Club News Members

Introduction

Sconser Golf Club was formed in 1964 with the name changing to the Isle of Skye Golf Club in 1987.
2024 was therefore the 60th anniversary of the club and several fixtures and competitions were dedicated to marking the occasion.
The whole year of IOSGC@60 celebrations was very kindly underwritten by Macleod and Macallum, Portree to whom we give our thanks.
I’ve often thought that an annual review of the happenings at the golf club would make an interesting ‘out of season’ read so the Ed. has kindly given me the nod to draw some things together.

I’ve concentrated on the bigger competitions with some weel kent names seemingly grabbing the glory. Please be aware though that several serial winners will be under the radar because they ‘only’ won medals and Stablefords.

My apologies to those I may have forgotten to include or indeed not given proper prominence to their own estimation of their meritorious efforts on the field of play but this was a spontaneous gesture.
I will try harder next time-if there is a next time.

THE SEASON
April

The season kicked off in April when the Anniversary Trophy was won by Dunvegan's Geoff Williams. Later that month a long overdue 'return' challenge match between Lochcarron and Skye was resurrected. A good day was had by all with the very welcome visitors heading back across the water with the spoils of the day.

In a splendid initiative by the committee the Strath Cup was reintroduced as a Wednesday fixture to run throughout the season. Although competitor numbers were some way shy of fascinating the competition went to the final round on the final day.

May

One of the bigger comps of the season, the RNLI Charity Shield was won by Broadford man Jim Cumming.

On a sadder note former club captain and eight times club champion Jim Rodger passed away after a distinguished sporting career. Jim was an honorary member of the club.

June

The only 36-hole competition on the fixture list is the David Murray Quaich and this year it was won by John Finlayson from Kyleakin.

There was an IOSGC@60 celebration match between the North and South which resulted in a decisive victory for the latter.

The Seniors Open men’s champion was Geoff Williams while Kyleakin lass Jill Mackinnon won the ladies section.

July

The blue riband event in any golf club is the club championship and in the scratch competition Borve/Dornoch resident Archie Macaskill successfully defended his title when he defeated Kyle's Stuart Johnston Jnr in the final.
In the handicap section Duncan Macrae, Achmore/Broadford defeated John Finlayson.
The ladies club champion is Kyle's Donalda Johnston who defeated Jill Mackinnon.

The Isle of Skye Open was won by Ally Sutherland from Broadford with Jill Mackinnon taking the ladies title.

The Ian Fullarton Trophy was won by Peinness man Andrew Long.

August

After many years absence from the fixture list there was a match with Skeabost GC which resulted in a narrow victory for the home team.
Relative newcomer to the club and to the game Iain 'Baker' MacLellan, Dunvegan emerged victorious in the Burton Cup. Geoff Williams took the top prize for the Benford Trophy and John Finlayson won the Dewar Rosebowl.

Donalda Johnston won the First Ministers Quaich-a trophy that regular playing partner Jill Mackinnon persuaded Alex Salmond to donate to the club when she encountered him at Sconser a long time ago.
Apparently he was having a time-out from alleged government duties at Sabhal Mor Ostaig!
Another of the IOSGC@60 events-a Pairs competition was won by the dynamic duo of Chris Mackinnon, Kyleakin and Stuart Johnston Jnr.

This proved to be a major month for the individual 'raiders' when Archie Macaskill won the Golspie Open, Andrew Long won the Low Handicap division in the Cabot Highland(formerly Castle Stuart) Local Open in Inverness then Duncan Macrae triumphed in the handicap section of the Isle of Harris Open.

Not to be outdone Jill Mackinnon won the handicap section in the Traigh Open with Donalda Johnston coming second.

September

The Marie Curie Trophy was won by John Finlayson and the IOS Distillers Trophy was won by Andrew Long.
It was to be the month when the season-long matchplay Singles and Pairs titles were decided and Jim Cumming triumphed in the former with victory over Chris Mackinnon.
In the Pairs competition Neil Macfarlane, Skeabost and James Colven, Portree defeated Iain 'Baker' MacLellan and Portree's Willie Cowie in the final.
Jim Cumming is obviously a September man as he also won the Black and White Shield.

October

The meritorious resurrection of the Strath Cup, the only midweek fixture on the fixture list had been running since the start of the season. On the final round of the final day two players who have featured prominently whenever golf was played at Sconser this year were the last two men standing.
It was Geoff Williams who got the verdict over Jim Cumming to win the trophy on the day or should that be the season?
It was to be a dark month though for the golf club when two of our number passed away and the funerals of George Neill and Murdo Beaton were sad and solemn occasions for all concerned.
Both men were past captains and George was recently made an honorary member of the club.

CRIOMAGAN
Coaching

There were several sessions sprinkled throughout the year but not as many as I'm sure the organisers would have liked. Committee member Margaret Ford appears to be leading from the front in this initiative so let’s hope that she receives the help and encouragement that she and her helpers deserve.

Our thanks also go to the visiting teaching pro's, Linzi Dey and our own Ryan Macaskill as various groups of boys, girls and ladies were wholeheartedly involved and hopefully benefitted from the tuition and encouragement they undoubtedly received.

Raiders

We also applaud the raiding parties that swept back and forth to the mainland to keep the Isle of Skye GC visible and relevant on the prize lists throughout the Highlands and Islands. Special mention here for Jill and Donalda for quite understandably being prepared to travel far and wide in search of the competition they so desperately crave but still rarely get on their home track.

Gone But Not Forgotten

In the last year and a tickle we've lost way too many senior members: Iain Hume, John Burton, Jim Rodger, Ian Marr, George Neill, Murdo Beaton and very recently George Gibson have all gone.

Unfortunately that also means that old-timers like yours truly are slowly but surely shuffling ever nearer the front of the queue in the departure lounge.

Course

Greenkeeper John Cunningham continues to work his magic on our main parcel of land drawing glowing praise from both members and visitors alike. The conditioning of the greens has been so good for so long now that the raiders sometimes find the putting surfaces on some mainland courses are actually inferior when compared with our own track.

His trusty lieutenant Calum Beaton also deserves our thanks and praise for his sterling efforts on our behalf.

Both men performed miracles to keep our course in such rude health all summer long despite the absolutely appalling weather conditions in which they frequently had to perform their tasks on our behalf.

Very well done boys.

Committee

The governing body of our club, the committee has since day one functioned by osmosis in that senior office bearers come gradually through the ranks learning all the while how the IOSGC functions.

That is not always the case in some of the bigger clubs in the land and that's when trouble can start to brew.

There will be six members on the new committee for 2025 where only two have progressed naturally through the ranks meaning that there are four complete newcomers to the task this time round.

Apathy among the membership continues to be prevalent with just too many prepared to haul out the old excuse-'I'm too busy and anyway I'm only here to play golf-I don't want to get involved in any hassle'.

If we all adopted that attitude then our golf club would have ceased to exist many moons ago.

Fair play then to those who have stepped forward to accept the challenge. When the critics circle as they surely will when the first controversy rears its ugly head the new group should simply ask the girners why they did not submit their names for committee consideration at the AGM-then get on with the job.

Sponsors

Our sponsors also deserve thanks for allowing us to append their names to our golfing product: in no particular order Jewsons, Isle of Raasay Distillery, Craig Campbell Opticians in Kyle, Torabhaig Distillery, Organic Sea Harvest, Macleod and Macallum, Portree and Isle of Skye Distillers are all well worthy of our gratitude.

Competitions
I feel that this remains the weakest area in an otherwise strong and thriving IOSGC portfolio.
Covid and the imposition of the World Handicap System upon us are firmly to blame. In days of yore members who would be competitors played in competitions in order to reduce their handicaps and that for many is their sole purpose in playing golf. Consequently the numbers in our club and the ratio of competitive to recreational golfers remained close to the national average of between one quarter and one third of full members.I suspect that these odds have edged in favour of the latter these last several years.

When writing the weekly reports of the ‘goings on’ in the summer comps it’s basically the same tough and loyal cohort who play in the unofficial winter league with the occasional newcomer coming along to play in the odd competition. We need to find a way to get more bodies involved and make playing competitive golf at Sconser more attractive to more of our members.

No thanks whatsoever to the WHS, players are no longer required to participate in the formality of a recognised club competition in order to reduce their handicap-if that, of course is why they are playing the game. All they need do now is rock up any time any place on any course with a companion of their choice in weather conditions to their liking-then proceed.

Perhaps the new brooms on the committee can address this matter on our behalf? They are freshly come to the table untarnished and minus the rather jaundiced eye of old soldiers like yours truly who've experienced so much upheaval in our lifetime and not always for the benefit of the game.

If Donald John with that fiery Leodhasach blood pulsing through his veins can bring a new perspective to the political arena in the good old US of A then perhaps our new governing body can help us by taking a fresh look at things down Sconser way?

Clubhouse/Shop

I was unable to attend the recent AGM-not apathy, unwell-but I understand that the shop in particular is thriving and making a very healthy contribution to our overall cash reserves. Perhaps this is an area for development with more advertising particularly for the overseas market? We all know that the Isle of Skye is second only to Edinburgh as a top tourist destination in Scotland so we should capitalise on that.

The stewards have done a great job particularly in the 'meet and greet' area as visitors pour onto our nice wee course situated as it is in a location to die for.

Apparently our logoed merchandise in particular simply flies off the shelves.

For this old timer though one puzzle remains.
When we built the clubhouse in 1988 there was a lot of work and head scratching involved. Not just employing the professional builders but grants and loans had to be applied for by the committee of the day and many of us gave up our time to help with the project and keep costs to a minimum.

So why, to this very day do both members and visitors alike continue to get changed in the car park?

If we were going to build a white elephant we could have saved ourselves some time and money.

Additionally it would appear that the pace of modern life in Skye and Lochalsh is quite so hectic that more than a few members and competitors on completion of their rounds simply have to rush off home-without ever even setting foot in the clubhouse.

It could and should be the social hub of the club and greater interaction between members in it's environs might just engender a more robust feeling of club spirit and togetherness?

Personal Highlights

My two greatest memories of 2024 were as a spectator observing the two extremes of professional golf.

At the very pinnacle of the game I thoroughly enjoyed my first and almost certainly last ever visit to Royal Troon GC there to watch the best players in the world ply their trade.

In the company of Thomas Marr I spent three glorious days on the Ayrshire coast watching Scottie, Xander, Rory, Bryson and TW strut their stuff for our edification and delight.

At the other end of the professional game I travelled to Aviemore to watch second-year aspiring young pro Ryan Macaskill play a brilliant first round of golf in the Spey Valley Masters. I would say that he might have slightly mishit only three shots(one, but only one of which even I could have played better!) in a two under par round of 69 which saw him tied for 5th place in a field of nearly 100.

It was a fly on the wall experience which included holding the pins and raking the bunkers and never to be forgotten for this old codger.

Weather

I have lived on Skye for more than 50yrs now and never have I experienced such continued poor weather for such a prolonged spell as we’ve had last year. The summer in particular was non-existent.

Surely, hopefully 2025 can only be better?

Thank you all very much for reading my modest efforts on behalf of the IOSGC. Here's to a guid New Year for us all.



JOHN MARSHALL