AYRSHIRE GOLF ASSOCIATION - Former Ayrshire Boys Champion Jim Spiers dies

Jim Spiers of Annanhill Golf Club, who was well known throughout Ayrshire golfing circles, has died.

Jim won many championships in the county, during his long association with Annanhill.

Jim won the Ayrshire Boys Championship in 1975 over Troon Darley and Troon Fullarton, and numbered amongst his other successes wins in the Hillhouse Cup and back to back wins in the (Kilmarnock Standard) Ayrshire Champion Of Champions Trophy in 1986 & 1987.

Jim's funeral will be held at Holmsford Crematorium on Friday 23rd November at 10.00 a.m., and our sympathy is extended to his family at this sad time.

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AYRSHIRE JUNIOR GOLF LEAGUE - Stewart presented with Junior Golfer Of The Year award at Annual Dinner

The 39th Annual Dinner and Presentation of Trophies of The Ayrshire Junior Golf League was held at Irvine Ravenspark Golf Club on Monday 12th November 2007, where a capacity audience paid tribute to the succesful individuals and teams in Ayrshire Junior Golf during 2007.

Allan Thomson (Ayr Belleisle), a former player in The League, was Guest of Honour as the Ayrshire Junior Golf League marked Allans record breaking achievement during 2007, when he secured an unequalled 7th medal in the Scottish Amateur Championship, at Prestwick in August.

The premier individual award of the night, the Macrobert Thistle Junior Golfer Of The Year trophy, was once again presented by former Chairman of the National Playing Fields Association, David Reynolds.

The 2007 recipient was Scottish Boys Cap, Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) - pictured above with David Reynolds - who represented Scotalnd in championships across the globe throughout the year, whilst also reaching the semi final of the Scottish Boys Championship and losing the Scottish Boys Strokeplay in a play off.

Michael's season culminated in selection for the GB & I team who beat the Continent of Europe in the Jaques Leglise Trophy, where Michael secured the winning point.

Left - Fraser Lawrie (West Kilbride) with the Prestwick Circuits Trophy.
Right - The winning St. Cuthbert team with the Matt Lygate Trophy

Left - Darren Tannock (Loudoun) with the Carrick Trophy

Right - Darren Tannock receiving the Andrew D. Nimmo Trophy on behalf of the winning Loudoun team.

Left - Ayrshire Boys Champion Euan Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie)

Right - Ayrshire Boys Matchplay Champion Malcolm Pennycott (Whiting Bay)

Silver Jubilee Trophy Winners - Annanhill

The 2007 Ayrshire Junior Order Of Merit Trophy was once again generously sponsored by Wilson Sporting Goods and Ping. The top seven players in the 2007 Order Of merit were :-

Order Of Merit winner

EUAN BROWN (Kilmarnock Barassie)

Runner Up

MALCOLM PENNYCOTT

(Whiting Bay)

Third place

SCOTT BROWN

(Turnberry)

Fourth place

ADAM FOLEY

(Ayr Belleisle)

Fifth place

SCOTT CLARK

(Ayr Belleisle)

Sixth place

MICHAEL STEWART

(Troon Welbeck)

Seventh place

JAMIE ACHESON

(Largs Routenburn)

Wallace Thornton Trophy Winners Kilmarnock Barassie (left)

and Runners Up West Kilbride (right)

Under 16 Knockout Trophy winners Kilmarnock Barassie (left)

nd Runners Up Ardeer (right)

Champion Of Champions Trophy winner Euan Brown (Kilmarnock Barassie) - left - and Runner Up Craig McLaughlin (Largs) - right.

League Championship Semi Finalists

Ardeer

League Championship Semi Finalists

Prestwick St. Nicholas

League Championship runners up

Largs

League Champions

BALLOCHMYLE

WEST OF SCOTLAND INTER COUNTY LEAGUES - Ayrshire confirmed as 2007 Youth league winners

Ayrshire were this week confirmed as winners of the 2007 West Of Scotland Inter County Youths League following their 7 - 3 win over Renfrewshire at Brunston Castle last week, after Stirling and Dumbarton drew their final match 5 - 5



Ayrshire results for the 2007 YOUTHS LEAGUE and league placings are :-


Stirlingshire 5 ½ Ayrshire 4 ½ (Grangemouth)

Ayrshire 5 ½ Lanarkshire 4 ½ (Ballochmyle)

Dumbartonshire 5 Ayrshire 5 (Bearsden)

Ayrshire 6 Glasgow 4 (Brunston Castle)

Ayrshire 7 Renfrewshire 3 (Brunston Castle)


YOUTHS LEAGUE FINAL POSITIONS - P/W/D/L/F/A/Pts (Avr.)


AYRSHIRE 5/3/1/1/28/22/7

RENFREWSHIRE 5/3/0/2/28/22/6(1.273)

DUMBARTONSHIRE 5/2/2/1/27.5/22.5/6 (1.222)

GLASGOW 5/2/0/3/25.5/24.5/4 (1.041)

STIRLINGSHIRE 5/1/2/2/21/29/4 (0.724)

LANARKSHIRE 5/1/1/3/20/30/3

In the A LEAGUE, Ayrshire finished mid table after two dissapointing results in their final matches.

Ayrshire results in the A League were

Ayrshire 7 Stirlingshire 3 (Ravenspark)

Lanarkshire 6 Ayrshire 4 (Drumpellier)

Ayrshire 7 Dumbartonshire 3 (Prestwick St.Nicholas)

Glasgow 7.5 Ayrshire 2.5 (Haggs Castle)

Renfrewshire 8.5 Ayrshire 1.5 (Greenock)

'A' LEAGUE FINAL POSITIONS - P/W/D/L/F/A/Pts (Avr.)

RENFREWSHIRE 5/4/0/1/31/19/8 (1.631)

DUMBARTONSHIRE 5/4/0/1/27/23/8 (1.174)

GLASGOW 5/2/0/3/25.5/24.5/4 (1.041)

AYRSHIRE 5/2/0/3/22.5/27.5/4 (0.818)

STIRLINGSHIRE 5/2/0/3/22/28/4/(0.786)

LANARKSHIRE 5/1/0/4/22.5/27.5/2

In the BOYS LEAGUE, played throughout the summer, Ayrshire narrowly missed out on the title on points average, after a three way tie at the top of the table.

Ayrshire results in the BOYS LEAGUE were :-

Renfrewshire 4 Ayrshire 4 (Whitecraigs)

Stirlingshire 6 Ayrshire 2 (Kilsyth Lennox)

Ayrshire 4 Lanarkshire 4 (Loudoun)

Dumbartonshire 3 Ayrshire 5 (Vale Of Leven)

Ayrshire 5 Glasgow 3 (Ardeer)

BOYS LEAGUE FINAL POSITIONS - P/W/D/L/F/A/PTS (Avr.)

LANARKSHIRE 5/2/2/1/21/19/6 (1.105)

STIRLINGSHIRE 5/3/0/2/20.5/19.5/6 (1.051)

AYRSHIRE 5/2/2/1/20/20/6 (1.000)

DUMBARTONSHIRE 5/2/1/2/21.5/18.5/5

RENFREWSHIRE 5/1/2/2/18.5/21.5/4

GLASGOW 5/1/1/3/18.5/21.5/3

EUROPEAN SENIORS TOUR - Drummond finishes rookie season in 6th place

As the European Seniors Tour concluded this week, with the Seniors Tour Championship for the Kingdom Of Bahrain Trophy being played at The Buckinghamshire Golf Club, Prestwick golfer Ross Drummond secured sixth place in the Seniors Order Of Merit in his rookie season on the tour.

One under par for the three rounds in the closing event gave Drummond a share of 16th place with Lyuis Carbonetti (Argentina) and consolodated his overall sixth position in the seasons rankings.

The final tournament was won by Constantion Rocca (Italy) whose win assured him of the award for the best rookie on tour for 2007, edging Drummond into second place.

AYRSHIRE GOLF ASSOCIATION - Youths defeat Renfrewshire in final West League match whilst A team are defeated

Tha Ayrshire youth team finished the West League season on a high with a 7 - 3 win over Renfrewshire at Brunston Castle on Saturday 10 November which may leave the Ayrshire youth team as winners of the West League for 2007, the final placings still to be confirmed.

The individual results from the youths match on Saturday were (Ayrshire names first) :-

Kyle Smith (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt Scott Herald (Whitecraigs) 2&1
Jamie Mackay (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt Riccardo Rebecchi (Greenock) 8&7
Michael Smyth (Royal Troon) lost to Michael Dailly (Erskine) 2&1
Scott Brown (Turnberry) bt Calum Morrison (Kilmacolm) 6&5
David Currie (Kilmarnock Barassie) bt Scott McGrenechan (Coch Castle) 1Hole
Stuart Henderson (Kilmarnock Barassie) lost to Michael Campbell (Renfrew) 5&4
Craig McLaughlan (Largs) bt Chris Cook (Renfrew) 2&1
Michael Roos (West Kilbride) lost to Andrew McLachlan (Bonnyton) 5&4
Graeme Gimson (Prestwick St. Cuthbert) bt Jack Bradley( Paisley) 3&2
Adam Foley (Ayr Belleisle) bt Darynn Grant (Renfrew) 4&3

AYRSHIRE 7 RENFREWSHIRE 3

In the corresponding senior team match at Greenock, Ayrshire suffered a heavy 8.5 - 1.5 defeat. Kevin Ferguson (Prestwick St. Cuthbert) was the only winner for Ayrshire, with a 2 & 1 win, whilst Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck) had a notable half match with former Amateur Champion Craig Watson.

AYRSHIRE GOLF ASSOCIATION - Annual General Meeting hears of boys success

Around 40 representatives of clubs throughout the county attented the AQnnual General Meeting of the Ayrshire Golf Association, held at Ballochmyle Golf Club on Wednesday 24th October 2007.

In his report, President Ricky Magee (Caprington) thanked the clubs who had hosted county events throughout the 2006 - 2007 season and reported on the various county competitions and the successes enjoyed by individuals and teams.

In particular, President Magee paid tribute to the boys team of Euan Brown, David Currie, Cameron Gray & Michael Stewart who won the Scottish Area Boys Team Championship at Moray, with Cameron Gray also winning the Niagra Cup for the best individual score of the competition.

Michael Stewart also had a notable performance in the Scottish Boys Strokeplay at Cardrona, losing the title in a play off.

Also on a national level, President Magee paid tribute to the efforts of Allan Thomson (Ayr Belleisle) and Paul Moultrie (Troon Portland) who reached the semi finals of the Scottish Amateur Championship at Prestwick and the British Mid Amateur Championship at Alwoodley in Leeds respectively.

President Magee also reported that the Ayrshire Seniors competition would be reintroduced in 2008, with a new handicap trophy, to be called the Sandy Provan Trophy, being played for. The first playing of the event will be at Kilmarnock (Barassie) in July 2008.

Also under review, by a sub committee led by Vice President Alasdair Malcolm (Prestwick St. Cuthbert) is the Doc Thom Ayrshire Order Of Merit competition, details of which will be circulated to clubs over the winter months.

President Magee also alluded to the SGU governance review and the Ayrshire Golf Association Executive's intention to carry out a similar review of the county association's governance and constitution.

The financial report was presented, and various explainations given, by Secretary/Treasurer Leslie Crawford (Kilmarnock Barassie).

Reports followed on various aspects of the work of the Ayrshire Golf Association from the respective Convenors, Milton Murray (Coaching), Allan Muir (Course Rating) & John Nordbo (Ayrshire Junior Golf League).

On the election of officials and Executive members, Leslie Crawford was returned unopposed as Secretary/ Treasurer and Sandy Provan (Kilmarnock Barassie), Barclay Ross (Ballochmyle) and Iain Harvey (Kilmarnock Barassie) were all returned as Executive members. Iain harvey was also re elected as the representative to the SGU.

In his report on the SGU, Iain Harvey reported on a busy year in Ayrshire with the county hosting the European Team Championships (Western Gailes), the under 14/Under 16 Strokeplay (Brunston Castle), the Scottish Amateur Championship (Prestwick) and the Under 16 international with England (Prestwick St. Nicholas).

Iain also reported on a number of ongoing projects. Coaching involving player pathways including the Clubgolf initiative, development of the GolfCentral website, changes to the handicapping system in 2008, including the production of a new CONGU handbook on the handicapping scheme were all touched on in his report.

Although coming under the auspices of the R & A, Iain also made mention of changes to The Rules Of Golf from January 2008.

The meeting closed with those present being informed that the per capita subscription to the SGU for 2008 would be £ 6.70 and on a vote it was agreed that the per capita subscription to the Ayrshire Golf Association would increase by 10 pence to £ 1.85.

AYRSHIRE GOLF ASSOCIATION - Senior team defeated whilst youths beat Glasgow

The Ayrshire senior team suffered a heavy defeat in their penultimate match in the 2007 West Of Scotland inter county league on Saturday when they went down by 7.5 - 2.5 to Glasgow at Haggs Castle.

Gary Bryden with, with an eagle - birdie finish, and Darren Mallinson were the only Ayrshire winners with John Shanks gaining the other half point for the team.

Match results (Ayrshire names first) were :-

JOHN CAIRNEY (Irvine Ravenspark) lost to John Laurie by 3 & 2
EUAN BROWN (Kilmarnock Barassie) lost to John Maithers by 3 & 2
MICHAEL STEWART (Troon Welbeck) lost to Gordon Sangster by 3 & 2
JOHN SHANKS (Irvine) halved with Stephin Machin
NICKY SINCLAIR (Kilmarnock Barassie) lost to Roya Alexander by 4 & 3
KEVIN FERGUSSON (Prestwick St. Cuthbert) lost to George Crawford by 3 & 2
GARY BRYDEN (Girvan) beat Les McLaughlin by 2 holes
STUART PENNINGTON (Troon St. Meddans) lost to Frank Drum by 3 & 2
JOE HOBSON (Irvine Ravenspark) lost to Matthew Dargie by 7 & 5
DARREN MALLINSON (Irvine Ravenspark) beat Willie McMillan by 3 & 2

GLASGOW 7.5 AYRSHIRE 2.5

Ayrshire fared better in the corresponding youths match, at Brunston Castle, where they ran out winners by 6 - 4.

Match results (Ayrshire names first) were :-

KYLE SMITH (Kilmarnock Barassie) halved with Chris McLaughlin
JAMIE MACKAY (Kilmarnock Barassie) beat Alan Johnston by 3 & 2
MICHAEL SMYTHE (Royal Troon) beat Thomas Martin by 4 & 2
SCOTT BROWN (Turnberry) halved with Craig Haugh
DAVID CURRIE (Kilmarnock Barassie) beat Graeme McDowall by 4 & 3
STUART HENDERSON (Kilmarnock Barassie) lost to Chris Wedgeworth by 1 hole
CRAIG McLAUGHLIN (Largs) lost to Paul Laughlin by 1 hole
MICHAEL ROOS (West Kilbride) beat Jamie Hendrick by 2 & 1
GRAEME GIMSON (Prestwick St. Cuthbert) beat Jonathon McLeish by 6 & 5
ADAM FOLEY (Ayr Belleisle) lost to Andrew Quinn by 4 & 2

AYRSHIRE 6 GLASGOW 4