DEESIDE, CRAIGIELAW JUNIORS IN SPAIN FOR INTER-CLUB EVENT

Deeside GC boys before their departure for Spain. Left to right: Lewys Anderson, Sean Hassard, Jamie Pryde, Calum Sutherland, Craig Lawrie. Kneeling: Benamin Henderson.

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Colin@scottishgolfview.com
The boys of Deeside Golf Club, winners of the Aberdeen and District Junior League Pennant last summer, and  the juniors (one girl in their team) of Craigielaw GC, are in Spain to compete in the Junior Team Home Nations Inter-club championship at Antequera Golf Club, Andalucia on Spain's Costa del Sol.
Today is the practice day. The tournament runs from tomorrow until Monday (April 2).
Ireland (Carton House and Mallow), England (West Essex and Bramshaw from Hampshire) and Wales (Celtic Manor and Mold) also have two club teams representing each of them in this match-play tournament.
Teams can have six or seven players. Deeside have six, Craigielaw seven.

Deeside GC team:
Lewys Anderson (Cults Academy) Handicap 4.
Sean Hassard (Westhill Academy) Handicap 8
Benjamin Henderson (Cults Academy). Handicap 6.
Craig Lawrie (Robert Gordon's College) Handicap scratch
Jamie Pryde (Cults Academy) Handicap 3
Calum Sutherland (Cults Academy) Handicap 6

Craigielaw GC team:
Marcus Cullen. Handicap 7.7
Ewan Donaldson. Handicap 1.2.
Jack Dow. Handicap 3.6.
Oliver Duffy. Handicap 5.
Willem Kerr. Handicap 1.7.
Gabrielle MacDonald. Handicap 1.6.
Lewis Ross. Handicap 9.1.

Deeside GC Director of Golf Frank Coutts, generous benefactor Paul Lawrie and club captain Neil Harper with the boys.

 Deeside are making their debut in the annual event. Craigielaw teams have appeared four times, winning the title once and being runners-up once. Gabrielle MacDonald will be making her third appearance. She played in he Scottish universities championships at Lossiemouth earlier this week.
Craigielaw officials estimate the trip costs the club around £5,000 all-in - but they think it is well worth it for a number of reasons. 
For Deeside it is a multi-sponsored trip with Deeside Golf Club paying the return flights to Malaga
The Paul Lawrie Foundation gave all the Deeside team members shirts and two dozen balls each. Paul Lawrie, who lives not all that far away from Deeside Golf Club, is an honorary member and his elder son Craig, who plays off scratch, has the lowest handicap in the team.
Deeside GC director of golf Frank Coutts gave the boys two shirts each.
Other sponsorships included support from Munro's Travel Agency and Deeside members Jim Sutherland and Brian Smith, covering travel bags, meeting the airlines charges for transporting golf clubs, etc.
To "repay" the club, the Deeside boys have been doing jobs around the Bieldside course, such as finding and digging up plugged balls on the club's driving range - an amazing 850 balls in the first hour search ... then another 750 on the second search. The third is expected to take the total of lost embedded balls from the driving range well over 2,000 mark.
The boys have also been helping in seeding divots on the course.
"It's the trip of a lifetime for the boys. I wish I was going with them!" said club captain Neil Harper. "The future of Deeside Golf Club lies in its junior section."
Junior convener Andrew Henderson said: "The club, Frank Coutts, Paul Lawrie and others have been very supportive of the boys."
In Spain, the eight teams are divided into two sections. The winners of each section will meet in the final. Because the countries are separated, it would be possible for Deeside to meet Craigielaw in the final as winners of the two sections. Fingers crossed!
The format is stroke-play match-play.
+If plans work out, we shall be carrying daily reports from the tournament