MCLGA NEWSLETTER, JANUARY 2007
Do come along and support the Social Evening
on Thursday 1st March at Dalmahoy.
Please support your Junior Girls at Glenbervie
Golf Club (near Larbert) on Sunday 15th April 2007 in the Cuthbertson
Cup (Junior Girls' East Division, Inter-County Matches)
Please support your County Team at Ladybank
Golf Club (Fife) from 25th - 27th June 2007 in the East Division
Inter County Matches.
We wish all our members a happy and successful golfing season
for 2007.
MCLGA is committed to supporting and developing county golf by
providing training for junior girls and ladies - particularly
those aspiring to play for the County Team and for the National
Teams. Each year we work towards the East Division County Matches.
We encourage our players to play and compete at the highest level
they can in local, national and other events. All members are
very important and we thank them all for their support and valuable
contribution to the Association.
Membership and Subscriptions
Our current membership totals 454 with 18 names on the waiting
list. Last year we admitted 36 new members. Numbers playing in
our Spring, Summer and Autumn Meetings have not increased and
entries for the Midsummer Foursomes and Hole and Hole Competitions
have remained constant. There will be no increase in subscriptions
for full members (£20) or for Junior/Youth Members (£10) in 2007.
However, there will be an increase from £3 to £5 for associate
members.
Social night
An evening with Well Connected Golf has been arranged for Thursday
1st March 2007 at 7.30 in the Dalmahoy Hotel. The cost is £7.00..
Please come along and support the evening. There are more details
on a separate sheet.
New Ideas
At the end of November there were informal meetings with the club
representatives. There was much discussion. One suggestion was
to start Foursomes Matches. They would be handicap and played
during the day. Your representative will be in touch with you
for your opinion. Those members who have no representative can
reply directly to the secretary.
Centenary 2009
The centenary committee has been collecting information on the
past history of MCLGA and hopes to publish a book or booklet.
They are also planning a lunch in January 2009 in an Edinburgh
hotel, some competitions and a centenary polo shirt. Please keep
sending special memories and copies of photos and press cuttings.
MCLGA Championships
The Champion for 2006 is Claire Hargan (Mortonhall).
The 2006 Championship was held at Duddingston Golf Course. The
qualifying was held over 36 holes on a very windy day at the end
of April. 28 entered and played the 2 rounds. Claire MacDonald
( Gullane) was the leading qualifier on 156. Many closely contested
matches were played throughout the Championship. Claire Hargan
is to be congratulated on winning the Midlothian County Championship
for the fourth time by beating Belinda Murphy(Mortonhall) at 19th
in the final. Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe) and Noreen Fenton
(Merchants) were the beaten semi-finalists.
16 players in handicap categories 3 and 4 qualified for a 'B'
Championship from the Spring Meeting held at Mortonhall Golf Club.
They competed in the knockout match play at Duddingston Golf Course.
In the final Cara Easton (Dalmahoy) beat Gail MacDonald (Turnhouse
County Team
The 2006 Team - Kirsten Blackwood (Glencorse),), Claire
Hargan (Mortonhall), Claire MacDonald (Gullane), Hilary Laughland
(Mortonhall), Rachael Livingstone (Musselburgh Old), Karen Marshall
(Baberton), Belinda Murphy (Mortonhall), Wendy Nicholson (Broomieknowe).
Reserves were Tracy Laughland ( Mortonhall) and Jane Turner (
Mortonhall.)
East Lothian hosted the Inter-County Matches at Dunbar Golf Club
from June 26 - 28. The course was in excellent condition, the
weather was beautiful and the hospitality was excellent. On Day
1 Midlothian beat Stirling and Clackmannan. On Day 2 Midlothian
beat East Lothian . On Day 3 Fife beat Midlothian in a keenly
contested match to win the East Division women's inter-county
team championship. The Midlothian Team, including the new cap
(Rachael Livingstone) all contributed well. Fife went on to win
the County Finals in September at the Hirsel Golf Club.
East of Scotland Championship.
This was played at Stirling Golf Club in October. Claire Hargan
won the scratch with a score of 70 (3 below the CSS). The Midlothian
team was second to Stirling and Clackmannan, losing out by 2 shots.
Five-Aside League Matches
The Midlothian Inter-Club League Division 1 matches (and Macfarlane
Trophy) were won for the first time by Mortonhall (12 match points),
with Dalmahoy runners up (10 match points). The Division 2 winners
(Thomson Trophy) were Liberton (12 match points), with Kingsknowe
(11 match points) in the runners up position.
Champion of Champions
Claire Hargan is our Champion of Champions for 2006 and won the
Antonio Vase for the second time. She beat Jane Turner. A good
crowd of supporters watched the excellent game.
Draws for Meetings
We have to pay most clubs for the use of their courses for our
meetings. This charge will be passed on to those who are playing
and will range in 2007 from £5 to £8 per competition.
Arrangements for the draws for all three meetings will be the
same as last year and are detailed on the entry form. If you submit
a block of entries, then please do put the competition dates firmly
in your diary!
We look forward to seeing you at our Competitions in 2007.
Handicapping System
A printout of the results of the competitions is sent to your
home club for handicap adjustments. Please keep a record of your
exact handicap and report other away scores to your home club
Handicap Secretary.
Junior Girls
Mandy Easton and her helpers continue to work hard helping our
junior girls. Our sincere thanks for all the work you do for the
girls. We continue to offer coaching at the Braid Hills Golf and
Driving Range and organise 9~hole competitions at the Princes
Golf Course at the Braid Hills .We also arrange extra coaching
for some of the girls. Membership is around 100 at the moment.
22 girls have CONGU handicaps from scratch to 36. Three girls
are members of our County Squad for 2007. Some girls have been
invited to join SLGA Winter Training Squads.
It is exciting to see the enthusiasm and successes of our girls.
We will give them every encouragement to keep playing, to join
a golf club and to sustain their interest in the game.
Thanks to the raffles organised by Mandy Easton and the support
given by the members of the Association in 2006, we were able
to arrange further short-game coaching sessions at King's Acre
for 9 girls who were playing golf and showing commitment and promise.
Youth Membership
Youth Membership, at cost of £10, is available to those
aged between 18 and 23 in full-time education.
Seniors
In September, at the Scottish Senior Women's Championship Ruth
Brown (Lothianburn) won the Strokeplay Championship and Fiona
de Vries(St. Rule) won the Matchplay Championship.
Fiona de Vries, Noreen Fenton (Merchants) and Pamela Williamson
(Baberton) were selected for the team who represented Scotland
in the Senior Home Internationals at Hamilton in October. The
whole team played well. Scotland finished in second place behind
England.
Moonwalk
Kate Rorke thanks everyone who supported her. She raised £537.50
and The Royal Bank donated £500 more. The money was shared
between Breast Cancer Institute for Research and Maggie's Centres
for cancer care.
