AYRSHIRE GOLF ASSOCIATION A.G.M. - John W. Watt elected Area President as Iain Harvey received Honorary position.

New Ayrshire Golf Association President
John W. Watt

John W. Watt (Prestwick St Cuthbert) was elected as the new President of The Ayrshire Golf Association at the Annual General Meeting at Caprington Golf Club on Tuesday 23rd October 2018.


A retired bank manager, John Watt is a long standing member of his home club and is well known in Ayrshire golfing circles, having worked at a number of local courses since his retirement, including Brunston Castle and Rowallan Castle.

John will serve as president for a two year period, from 2018 to 2020.

The Annual General Meeting was attended by representatives of fourteen member clubs, who received and approved the various annual reports on Area matters including finance, coaching, course rating and The Ayrshire Junior Golf League.

Outgoing President John Rushbury (Royal Troon) thanked the membership and executive members for allowing him the honour of serving as President of The Association, as he moved on to serve his two year term as immediate Past President.

Vice President Scott Gilchrist

The new Vice President for the forthcoming two year period is Scott Gilchrist (Loudoun) who is a former Club Champion of his home club and has been heavily involved in junior golf for a number of years, both at club and county level.

Alasdair J Malcolm (Prestwick St Cuthbert) was re-elected as Secretary/Treasurer of The Association for 2018 -19.

The retiring members of the executive Committee in 2018 were Robert Wilson (Balloch,yle), Hugh McKenzie (Troon Welbeck), Gordon Boyle (Turnberry) and Iain Harvey (Kilmarnock Barassie).

In addition Peter Doyle (Troon Welbeck) and Past President Milton Murray (Irvine) intimated their intention to stand down from the executive from the date of the A.G.M, and appreciation was expressed for the service given by both individuals and in particulary Milton Murray who had served in a number of posts over a long period, culminating in his period as President from 2012 to 2014.

Robert Wilson, Hugh McKenzie and Gordon Boyle were all nominated and stood succesfully for re-election to The Executive at the A.G.M.

A number of vacancies for periods of one, two and three years remain on the Area Executive and any interested individuals who may wish to become involved in the work of the Area Association should contact the Area Secretary who can provide further information on the work of The Ayrshire Golf Association.

Honorary Life President Iain Harvey

On the proposal of Past Presidents Alasdair J Malcolm and Ricky Magee, the meeting unanimously elected Iain Harvey (Kilmarnock Barassie) an Honorary Life President of The Association, in recognition of his services to The Ayrshire Golf Association and the wider golfing community in Scotland.

Iain served continuously on the Ayrshire executive since 1987, holding many positions, and serving as President from 1996 to 1998.

Iain also represented The Association on the Scottish Golf Union Council for a number of years, prior to the amalgamation with the Scottish Ladies' Golfing Association, which culminated in his election as Scottish Golf Union President for 2013 -14.

In recognition of his election as an Honorary Life President, Iain Harvey was presented with a commemorative plaque to mark the occasion.

Ian now joins Matt Lygate (Troon Portland) and R. Leslie Crawford (Klmarnock Barassie) as Honorary Life Presidents of The Association.

Prior to the conclusion of the meeting the member clubs were advised the the Scottish Golf per capita subscription would rise for the forthcoming season from £11.25 to £14.50 following approval at a recent E.G.M. of the national governing body, and the members also voted to accept the proposal from The executive that the per capita payment payable to The Ayrshire Golf Association should remain at the present level of £2.60 for the forthcoming year.

Further information on the Ayrshire Golf Association subscriptions and entry forms for the extended area competitions will be forwarded to all member clubs in the near future.

WEST OF SCOTLAND INTER COUNTY LEAGUES - Ayrshire pipped by Renfrewshire for 2018 title

Defending champions Ayrshire were pipped for the 2018 West Of Scotland Inter County A League title following completion of the seasons fixtures on Sunday 21st October.

Having completed their fixtures last Sunday, the Ayrshire team had to wait on the result of the final fixture between Renfrewshire and Stirlingshire at Bonnyton GC, which had been postponed two weeks earlier.

Renfrewshire needed to win their final fixture to overtake Ayrshire at the top of the table and achieved their goal with a 5 - 3 win over their visitors, to regain the trophy they last won in 2014.

AYRSHIRE ORDER OF MERIT - Jim Johnston wins Doc Thom salver for 2018

2018 Doc Thom Salver winner
Jim Johnston

Jim Johnston (Ayr Belleisle) has won the 2018 Ayrshire Order Of Merit title for the Doc Thom Salver. The victory was the culmination of a superb season for him which saw him win the Ayrshire Strokeplay Championship and gain his first Scotland cap at the Home Internationals.

With a total of 672.5 points collected from eight of the twenty one counting events, including first place at the Ayrshire Strokeplay, West Kilbride Open and Belleisle Cup, Johnston was over 200 points ahead of his nearest rivals.

Second place in the Order Of Merit was shared this year, with Michael Smyth (Royal Troon) winning the final counting event, The Arrol Cup at Prestwick St Nicholas, to establish a total of 400 points from just four counting events.

Matching Michael Smyth's total for joint second place was Sandy Buchanan (Prestwick St Nicholas) who staged a remarkable recovery from a reported stress fracture injury to his leg, which saw him withdraw from the Ayrshire team mid way through the previous weekends Scottish Area Team Championships, to finish joint third in the final 36 hole counting event at Prestwick St Nicholas, and giving him sufficient points to match Michael Smyth's 400 point total.

The final places in the 2018 Ayrshire Order Of Merit for the Doc Thom Salver were:-

672.5		JIM	JOHNSTON	Ayr Belleisle
400		SANDY	BUCHANAN	Prestwick St Nicholas
400		MICHAEL	SMYTH	Royal Troon
381.67		SCOTT	BROWN	Prestwick St Cuthbert
276.67		STEVEN	STAMPER	Turnberry
230.83		GEORGE	ROBERTSON	Irvine
200		JOE	McSORLEY	Brunston Castle
192.5		TOMMY	McINALLY	Loudoun
170		EUAN	WALKER	Kilmarnock Barassie
150		JOHN	SHANKS	Irvine
150		SCOTT	DAVIDSON	Largs
137.5		IAIN	BROWN	West Kilbride
100		ANDREW	THOMSON	Largs Routenburn
100		COLIN	McGOWAN	Troon Welbeck
100		GARY	HOLLAND	Ballochmyle
100		BEN	FERGUSON	Turnberry
100		DEREK	BALLANTYNE	West Kilbride
92.5		SHAUN	HEDGER	West Kilbride
87.5		ALAN	McLEAN	Kilbirnie Place
75		GREG	TELFER	Prestwick St Cuthbert
75		GARY	STEELE	Brunston Castle
75		NEIL	MELLON	Ayr Seafield
62.5		GREG	VERNON	Kilmarnock Barassie
62.5		JOHN	SLOAN	Doon Valley
62.5		CALLUM	McLAUGHLIN	Largs Routenburn
62.5		CRAIG	McKENZIE	Troon Welbeck
62.5		NICHOLAS	GRIER	Ardeer
62.5		ALAN	EWING	Largs
62.5		DEL	CHAMBERLAIN	Troon St Meddans
53.33		STUART	EASTON	Irvine
50		BARRY	O'ROURKE	Loudoun
50		KEITH	HAMILTON	Ayr Belleisle
50		GORDON	BOYLE	Turnberry
46		BLAIR	MORTON	Royal Troon
42.5		GREGOR	MACKINTOSH	Girvan
42.5		JOHN	HAGGARTY	Loudoun
42.5		ADAM	CHAMBERS	Ayr Dalmilling
42.5		SCOTT	ADAMS	Irvine Ravenspark
39.17		SCOTT	McILWRAITH	Brunston Castle
35		FRANK	MURDOCH	Brunston Castle
35		PAUL	GIFFNEY	Ardeer
35		SCOTT	CAIRNS	Prestwick St Cuthbert
30.83		ROBBIE	MUIR	Kilmarnock Barassie
27.5		JACK	PURDIE	Largs
27.5		ALAN	PROVAN	Largs
27.5		ROSS	CADDIS	Kilmarnock Barassie
20		GRAEME	GIMSON	Prestwick St Cuthbert
20		ROBERT	FERGUSON	Troon Welbeck
20		CHARLES	BELL	Ayr Dalmilling
15		MARK	WATT	Prestwick St Cuthbert
15		ROSS	LOWRIE	Ardeer
15		GEORGE	CABENA	Ardeer
14		FRANCIS	McNEILLIE	Ayr Seafield
14		ROBERT	LONG	Ayr Belleisle
14		JOHN	KELLY	Ayr Seafield
10		ALAN	STEWART	Stewarton
10		JOHN	PATON	Loudoun
10		BRUCE	CALDOW	Kilmarnock Barassie
10		ANDREW	BROWN	West Kilbride
7.5		GLEN	WILSON	Ayr Dalmilling
7.5		KEVIN	THOMSAS	Troon Welbeck
7.5		CAMERON	SIMMONS	Largs Routenburn
7.5		DAVID	NELSON	Turnberry
7.5		DAVID	LONGAIR	Prestwick St Cuthbert
7.5		EWAN	LINDSAY	Largs
7.5		BEN	GIBSON	Troon Welbeck
3.33		STUART	BROWN	Loudoun
2.5		BLAIR	TAYLOR	Rowallan Castle
2.5		CRAIG	STEWART	Ardeer
2.5		MARK	SEMPLE	Ardeer
2.5		JORDAN	MURRAY	Rowallan Castle
1		IAN	WALKER	Royal Troon
1		STUART	MILLER	Kilmarnock Barassie

AYRSHIRE JUNIOR ORDER OF MERIT - John McCracken wins 2018 title

2018 Junior Order Of Merit winner
John McCracken

John McCracken (Kilmarnock Barassie) is the 2018 Ayrshire Junior Order Of Merit title winner following completion of the final two counting events last month.


McCracken gained points in eight of the twenty counting events, including first place at The Golf South Ayrshire Open and the Loudoun Junior Open and amassed a total of 503.3 points to remain just ahead of the chasing pack.

Ayrshire Boys Champion Sean Addie (Ayr Belleisle) finished in the runner up spot, just 28.3 points behind the winner on 475 points, having gained points in five of the qualifying competitions including first places at the Byrne Howard Trophy at Royal Troon, The Ayrshire Boys Championship and the final qualifying competition at Irvine.

Harvey Broadfoot (Troon Welbeck) finished in third place, having gained a total of 367.88 points from seven of the counting competitions.

A total of 38 players registered points on the Junior Order Of merit table this season. The final placings were:-

503.3		JOHN McCRACKEN	Kilmarnock Barassie
475		SEAN ADDIE	Ayr Belleisle
367.88		HARVEY BROADFOOT	Troon Welbeck
298.33		EWAN MILLIGAN	Kilmarnock Barassie
258.33		JOHN KELLY	Ayr Seafield
237.5		EUAN FERGUSON	Turnberry
165		ROSS McDONALD	Kilmarnock Barassie
135		RUBEN LINDSAY	Ayr Belleisle
118.75		CHRISTOPHER HUNTER	Ballochmyle
105		CAMERON McGARVIE	Prestwick St Nicholas
100		JACK BROUN	Ayr Belleisle
100		ELLIOT THOM	Turnberry
100		CAMERON JOHNSTONE	Troon Welbeck
100		BEN WATSON	Kilmarnock Barassie
92.5		KYLE McCAIG	West Kilbride
90		ROB YORSTON	Loudoun
60		GLENN WILSON	Ayr Dalmilling
53.3		JOSH DAVIES	Troon Welbeck
50		KIERAN BEAUCHAMP	Turnberry
50		JOHN JACK	Millport
45		JAMIE MONTGOMERIE	Ballochmyle
43.34		PATRICK SMILEY	Pr. St Nicholas
35		JORDAN ORR	Ballochmyle
35		CONNOR WILLS	Prestwick St Nicholas
33.75		KERR BROOKS	Irvine
31.67		FRASER RUSSELL	Troon Welbeck
28.75		JACK ALLAN	Ballochmyle
27.5		LEWIS McMILLAN	Ballochmyle
21.67		MAX BARCLAY	Ayr Belleisle
21.67		LUKE GREIG	Troon Welbeck
20		LIAM KIRKHAM	Troon Welbeck
16.67		ALEC CLARK	Troon Welbeck
16.67		DANIEL LONG	Turnberry
12.5		CALLUM GILLIGAN	Troon Welbeck
11.67		CAMERON SHANKS	Caprington
5		DYLAN CAIRNS	Pr. St Nicholas
5		CHRIS DAWSON	Loudoun
5		LUISA GIBSON	Irvine

WEST OF SCOTLAND LEAGUES - Ayrshire wait for title fate after final match win over Stirlingshire

The Ayrshire A Team will need to wait until next Sunday to find out if they have retained the West Of Scotland Inter County League, following their 6.5 – 1.5 victory in their final scheduled fixture of the season, against Stirlingshire at Glenbervie last Sunday, 14^th October.

The win puts Ayrshire one point clear of Renfrewshire, who face Stirlingshire in a re arranged fixture at Bonnyton GC on Sunday 21^st. A win for Renfrewshire will see them take the title from Ayrshire whilst anything other than a win for the home side will give Ayrshire a fourth successive West Of Scotland title win.

Ayrshire went into their last match of the season knowing that only a victory would be good enough to maintain their title hopes, whilst Stirlingshire also had hopes of the title if they could beat their visitors.

Jim Johnston got Ayrshire off to the best possible start with a 5&3 win in the lead tie, as Ayrshire swept to victory, dropping only 1.5 points with a defeat for Tommy McInally in the anchor tie and a half match secured by Michael Smyth.

Match details (Stirlingshire names first):-

David Buchanan lost to Jim Johnston (Ayr Belleisle) by 5&3

Richard Johnston Sr. halved with Michael Smyth (Royal Troon)

James Donaldson lost to Scott Brown (Prestwick St Cuthbert) by 3&2

Greg McLellan lost to Malcolm Pennycott (Whiting Bay) by 3&2

Mark Hyslop lost to John Shanks (Irvine) by 2&1

David Cunningham lost to Jack Broun (Turnberry) by 5&4

Colin Mundie lost to John Haggarty (Loudoun) by 3&2

Craig McGann beat Tommy McInally (Loudoun) by 3&2

STIRLINGSHIRE  1.5   AYRSHIRE  6.5

The present positions in the West Of Scotland A league are:-

A League
Position	Area	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	For	Against	Points
01	Ayrshire A	5	3	1	1	26.5	13.5	7
02	Renfrewshire A	4	3	1	0	18	14	6
02	Stirlingshire A	4	2	2	0	15	17	4
04	Dumbartonshire A	5	2	3	0	16.5	23.5	4
05	Glasgow A	5	2	3	0	12.5	27.5	4
06	Lanarkshire A	5	1	3	1	20.5	19.5	3

In the corresponding youths match played at Girvan, Ayrshire lost out by 4.5 – 3.5 to their visitors from Stirlingshire, which was enough to secure a championship win for the Stirlingshire side.

The match was well balanced throughout, with the final result only being confirmed in Stirlingshire’s favour when the last tie on the course was halved.

Match details (Ayrshire names first):-

Sean Hedger (West Kilbride) lost to Peter Maxwell (Glenbervie) by 2&1

Aiden Long (Ayr Belleisle) halved with Calum Bauchop (Glenbervie)

Sandy Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) beat Sebastian Sandin (Dunblane New) by 1 hole

Ross Caddis (Kilmarnock Barassie) lost to Fraser Gardiner (Falkirk) by 2&1

Jordan Murray (Rowallan Castle) halved with Ben Carberry (Falkirk)

Andrew Gordon (Ayr Belleisle) beat Ross laird (Falkirk) by 7&6

Glen Wilson (Ayr Dalmilling) lost to Gregor Johnston (Dunblane New) by 4&3

Jamie McKinnon (Caprington) halved with Grant Kirkwood (Fakirk)

AYRSHIRE YOUTHS  3.5  STIRLINGSHIRE YOUTHS 4.5

The present positions in the West Of Scotland Youths League are:-

Y League
Position	Area	Played	Won	Lost	Drawn	For	Against	Points
01	Stirlingshire Y	5	4	1	0	24	16	8
02	Renfrewshire Y	5	4	1	0	22	18	8
03	Lanarkshire Y	5	3	2	0	23.5	16.5	6
04	Dumbartonshire Y	4	1	2	1	16	16	3
05	Ayrshire Y	5	1	3	1	18.5	21.5	3
06	Glasgow Y	4	0	4	0	8	24	0

WEST OF SCOTLAND INTER COUNTY LEAGUES - Ayrshire take title defence to final weekend whilst youths secure first win

Ayrshire took their title defence in the West Of Scotland Inter county league to the final weekend with a victory in week four of five, over Glasgow at the King Robert The Bruce course, Turnberry on Sunday 7th October.

With credit going to the players in both teams who played the match in extremely testing and wet conditions, it was the home side who prevailed in all but two of the eight ties to secure a 6.5 - 1.5 win overall.

Match details (Ayrshire names first):-

Craig Hamilton (Ballochmyle) halved with Brendan McKenna (Pollock)

Scott Brown (Prestwick St Cuthbert) beat Martin McKenna (Pollock) by 4&3 

Jack Broun (Ayr Belleisle) beat Ryan Woods (Cowglen) by 5&4 

Malcolm Pennycott (Whiting Bay) beat Stephen Machin (Cowglen) by 3&1 

Greg Telfer (Prestwick St Cuthbert) beat Paul Gault (Haggs Castle) by 3&2 

Steven Stamper (Turnberry) beat Craig Morrison (Haggs Castle) by 4&3 

Jim Johnston (Ayr Belleisle) lost to Lyndsay Smart (Cowglen) by 2&1 

Tommy McInally (Loudoun) beat Alan Waugh (Cowglen) by 6&5

AYRSHIRE    6.5      GLASGOW     1.5 

Ayrshire will now take on Stirlingshire next week at Glenbervie with a chance of retaining the West League title, although this may depend on results elsewhere.

In the corresponding youths match played on Sunday 7th October, Ayrshire recorded their first win of the 2018 series, beating their hosts by 5.5 - 2.5, which included a remarkable fight back by sandy Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) who was five down with six to play but won a half point for the team.

Match details (Ayrshire names first):-

Aiden Long (Ayr Belleisle) beat Dean Logan (Bishopbriggs) by 3&2

Greg Vernon (Kilmarnock Barassie) beat Alexander Melrose (Haggs Castle) by 1 hole

Sandy Walker (Kilmarnock Barassie) halved with Matthew Hughes (Ralston)

Ross Caddis (Kilmarnock Barassie) beat Craig Anderson (Sandyhills) by 3&2

Jordan Sweeney (Ayr Belleisle) beat martin Friel (Sandyhills) by 674

Callum Irving (Ayr Belleisle) lost to Murray McVicar (Glasgow) by 3&2

Jordan Murray (Rowallan Castle) beat Lewis Kelso (Ralston) by 5&4

Darryl Lynch (Ayr Belleisle) lost to Jack Williams (Sandyhills) by 5&3

GLASGOW YOUTHS  2.5   AYRSHIRE YOUTHS  5.5

The youths finish the series next week with a home match at Girvan against Stirlingshire.

AYRSHIRE SCRATCH LEAGUES - Caprington promoted after play off win

Caprington GC will be promoted to Division 2 of the Ayrshire Scratch leagues next season, after a play off win over two legs against West Kilbride.

Having finished in second place in Division 3, Caprington faced West Kilbride in the two leg play offs, introduced for the first time this year, do decide who plays in the higher division next season, after West Kilbride finished second bottom of Division 2.

The first leg was played at Caprington a few weeks ago and resulted in a narrow 3.5 - 2.5 win for the home side.

The second leg was completed on Sunday 7th October at West Kilbride where the two sides fought out a 3-3 draw, leaving Caprington the winners overall by a 6.5 - 5.5 margin.

SCOTTISH GOLF - EGM approves per capita rise

The EGM of Scottish Golf held at Stirling on Thursday 4th October has approved a rise in the per capita payment levied on all member clubs from the present level of £11.25 to £14.50. 

This increase, proposed by a number of Area and County associations, will become effective from 1st January and will be payable by 31st march 2019, and will be payable in respect of every member of a club over the age of 18 with playing rights.

The Scottish Golf press release on the subject is reproduced below:-

Scottish Golf’s membership has voted in favour of a resolution to increase the per capita fee at a General Meeting held at the Stirling Court Hotel tonight.

The resolution was passed with a majority vote of 60.2%. The increase from £11.25 to £14.50 will take effect from January 2019 and will be frozen until the collection of subscriptions in January 2022.

The increased revenue of circa £500,000 has been ring-fenced to support the development of key strategic priorities and also to offset proposed cuts announced in light of decreased funding available to Scottish Golf.

Specifically, it will also enable Scottish Golf to create a fit-for-purpose national junior programme, explore income generation from non-membership golfers – known as nomadic golfers – and offer a free-of-charge digital service for clubs to support and improve membership services at all levels, including tee-booking, competition management, and handicapping.

Andrew McKinlay, Scottish Golf Chief Executive: “I would like to thank the membership for voting in favour of a prosperous future for the game. I understand the subject of affiliation fee has been a contentious one in recent years but I have been clear on the financial challenges the game faces without the ability to invest in areas that will help facilitate long-term growth.

“We now have a stronger financial foundation on which to build a more cohesive and joined-up national junior programme to increase participation and access to golf for future generations. We will also press ahead with plans to make non-member golfers integral to our future, by offering attractive and flexible ways to play and support golf in their local areas, while at the same time contributing to the overall development of the game.

“Today’s vote also enables us to offset some of the proposed cuts outlined and, instead, commit to supporting our member clubs with a range of services ultimately designed to ensure a sustainable and attractive game now and in the future.”

Eleanor Cannon, Scottish Golf Chair: “I would like to thank those who stepped forward to request a General Meeting to revisit the affiliation fee. They did so on the back of an AGM where Scottish Golf outlined the challenges and opportunities faced by golf now and in the future. The Area and Country representatives who came forward eschewed self-interest in favour of the common good: for that, I am eternally grateful and thankful for their efforts and their selflessness.

“We must now work together as one Scottish Golf family to make golf more accessible to younger members, to incorporate non-members into our offering, to support our clubs and to encourage our players to fulfil their potential. Those aims have been made all the more achievable in light of this evening’s outcome.”