SATURDAY

It was a sunny but bitterly cold morning that greeted the players for the Saturday Stableford-a competition which unfortunately attracted only a modest number of competitors throughout the day. However the scoring was extremely tight with the top eight players separated by only four points.

The winner was John Finlayson who, playing in the final group of the day breasted the tape just ahead of the field in a feat he’ll no doubt be hoping to replicate in the imminent Local Government Elections.

With a new Callaway Rogue driver in the bag-despite a presentiment of doom by his learned friend the Skeabost soothsayer-it was to be a day for keeping the ball as near the ground as possible and that was John’s adopted strategy as the round began.

The course is running hard and fast because of the persistent, prolonged drying wind and lack of rain. In these conditions the wise man adapts his game-even putting from off the green when necessary if that is deemed to be the percentage shot.

‘Steady as she goes’ golf then from John with 39 shots required for lap one and 38 more to complete the task with one single blemish-a triple bogey seven as early as the second hole.

Apparently the Rogue driver tee shot was dispatched with some aplomb but the ball came to rest on the upslope of a lazy bed plumb in the middle of the fairway.

Decision time then-to lay up or give it the full Monty? With an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other it was to be the latter’s persuasive powers that won the day.

However, off the up slope with a three-wood being the club of choice the ball drifted left before banking then bidding a fond farewell to the ‘cut-and-prepared’ as it vanished over the boundary fence.

Maybe we should consider filling in the centuries-old undulations to create a flatter landing strip?

Nevertheless and thereafter good steady golf is what John does-and he did it again en route to a narrow but well deserved victory.

Four players pulled up one point behind but Andrew Long’s 19pts harvest for the second lap edged the other three boys who all scored 18pts for each of their two circuits.

Andrew’s two nines were 38/37 while John Maclean’s two loops were 37/38. Jim Cumming’s tallies were 38/39 while Ally Young didn’t record a score on one hole so no comparable numbers are available for him.

Non-golfing readers should be aware however that the Stableford points method of scoring does not require a number to be recorded for every single hole hence the reference to it being a more forgiving form of play when compared with medal/strokeplay where every single shot counts-no allowances for aberrations.

For the record John Maclean(no repeat of last week’s horror finish), Jim Cumming and club captain Ally Young were the players who just missed out on the prizelist but as mentioned earlier the turnout on the day was modest so there was no requirement for forensic investigation to determine the minor placings

LADIES

The ladies came out to play in the afternoon in the first of a series of planned events aimed at linking the players who already have a golf handicap with those from among the ranks of the newbies who are interested in acquiring one.

The four ‘handicappers’ present each took a group of new recruits under their collective wings as they made their merry way round the golf course. The emphasis was on enjoyment of the experience and that seemed to meet with the approval of those who were in attendance.

In fact several days later, in the club car park I met one of the ladies who had been part of the ‘occasion’. She was effusive in her enthusiasm for the project before adding that she couldn’t wait to get her handicap.

The same lady also confirmed the feedback I had received from the organisers and offered that although there was evidence of nerves and understandable initial apprehension that soon dissipated when the fun began!

Indeed one woman felt inspired and ready to grasp the nettle so she completed her lap of the track before submitting her scorecard for handicap assessment purposes.

Apparently the break for tea and biscuits was very well received too.

Sunday 22nd May is the next date in the diary for those ladies who are interested in this aspect of the game.

Good effort there and very well done to all involved.

SUNDAY

Next day’s scheduled Fourball Better Ball competition was shelved at the eleventh hour and replaced by a Pairs Strokeplay event. Four gents and two ladies teams participated.

Yet again a sunny day was cunningly disguised as ‘inviting’ but once more the Baltic hoolie made it another challenging experience for the golfers of Skye and Lochalsh.

No problem though for the team of Robert Macaskill and James Colven. The latter played the best round of his life breaking 80 for the first time ever and Robert’s contribution wasn’t too shabby either as they ‘ham and egged’ their way to a three stroke victory over Alistair Sutherland and Alex Munro.

The Borve/Portree duo roared off to a great start registering six nett birdies and a nett eagle in their first nine holes.

Robbie,or should it be Eddie was the nett eagle ‘man’ with a towering 6-iron tee shot right over the pin on the seventh hole. The resulting putt was a cheeky wee downhill, left to right, six-footer but Robbie relished the challenge and the putt was duly drained.

An outward half of eight under par nett 25 was a superb effort by the two good and long-time friends.

The wheels nearly came off early second time round though as they started with a careless bogey before composure recovered they registered another four birdies to redress that unforgivable blemish on their scorecard.

Overall they recorded an eleven-under-par total of 56.

The Broadford/Breakish duo of Alistair Sutherland and Alex Munro recorded five birdies but sadly one bogey en route to a nett four under par 29 for the first of their two circuits followed by a further two nett birdies and a nett eagle for a nett four under par 30.

Overall they recorded an eight under par total of 59.

Their score might look modest when compared to the winners but handicap-wise they play off much lower numbers than their ‘opponents’ and if higher handicappers hit a bit of form on the day they will always be difficult to beat, carrying as they do several extra strokes.

The main difference between the higher and lower calibrated players is the high men will come good only occasionally whereas the lower men will return better scores with greater consistency.

Old habits die hard for this bodach so I attempted to apportion each of the four players handicaps for illustrative purposes but thanks to the WHS(World Handicap System)every result I perused had the players down for a different number!

FIXTURES

The gents will be playing a strokeplay competition this Saturday when, with a nod to the past a draw will be made at 9am to determine the playing partners. Those members who may not be a natural part of a group are particularly encouraged to come along and throw their hats into the competitive ring, play their round of golf, enjoy the game, the craic and the company.

However those who do have regular playing companions are also asked to support the cause and make a special effort to join the happy band of fellow members in playing their game of golf by mixing with players in the best interest of engendering a healthy and vibrant club spirit.

We have recruited more than a few new members, both male and female recently who might flourish and benefit from a degree of social and golfing integration. Most of us wizened, old members now were young once upon a time and we were both influenced and encouraged by older and wiser men back in the day.

In my own experience I will always be grateful to George Gibson and Ian Fullarton in particular for the tutelage and encouragement they freely offered to me when I started playing the game.

I’d like to think that over the years in my own small way I’ve maintained and contributed to the upkeep of that tradition.

From my current vantage point on the sidelines I cannot help but notice that several pre-Covid regular competitors remain conspicuous but their absence albeit it’s still very early in the season and the weather conditions have been less than attractive thus far.

Additionally we are all two years older and while that matters not when you are but a bairn in your twenties and thirties it becomes much more significant for the sexa-and septuagenarians!

Maybe, just maybe it’s time to get the clubs out, roll up at Sconser and see if the old magic is still in the fingers?

You’ve already watched the Masters on television-it’s a good opportunity to give it a go this weekend.

On Sunday it’s back to the familiar auld claes an’ parritch booking procedure for the RNLI Shield which is a Stableford competition very kindly and generously sponsored by the Organic Sea Harvest company.

The girls will play round one of the Ladies Championship on Sunday then two days later they will play the first round of the Glamaig Cup. Both competitions are medal play.

RESULTS

Saturday 23rd April, Stableford Competition.

1) J Finlayson 37pts; 2) A Long 36pts bih; 3) J Maclean, A Young and J Cumming 36pts.

Sunday 24th April, Pairs Strokeplay Competition.

1) R Macaskill and J Colven 56(-11); 2) A Munro and A Sutherland 59(-8).

JOHN MARSHALL

The 50th Anniversary of the Isle of Skye Golf Club, formerly Sconser Golf Club was marked in May 2014 when club captain Jamie Beaton welcomed our golfing friends and neighbours from Traigh and Skeabost to participate in the celebrations.

On what was a fine day of weather and drawn randomly the IOSGC ‘A’ team of Alex Munro 41pts, Jamie Beaton 38pts, Martin Bird 37pts, Alasdair ‘Starsky’ Campbell 37pts and Graeme Wilson 35pts won the day with their total of 188pts.

Runners-up were the IOSGC ‘B’ team of Chris Mackinnon 36pts, Shaun Escott 36pts, Mike Mace 35pts, Ronnie Duncan 31pts and Jill Mackinnon 29pts for a total of 167pts.

Alex Munro won the individual prize for the best score on what was a memorable day.

Some of those mentioned have since moved away from the island and some sadly are no longer with us-but we remember them all for the contribution they made to our club.

SATURDAY

The Anniversary Quaich is now played for annually to commemorate the occasion and on a recent Saturday, the first of the ‘new normal’ competition weekends it took pride of place.

There was a healthy turnout of competitors considering it was Easter weekend, school holidays and temperature-wise with the added wind chill it was more like February conditions but one man was just too hot to handle.

Step forward Chris Hanley.

In what must have been one of the rounds of his life nine-handicapper Chris was quick off the mark covering the opening holes in 3,4,4,3,3 before settling down into a rhythm that saw him require just 33 strokes to complete the first lap of the nine hole track.

35 more shots completed an excellent day’s golf as he signed for a one over par score of 68 and with handicap subtracted a nett score of 59. The not insignificant total of five birdies was recorded in this remarkable round of golf.

In the good old days, still defined by ‘yours truly’ in these pages as pre-WHS(World Handicap System) Chris would have done his sums,waited for the club handicapper to authenticate the calculation then justifiably celebrated the instant reduction of his handicap to it’s new lower mark.

Unfortunately these days are gone now(and in the past they must remain?)and this brilliant score simply goes into the melting pot together with his last nineteen ‘returns’ awaiting elevation to one of the ‘best eight scores’ required for handicap purposes-and the moment suddenly becomes rather unremarkable.

To digress slightly I see the same unfortunate scenario with VAR* in football. Following the thrill of a ‘goal’ players, officials, supporters and even television viewers frequently have to wait sometimes for two or three minutes for confirmation of the decision and consequently the explosion of spontaneous joy and celebration is gone.

Back to the golf though and Chris,concerned about his driving of the golf ball in recent weeks arrived early at the course to hit some shots on the practice area.

The headcover having been removed from the Big Dog, the gremlins were duly addressed and after about 15/20 mins work he pronounced himself satisfied before heading for the first tee.

Chris’ assessment of his round offered that his driving thereafter was solid but his putter was red hot and he was “rolling them in from everywhere”.

Strange then that one or two who didn’t play quite so well on the day were a wee bit critical of the early season putting surfaces but ‘twas ever thus I suppose?

Great stuff Chris and very well played.

Albeit some distance behind in the rear view mirror early-season form-horse Geoff Williams secured second place with his nett score of 66.

A birdie three at the opening hole was immediately cancelled out by a triple-bogey seven at the second but despite a six on six Geoff still signed for a creditable 40 shot outward half containing as it did the pair of aberrations.

Things were both tighter and tidier second time round though with 37 biffs required to complete the inward half and an eminently respectable performance on the day.

Three players tied for the bronze medal position one stroke further in arrears-Archie Macaskill, John Finlayson and John Maclean and the handicapper assessed them to finish in that order.

Archie sprung quickly out of the traps with an opening birdie three whereas John Finlayson got stuck on the blocks with a six, five commencement to his round.

Spare a though though for Greens Convener(the GC acts as a conduit between the GK and the committee)-John Maclean?

En route to a very good score having by all accounts played some very nice golf he only required a par four on the final hole for a nett score of 63.However, a slight misjudgment with his approach to the green resulted in his golf ball landing on the very top of the steep slope fronting the green before spinning viciously back into John Green’s cunningly positioned open drainage ditch.

From there the Greens Convener made a bit of a brochan of things and the moment was gone.

Suffice to say there was considerable speculation among the membership in the following days as to whether or not an order would be issued from ‘on high’ for the offending drainage ditch to be backfilled!

SUNDAY

Next day, continuing the ‘new normal’ competition configuration turned out to be a huge disappointment. Whereas nearly twenty players competed the previous day only two players were up for the challenge of the Stableford competition.

Let the record show that Geoff Williams shot another very good score in compiling his total of 38 points while it looks like Breakish resident Bob Beatson will take a wee while longer to settle back into the island routine on returning from his other base in sunnier climes.

With the exception of one single six Geoff’s score was made up entirely of fours and fives. Out in 40 and back in 38 was a decent effort off his eleven handicap.

Unfortunately no ladies were able to participate in their scheduled competition.

FIXTURES

This weekend the gents have yet another Stableford Saturday before the monthly medal on Sunday.

The ladies will also be playing a medal on Sunday before, unlike the gent’s section their midweek competitions resume come Tuesday when the ‘dish of the day’ will be the first round of the Isle of Skye Shield.

*VAR in Scotland has been given the thumbs-up by the clubs. What chance that the first time it’s used in anger the decision is ‘penalty to Rangers’?

RESULTS

Saturday 16th April, Anniversary Quaich.

1) C Hanley 68(9) nett 59; 2) G Williams 77(11) 66; 3) A Macaskill 72(5) 67 bih; 4) J Finlayson 78(11) 67 bih; 5) J Maclean 75(8) 67.

Sunday 17th April, Stableford.

1) G Williams 37pts; 2) R Beatson 28pts.

JOHN MARSHALL