Practice Match against Lanarkshire at Mortonhall on 3rd April

The day started looking pretty dismal but luck was on our side and it cleared away and was lovely sunshine for a while.

There were some very close matches that went to the 18th but in the end we won 4 matches to 1.

Our Juniors went out first with a surrogate junior on our side of Catherine Stewart. Thank you Catherine for doing this. I am sure Georgia learned a lot from you about the course and well done for winning. They played a foursomes format off handicap as it was a pretty long course for them .

The others  played off scratch and four ball better ball format.

The results were

Catherine Stewart and Georgia Ledingham bt Erin Johnstone and Megan Docherty 2/1

Hannah Scott and Kate McIntosh bt Janice Paterson and May Hughes 1 up

Alison McBride and Wendy Nicholson bt Lesley Lloyd and Katie Scott 2/1

Karen Ferguson-Sneddon and Anne Brownie bt Pat Hutton and Eva O'Conner 3/1

Linda Caine and Fiona de Vries lost to Fiona Norris and Susan Woodhouse 1 down

Thank you to you all for playing and a special thanks to Georgia, Catherine and Anne for helping us out.

Response to questions about the future of County matches and Counties

Please feel free to let me know what you feel about this. We will endeavour to keep you up to date with any future updates we receive.

It is great that there is lots of discussion happening and questions being raised and I would encourage you to keep doing this over the coming months. I fully understand the points that you have raised and the importance of these to the County Associations, however for most of them I am unable to provide you with a definitive answer at this time, however have provided an update where I can as follows:

1.       Appreciate the value of these matches and the Divisional events are obviously out with the remit of SGL and therefore their continuance or otherwise is not for us to decide. In terms of the County Finals, these along with Area Team Championships (for both men & boys) will be considered as part of a wider review of the competition calendar by a working group, alongside the Championship Team and Committee. At this stage I can’t say whether the events will continue in the same format or whether something else would be proposed, the purpose of the review is to ensure that the SGL calendar is a fit for purpose, modern schedule which works to compliment the strategy and direction of the organisation. I can’t say what outcomes there might be, however everyone does recognise the history and tradition and
all discussions will aim to honour those but perhaps modernise eg the finals might be Men, Women, Boys, Girls all over same weekend at a venue with 2 nearby courses or something where we can celebrate all aspects of Scottish Golf by bringing them together to play their respective finals at the same time (I would stress this is an example only and not something that has been decided).  Regardless of what is considered there will be full communication and plenty of notice provided to all parties concerned if any changes are being considered for 2017 and beyond. I know that doesn’t answer the question for you at this time, however your comments will be fed into that group for information and consideration as part of their deliberations.

3.       Future funding for Counties & Areas will be dependent on the Regional Structure Working Group that are currently meeting on a regular basis following the Forum at Gleneagles in late January and using the mandate given to given to them from that gathering. As I understand it, the group are working up 3 proposals which will be communicated and consulted upon once they are complete. In the interim period with each County and Area being an autonomous body, it is entirely up to each to decide how much discussion or collaboration they wish to have with other bodies within their boundary pending the output from the working group being published and available for comment upon.

I hope the above information provides you with an update on current position and we will continue to communicate with you as and when we have progress to advise upon. In the meantime if you have any further queries then please do not hesitate to contact me.

Cuthbertson Cup 2016 at Craigielaw on the 17th April

We are delighted to announce our Cuthbertson Cup Team for 2016

Emma Morrison (Craigmillar Park)

Eilidh Crawford (Kingsfield)

Megan Linton (Craigmillar Park)

Alexandra Massey (Elie and Earlsferry)

1st reserve Carys Irvine (Baberton)

I am sure you will join me in wishing them the very best of luck.

We would love to see you there if you would like to come and support us. The first tee time is 09.30.

Midlothian v Vets match at Turnhouse

What a beautiful day for the annual match against the Scottish Vets. There was some excellent golf played and we did well to win 21/2 to 11/2.

Hannah Scott and Karen Ferguson-Sneddon v Sheena Wood and Meg Sivewright halved their match on the 18th despite playing to 3 under par.

Eilidh Crawford and Caroline Steedman  v. Lorna McKinley and Carol Wight won 4/3 

Hilary Laughland and Linda Caine v. Lorna Bennet and Lesley Lloyd lost 5/3

Ruth Brown and Morag Wardrop v. Frances Millar and Linda Dyball won 5/4

Thank you to Turnhouse for the use of their lovely course and to their ladies captain and overall captain for their support with the organisations and refreshments. Very much appreciated.

Thanks also to their catering staff for the very tasty soup and sandwiches.

Lastly a big thanks to our Midlothian members and to those who stood in to play in this match and well done to them for winning.

Spring Meeting at Newbattle - Monday 18th April

Ladies, this is just a reminder that the closing date for the Spring Meeting at Newbattle is Friday 25th March.  However as I will be on holiday and not returning until Tuesday 29th March, I would be grateful if you could submit your entry (if you have not already done so) prior to my return.  I will do the draw that week. 

Many thanks in advance
Lisa

Match v the Borders at Mortonhall

What a lovely day we had for playing golf on Sunday. Myself, Jacky and Tracy were there to watch.It was very mild with a slight wind. Three of the games ended at the 16th which was fantastic as we had three juniors playing for us.

The teams were

Louise Fraser and Hannah Scott won 8/7 from Fiona Kerr and Gillian Lithgow
Alison McBride and Karen Ferguson-Sneddon won 3/2 from Sharon Paterson and Isla Crakie
Linda Caine and Eilidh Crawford lost 3/2 to Judith Anderson and Julie Birdsall
Megan Linton and Jessica Walker lost 3/2 to Denise Richards and Karen McKinlay

Thank you so much to all who played and a special thanks to the juniors who had a great game against the Borders Squad. Thanks also to Sharon and Lisa Mcpherson for their support.

Next week is the match against the Vets at Turnhouse.

Coach's Birthday at Kingsfield today

The Juniors decided to treat David to a cake for his birthday. They were so excited that any thoughts of working for MI6 were definately out the window. He was really delighted.