Spectacular new-look Turnberry almost 

 ready for its debut

FROM THE GOLF COURSE ARCHITECTURE MAGAZINE

By Adam Lawrence

The team at Turnberry is preparing to reopen the Ailsa course after a major refresh led by architect Martin Ebert, instigated after Donald Trump bought the resort two years ago. 
The project, for which construction was handled by Irish contractor SOL Golf, has seen every green on the Ailsa rebuilt, and several holes moved.
The highlight of the changes is the enhancement of Turnberry’s already famous coastal stretch of holes.
The iconic tee shot over the cliffs on the ninth hole has been retained, but the hole itself has been converted to a 235 yard par three, with the green located on the site of the former lighthousekeeper’s garden, thus removing the rather unsatifactory hog’s back fairway of the old ninth, which saw most tee shots carom into the rough.
The tenth hole too has seen extensive changes. Ebert has pushed the green back to the location of the former 11th tee complex, so the sea now laps behind the green as well as to the left. 
A new championship tee close to the lighthouse (which is being converted into a halfway house plus two ‘Presidential’ suites, expected to cost around £7,000 per night, including private butler service), make the hole into a par five, with an exciting diagonal carry of up to 280 yards over the sea from the back tee. 
Ebert has also restored Philip Mackenzie Ross’s huge scar bunker in the approach to the green, to threaten second shots.
Finally in this stretch, the architect has constructed a new par three 11th hole, with the tee to the right of the new the 10th green and the green tucked in above a series of rocky inlets and a small beach – the third consecutive hole on which golfers will face a sea carry from the tee.
 The hole was conceived before the 2009 Turnberry Open by Ebert and long-time course manager George Brown, who died last year. As an entirely new hole, this writer feels it needs a new name, and that it should be named after Brown, who did so much for Turnberry over so many years.
Elsewhere on the course the first hole has both a new tee complex and a new green, taking it from around 350 yards to over 420, while the par three fourth green has been pushed back and closer to the sea.
 Another major change is the par three sixth, reduced from 231 yards to 172, in order to free up space for the new 18th tee complex, which will give golfers a last sight of the sea, as it has been moved to the seawall dune, straightening the hole and lengthening it to 483 yards.

Unique heather gem putters for Royal Dornoch 

prizewinners to make 400 years' Celebration

NEWS RELEASE FROM ROYAL DORNOCH GCTo continue the Celebration of 400 years of Golf in Dornoch,Royal Dornoch Golf Club has commissioned a series of unique heather gem putters for the prizewinners of 17 club competitions and 17 open competitions. 
The first of these were presented on Saturday, April 30 to the winners of the Burghfield three-man team competition.The winners of the first three putters were John Mann (Craigielaw),  Gary Webb (Craigielaw) and Fraser Clark 
(Dunwhinny). 
Fraser Clark commented: “The putter is beautiful and something I will treasure for many years to come. I was unaware of the trophy and am truly delighted to be the first of the winners of the Memorial Heather Gem Putter.”Club Captain Jim Seatter said: "We wanted the winners of our competitions this year to have a lasting memory of their victory at Royal Dornoch in this special year and the putter is the idealmemento. 
"While they have to give the trophy back and will spend their prize voucher, the putter is something they will keep forever and each time they see it will remember their achievement and that they were part of an historic year for golf in Dornoch."The “Heather Gem” putter is made from natural heather stems. The heather is cleaned and then the stems are dyed and compressed into a solid block. This block is then cut into slices and shaped into individual pieces by skilled crafts people.
The piece is then inserted into the face of the putter. Everypiece is hand-made and original. No two are ever the same, making each of the Royal Dornoch Heather Gem Putters a unique prize for our 2016 winners.The winning team won by three shots from the Irish team of John O'Donoghue (Tipperary), Donal Daly (Tipperary) and Tim Kiely (Ballybunion). 
The other excitement from the competition was provided by local Royal Dornoch player Alexander MacDonald who had a hole in one on the 13th.
Heather Gem Putters will be presented to the winners of the following competitions in 2016.Ladies' Open Events Ladies Open Winner Ladies Silver Medal Ladies Pam Lovell Salver 3 Lady Team Winners Ladies Senior Open WinnerJuniors Donald Ross Junior Open WinnerMen's Open Events Burghfield 3 Man Team winners Sutherland County Cup Winner Robbie Grant Seniors Open Winner Duncan Murray Seniors Open Winner Sinclair Cup Winner Taylor Bullock Salver Winner G K MacKay Foursomes Winners Carnegie Shield Winner Davidson Trophy Winner Ellis Fraser Trophy Winner Whyte and MacKay Open Winner Fraser Shield Winner Gardner Trophy Open Winner

Scottish Golf Launches Nation’s Biggest 

 

Clubhouse with player of week prizes

 

NEWS RELEASE

An exciting new digital platform has been launched with the aim of creating Scotland’s biggest golfing clubhouse community.

 

The new Scottish Golf Members Clubhouse, part of www.scottishgolf.org, goes live this week giving the opportunity for club members across Scotland to compete against each other on a national basis for a Player of the Week prize at both handicap and scratch levels.

The national leaderboard is one of many features contained within the virtual clubhouse, which also includes preferential green fee rates at courses throughout the country, rewards from sponsors and exclusive member competitions.

With an average of 30,000 players taking part in competitive golf at their club on a weekly basis, the new platform will be fed by every single counting score and the player with the best score in Scotland that week will receive a weekly prize. 

Up for grabs in the first week will be an exclusive TaylorMade Masters Staff Bag, only available to their players who competed at Augusta National last month, which will be awarded to the leading handicap player, while the country’s leading scratch player will win a pair of tickets for The Open Championship at Royal Troon.

Current preferential offers for club members include a saving of £91 on a round at Castle Stuart Golf Links, home of this year’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open, 50% discount on green fees at Crail’s stunning Balcomie and Craighead Links, the chance to play The Duke’s at St Andrews from as little as £25 per round or £72 for a four-ball at Hilton Park on the outskirts of Glasgow.

More than 50,000 club members have already registered for the Members Clubhouse and the governing body is hoping that more golfers will follow.

Andy Salmon, Deputy Chief Executive of Scottish Golf, is excited about the launch and said: “The Members Clubhouse is an exciting new development for us as we continue our focus on building stronger clubs and engaging with more golfers.

“The number of people playing competitive golf in Scotland at their local club or in open competitions remains very strong and we want to support this by rewarding those who have played well, beaten their handicap and posted a good score. 

"The handicap system gives every golfer the opportunity to have their moment in the sun and we are looking forward to hearing the stories for the Players of the Week throughout the season.

“We also want to reward those golfers who are members of clubs by adding value to their membership and the Clubhouse will act as an extension to what we’ve achieved with the Scottish Golf Membership Card, allowing us to engage better digitally with members. 

"We see this as a great asset commercially and hope we can grow sponsorship revenue through this, having already secured a number of partners whose support has been reinvested back in the game.

“It also gives our clubs a great marketing tool to promote their special offers to fellow members, while also using it as one of their many membership benefits.”

The Members Clubhouse is exclusively available to golf club members who have registered their Scottish Golf Membership Card, which can be done by visiting scottishgolf.org/player-registration. 

The Player of the Week leaderboard will be featured on the home page of the Members Clubhouse, calculated on scores against the competition standard scratch score. There were 390 qualifying competitions across Scotland last week, with 9% of golfers achieving a handicap reduction and 34% playing to their handicap.

 

ENDS

Craig Hinton one round away from first win

 on MENA Tour in United Arab Emirates

By VIREN VARMA

RAS AL KHAIMAH — Craig Hinton has put himself within touching distance of claiming his first victory on the MENA Golf Tour going into the final round of the Ras Al Khaimah Classic at Tower Links Golf Club in the United Arab Emirates.

Starting the day in a share of the lead, Hinton broke clear of the field with a second-round 68 to reach nine-under for the tournament, one clear of his fellow Englishman and overnight joint leader Zane Scotland, who backed up his opening 67 with a 69. 

Spain’s Carlos Balmaseda matched Hinton’s 69 to occupy solo third on seven-under as England’s Daniel Owen carded his personal best 67 in a MENA Golf Tour event to haul himself back into contention a further shot adrift.

With just four shots separating the top 10, the prognosis points to a thrilling finish coming down the final stretch on Wednesday. 

A three-time runner-up on the MENA Golf Tour, Hinton sounded confident going the full distance this time around. “I have been driving the ball well and my putting has been pretty solid

“It’s just that I need to work a bit more on my iron and wedge play which is kind of so-so.” said the Englishman, who mixed five birdies, including four on the front nine with a bogey (at the 6th). 

Also seeking his maiden win on the tour, Owen went bogey-free in his second round, reeling of five birdies, including four on the back nine, to join experienced Miles Tunnicliff, also of England, for a share of fourth at six-under.

“I played really well. Gave myself a plenty of opportunities out there and holed some nice putts, especially on the back nine,” said Owen, who produced the highlight of the day on the 12th, draining a long 45-foot birdie putt 

“I have been striking the ball really good. It’s just that my putting felt so solid and decisive and that made the difference,” said 26-year-old Bahrain-based Englishman.

Spain’s Balmaseda, who is also a MENA Golf Tour ambassador, was quite pleased with his day’s efforts. “I have dropped just two shots in my first 36 holes which shows I am playing good golf. 

“Every part of my game is falling into place which is great. You never know what tomorrow holds, but I feel like I’m in great position to post my first win the tour,” said the Spaniard, who finished ninth in a Challenge Tour event in Madrid last week.

Top UAE amateur Rayhan Thomas carded a level-par 72 stay in the frame for a strong finish at three under. The young prodigy raced to four under after his first 10 holes, but a wayward drive on the 14th that resulted in a double-bogey undermined his efforts. 

Tied for 11th place overall, Thomas still leads the amateur division by a good four shots over Saudi Arabia’s Othman Almulla, who carded a second round 73.

Elsewhere, Andrew Marshall, a two-time winner on the European Tour, birdied the closing hole for back-to-back 70s, moving into a three-way tie for eighth on four under along with fellow Englishman Adam Sagar and Wales’s Stephen Dodd.

The halfway cut was made at five-over-par with 51 professionals and nine amateurs making it to the final round. The first group will go out at 7am on Wednesday while the final pairing of Hinton and Scotland tees off at 11.50.
SCOTSWATCH (by Colin Farquharson)

Renaissance Club member Ben Alexander, pictured, beat his fellow Scots - all pros - with a second-round 70 and it enabled the amateur to beat the cut by one shot with a 36-hole tally of  148 which has him T42 overall..
Dunbar's Danny Kay is the leading Scot in joint 11th place after a 72 for 141.
Paul Doherty, the former Scottish U18 boys' match-play champion, is T25 with a 75 for 144. A triple bogey 7 at the 17th was a bad blow for Paul.
Aberdeen's Clarke Lutton, who had his 28th birthday on Monday, matched the par of 71 for 147 and is T38. 

SECOND-ROUND LEADERBOARD
par 144 (2x72)
135 C Hinton (Eng) 67 68
136 Z Scotland (Eng) 67 69 
137 C Balmaseda (Spa) 69 68
138 D Owen (Eng) 71 67, M Tunnicliff (Eng) 68 70

SCOTS' SCORES
141 D Kay 69 72 (T11)
144 P Doherty 69 75 (T25)
147 C Lutton 75 72 (T38)
148 B Alexander (am) 78 70 (T42)


TO VIEW ALL THE SCORES

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Outstanding round by Will Porter wins him boys' title at Crieff

Perth and Kinross Schools’ Golf Championships 2016

NEWS RELEASE
The Perth and Kinross Schools’ golf championships were played at Crieff Golf Club on Monday when the day’s outstanding performance came from the 2015 Scottish boys’ match-play champion, Will Porter (Glenalmond College).
He had a gross round of 72 to finish  six shots ahead of Rowan Carey (Strathallan School). 

Conditions were tricky as a strong westerly wind brought a procession of very heavy rain showers.

The team championship was won by Glenalmond College, showing the golfing strength in depth at the college presently.

The girls' championship was won by Zoe Morton (Morrison’s Academy) following on from previous winners from the school including Carly Booth, Fiona Pennie and the Niven sisters, Roseanne and Annabel.

The handicap event was won by Jamie Killoch (Strathallan School) with a net score of 60 off a handicap of 25.

GROSS SCORES
BOYS (Par 71)
72 Will Porter (Glenalmond Coll).   
78 Rowan Carey (Strathallan)
79 Jamie Roberts (Kinross High School, Calum Draper (Crieff High).
80 Fergus Skinner (Glenalmond Coll)
81 Jordan Chatt  (Glenalmond Coll), Niklaus Knall (Glenalmond Coll), Jamie Kerr  (Perth Acad).          
84 Andrew Thornton (Kinross High), Cameron Grieve (Glenalmond Coll).
85 Jamie Killoch (Strathallan), Andrew Montgomery (Crieff High), Campbell Watt  (Perth Acad), Niall Draper (Crieff High).
86 Andrew Scott (Morrison’s Acad).
87 Rory Ottley (Strathallan), Stewart Burns (Breadalbane Acad).
88 Charlie Stewart (Morrison’s Acad), Jamie Coupland (Morrison’s Acad),    Duncan Lambie (Crieff High).
89 Pablo Messa  (Strathallan).
90 Jamie McPhee  (Crieff High)
91 Daniel Reilly (Kinross High)   
93 Atholl Davidson (Breadalbane Acad), Tom Morton (Morrison’s Acad).
94 Ben Anderson    (Perth Academy), Rory Bain (Strathallan), Jamie Nelson  (Kinross High), Cameron Kerr (Perth Acad).
98 Cameron Scott (Morrison’s Acad).
102 Jamie McColl (Crieff High)
103 Calum Johnson (Breadalbane Acad)
104 Cameron Speedie (Crieff High)
106 Edward Hannay (Glenalmond Coll)   
110 Sean Menzies (Breadalbane Acad).
No Returns: Connor Hughes (Perth Acad), Campbell Gibson (Glenalmond Coll), George
Smith (Kinross High).
   
GIRLS (Par 74)
85 Zoe Morton (Morrison's Acad).
92 Katriona Taylor (Crieff High).
94 Shannon Pook (Strathallan).

BOYS' HANDICAP
60 Jamie Killoch (Strathallan) (25)
63 Jamie Kerr (Perth Acad) (18)
65 Andrew Montgomery(Crieff High) (20).
TEAMS
Best three individual scores to count
234 GLENALMOND COLL (Will Porter 72, Niklaus Knall 81, Jordan Chatt 81, Cameron
Grieve 84).
243 KINROSS HIGH (Jamie Roberts 79, Andrew Thornton 82, Finlay Hamilton 82, George
Smith NR).
252 CRIEFF HIGH (Callum Draper 79, Niall Draper 85, Duncan Lambie 88,Jamie McPhee
90).
254 STRATHALLAN (Rowan Carey 78, Rory Ottley 87, Pablo Messa 89, Shannonb Pook 94).
259 MORRISON'S ACAD (Zoe Morton 85, Andrew Scott 86, Charlie Stewart 88, Tom Morton
93).
263 PERTH ACAD (Jack Cahawn 84, Campbell Watt 85, Cameron Kerr 94, Connor Hughes
NR).
290 BREADALBANE ACAD (Stewart Burns 87, Atholl Davidson 93, Sean Menzies 110).

Top England players follow Danny  Willett to take on France Leading England amateurs will follow in the footsteps of US Masters champion Danny Willett when they take on France in next week’s biennial international.  The match - at Formby Golf Club, Lancashire, on the weekend of May 14 and 15 – is a must for talent spotters, who have been richly rewarded when looking for future stars. Both Danny Willett and Chris Wood were in the 2008 match – and gave ample indication of what was to come. Willett sealed his final day singles with five successive birdies while Wood won all four of his matches.  In 2010 Tommy Fleetwood was in the team, playing a memorable singles against Victor Dubuisson. Other players have included Eddie Pepperell, Tom Lewis and Jean van de Velde. This year’s England team is also packed with promise. The eight-strong line-up is Jamie Bower of Yorkshire, Scott Gregory of Hampshire, Josh Hilleard of Somerset, Paul Kinnear of Lancashire, Bradley Moore of Derbyshire, Alfie Plant of Kent, Ashton Turner of Lincolnshire and James Walker of Yorkshire.  Bower, Hilleard, Plant and Walker are all very recent winners – with Plant (pictured top) impressively taking the honours in the Lytham Trophy at the weekend. Three of the team – Bower, Moore and Gregory - are in the world top 50 with Turner not far behind. Hilleard, who won four times in 22 days in April, moved up over 100 places in the rankings in one week.  They will play the French line up of Edgar Catherine, Ugo Coussaud, Andoni Etchenique, Jeong Weon Ko, Adrien Pendaries, Pierre Pineau, Grégoire Schoeb and Victor Veyret. Coussaud tied second in the Lytham Trophy.  The fixture dates back to 1934 and England have won 28 of the matches so far, conceding just five. The French team were last successful in 2010 in Chantilly.  The match consists of four foursomes and eight singles on each day and spectators are very welcome to watch the action unfold at Formby, which is renowned as one of the world’s great links courses, set amongst magnificent coastal sand dunes and towering pines.  The club has hosted the Amateur Championship on four occasions producing winners including Jose Maria Olazabal and Matteo Manassero.  However this is the first time that the England v France match has been played at Formby. The England players:  Jamie Bower, 23, (Meltham) won twice on an early season tour of South Africa, in the Gauteng North Amateur and the Southern Cape Open, and was third in the African Open.  Last season he was a semi-finalist in the English amateur and had a series of top ten finishes in events including the European amateur, where he was sixth, the French amateur, the Lytham Trophy and the Hampshire Salver.  Scott Gregory, 21, (Corhampton) was runner-up in the 2016 Spanish Amateur and helped England win the Costa Ballena Quadrangular tournament earlier this season. He tied fourth in last year’s European men’s amateur championship, was runner-up in the Lagonda Trophy and fourth in the Waterford Trophy, which he was defending. He was a quarter-finalist in the English amateur, having reached the final the previous year.   Josh Hilleard, 21, (Farrington Park) won four events in the space of 22 days in April: the West of England Championship, the Berkhamsted Trophy, the Faldo Series Wales Championship and the Hampshire Salver. He was also in England’s winning team at the Costa Ballena Quadrangular Tournament.  Last season he was top qualifier for the English amateur and won the Midland Open and the North of England Youths.  Paul Kinnear, 22, (Formby) is a member of the host club.  He played in The Open at St Andrews last year and was third in the Brabazon Trophy, where he was the leading English player, and reached the last 16 in the English amateur championship. He represented England on a tour of South Africa earlier this season notably signing off in the South African stroke play with a 63 and a share of 14th place.  Bradley Moore, 18, (Kedleston Park) was joint runner-up in the Lytham Trophy and helped Europe beat Asia Pacific in the 2016 Bonallack Trophy. He tied third in this year’s Lake Maquarie International in Australia, won the 2015 Carris Trophy – the English U18 boys' open stroke play – and was top qualifier for the British boys’ championship. He captained the GB&I boys’ team which successfully retained the 2015 Jacques Leglise Trophy. Alfie Plant, 23, (Sundridge Park) beat an international field by seven shots at the weekend to win the Lytham Trophy – and had been due a big title. Last season he was runner up in the English Amateur, the Chiberta Grand Prix and the Hampshire Hog; third in the Biarritz Cup, and was joint top points scorer for England in the 2015 Home Internationals. He was 10th in this season’s Cape Province Open while touring South Africa with England Golf.  Ashton Turner, 20, (Kenwick Park) had a top ten finish in the Lytham Trophy and helped Europe beat Asia Pacific in the Bonallack Trophy. He toured Australia earlier this season where he had top 20 finishes in the Master of the Amateurs and the Lake Macquarie Amateur, reached the second round of the Australian Amateur and made the matchplay in the New South Wales Amateur. He won the U21 Darwin Salver last year, having also held it in 2013. James Walker, 22, (The Oaks) won this season’s Selborne Salver and reached the semi-finals of the Spanish amateur championship, losing to the eventual champion only on the 19th. He was sixth at the weekend’s Lytham Trophy where his second round 66 was the low round of the championship. He won the 2015 Waterford Trophy, was runner-up in the Tillman Trophy and third in the North of England youths’ championship. His father, Graham, is the England team coach.  Full scores, reports and pictures will be available at www.englandgolf.org/englandvfrance All images © Leaderboard Photography Press Office England Golf pr@englandgolf.org 01526 354500