Whiting Bay Golf Club

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Wednesday 28th July – The Jim Pirie Quaich

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Wednesday 28th July – The Jim Pirie Quaich

Following the excitement and rigours of our ‘open’ weekend, it was back to Stableford scoring for the ‘Jim Pirie’. Light overnight rain had taken some of the fire out of the course but not much! 34 played and still found the odd wayward bounce but safe to say conditions were a little easier than the hard baked course of recent weeks. Gordon MacLachlan took full advantage to win on 38 points, thus securing his first trophy at Whiting Bay.

1st Gordon MacLachlan (21) – 38 points

2nd Finlay Ahearne (25) – 36 acb

3rd Murray Foggo (5) – 36

4th David Blair (12) – 35

2s came from Nicol Auld @ 4, David Brookens @ 7, DavidBlair @11, Scott Murray @15, Stewart Neil @ 16, and Cameron Hill and Ronnie Mann both @ 17.

Monday 26th July – The WBGC Junior Open

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Monday 26th July – The WBGC Junior Open

As with the ‘big open’ we weren’t able to stage the junior version last year but for 2021 it was back with a bang. Another warm sunny day meant the youngsters who played had a great day of golfing fun with a free feed and juice at the end of it all. We had a good entry of both boys and girls and a good spread of ages, 5 to 16, to enjoy the specially tailored course layouts and the various prizes allocated to each age group. As usual the Adair and Foggo families came up with a generous array of prizes cleverly arranged so that everyone went away with something to remind them of the day. It was heartwarming to see so many excited faces as the prizes were awarded in front of a large and supportive contingent of mums, dads and other oldies.

A motley crew of mums, dads, others and competitors look on just before the prizes are handed out.

There were too many prizes to detail them all here but Grace Crichton took the prize for the best girl’s score and the overall winner was Ross Baillie who can proudly call himself the Whiting Bay Junior Open Champion of 2021.

Here he is with his prizes and trophy beside tournament  hosts Scott Adair and Alan Foggo

The junior open is a good indicator of the health of the game on the island and it was heartening to see so many taking a keen interest. There was an especially encouraging contingent of locally based youngsters in or approaching their early teens and hopefully their interest in the game will continue into adulthood. Like all golf clubs we rely on attracting new players coming through and the signs at the moment are very positive.

Our thanks go to all who participated and to the adults who acted as guides, caddies, referees etc; without their input this would be a very difficult day to stage. Thanks also to the course and clubhouse staff who carried on on Monday just as they had left off on Sunday – superb! Finally another huge vote of thanks to the Adair and Foggo families and to Flora Jean Mack for their generous contribution of time, refreshments and prizes. We are once again indebted to them for staging this popular and important event.

See you all next year!

Saturday and Sunday 24th & 25th July – The Hunter Furnishings WBGC Gents Open

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Saturday and Sunday 24th & 25th July – The Hunter Furnishings WBGC Gents Open

After the tribulations of last year the WBGC Gents Open returned with, as has become traditional, beautiful golfing weather over both days. Bright sunshine and a dry running course made for a wonderful golfing experience for the large fields that participated and led to some exceptional scoring.

Saturday 24th July – The Bank of Scotland Cup

93 played

1st Scott Murray (7) – 56

2nd John Pennycott (11) – 58 acb

3rd Andrew Martin (14) – 58

4th Fraser McKenzie (16) – 61

Craig Young of the Balmore Golf Club returned the lowest gross score of 62.

Fourteen 2s were recorded. The full list is available on the club’s website. The major prize generously donated by Hunter Furnishing for the 1st hole in one of the event remained unclaimed.

Sunday 25th July – The Royal Bank of Scotland Cup

87 played

1st Cameron Hill (13) – 53

2nd Douglas Auld (18) – 58

3rd David Brookens (11) – 59

4th Brian Murray (8) – 60

Craig Young again returned the lowest gross score, this time a fine 64, and he also claimed the sponsor’s hole in one prize by acing the 17th. Congratulations Craig and here’s to many years of relaxation on your new recliner

Fourteen 2s were recorded. The full list is available on the club’s website.

Here are Scott and Cammy with their trophies.

The Whiting Bay Gents Open

The 2021 WBGC Open Champion is Cameron Hill who’s score of 119 pipped Andy Martin on a countback. Scott Murray took 3rd place on 122 with John Pennycott in 4th place on 124. Cameron’s eagle 2 on the 18th hole on Sunday clearly proved crucial. Many congratulations to him on a fine golfing performance over both days. The best scratch total came from Craig Young on 126.

Here is Cammy and his trophies with proud mum and dad.

Our thanks go to Neil Richardson and Hunter Furnishings for their generous sponsorship. The provision of a major prize for the first hole in one was a new departure for us but one that certainly generated a large measure of interest in the event. Thanks also to Arran Dairies, The Arran Butcher and Woolley’s,  all of whom went the extra mile to assist us when demand threatened to outstrip supply. A huge thank you to all those who toiled on the course and in the clubhouse. Stewart’s work on the course has often been mentioned in reports this year and for our flagship event he made sure the course once again exceeded expectations. In the clubhouse John Simmons and his helpers, Louise, Nanci Bremner and Jenni Mack worked wonders while Jamie the Train and his army of little shunters kept up the rapid supply of burgers. The remaining COVID restrictions meant that access to the clubhouse was limited and controlled but with everyone’s cooperation and understanding, the pop up beer garden behind the home green proved a pleasant spot to enjoy the warm weather and some welcome refreshment. Finally, thanks to all participants for their support and to their families and friends who contributed so well to the party atmosphere at the club. Hopefully we’ll see you all back next year.

Wednesday 21st July – The McLintock Cup

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Wednesday 21st July – The McLintock Cup

An elegant Edwardian cup presented to the club in 1908, ‘The McLintock’ is one of our oldest trophies and although thought of as the ‘warm up’ for our open weekend, it is in itself a prestigious event. 36 played in this years version and despite the tricky conditions presented by a sun baked (we don’t often get the chance to say that) course scoring at the top of the leaderboard was good. Cameron Hill, fresh from his runners up spot in the Raymond Curtis, went one better this time to win with a net 59.

1st Cameron Hill (15) – 59

2nd Sandy Pringle (14) – 60 acb

3rd David Morrison (9) – 60 acb

4th Robert McNaught (17) – 60 acb

Scott Adair produced the best scratch score with a well worked 66 that began with an eagle 2 at the 1st. The remaining 2s came from  Graeme Crichton at the 2nd, Neil Richardson at the 7th and David Morrison, Brian Murray and Scott Murray all at the 17th.

Sunday 18th July – The Raymond Curtis Salver

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Sunday 18th July – The Raymond Curtis Salver

Once again a fine morning for golf and a good field of 38 participated in the latest of our charity support opens. Scoring was good across the board with net 61 being good enough only for 4th place but the the two Jamies, Macpherson and Stewart, each produced superb scores of 64 gross and these on a day when any advantage in distance was more than tempered by hard fast greens requiring great short game dexterity. Superb golf from both with Jamie Macpherson just edging 1st place on handicap and Jamie Stewart edging best gross score on the better back 9.

1st Jamie Macpherson (5) – 64

2nd Cameron Hill (19) – 60 acb

3rd Jamie Stewart (4) – 60 and lowest gross

4th Graeme Crichton (13) – 61