DEATH OF WELL KNOWN SUTHERLAND GOLFER STUART SHAW

NORTH NEWS ROUND-UP
FROM ROBIN WILSON 

As the Brora and Royal Dornoch Golf Clubs prepare for their two biggest events of the season, The Clynelish Salver at Brora, begins Monday, and the Carnegie Shield at Royal Dornoch, the following Sunday,  the sad news came through on Tuesday of this week of the death in the Highland Hospice, Inverness of Stuart Shaw, a former winner of both competitions and many other events throughout the three northern counties over the past forty-five years.

Over a golfing career which began as an apprentice greenkeeper at Royal Dornoch, and a club member at one time or another of all four East Coast Clubs, Stuart originally from Helmsdale was a tenacious match-play and stroke -play competitor, I should know he beat me in two of his three Clynelish finals and he was a double winner of the Carnegie Shield. 

In stroke play he won the Royal Dornoch club championship several times and also the Silver Medal. He triumphed in Opens at Brora, Golspie and Dornoch and beyond and was Sutherland's County Champion on four occasions, his first in 1982. he won two Northern Counties Cup medals with Royal Dornoch in 1967 and 1988.

His swing could not be described as classic, it was individually created and moulded to suit the long hard fairways of Dornoch where his peers, if he had any? would attempt to carry the golf ball onto the greens with spin while Stuart was already on the green with a running seven iron. Before teeing of at Brora, Golspie or Dornoch in the next two weeks pause for a moment to remember Stuart, a character we are unlikely to see the like of again.

Bidding for a fourth Salver win at Brora next week is former member Iain Powell, now Murcar and also in his mind will be a hatrick of wins having triumphed in the last two years. Out to stop him is the Brora Head Greenkeeper, James MacBeath who after winning his seventh Clynelish Salver has not played for the past two years due to his work commitment on the Brora links. But due to the long dry spell there is not so much cutting to do between rounds this year and the Brora green's staff have been given permission to take part in the competition.

Brora Ladies go out of national competition.

Low handicappers Marlene Bokas and Lesley Beaney were the only two winners when a strong Murcar Links team visited Brora last weekend to fulfil a seventh round tie in the Mail on Sunday national club team competition.

For the first time in the competition Brora's other three players were all receiving strokes in the match play format from their Murcar opponents but Anne Clarke, Ann Robertson and Angela Grant were all beaten for the Club's long and successful run to come to an end, the final score Brora 2 Murcar Links 3.

 Royal Dornoch Golf Club captain George Gunn presents the Sinclair Trophy to John Godward (Murcar Links). Picture by Robin Wilson.

Sinclair Cup remains in North East

Sutherland's County Champion, Alex MacDonald came up just a shot short of reclaiming the Sinclair Cup for his home Dornoch club when he took second place behind first time winner John Godward (Murcar Links) at Royal Dornoch last Saturday.

While Godward returned almost identical cards of 75, 36 and 39 in round one followed up by 37 and 38 in round two, MacDonald's 75 and 76 contained a couple of costly errors, a double bogey seven at the ninth hole in round one and a double bogey six at the fourth in round two. Godward's day began with two opening birdies. A new trophy, the Taylor Bullock Salver, confined to local members was won for the first time by Alex MacDonald.

Inverness's David Joel split open the field in the first round with a one under par 69 coming home in 33 but he was unable to maintain his scratch position with a thirteen over par 83 in round two. His saving consolation a nett total of 148 (67 81) to win the first handicap voucher.

Holder of the cup, Bryan Innes (Murcar Links)  opened with a 79 and improved with a 74 to finish in fifth place while Ross-shire's County Champion, Alan Cameron (Fortrose and Rosemarkie) ended up in fourth place adding a 79 to his opening 73.

Results
Scratch 
CSS
Rd  1  Home and Away 75. 
Rd 2 Home and Away 76.

150 J Godward (Cruden Bay) 75  75.

151 A MacDonald (RDGC) 75 76, P Robb (Peterculter) 74 77. 

152 A Cameron (F and R) 73 79. 

153 B Innes (Murcar Links) 79 74. 

Handicap

D Joel (Inverness( 2) 148 (67 81), D Kilfara (Dunbar) (4) 152 (79 73), B Urquhart (RDGC) (4) (77 76), H Macrae( RDGC) (5) (75 78), C Mailley (RDGC) (0) (79 75). 

Best Scratch Round
C Sutherland (RDGC) 75. Best nett (R Garret (Falkirk) (5) 72.