (The Semifinals and Final are all to take place on Saturday 25th July with the quarterfinals to be played in the two preceding weeks by arrangement.)

In conjunction with our three meetings this year, a new Trophy is being played for : The Hastings Trophy. This rather lovely trophy (see picture) has kindly been presented by Isobel Hastings and all the winner needs is one good round - a better net score than her peers. However, all you new or younger Vets please note that this trophy is reserved for Vets over 75 years. We need to know who is eligible so if you are or if you know of someone who is, do let Anne Brownie or Katherine Thomson know.

Our annual match against the British Seniors Men took place on a chilly May day at Elie Golf Club. Despite the cold wind, both sides thoroughly enjoyed this sociable yet competitive event. Our East Vets hopes were raised when the first two foursomes went our way but then the men won the remaining four games resulting in an overall 2- 4 loss. Next year ............... !

The match against the Midlands Vets takes place on Tuesday 19th May in St Andrews for the Liz Miskimmin Fellowship Quaich. Our team of   Sue Penman, Hazel Saunders, Linda Grieve, Cynthia Guthrie, Ruth Brown, Carol Brown and Mairi Pollock will be trying to ensure that the Quaich remains in the hands of the East Vets.  Good luck ladies.

The team to play the West Vets for the Elise Duncan Trophy has also been selected and will be announced on this site shortly before the match takes place on 2nd June.  Teams to play in the Foursomes Match vs the West and the Greensomes Match vs the Borders and ladies in the appropriate handicap ranges will be receiving reminders to indicate if they would be interested in playing.

SPRING MEETING AT GULLANE

Seventy eight East Vets members took part in the Spring Meeting over Gullane No. 3 course. Several ladies posted sub-par scores: good enough to put (putt?)a spring in your step as well as feeling that Spring is indeed arriving with a bit of warmth in the air!

As usual on No. 3 Course if your ball was above the hole, you can be faced with a tricky, slippery putt so there were the usual tales of woe about putts that ran on too far as well as how scores were wrecked by bunkers impossible to get out of!  However, some found the putting much easier than others with 11 twos being recorded, and three of these by one player : Vivien Mitchell of Lochend. Well done to Vivien and also to Hazel Saunders ( 2 twos), Dulcie Barnes, Zandra Mathieson, Clare Bowe, Irene Stewart, Sally Brian and Mary Richardson.

Two separate CSS calculations had to be done due to number of Gullane members participating. However,  both calculations resulted in a CSS of 69 (equivalent to SSS) meaning that whether a member of Gullane or a visitor the CSS was the same . The full scores have been uploaded to the CDH so that handicaps will be updated by Home Clubs from the CDH. A few ladies will therefore have handicap reductions as a result of their good scores posted on our leaderboard below.  Congratulations to all who played to their handicap or in their buffer zone but especially well done to the following who played below the CSS,:

Silver Nett Scores

1 Dulcie Barnes                           74  (10)  net 64
2. Denise Mitchell                       80 (14)   net 66  bih
3. Vivien Mitchell                       83  (17)  net 66
4. Louise Campbell                     83   (16)  net 67 bih
5. Zandra Mathieson                   81   (14)   net 67
6. Sandra Dickson                       88  (19)   net 69  bih
7. Frances McFadzean                 80  (11)  net  69


Bronze Nett Scores

1.Christine Reid                          88 (23)   net 65
2. Jane Browitt                            94 (24)   net 70 bih
3. Jill Millar                                 93 (23)   net 70


Congratulations to our Silver and Bronze Division winners, Dulcie and Christine, on their super scores.

Scratch Scores

Four members returned scratch scores in the 70s:
Dulcie Barnes 74, Anne Brownie 76, Hazel Saunders 77 and Ruth Brown 79.

GOOD LUCK TO OUR SCOTTISH VETS TEAM AT DUNBAR GC

Captained by East Vet Noreen Fenton, our Scottish Vets team for the match against the Irish Seniors for the Mary McKenna Perpetual Trophy at Dunbar on Sunday 19th and Monday 20th April is as follows...

Alison Bartlett (Highland)
Lorna Bennett (Midland)
Gillian Kyle (West)
Lesley Lloyd (West)
Lorna McKinlay (Midland)
Anne Ryan (Highland)
Mary Smith (Highland)
Sheena Wood (North)

Tee-off times at Dunbar are 
Practice Round  Saturday 18th April, (2.00 – 3.30)
Day 1 (Fourball) Sunday 19th April  (10.30 – 11.30)
Day 2 (Singles)  Monday 20th April  (8.45 – 10.00). 

Spectators will be most welcome!

NEARING THE START OF THE 2015 GOLF SEASON

Not long now until the new golf season is under way!  Let's hope we get fair weather for our various competitions and matches!


The Spring Meeting Draw has been made and has been emailed to the entered competitors  ( a good entry of 81 members). A copy has been posted on this site under the "Draws" button (top left, below the photo on this site) - scroll down the text to find and click on the link under the heading of  "Meetings".


The matchplay knockout draws have also been done and will be emailed out to competitors on Monday 30th March after which these will also be posted on this website (again using the "Draws" button for access).


Notes relating to our Medal and Matchplay competitions have also been posted under "Draws" for ease of  finding useful information regarding conditions of competition.


Following the agreement at the end of last year which was ratified at the AGM, lists of contact phone numbers and email addresses will be shared with members to make it easier to arrange ties (or other games). These will be issued to all members, alongside distribution of the matchplay draws.

SMILES AND SUNSHINE

On a gloriously clear and sunny day, the views from Craigielaw Clubhouse on Monday 9th February were wonderful - let's hope that the sun shines like that on our competitions in 2015!!!


The now annual ESVLGA Coffee Morning proved just as popular as the first one last year with 57 ladies attending.  The music to accompany our speakers' talks this year ranged from Abba's SOS to Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake : an eclectic mix.  Gillian Kirkwood and Anne Brownie provided an entertaining insight into what goes on behind the scenes when refereeing golf tournaments.  A case of always expect the unexpected - especially when it comes to TV camera buggies and swans! 


Lots of laughter and fun catching up with fellow members are the memories of the day.


For ladies who were unable to attend, the following "business" items were covered:
1. A reminder to ensure fixture cards and diaries are updated to reflect the change of date for our Championship Semis and Final to (25th July) and the venue for our AGM on 16th November will be Gullane Members' Clubhouse.
2. Polo shirts - our ESVLGA mint colour is back in stock at Wilkies.  Dulcie Barnes has a supply of discount vouchers entitling purchase at the special rate of £12.79.  Please contact Dulcie if you want a voucher, otherwise members wishing to buy a polo shirt can go to the North Berwick Wilkies branch where staff are most familiar with our special discount.

COFFEE MORNING AT CRAIGIELAW ON MONDAY 9TH FEBRUARY

Following on from the success of last year's inaugural Coffee Morning, the 2015 ESVLGA Coffee Morning will be held at Craigielaw GC (as last year)  for all members who wish to attend. 

Time : 10.15 am for 10.30 am on Monday 9th February 2015

Cost : £3

Format: Coffee (or tea) and biscuits on arrival

A short talk with a whimsical look behind the scenes of being a Rules Official will be given by Gillian Kirkwood and Anne Brownie (in a double act!).

 Coffee top-ups will be available after the talk with plenty of time to mingle and catch up with fellow members.

As indicated in the email being sent to all members with information on the Coffee Morning and the 2015 Fixture Card distribution, it would be helpful to know who wishes to come along simply so that we can give an indication of likely numbers of attendees to Craigielaw caterers. Please therefore send an email reply to the ESVLGA Match Secretary email address (esvlga@hubbubknowhow.com) by 2nd February if you intend to be there.