Council has arranged three courses for alternative golf during the July Open preparations and the tournament itself. In spite of three separate messages, a fourth club has yet to respond. The present availability is as follows:-  

Edzell has kindly offered the courtesy of the course to Dalhousie members from July 2^nd to 22^nd. Bookings should be made well in advance, if possible, through Alistair Webster in the Pro shop on 01356 647283.  

Arbroath has offered the links to members at a price of £15 per round. The course is likely to be exceptionally busy in the lead-up to The Open, so DGC members are asked to give as much notice as possible to Lindsay Ewart in the Pro Shop. He is on 01241 875837.  

Kirriemuir has offered to accommodate DGC members at a similar cost of £15 per round. Contact should be made through Alan Tucker at 01575 573317 to arrange tee times – once again, please give as much notice as possible.  

Forfar Golf Club has not yet replied to enquiries on availability.  

If further opportunities arise, members will, of course, be advised immediately.  

On a separate topic, several members have enquired whether – as in past Open Championships – DGC members will be allowed access to the R & A ‘marquee’ during the tournament for teas, coffees etc etc. As soon as we have a reply, it will be circulated by e-mail, put on the club website and displayed on the notice Board in the Golf Hotel.  

Please contact me if there are any queries on the above – by e-mail at  enquiries@donaldfordimages.com or by mobile phone - 07711 805580.

DONALD FORD

The first of the two annual matches against Downfield was staged on the Championship Course which now – without doubt – is taking on the appearance of the fierce, legendary challenge to the world’s finest golfers as their arrival is now only a few weeks away. The obvious punishment meted out through the growth in the rough, together with steady rain over the last two hours of play, clearly affected the visitors more than their hosts, with Dalhousie recording a fine victory by four matches to two. There were notable performances from Tony Quinn and Aidan McColgan, Graeme Paton and Nick Yates, Barry and Michael Stewart, with Brian Colquhoun and Stuart Braid putting the icing on the cake in the final match to seal the team’s first success of the season.

As usual, a fine two course meal was enjoyed ‘apres golf’, with plenty of banter around the tables to reinforce the inter-club spirit which has been evident between the two clubs over many years. The quip of the night definitely belonged to Downfield captain Willie Hunter, who announced in his after-dinner remarks that Andy, his partner, clearly misunderstood the purpose of mats being used by golfers to protect many fairway landing areas in preparation for The Open. “He came back with two dozen mats in his bag to take back to Dundee…..he must have heard that we were in dire need of them at Downfield!”

It all bodes well for the return match in Dundee in August, with fingers tightly crossed that the monsoon which curtailed last year’s fixture will be noticeable by its absence this time around – and, of course, that Dalhousie does the double over a now determined Downfield.

There was scarcely a breath of wind up at Edzell, as nineteen Dalhousie Seniors turned up on June 11th to compete for the Kennedy Cup, the Reg Nish Trophy and the Tanner Trophy. The popularity of the annual day out was well and truly maintained, with the Stableford competition producing some excellent points totals - in benign conditions off the yellow tees. With one Mulligan permitted per golfer, there was even more reason to throw caution to the wind from the tee, though some members (including the Captain!) totally forgot that such was available. We won’t forget next year…..

The Kennedy Cup was won by Bill Jackson, who played splendidly to amass thirty nine points in his round. Murray Kydd lifted the Reg Nish Trophy, while John MacDougall collected the Tanner Trophy. Suitably rewarded with a bottle of wine and a tube of new balls, it goes without saying that at least three Seniors returned to Carnoustie with a song in their hearts!

As expected, the course was in fine condition, though most found the slower pace of the greens (by comparison with Carnoustie Links) difficult to conquer.  Off the course, the quality of service - bacon rolls on arrival, a splendid two course meal after golf and a warm welcome in the Pro Shop from Alastair Webster and his assistant, Carol - was everything for which Edzell has become renowned. In spite of quite a few call-offs which necessitated late personnel changes, Peter McColgan had everything under control (he claimed!) and deserves thanks for his organisation of one of the most enjoyable days out in the Dalhousie calendar. If the level of banter in the dining room is anything to go by, nineteen members had a superb time!

In total contrast to the almost idyllic conditions enjoyed during the Dalhousie Anniversary tournament on March 13^th, the ‘season opener’ was as close to a golfing horror show that could be imagined. Freezing winds, driving showers of rain and sleet and the total absence of either enjoyment or quality play made for a pretty awful three or four hours out on the links. Only seventeen hardy – but clearly unhappy – Dalhousie members completed the task of achieving a result from the introductory match which kicked the new season off.

As things turned out, the last couple on the course (Tom Wotherspoon and Campbell Ford) battled their way around to be the only members who completed eighteen holes. Thus, arriving back in the warmth of the Golf Hotel about an hour after all other combatants, little did either of them know that their result was to decide the winner of the whole affair! With the match score tied at 6 points each, Campbell’s victory duly sealed the narrowest of wins for the Juniors.

After a splendid buffet and countless cups of warming tea and coffee from the hotel staff, Mike Sinclair duly collected the trophy on behalf of his fellow ‘youngsters’. The awful conditions endured made the destiny of the Captain’s special award for the ‘shot of the day’ a fairly simple decision to recognise. The aforesaid Tom Wotherspoon’s superb tee shot to four feet at the short thirteenth – plus the holed putt for his two – was widely approved by all concerned.

It is fairly safe to say, therefore, that few will recall the 2018 ‘official’ launch of a Juniors versus Seniors fixture as a season opener with any sense of enjoyment or warmth. Surely, it cannot possibly be subject to worse conditions in the years to come?

There is great news from Gair Forbes this week on progress he has made on members’ responses, ticket sales and – especially – a growing clutch of BRILLIANT prizes for raffling and/or auction at the next Race Night. The BAD news is that reaching the maximum number of ticket sales to ‘sell out’ the event is now a credible proposition. (That, to be honest, is no surprise as the entertainment throughout the previous Race Nights has been nothing short of superb.)

It is difficult to overstate the fun and enjoyment of the entire evening, so those members or friends who have yet to invest in tickets have, essentially, only four weeks to do so. Get in touch – PRONTO – therefore, with Gair – gairforbes@yahoo.co.uk  or myself at enquiries@donaldfordimages.com to ensure that places are reserved for you, family and/or friends.

Profits made from the event are split down the middle, between the Scottish Air Ambulance Service and the Dalhousie Golf Club. Could you wish for a better destination than those two – especially with both a brilliant charitable donation and a contribution to Dalhousie’s celebrations of one hundred and fifty years on Carnoustie Links??!!

Donald Ford

2018 CELEBRATORY EVENTS SCHEDULE

Sincere thanks to all members who have promptly completed the schedule of proposed Dalhousie events for 2018 – and duly returned them by November 30^th. With much pre-planning to be carried out, early indications of members’ intentions to take part (or not!) in the list of events is of great assistance to Council.  

To those who have yet to complete and return their own forms, could I ask that they do so as soon as possible please? It is frightening to realise that 2018 is only a few weeks away ( with a major Dalhousie event in the first half of March) and there is MUCH to be done ‘behind the scenes’ to ensure that things go according to plan.  

Meantime, I hope pre-Christmas build-up is on schedule for members and, should your events form still require completion, look forward to hearing back from you as soon as possible.  

Donald Ford

After meeting up with a group of Canadian golfers in Italy a couple of years ago, one of them is coming over to play here in July. He has said that he would be only too pleased to entertain any Dalhousie member who might be visiting the Vancouver area and looking for a game. Take a mental note if you are interested, get back to me and I'll forward contact details. They are lovely people.....