Munro Ferries and Billy McBain with their North Alliance championship trophies. Images by courtesy of Robin Wilson.Munro Ferries retains North Alliance Scratch Quaich
By ROBIN WILSON
Tain's Munro Ferries travelled to Reay last Sunday for the final North Alliance fixture of the season with a win at Golspie 24 hours earlier still showing on his belt and in Caithness he collected his trophy as the scratch leading player of the season.
The “slotted in” Golspie fixture on Saturday was not a success. Because of so many postponements of what has always been a popular venue it was decided to fit in a Saturday visit to Golspie before the season ended the following day but fewer than two dozen members bothered to turned up.
A 73 from Tain's Ferries easily took his number of scratch wins up to five from ten outings and left his 72 hole gross aggregate intact for Reay the next day where he retained the scratch Quaich for another year.
The member who benefited most from the Golspie fixture was Billy McBain from Durness. The Fishery Officer at Kinlochbervie was still requiring a mandatory fourth card to enter the race for the Mackintosh Salver (handicap scores), having already recorded two net 65s at Tarbat and Dornoch and a 71 at Durness.
McBain fished out a net 68 from Golspie to win his section and bring his 72 hole total to 269, now catching and overtaking the trophy holder Seann Sutherland (Bonar- Bridge/Ardgay) by four shots before the play began at Reay.
Reay's entry total was back to the season's average of over fifty, all enjoying the best day of Spring that permitted play for the first time in short sleeves and a clutch of excellent scores were returned, ten of 75 and better, and the best from the Alliance Secretary, Tony Gill of Brora
Four-handicapper Gill was denied a scratch success by Ferries in the opening fixture of the season at Durness, but satisfied himself with the leading net return in Class 1. At Reay, after a steady outward nine holes of 36, his card come to life towards the end of his round.
Gill was one under par over the first three inward holes before losing a ball from a wayward drive at the shortest par-4 on the course, the 13th, and taking a double bogey 6 before an eagle 3 on the next hole. The eagle ignited a run of 3s that did not end until the final green, giving him an inward 32 and 18 hole card of 68 (36/32).
At the same 14th hole where Gill went up a gear Ferries's game dropped down a gear when he played from the wrong tee to incur a two-shot penalty to end up with a double bogey 7. The +2 left-hander was back clubhouse with a one over par 70 (36/34), but he was not in second place. This was already taken by Wick's John Harper who made a score of 33 on the outward half with successive birdies on the sixth and seventh holes and after being only slightly more successful than Ferries on the 14th, a single bogey 6, got home in one over par 36 for 69 and second place.
Don A. Mackay, returning to the Reay fold, showed what a valuable asset he can be to any club with a gross 70, from equal halves of 35 and a share of third place with clubmate John O'Brien and Ferries. O'Brien's gross 70 (36/34) turned into the leading net 65 in Class 1 while Mackay's 70 was elevated to the second scratch prize.
O'Brien's net 65 was matched by four handicapper Harper but in the net card play-off the Wick member came out second best. A scramble of three net 68s followed from three Ross-shire members, Tain pair Alec Gunn and Steve Holmes and Tarbat's Hamish Skinner. After net inward half comparisons, the order was Gunn 31, Holmes 34 and Skinner 34.5.
The home players kept stacking up the net scores in Class 2 which would eventually see their club win the Alliance Shield for club team scores. Leading the way for the Hosts in Class 2 was their past captain Ian Ross, finishing with a birdie 2 for a super gross 76 net 65 followed closely by Gavin Gunn (10) 68, Gunn going behind with a bogey 4 at the 18th.
The homesters were followed by Durness pair Alistair McCowan (12) 70 and John Mackenzie (16) 71 the letter on the better inward half from Shaun Ashe (Brora) (13)71.
Billy McBain having taken his Salver winning net total to 269 at Golspie and not change after his Reay score then saw a new runner up emerge in the shape of the individual scratch winner, Gill. The Secretary's scratch 68 reduced to a net 64 wiping nine shots from his previous total and when combined with his three other best scores, 65 at Durness, 70 at Tarbat and 72 at Brora he came up with a new total of 271 to rob the Salver holder Seann Sutherland of second place by a shot.
Thurso's Alan Swanson was not in the frame until this month but after his 68 at Tarbat to add to his 69 at Dornoch last November he completed his March venue scoring with a two74s( Wick and Reay) for 285 and take the scratch runner's up place behind Ferries.
Brora with just the minimum four members at Reay put up a stout defence of the team trophy with a total of 275, Tony Gill 64,Robin Wilson 69, Shaun Ashe 71 and Peter Etheridge 71 for 275 but the home four, Ian Ross 65, John O'Brien 65, Don Mackay 68 and Gavin Gunn 68 for a total of 271 returned the team trophy to the Reay Clubhouse for the first time since season 1998/99.
The Alliance season completed there is the opportunity for 36 holes of competitive play in Sutherland this weekend when Golspie and Brora open their summer season with walk-on open competitions. Time can be booked in advance for Golspie on Saturday and Brora on Sunday.
ALLIANCE RESULTS
AT GOLSPIE
Scratch
M. Ferries (Tain)73. P. Sangster (Thurso) 75.
Handicap
Class 1 – S. R. Sutherland (BBA) (6) 71. A/ J. Gill (Brora) (4) 72. A. Gunn (Tain) (6) 73 Class 2 – B. McBain(Durness) (19) 68. S. Bremner (Thurso) (17) 73. S. Mackay (Durness) (15) 73.
AT REAY
Scratch
A. J. Gill (Brora) 68. J. Harper (Wick) 69. D. A. Mackay (Reay), M. Ferries (Tain), J. O'Brien (Reay) 70. S. Holmes (Tain) 72. A. Gunn (Tain), R. W. Taylor (Wick), W. Murray (Wick) 74. B. Ronald (Thurso) 75. R. J. Wilson (Brora), C. Burness (Thurso) 76. R. Barker (Wick) ,H. Skinner (Tarbat) 77.
Handicap
Class 1 – J. O'Brien (Reay) (5), J. Harper (Wick) (4) 65. A. Gunn (Tain) (6), S. Holmes (Tain) (4), H. Skinner (Tarbat) (9) 68.
Class 2 – I. Ross (Reay) (11) 65. G. Gunn (Reay) (10) 68. A. McCowan (Durness) (12) 70. J. Mackenzie (Durness )(16) 71.
JIMMY GUNN'S AMERICAN HOLE IN ONE
Royal Dornoch's exile Professional, Jimmy Gunn celebrated his second hole-in-one since joining the Gateway Satellite tour in America. Just a little over a year after his first American hole-in-one at Litchfield Park in Arizona Gunn scored his second ace on his way to victory in the Cancer Awareness Research and Education Pro-Am at the desert Mountain and Country Club in Scotsdale. He aced the par three 166 yard 12th hole on his way to an individual wining 65 and at the same time helping his amateur team to victory.
By ROBIN WILSON
Tain's Munro Ferries travelled to Reay last Sunday for the final North Alliance fixture of the season with a win at Golspie 24 hours earlier still showing on his belt and in Caithness he collected his trophy as the scratch leading player of the season.
The “slotted in” Golspie fixture on Saturday was not a success. Because of so many postponements of what has always been a popular venue it was decided to fit in a Saturday visit to Golspie before the season ended the following day but fewer than two dozen members bothered to turned up.
A 73 from Tain's Ferries easily took his number of scratch wins up to five from ten outings and left his 72 hole gross aggregate intact for Reay the next day where he retained the scratch Quaich for another year.
The member who benefited most from the Golspie fixture was Billy McBain from Durness. The Fishery Officer at Kinlochbervie was still requiring a mandatory fourth card to enter the race for the Mackintosh Salver (handicap scores), having already recorded two net 65s at Tarbat and Dornoch and a 71 at Durness.
McBain fished out a net 68 from Golspie to win his section and bring his 72 hole total to 269, now catching and overtaking the trophy holder Seann Sutherland (Bonar- Bridge/Ardgay) by four shots before the play began at Reay.
Reay's entry total was back to the season's average of over fifty, all enjoying the best day of Spring that permitted play for the first time in short sleeves and a clutch of excellent scores were returned, ten of 75 and better, and the best from the Alliance Secretary, Tony Gill of Brora
Four-handicapper Gill was denied a scratch success by Ferries in the opening fixture of the season at Durness, but satisfied himself with the leading net return in Class 1. At Reay, after a steady outward nine holes of 36, his card come to life towards the end of his round.
Gill was one under par over the first three inward holes before losing a ball from a wayward drive at the shortest par-4 on the course, the 13th, and taking a double bogey 6 before an eagle 3 on the next hole. The eagle ignited a run of 3s that did not end until the final green, giving him an inward 32 and 18 hole card of 68 (36/32).
At the same 14th hole where Gill went up a gear Ferries's game dropped down a gear when he played from the wrong tee to incur a two-shot penalty to end up with a double bogey 7. The +2 left-hander was back clubhouse with a one over par 70 (36/34), but he was not in second place. This was already taken by Wick's John Harper who made a score of 33 on the outward half with successive birdies on the sixth and seventh holes and after being only slightly more successful than Ferries on the 14th, a single bogey 6, got home in one over par 36 for 69 and second place.
Don A. Mackay, returning to the Reay fold, showed what a valuable asset he can be to any club with a gross 70, from equal halves of 35 and a share of third place with clubmate John O'Brien and Ferries. O'Brien's gross 70 (36/34) turned into the leading net 65 in Class 1 while Mackay's 70 was elevated to the second scratch prize.
O'Brien's net 65 was matched by four handicapper Harper but in the net card play-off the Wick member came out second best. A scramble of three net 68s followed from three Ross-shire members, Tain pair Alec Gunn and Steve Holmes and Tarbat's Hamish Skinner. After net inward half comparisons, the order was Gunn 31, Holmes 34 and Skinner 34.5.
The home players kept stacking up the net scores in Class 2 which would eventually see their club win the Alliance Shield for club team scores. Leading the way for the Hosts in Class 2 was their past captain Ian Ross, finishing with a birdie 2 for a super gross 76 net 65 followed closely by Gavin Gunn (10) 68, Gunn going behind with a bogey 4 at the 18th.
The homesters were followed by Durness pair Alistair McCowan (12) 70 and John Mackenzie (16) 71 the letter on the better inward half from Shaun Ashe (Brora) (13)71.
Billy McBain having taken his Salver winning net total to 269 at Golspie and not change after his Reay score then saw a new runner up emerge in the shape of the individual scratch winner, Gill. The Secretary's scratch 68 reduced to a net 64 wiping nine shots from his previous total and when combined with his three other best scores, 65 at Durness, 70 at Tarbat and 72 at Brora he came up with a new total of 271 to rob the Salver holder Seann Sutherland of second place by a shot.
Thurso's Alan Swanson was not in the frame until this month but after his 68 at Tarbat to add to his 69 at Dornoch last November he completed his March venue scoring with a two74s( Wick and Reay) for 285 and take the scratch runner's up place behind Ferries.
Brora with just the minimum four members at Reay put up a stout defence of the team trophy with a total of 275, Tony Gill 64,Robin Wilson 69, Shaun Ashe 71 and Peter Etheridge 71 for 275 but the home four, Ian Ross 65, John O'Brien 65, Don Mackay 68 and Gavin Gunn 68 for a total of 271 returned the team trophy to the Reay Clubhouse for the first time since season 1998/99.
The Alliance season completed there is the opportunity for 36 holes of competitive play in Sutherland this weekend when Golspie and Brora open their summer season with walk-on open competitions. Time can be booked in advance for Golspie on Saturday and Brora on Sunday.
ALLIANCE RESULTS
AT GOLSPIE
Scratch
M. Ferries (Tain)73. P. Sangster (Thurso) 75.
Handicap
Class 1 – S. R. Sutherland (BBA) (6) 71. A/ J. Gill (Brora) (4) 72. A. Gunn (Tain) (6) 73 Class 2 – B. McBain(Durness) (19) 68. S. Bremner (Thurso) (17) 73. S. Mackay (Durness) (15) 73.
AT REAY
Scratch
A. J. Gill (Brora) 68. J. Harper (Wick) 69. D. A. Mackay (Reay), M. Ferries (Tain), J. O'Brien (Reay) 70. S. Holmes (Tain) 72. A. Gunn (Tain), R. W. Taylor (Wick), W. Murray (Wick) 74. B. Ronald (Thurso) 75. R. J. Wilson (Brora), C. Burness (Thurso) 76. R. Barker (Wick) ,H. Skinner (Tarbat) 77.
Handicap
Class 1 – J. O'Brien (Reay) (5), J. Harper (Wick) (4) 65. A. Gunn (Tain) (6), S. Holmes (Tain) (4), H. Skinner (Tarbat) (9) 68.
Class 2 – I. Ross (Reay) (11) 65. G. Gunn (Reay) (10) 68. A. McCowan (Durness) (12) 70. J. Mackenzie (Durness )(16) 71.
JIMMY GUNN'S AMERICAN HOLE IN ONE
Royal Dornoch's exile Professional, Jimmy Gunn celebrated his second hole-in-one since joining the Gateway Satellite tour in America. Just a little over a year after his first American hole-in-one at Litchfield Park in Arizona Gunn scored his second ace on his way to victory in the Cancer Awareness Research and Education Pro-Am at the desert Mountain and Country Club in Scotsdale. He aced the par three 166 yard 12th hole on his way to an individual wining 65 and at the same time helping his amateur team to victory.
Labels: Alliance
posted by Colin |
See story on its own page | Tuesday, March 23, 2010
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