Members’ News 2006 (15 December 2006)

Cancellations of golf competitions
Their will be no further golf competitions in December, due to current condition of the course caused by recent heavy rainfall.

ProAm Presentation
On Tuesday evening 5th Dec the club presented the proceeds from the efforts of the ProAm committee to the chosen charities.

The total of £8700 was split between:

PETAL - a Hamilton based charity who give advice and support to those who have suffered from the effect of a family member who has been murdered. They also help the families of murderers. They are now refered by the police. This charity was selected by the captain.

CROSSROADS - based in Rutherglen they provide carers to private customers as well as the patients referred and paid by the local authority. This charity was chosen by the Ladies Captain.

TRAINED DOGS FOR THE DEAF - as the name suggests these dogs are trained to help people with hearing problems, eg. the dog lets its master know when the alarm rings , the door is knocked etc. They do not use any particular breed of dog as they try to suit the dog to the person.

ProAm chairman John Young introduced the audience to the three charities and the Ladies Captain presented the cheques. Each charity gave a short thank you speech an insight to the workings of the charity.

The Captain thanked the three charities for their attendance and hoped that they would make good use of the monies. He also thanked the ProAm committee for all their efforts. He mentioned that the team was made up of past captains and suggested that their vast experience played a big part in the success of the fund raising effort.

During the evening the guests ( charities ) and the other members of the audience were served a finger buffet and refreshments.

Upcoming Committee Meetings
Main Meeting – Tuesday, 19th December at 7.00pm
Social – Thursday, 7th December at 5.00pm
Ways & Means – Friday, 15th December at 10.00am

AGM
The Annual General Meeting as normal will be held on the second Sunday in February ie 11th February 2007 - come along and enjoy yourself.

DISABLED PARKING
The Club have installed new signage for the disabled parking area. Please help by not abusing the use of this parking area.

WINTER GOLF PROGRAMME
During the winter months the Match Committee will be arranging the following competitions.
November 11th Texas Scramble
December 16th Greensome Pairs
January 13th Putter + 3 Clubs
February 11th Texas Scramble
March 10th Stableford Pairs

We will have a Shotgun start at 9.00am for all these events to allow other members to play their own games in the afternoon.
All full members are able to play in the above competitions.

NOTICE - POWER CADDIES
Please note that from Monday the 30th October power caddies can still be used but they must be kept outwith the wooden staked areas at each of the greens.

On days of extreme frost no caddiecars of any type will be allowed on the course. This will be indicated by a notice at the Pro Shop and at the 1st tee.

4TH HOLE
We have received notification that a number of balls are finishing in the garden of the houses to the right of the 4th hole. These are mainly from wayward drives but we would be obliged if any members hit a ball into these gardens could record this fact in the book that has been provided in the Spike Bar. This will enable the Club to monitor the situation and take any action that may be necessary in the future.

USE OF MATS
Mats will be in operation on the course with effect from Monday 30th October and must be used on all closely mown areas.

In addition to the above, mats must also be used when a ball lies in the rough within four paces of the fairway.

Anyone lifting a ball off the fairway must also place it at least four paces into the rough.

JUNIOR PRIZEGIVING
The Junior Section held its Prizegiving and election of office-bearers on 13th November. The evening was well attended by some 45 juniors and guests.
 
Junior Committee for 2007
Jonathan Glen - Captain
Ian Williamson _ Vice Captain
Kieran Muldoon - Secretary
Committee: Sandy Bendall, Gordon Burns, Scott Fleming, Alan Henderson, Simon McAteer, and Tom McGarrity.
 
New trophies this year were presented by Arthur Buttery for a foursomes event, and Andrew Braidwood for a girls stroke competition. A medal to be known as the William Smeaton Medal has been introduced for the highest placed junior qualifier in the McMillan / Sinclair 36 hole stroke event. 

Prizewinners

Monthly Medals

NEW COURSE RECORD
Pamela Pretswell recently broke the Ladies Course Record at Bothwell Castle. In the August Medal she scored a gross 70. Since then her fine form has continued and her playing handicap is now down to 1.

MATCH
Winter programme

All competitions will be played off mats including in the rough. There will only be 1 competition  per month. This will enable the match committee to move the competition to another date if weather is unsuitable.

County Team Match
The tee will be closed from 10.45 to 12.15 on 14th October to allow a
Lanarkshire Gents county team match to take place.

Club Team
The Bothwell Castle Gents team finished 2nd again this year in division 3.

Slow Play
The match Committee is looking at ways to control the scourge of all golf
clubs, SLOW PLAY. The committee will be monitoring the situation and as a
fact finding exercise starting next season all matches in the gents medal will be required to note their tee off times on their scored cards and after playing the 8th hole record their time at that point to the professional. And after completing 18 holes. This exercise will last for three months and should give the match committee some sort of idea of where,why and what is the cause of the slow play during medal rounds. The match Committee asks for the co-operation of the members in the matter.

Lady Starter
The match committee are pleased to announce that Mrs Fay Chambers has been appointed as The lady Starter for Bothwell Castle Golf Club. Fay will work with Willie Kennedy at various events at the club.

JUNIORS
More International Success for Colin
15 year old Colin Baird has represented Scotland at under-16 level during September and October. In his latest match, Colin played his part in a first ever defeat of England at this level, In his first international outing against the North of England Colin was undefeated in both his foursomes and singles matches.
 
Now a member of the under-16 squad, Colin looks forward to a full season of international golf in 2007.
 

Junior Prize Giving Night
The Junior Prize Giving will take place on Monday 13th November at 7-30 pm

Senior Ladies
The Senior Ladies had their AGM and Annual Prize Giving Dinner on 5th October. This was the 7th event and was a very successful evening.

Picture shows (from left) Ina Paterson Treasurer,Elma Sruthers match Secretary,
Sheila McGarrity Senior ladies past Captain,Morag McIntosh
Senior Ladies Vice Captain, Ina Lynch Senior Ladies Captain.

International Selection
Congratulations to Colin Baird who has been selected to play for the Scottish under 16 team to play against a North of England side in MId September.

Lanarkshire Junior Team Finals 
Bothwell’s Junior Team this year qualified for the County finals at Colville Park by winning the Area inter club league, finishing ahead of Blairbeth, Cambuslang and Bellshill.

In the morning semi final, Bothwell had a great victory over Kirkhill by 4 matches to 2 and in the other semi final Shotts had the better of Lanark. Unfortunately, one or two putts went astray in the afternoon, and Shotts beat Bothwell by 3 ½ to 2 ½ in the 18 hole final.

Bothwell Team (from left) Ian Williamson; Alan Henderson; Craig McDermott; Kieran Muldoon; Colin Baird; Gordon Burns; Jonny Glen

This year’s place in the final is the first time Bothwell have reached the team final since its inception in 1982, and the young team come away from this year’s campaign with a great deal of credit.

Many thanks to all those that supported the junior team this year, and particularly to those that went over to Colville Park for the finals day.

Club Championship
Men's Final
This year defending champion Ian Hynds once again made it to the final and was up against Peter Robertson Junior, a past winner of this event on a number of occasions. Although it did not contain some of the sparkling golf of the earlier rounds, Ian once again showed his match play qualities holding out in a tense last hold to win 1 up over 36 holes.

Senior Men's Final
This match was also a close affair between two experienced campaigners in this event. It ended up with a smiling Ronnie Nelson having got the better of Norrie Good by being 1 up at the last
.
Ladies' Final
In this final Fiona Scott's previous experience proved to much for Pamela Connacher. Despite a brave effort by Pamela, Fiona ran out a convincing winner.

Junior Finals
In 2006 a new category of Juniors (Class2) has been introduced for boys in the handicap range 24 to 28. The Eastern Trophy, previously contested by the Youths Section has been allocated to the Class2 match play championship with the final played on ‘Finals day’ over 36 holes. The first winner, is Jak Muir, who beat Gavin Smith in a very keenly contested final.

The Junior Championship Trophy, contested by boys with handicaps less than 24 was won by Ian Williamson. Ian gained revenge over Colin Baird in a repeat of last year’s 36 hole final. Ian’s 2 and 1 victory came after yet another very closely contested match, in which neither boy gained a clear advantage until the closing stages.

Congratulations to all our winners.

Medal Times
The club plan to make the medal draw available online on the How did I do website. There will be a trial run for the Aug 5th medal and it should go live in time for the medal on Saturday 12th August. Available from Thursday Evening, there will be a direct link to the draw from the main page of the Members' Section on this website. Members will still have to enter their names on the entry sheet as at present.

MacMillan and Sinclair Salvers
Played in wonderful conditions this year’s MacMillan competition included some excellent scoring. In the morning round Murray Dubber (64) and David Colgan (65), had a 4 and 3 shot lead respectively over the rest of the field.

However roles were reversed in the afternoon when, despite their scores failing to match their morning’s low scores they managed to stay ahead of the rest of the field, with David running out the eventual winner on 136, three ahead of Murray on 139.

David Durham took 3rd place on 141. The afternoon’s low score was a 64 by Michael Henderson.

David Colgan also won the Sinclair Salver with the lowest gross score of 144.

September Cabaret  Evening
This additional event has been arranged for Friday 15 September.

There will be a meal + Cabaret + Dance at an all inclusive price.

Details and ticket prices will be confirmed later. Tickets will be on sale during August.  As space will limit numbers it is advisable to buy tickets as soon as possible.

Cabaret will be ‘vocal comedy’ provided by the popular and talented Lorraine Summers.

Ladies Section
There is now a separate Ladies Section link to the How Did I Do website for you to check your scores and handicaps.

Juniors Section
The Boys’ Team is unbeaten this season, and finished top of Section 4 of the Lanarkshire Junior League. The semi finals and final are at Colville Park on 27th August, and any support for the boys would be greatly appreciated. The other teams involved are Drumpellier, Lanark and Strathaven.
In the Junior Championship run by Hamilton and District Sports Council at Riccarton, Ian Williamson won the best gross and Jonathan Glen won the best net. Jonathan goes on to play in the area finals layer in the season.

Richard Murray and Gordon Burns recently qualified for the Scottish Junior Masters Regional qualifying at Largs Kelburn earlier this month. Gordon’s score of 36 stableford points at Largs has now qualified him to play in the Scottish Junior Masters’ finals at Gleneagles in October.

Gordon was also successful in the prestigious Braidwood Cup, with a net score of 263 at Bothwell over four consecutive days. Winner of the Girls’ Trophy was Catherine Stuart with a score of 329. Ian Williamson had four steady rounds to win the gross prize with a total of 303.

This year’s Boys’ Open championship attracted 58 entries and some blistering golf was produced by many of the boys. Barry Sloan of Langlands shot a 71 to win the Norman Robson Cup for best gross, and the James Wilkinson Cup for best net was won by Steven Quinn of Bellshill with a 63. Best placed Bothwell boys were Kevin Clements and Steven McIntosh, both with scores of net 68. Thanks are due to all that donated prizes for the event, and also to Captain Ian Mackie for presenting the prizes.

In the Ian MacMillan and Sandy Sinclair salvers three juniors, Kieran Muldoon, Colin Baird and Ian Williamson finished in the top 16 to qualify for the Club Championship. Kieran’s net score of would have won him the MacMillan salver but he was age barred from winning the trophy. The Club’s rules do however make all three eligible for the Club Championship and they will go forward to the match play stages on 29th July.

Recent Competition results

Remember you can check all the scores for any competitions by clicking on the How did I do logo on the main Member's Area page.

Visiting Parties
The visiting parties to the club are becoming more professional by the day as shown by a recent visitng group who had this leaderboard located next to the 18th green. Hopefully it is a reflection of the quality facilities we are now able to offer at Bothwell Castle. This particular event was organised Ian McLauchlan (Mighty Mouse) the former Scotland rugby captain

Clubhouse Surroundings
Those of you who have been at the club recently will have noticed the impressive new plant arrangements at the front entrance. These have been donated to the club by Sandyholm Garden centre, along with the plants for the flower bed in front of the clubhouse which is currently been planted up.

Previous News 23 May 2006

Junior Section

Mini Golf Evenings
For younger juniors and new junior members

Tues. 30 May  6-00 / 7-45
Tues 6 June  6-00 / 7-45
Tues 13 June  6-00 / 7-45
Mon 19 June  6-00 / 7-45
Tues 27 June  6-00 / 7-45

Mini competitions and prizes
With Alan McCloskey

Prizes Prizes Prizes
Are required for the bothwell castle boys’ open competition on 13th july.
A sleeve of balls or similar would be very much appreciated.
Contact: Bob Read (junior convener) or simply donate at the pro shop.

Young Masters Golf
New YMG cadet course, starting in June. For more information or to reserve your child a place contact the professional shop.

Junior Section
In line with the principle of making the game more enjoyable for the younger and higher handicap players, this year's competitions will be played in two classes. The Class 1 juniors, handicap less than 24 will play from the white tees. Class 2, those playing off 24 to 28 handicap will have a separate competition and will play from the red boxes. The new system will hopefully help to speed up play.
 
In the first team match, BCGC beat Eastwood with a resounding victory of 5 matches to 3 in this annual contest which has a tradition of kicking off the season with a very closely run match. The next match at Bothwell is on Friday 5th May against Blairbeth, and any support for the boys would be very welcome.
 
Our Boys' Open Competition takes place on 13th July, and a general request for donation of prizes is being made. Junior Convener Bob Read or any Committee member would be delighted to hear from any quarter of the Club willing to support the Boys' Open on 13th July.
 
This year Alan is continuing his Tuesday evening 'mini golf' sessions with the younger juniors, and dates are on the fixture card. These sessions have proved very successful in the past, and we are now seeing some of Alan's proteges coming into the junior team.
 
The team squad are benefiting from a monthly 'get together' with Alan to develop 'good ball strikers' into 'good golfers'. In other words, he is expanding their golfing skills to take into account course management, planning, psychology and etiquette. A very useful session for about 15 of our most talented juniors.
 
Alan's new venture this season is the Young Masters golfing project, and members have all seen the posters and flyers promoting this initiative to introduce very young children to the game.The project has been very well supported by family and friends of BCGC members, and Alan starts the sessions on 28th May.

Ladies Handicap & Medal Results
Members wishing to see the result of Ladies Competitions or check their up to date Handicap can now do so online by accessing the How did I do website. Please note that in doing so that the ladies and mens information is completely separate, so if you are looking up one and then want to go in to the other you need to choose Other Club in the side menu then choose Gents or Ladies option and then "B", and then scroll the list for Bothwell Castle Golf Club.
There is a direct link to both in the Members home page of this site.

Golf Central Website
Following 18 months of development the SGU has launched its new website www.golfcentral.co.uk. The site is designed to promote accessibility to golf in Scotland, with membership vacancies, visitor golf packages and a complete club open competition listings.

Through the website members of affiliated golf clubs will be able to access preferential green fee rates at many participating clubs, adding value to being a member of a golf club.

Mats Off
All of you who have persevered through the winter constantly playing from the rough or using mats - and those of you that have hibernated over the winter months - will be pleased to know that as of Sunday March 2nd normal golfing on the fairways will resume.

Club Committee Meetings
As agreed at the AGM, a synopsis of Minutes of Club Committee Meetings will in future be posted on the Club Noticeboard and will also be available on the Members' Area Page of this website.

Spring Clubhouse Hours
As of Sunday 26th March the clubhouse evening opening hours will be extended as follows:
Sunday 10pm
Monday 9.15pm
Tuesday 10.30pm
Wednesday & Thursday 9pm
Friday and Saturday 11pm

The above hours apply except on special occasions when a late licence is in force.

Playing Times
Amendments to the Membership Classifications in the Constitution have necessitated changes to the teeing off times for Playing and Junior Associates.
See Playing and Junior Associates Tee Off Times on Members Area main page

2006 Fixture List
The new fixture list has been added to the Members' Area Page. Please note that the date for the Open Mixed Foursomes not shown in the printed booklet is Sunday 3rd September.

Nature Watch at BCGC
No doubt you have seen and heard some unusual wildlife (apart from members) on the Course.  Perhaps you have seen the five Roe Deer or heard the Great Spotted Woodpecker when coming back through the Gap.

There have been sightings of a variety of birds including:

Robins, Thrush, Blackbirds, Starlings ,Magpies ,Wood pigeons ,Collared doves (in the woodland), Sparrows, Blue tits, Tree creepers, Gold crests (the smallest of the indigenous birds), Wrens, Mallards (in the car park), Long tailed tits, Swallows, Chaffinches, Buzzards

We have all seen the squirrels and foxes and some people think the paw prints seen regularly in the mornings are those of some kind of wild cats.

If you have seen or heard any of these or others please let us know by emailing website@golfbothwell.co.uk.

Email Communication
To allow the club to communicate cheaply and regularly with members we need the email addresses of members. Please help the club update its database by completing the electronic email reply form or the printed form you will/have received in the mail.

Clubhouse Opening Hours
As of Monday 6th March the clubhouse opening hours will be extended to 7pm in the evenings (Sunday to Thursday). Friday and Saturday hours will remain unchanged.

Catering/Functions
The Catering/Functions section of the website has been updated to include copies of the various menus available. Included is a Function Menu Selector which allows you to choose course by course for your particular event.

2006 Competitions
The Open Competitions for 2006 can now be viewed in the golf section of this website.
The Club Fixture list will be available in the next few weeks, and just in case you loose your little book it will be published here on the website for you to view or download as a PDF file.

Youths and Juniors
Child Protection - New Members may not be aware that the golf club has a Child Protection Policy and that Bob Read is the Child Protection Officer. Any members of the club who are likely to be involved with juniors (assisting with mini golfers, team matches, boys' open etc.) will have to disclosure checked. A system is in place for this - see Child Protection Policy.

Coaching - the initiatives in place include:
(a) A pre-season session for all junior members
(b) A monthly get together with Alan McCloskey for the 12 lowest handicappers (team pool) starts in April
(c) Tuesday evening mini golfers, 4 sessions in May/June

Season 2006 - there will be full programme of competitions and team matches commencing with the annual friendly against Eastwood on April 9th.

Picture Gallery
A gallery of pictures relating to past and current events at the club is being produced. If you have any pictures that you would like included please email them to links@golfbothwell.co.uk.if they are already in digital form. If they are conventional prints please leave them with the Secretary and marked Picture Gallery, so that they can be scanned. Don't forget to leave your personal details so that you can reclaim your pictures. We look forward to receiving your contributions.

Course Maintenance
Preparation of the course for the coming season is already underway. Further work will include hollow coring of aprons, top dressing greens/tees/aprons, edging of bunkers, re-turfing of worn areas and repair of drain track to the left side of the 18th. The greens convener and green staff will also be reviewing other work to be undertaken on the course.

Are you a Strictly Come Dancing Fan?
Let us know if you would support an activity like this in the clubhouse. There could be learning sessions or dances before the 2006 golfing season begins or possibly later in the year.

If you are interested email us or add your name to the sheets in the Ladies and Gents Locker Rooms

‘CLUBGOLF’  Initiative at Bothwell Castle Golf Club
The golf club is involved in the initiative to introduce golf to Primary School children and is looking for assistance from members:

Bothwell Castle Pro-Am supports Local Charities
The Pro-Am, held on July 17th, has now been running for over 20 years and over that period has raised over £170,000 for charities. The Pro-Am is always held on the last day of the Open Championship, and draws a strong field of Tartan Tour Professionals and amateur teams sponsored by many local businesses.

One of the attractions is that the Clubhouse is specially equipped with many televisions for the event, and participants can come off the course and then enjoy watching the final rounds of the Open leaders in a crowd atmosphere. The Club expects strong competition for places in 2006, because the Open will be at Royal Liverpool Golf Club (Hoylake), and many local golfers will want to play competitive golf and then watchTV rather thantravel down.

The Club’s policy is to support local charities. This year’s event raised £8400, with Kilbride Hospice, Meningitis Trust, and Disability IncomeGroup(DIG) each receiving £2800.

Photo shows Nagy Iskander (Kilbride Hospice), Lynn Stirrat (Ladies Captain BCGC) Alec Gray (Captain BCGC), Margaret Anderson (DIG), John Young (Convener of Pro-Am Committee BCGC), and Sharon Campbell (Meningitis Trust)

National Recognition for two Bothwell Junior Golfers

SLGA Training Squad
Congratulations to Pamela Pretswell for being selected for the Scottish Training Squads for 2005/2006. This follows a very successful 2005 golfing season, and we wish every success in the coming season.

Golf Academy Programme
Colin Baird our Junior Champion has been selected as one of the most promising 42 junior golfers in Scotland to benefit from the Golf Academy programme recently set up by the Scottish Golf Union. Along with 5 other West of Scotland boys he will receive intensive coaching from Brian Gemmell at Dumfries over a two year period. The main purpose of the SGU Golf Academy is to raise the standard of coaching, support services and and advice available to young, developing players who have aspirations to compete at national level.'

Christmas Menus
Now is the time for you and your friends or company to book your Christmas Day meal and other Festive Period meals.
Click on the links below to view the menus available

Christmas Day Menu (PDF)

Festive Evening Menu (PDF)

Festive Lunch Menu (PDF)

Note that discounts are available if you make your course selections in advance. Make your reservations by calling 01698 801973 or emailing clubhouse@bcgolf.co.uk

Winter Hours
With the end of the golfing season the clubhouse opening hours have been reduced.

Morning opening time are 8.00am during the week and 7.30 at weekends

Closing time will vary as follows;
Sunday - 8.00pm
Monday, Wednesday and Thursday - 7.00pm
Tuesday - 10.00pm
Friday and Saturday - 11.00pm

Youths and Juniors
The Boys’ team finished second in their section of the Lanarkshire league, winning all the home matches but struggling away at Bellshill, Blairbeth and Cambuslang. The League trophy was won by Lanark, beating Hamilton in the final at Bellshill.

Colin Baird has been selected for national coaching and has now started regular visits to the national coaching centre at Drumoig.

Between 15 and 20 boys have played in the Saturday stroke competitions this season and single handicap boys have been allowed to play in senior competitions for handicap only. This has worked well with 2 or 3 boys using this facility.

Finals Day
A fine, sunny day resulted in a very high standard of scoring in all matches and a good turnout of members supporting the finals.

Club Championship Gents Final: (left image) In a very closely contested match between Ian Hynds and Kevin Morris, fortunes swung both ways several times. After 18 holes Kevin was 2 up but the match was eventually won 2 and 1 by Ian Hynds.
 
Youths Final: An excellent display by Sean McInulty resulted in a convincing win against Paul McCormack over 36 holes. Centre Photo shows finalists on 1st tee with Captain A. Gray and referee I. Reid

Junior Championship Final: All square after 18 holes, Colin Baird eventually beat Ian Williamson on the 36th hole after a thrilling match. Right Photo shows finalists on 1st tee with R. Read (Y & J Convener) and Captain A. Gray.

Ladies’ final: In another impressive display 16 year old Pamela Prettswell beat Amy Davies.

Seniors’ Final: John McMeekin beat Dick Willan.

Ladies Section
Ladies Champion: Pamela Pretswell our new champion has had a very successful season reducing her playing handicap from 10 to 2 within a 14 month period. Only 16, she qualified in 25th place from a field of 144 for the British Girls Open played at West Hll, but unfortunately was knocked out in the 1st round.
Her other atchievements this year have included:
Reaching the semi-final of the Scottish Girls Championship at Tain, only losing by 1 hole to the eventual winner of the competition.
The best handicap aggregate score in the 36 hole Monros Trophy at Montrose.
An albatross at the par 5 2nd hole In the St. Regulus Medal over the Old Course at St. Andrews.
These are just a few of the competitions in which Pamela has taken part and we wish her well in the coming season.

Ladies Team: Congratulations to the Ladies Montgomery Team who finished 2nd in the league by 1/2 a point, thereby securing promotion to the Park League next season. Thanks to all team members who participated this year.

Ladies Open Day: This year’s Ladies Day was very successful, raising £1500 from entry fees and the raffle. The monies raised will go to th Kilbride Hospice. The Silver Handicap prize was won by our own Amy Davies.

Upcoming events: Altough the golf season is almost at an end, there are many opportunities for us to continue playing golf and socialising over the autumn and winter months.
The popular Round Robin Competition will begin in October and the entry sheet will be on the board in early September. Some other dates for your diary include:
Saturday 8th October - Coffee Morning in the clubhouse
Monday 24th October - to be arranged
Friday 11th November - Annual Prizgiving Dinner
Please watch the noticeboard or check the website for further updates.

Cabaret Night 28th October
This event originally scheduled for Saturday the 29th has been re-arranged for Friday 28th. The band will be the very popular “Time of your life”, so please make sure you book in time. More information to follow.

Club Newsletter
A newsletter was circulated to all members at the end of July. A copy of the newsletter is available to download by clicking here.

Men’s Club Competitions
This year’s MacMillan Salver winner is Iain Hynds(6) with a net score of  135, just one stroke ahead of  Stephen Simpson(8) and David Blakemore(9). In a close finish all three players shot a final round of  68 net.

The Sinclair Salver winner for this year is Douglas McIntosh with a gross score of 143, finishing with a 70 in the afternoon. He won by 2 strokes from Craig Faskin, with last year’s club champion Forbes Butterfield in third place a further stroke behind. The top 16 players from this competition qualified for this year’s club championship.

The 16 qualifiers for the club championship have since been reduced to 4 with Iain Hynds versus Forbes Butterfield and Kevin Morris versus Donald Blair in the semi-finals.

Youths and Juniors
A team of Y & J s were entered in the pro Am. Colin Baird, Ian Williamson and Sean McInulty were 4th with Alan McCloskey. The boys’ entry was sponsored by the Seniors Section, and thanks are due to the Seniors and also to the Pro Am Committee for their support.

Colin Baird finished 19th out of 90 in the Scottish under 14s Boys’ Championship at Craigielaw. He also qualified for the last day, finishing 25th out of 120 in the Scottish under 16s at Longniddry.

A team was entered in the invitational Whitecraigs Junior Pro Am with Fraser McLaughlan. Kieran Muldoon, Eliot Ardrey and Ross Taylor had a successful day finishing 7th in a substantial field of Glasgow clubs.

In the Lanarkshire Boys’ league the team won all 3 home matches and lost all 3 away matches. The final league positions are not yet decided.

3 boys, Ian Williamson, Sean McInulty and Colin Baird played in the McMillan and Sinclair salvers. Colin Baird would have qualified for the match play stages but due to holiday commitments he had to withdraw.

Jonathan Glen (below) won the prestigious Braidwood Cup over 4 rounds with a net total of 269. Honorary President Alex Braidwood and Mrs. Braidwood kindly made the presentations.

Catering
Buckley Catering have tendered their resignation from the catering franchise. The club have advertised for a replacement and interviewing is already underway.

The club have been in consultation with Environmental Health and we voluntarily closed the kitchen (June 24th-28th) to seek re-assurance that the club was not the source of the recent spate of viral infections. We have subsequently received full assurance from the Environmental Health not only that the club was not the source of the infections (due to an airborne bug), but also that the hygiene in the kitchen is exemplary.

Clubhouse Surroundings
The pathway area between the Pro-shop and the 8th green has been dug up and replaced by a new paviored path including the shoe and trolley cleaning area, which has also been screened off to improve the tidiness of this area. A golf club cleaner has also been installed. The area around the course map erected recently will be landscaped.

Men’s Team
Our team currently in the 3rd division of the Lanarkshire League has been performing well over the last few weeks including their last win 6-4 against Torrance House. One more win should be sufficient to secure promotion to division 2.

‘The Herald’ Player Profile
One of our own professionals, Kenny Monaghan was the subject of a half page profile of the young professional golfer entitled ‘On the ball with plans for the future” in The Herald on Tuesday June 28th. It highlighted his progress and commitment during his 4 years at Bothwell, the PGA requirements of being a professional, plus his aspirations for the future as a professional golfer. Kenny has already won the Royal Dornoch Master’s tournament, and a successful golfing year to date has already seen him qualify for the Powerade Assistant’s tournament at The London Club in August. Later this month Kenny will be at the Silloth course in the Solway bidding to qualify for the Open at St. Andrews.

Fraser McLaughlan one of our other professionals is also having a successful season winning the Calloway 36 hole event at Craigielaw, and he is currently lying in the top 15 of the Scottish Order of Merit.

Family Golf
Monday 4th July sees the begining of the Braidwood Cups, a 4 day event for Youths and Juniors. Monday is also the one day of the year where you can compete with other members of the family in the Family Foursomes competition over 15 holes. Give it a try!

Charity Pro-Am
This year’s event is on Sunday 17th July. The club is hoping to raise £10,000 for charity. If you are not already in a team but would like to participate in this event, enter your name in the entry sheet on the notice board and your name will go into a ballot.

The Four Castles Tournament
The club will host this year’s competition on Sunday 31st July (tee closed 9am-1pm). Clubs participating are Ranfurly Castle, Buchanan Castle, Haggs Castle and ourselves. Each team will comprise of 21 ladies and gents across all handicap groups.

Lady’s Day
For once the day was blessed with fine weather allowing some relaxation on the balcony after a trying day out on the course. This year’s happy and relaxed winners were Roshin Sharp and David Lingard (even if it did cost him a bottle of champagne – ask Ewan Kirk all about it).

Gents - Competition Results & Handicaps
In future, competition results and current handicaps will be published using the Club 2000 web site facility ‘How did I do’. In compliance with the Data Protection Act, for members not wanting their name displayed, we can arrange for it to be ‘blocked’ and not appear on the web site. Please contact the Match Secretary.

To view your results and handicap click on the ‘How did I do’ link. This will take you directly to Bothwell Castle’s page in the list of clubs, then select your desired option.

Ladies - Use of Computer system
The ladies section is currently looking at the possibility of using a similar system to the gents for entering and publishing competition scores. More details in the near future.

Youths and Juniors
The club has developed procedures for compliance with the new Child Protection Agency requirements. (The Protection of Children and Young People - Quick Guidelines)
The Youths and Juniors Convenor has also set up a series of golf promotions, assisted by the Club Professional, to encourage our young golfers. Check with the proshop.

Club Opening Hours
The clubhouse is now open from 10am until 10pm Monday to Thursday with last food orders at 9.00pm, and last drink orders at 9.30. Friday and Saturday closing time is 11.00pm.
From the 27th April full summer opening hours will apply with closing time at 11.00pm every evening.

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