HUGH HUNTER'S CLACKMANNAN COUNTY NEWS

 Winning Alloa team (left to right). Andre Scotland, Andrew Main, David Milloy  Andrew Whitelaw (Team captain with trophy)  John McEwan, Ian Guthrie, Ian Ross Craig White. John   McEwan played in the first round but not later.

  ALLOA TAKE COUNTY FOURS TITLE

The Alloa Golf Club team made a great start to the season by taking the 2014 Clackmannan county foursomes title in some style. 
Over their home course, they recorded three emphatic wins, first over Alva, then Dollar, finally triumphing against Tulliallan in the final.
Tulliallan reached the final with wins over Tillicoultry and Braehead.

The competition was played in the usual format. Each golf club is represented by three couples playing match play foursomes over 18 holes with the aggregate of holes up and down deciding the winning team. 

The first match was the closest in the final, with Ian Guthrie and Craig White holding Tulliallan couple Steven Horne and John Maxwell to a square game.
It was close all the way with never more than one hole in it.   
The second and third Alloa couples had comfortable wins. Leads of three up and two  up respectively at the turn were increased on the homeward stretch.

Alloa team captain Andrew Whitelaw was delighted with the result.
“A great start from the boys, giving us high hopes of retaining the other county team trophies in 2014," he said.

RESULTS
Preliminary Round    
Alloa bt Alva, Tulliallan bt Tillicoultry

Semi-finals
Alloa bt Dollar 2 holes.
Tulliallan bt Braehead 9 holes.

Final
Alloa bt Tulliallan 9 holes         
 Alloa names first
Ian Guthrie and Craig White halved with Steven Horne and John Maxwell.
David Milloy and Andre Scotland bt Bob Stewart and Ian Boyd 4 up
Ian Ross and Andrew Main bt Stuart Raeburn and
Gordon Lyons 5 up.

                                                                              JUNIOR GOLF INITIATIVE

In many golf clubs, numbers in Junior Golf have been dropping, and the National “Clubgolf” initiative has been set up to address this.  In Clackmannanshire, the County Executive have been aware of the fall in numbers resulting in the cancellation of competitions, difficulties in team selections with the result that the Clackmannan county boys' championship has been postponed from its early season date till later in the golf season. 
It is therefore encouraging to see clubs setting up Junior Initiatives. The most recent one is at Alloa Golf Club. Masterminded by Alan Didcock with considerable help from a group of volunteers, Alloa has set up a five-week block of Junior Clubgolf coaching. 
Anyone aged 9 to 12 is invited along to try out golf. Equipment is supplied. There is a small cost but the coaching is free to children and grandchildren of members of Alloa Golf Club.   
Alan is enthusiastic about the programme
"With school summer holidays approaching, golf is a good pursuit over the local courses. Currently junior subscription levels are at a reasonable level.  We hope to see good support for the initiative which will be held at the practice ground of Alloa Golf Club on Thursdays and Fridays from the May 15 until the June 13.

Places are limited for these sessions, so those budding golfers who are interested should sign up early.  Alan can be contacted on 01259 760598.

                                                                                 LOCAL GOLFERS IN ACTION

The si-man  Clackmannan  county golf team, led by Darren Hulston, are off to Ranfurly Castle next weekend to compete in the Scottish area team championship. 
The 16 Area teams will play 36 holes stroke play and the best 8 teams go forward to the match play final stages. 
Best of luck to the Clackmanna team this year. They came very close to qualifying last year!