Cuthbertson Cup and Inter-County Draws

The draw for the Junior Inter-County Matches, the Cuthbertson Cup, was made at the recent East of Scotland Captains' Meeting. To be held on Sunday 18th April at Ratho Park Golf Club, the morning singles sees Midlothian take on Stirling & Clackmannan in one tie and East Lothian play Fife in the other. The first match tees off at 9.30 am, with the winners playing each other in the afternoon, with a tee-off time of 2 pm. The losing teams in the morning will follow this match and play foursomes to determine the third and fourth places.

Also at the meeting, the draw for the Inter-Counties Matches to be held from Monday 28th - Wednesday 30th June at Royal Musselburgh Golf Club was made and is as follows:

Day 1: East Lothian v Stirling & Clackmannan; Midlothian v Fife
Day 2: Midlothian v Stirling & Clackmannan; East Lothian v Fife
Day 3: Stirling & Clackmannan v Fife; East Lothian v Midlothian

Please put these dates in your diaries and come along to support your teams. The girls will be defending the Cuthbertson Cup for the 5th year in a row and the main team will be out to make it to the finals for the second year in a row.

Hermitage Monthly 12-holes

Sunday saw this year's first visit to the Hermitage Golf Club for the Juniors' monthly golf. Although a bit frosty under foot, the sun was out with a little bit of warmth. Six girls braved the conditions and played round for the first time. Many thanks to May Hardy for setting the girls off and to Gillian Simpson who came along to help and inspire the girls.

This was the start of the Hermitage Course league, which runs until August. Points are awarded for turning up as well as for 1st and 2nd handicap and 1st, 2nd and 3rd non-handicap; the winners at the end of the season receiving the Maggie MacPherson and Sue Caton Trophies respectively.

Yesterday's results were as follows:

Handicap:
1st Carla Maran - net 39
2nd Emma Morrison - net 41

Non-handicap:
1st Caitlin Turner - 64
2nd Kim Naysmith - 70
3rd Lisa MacPherson - 85

The Hermitage Golf Course has teamed up with Queen Cake to provide catering in their clubhouse. Having sold their home baking and cakes at Farmers' Markets and online, Queen Cake will be offering teas, coffees, soups and snacks, as well as their home baking, at the Hermitage. To kick start this new venture, an Open Day is to be held on Saturday 27 March from 10 am - 3 pm. There will be free golf lessons, a BBQ, a family golf competition, a bouncy castle, face painting and free pilates and yoga workshops, not to mention the free cake tastings! Why not grab your parents, brothers, sisters and grandparents and head along for a visit? Try out what to eat after your next MCLGA 12 hole competition! For more information see www.queencake.co.uk.

Squad news

After 2 great days on which the sun shone and the squad played warm up games amongst themselves at Gullane Golf Club, the focus moves to short game coaching next weekend. Jane Connachan will be putting everyone through their paces at Kingsfield Golf Centre in Linlithgow, the focus being on short game, bunker play and putting. Fingers crossed for a few more decent weekends!

Meanwhile, the Junior Training Squad were out in force yesterday at their second session at the Braids Driving Range with Mark Berrie. They are all swinging the club and hitting the ball exceptionally well. It is wonderful to see the advances being made and they are all keen for the season to begin.

SLGA International Team Captains announced

Many congratulations to Karen Marshall and Pamela Williamson who are amongst the Captains announced by the SLGA for their team competitions in 2010. Karen will take care of the Girls' Home International Team which plays at Bangor Gofl Club in Northern Ireland in August and the team for the Girls European Championship being held in July at Aalborg in Denmark. Pamela has been given the reigns for the European Senior Team Championship at Berlin and the Senior Home Internationals at Sheringham Golf CLub in Norfolk, both of which take place in September.

Good luck to you both in your roles. We are sure you will do a great job and will motivate your teams to great results.

Jane reaches quarter-finals of Orange Blossom Tournament

Having finished joint 38th in last week's Sally tournament, Jane Turner moved her attention to to this week's competition on the US Orange Blossom Tour, the 78th Jones/Doherty Amateur Championship Match Play Tournament at Fort Lauderdale in Florida. Having finished 9th equal in the qualifying round, Jane made the Championship flight of the match play stage, where her first round opponent was Rebecca Wilson from Stirling University. Having won that match by a 3&2 margin, she progressed through the next round against Laura Mackin from Ranfurly Castle, the number 5 seed, by 5&4. This put her into the quarter finals where she met Martha Leach, holder of the 2009 US Women's Mid-Amateur Title. Sadly Martha was to prove too strong and her tremendous run was to come to an end as she went down 3&2. A fantastic effort by Jane and many congratulations.

Calling all Juniors!

The Junior monthly 12 holes will go ahead this Sunday (24th January) as originally planned. A correspondent from the Hermitage Golf Club confirmed that the course is open and, providing there is no snow between now and Sunday, will remain open and playable. It is playing to its full greens although, apparently, conditions are a wee bit on the damp side!

So MCLGA's 2010 season is finally getting under way. So, all juniors, come along to the first monthly 12 holes of the year and give it a try! The 4th hole comes back to the clubhouse, so even if you don't feel up to 12 holes, why not try 4?

The first tee time is 10.30 am, so turn up around 10.15-10.20 am and have a game!

Entry Forms 2010

Entry forms for 2010 comptitions are now available to download from the website. Click on ENTRY FORMS on the left hand side.

Forms for junior girls, including booking for coaching and competitions are also available. Click on JUNIOR ENTRY FORMS on the left hand side under Junior Girls.