Scott Larkin leading vouchers' winner in
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North-east Alliance 2009-2010 season

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Banchory's Scott Larkin, pictured by Cal Carson Golf Agency, who played the American college circuit for four years as a student at the College of Charleston, was the leading "money-winner" in the 2009-2010 North-east Golfers Alliance season just ended.
As he is an amateur, with +2 of a handicap, Larkin, of course, cannot accept cash prizes. Instead he collected £600 of prize vouchers from secretary Ron Menzies during the season which had several Wednesday competitions cancelled because of bad weather - or else the Banchory man might well have got much nearer the £1,000 mark.
Ian Bratton, the Newburn on Ythan club professional, was the next most successful competitor with £490 cash winnings.
Larkin also headed the Scratch Order of Merit with an average weekly score of -1.4 in relation to CSS.
Many thanks to Ron Menzies for compiling the following statistics:

MONEY/VOUCHERS LIST
a denotes amateur voucher,
p denotes professional cash
1 Scott Larkin (Banchory) a £670.
2 Ian Bratton (Newburgh) p £490.
T3 Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) a £420.
T3 Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) a £420.
5 Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) a £370.
6 Paul Cormack (Inchmarlo) p £310.
7 Graham Gordon (unatt) p £300.
8 Laura Murray (Alford) a £276.
9 Stewart Pert (Huntly) a £258.
10 Derek Randall (Banchory) a £256.
11 Steven Kennedy (Craibstone) a £250.
12 Mike Booth (Kemnay) a £217.
13 Norman Stewart (Northern) a £213.
T14 Craig Carnegie (Kemnay) a £200.
T14 Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) a £200.
16 David Law (Hazlehead) a £190.
17 Jim Scott (Peterculter) a £188.
18 Michael Rogers (Kemnay) a £186.
19 Robert Lamb (Newmachar) a £185.
20 Alister Petrie (Oldmeldrum) a £181.

ORDER OF MERIT (Scratch)
Average weekly score in relation to CSS
1 Scott Larkin (Banchory) -1.4
2 Ian Bratton (Newburgh) -0.6.
3 Kris Nicol (Fraserburgh) -0.4.
4 Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) 0.2
5 Adam Dunton (McDonald Ellon) 0.7.
6 Jordan Findlay (Fraserburgh) 2.0.
7 Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead) 2.3.
8 Stewart Pert (Huntly) 2.4.
9 Fergus Bisset (Banchory) 2.7.
10 George Paterson (Northern) 2.9.

ORDER OF MERIT (Class 1)
+Average net score in relation to CSS
1 Kevin Duncan (McDonald Ellon) (scr) 0.2.
2 Sandy Pirie (Hazlehead) (2) 0.3.
3 Les Fowler (Royal Aberdeen) (6) 0.3.
T4 Stewart Pert (Huntly) (2) 0.4
T4 James Duncan (Newburgh) (4) 0.4.
6 Paul McIntosh (Newburgh) (4) 0.5
T7 Scott Larkin (Banchory) (+2) 0.6.
T7 Robert Lamb (Newmachar) (3) 0.6.
T7 Charles Cassie (Nigg Bay) (5) 0.6.
T10 Fergus Bisset (Banchory) (2) 0.7
T10 Brian Harper (Newburgh) (6) 0.7
ORDER OF MERIT (Class 2)
+Average net score in relation to CSS
1 Steven Kennedy (Craibstone) (11) -0.2.
2 Mike Booth (Kemnay) (19) 0.0.
3 Jim Scott (Peterculter) (10) 1.3.
4 Derek Townsley (Peterculter) (13) 1.4.
T5 Raymond Brown (Craibstone) (12) 1.6.
T5 Derek Randall (Banchory) (14) 1.6
6 Michael Rogers (Kemnay) (13) 2.3.
8 Norman Stewart (Northernb) (12) 2.7.
9 David Bisset (Banchory) (9) 2.8.
T10 Ian Strachan (Royal Aberdeen) (11) 2.9.
T10 Gerry Kelly (Peterculter) (14) 2.9

So how about Summer Alliance fixtures?

Colin Farquharson writes: As the North-east Alliance season ended with the finals of the foursomes competitions at Murcar Links GC on Friday and players said their farewells until the start of the 2010-2011 season in September, there were one or two who speculated that they would not mind it if the North-east Alliance season continued through the summer months.
Secretary Ron Menzies was quick to put a damper on such idle talk:
"The clubs are quite glad to have us during the late autumn, winter and early spring months on the Alliance terms of so much per competitor, which is considerably less than the visitor's green fee. But it would be a different story in the summer months when the difference between what the Alliance pays and what a host club's visitor's green rate is would be much greater."
Just to test the water to see if Ron Menzies is correct in his assumption, if there are any North-east golf clubs out there who would be prepared to host an Alliance fixture in the so-called summer months at a "winter rate" with regard to green fees, E-mail me at Colin@scottishgolfview.com