May 21st 2021

It is good to be back!

The Spring Meeting was our first gathering since the Autumn Meeting at Gullane and it was great to see a good turnout of 27 members assemble to face the challenge of Prestwick GC in a strong wind. After a quick drink and a wrestle with the WHS, we lunched upstairs – carefully separated into pairs and bang on 1:30 the first ball was struck.

The two club wind was a problem, but the forecast rain held off. The scoring was good under these conditions with a third of the returns being in the 70’s.

The winner of the Baird/Purdie Trophy was Callum Connacher with a 72 with Mark Kernaghan second with a 76.

The winner of the Thomson Quaich was past Hon.Sec. Tim Pakenham with a tremendous 67 nett (76-9).

New members Christopher Black and Daniel Pilley enjoyed their day and were presented with their Society ties by Captain Watson.

A special mention to Andrew Jessop, who set off from west London around 04:00 and was at PGC earlier than some of the locals.

Thanks – as always- go to Ken Goodwin and his staff at PGC for accommodating us in a year when everyone wanted to re-arrange their bookings and for making us so welcome.

Iain

Gentlemen,

Please find below the much altered fixture list for 2021. We lost all of the fixtures scheduled for the first four months of this year, but due to the determination of the match captains we have (as of today’s date) seventeen fixture with dates and locations agreed, with a further two likely. We are very hopeful that we will begin the SUGS year with the Spring Meeting at Prestwick where the Braid/Purdy Trophy and the Thomson Quaich will be contested. As you will see the period from mid September to mid October is busy, but I am sure that is preferable to no play at all. Match captains will be in touch in due course.

Please update your diaries accordingly, I hope to see you soon.

Welcome back to SUGS golf.

Iain

I am pleased that the postponed Spring Meeting has been re-scheduled for Friday 21st May at Prestwick GC.

We will lunch (in some form) at the club and play a single round in the afternoon, the first tee time is 13:30. We will be limited to 36 participants.

This is clearly still subject to change, but the signs are encouraging.

I have contacted the 50 or so members who indicated on their annual return that they would play in this fixture and participation will be limited to that group unless the take up is below capacity, in which case I will open it further.

This has been a tricky period to arrange fixtures, with the date for resumption of normal activities continually moving.

There have been difficulties in arranging games against Universities who are, in the main, teaching remotely and as a consequence there are a number who currently have no active golf society and there is little prospect of these re-starting until the beginning of the next academic year.

Despite these problems. the committee agreed that we should make every effort to play as many fixtures as possible. The result is that with the postponement of the spring university fixtures and the re-arranged matches against LUGS and DUGS (now booked for October) the autumn is looking very busy.

We had great hopes of being able to start our year with the Spring Meeting, scheduled for the 18th April but yesterday’s announcement from Holyrood has caused a postponement of this too. As you can imagine, pressure on clubs like Prestwick – not only coping with a backlog of club fixtures but with a significant number of overseas bookings deferred from 2020 – has made finding an alternative Sunday impossible.

However I am delighted to say that we have an opportunity to play a truncated Spring Meeting on a Friday in mid May (NB: this has yet to be confirmed!) by which time a Prestwick lunch should precede an afternoons golf.

One event that has been cancelled is the Captain’s Dinner, but it will reappear to begin the 2022 season.

I will publish a full revised fixture list in the near future, when I hope things will be clearer. In the meantime enjoy whatever golf you can, wherever you can and I now hope and expect SUGS fixtures to kick off in late May.

Yours Aye,

Iain

Following a recent trial at Royal St Georges, Messrs Thomson & Kernaghan are delighted to announce the opening of their new business venture at Heathrow.

Shoe Shine match winners – Jordan Speith and Porky

Business trials complete, Thomson & Kernaghan get ready to unveil their new venture at Heathrow T5

Following cancellation on 26 July due to the weather, the Summer Meeting will now be held on Saturday 17 October 2015 at Worplesdon – lunch followed by golf. If you would like to play please contact Dougie Hunter, either directly or via the Contact page on the SUGS website.

Unfortunately our cup run came to an abrupt end this evening (3rd round tie) with some strong and testing winds causing havoc on the slopes. We came up against a strong Hailes team who coped with the conditions a little better than the new SUGS configuration.

Thanks to Alex Room and Jonny Calder for stepping in this evening as well as Duncan Hamilton, Roddy Forgie and Lawrie Main for some strong performances over the last few days.

Bring on 2016.

Tim Pakenham

The SUGS team of Tim Pakenham, Roddy Forgie, Duncan Hamilton and Lawrie Main have had an excellent start to this year’s Evening News Dispatch Trophy, played over the Braid Hills in Edinburgh. Wins over Buckstone and pre-tournament favourites BBT have led the side to be labelled “dark horses” by Martin Dempster, golf correspondent of the Scotsman / Evening News.

“(The) BBT team went out in the second round to a Scottish Universities’ side that could well be this year’s dark horses. It is a mix of experience – in the shape of Duncan Hamilton and Lawrie Main – and youth, which is being provided by Tim Pakenham and Roddy Forgie. “Getting to the last 16 is better than losing to a coin toss,” (Cf 2014 tournament) agreed the SUGS quartet after Hamilton holed a four-foot putt at the last to clinch a one-hole win.”

SUGS now play Hailes on Tuesday 26 May for a place in the quarter finals.

Roddy Forgie looks on as Tim Pakenham putts for a birdie in the 2015 Dispatch Trophy, against a backdrop of Edinburgh Castle

Sandy Reid (Captain) and Duncan Lawrie (President)

Sandy Reid (Captain) and Angus Roberts (St Andrews University GC Captain)

The prize for a win in the top afternoon match…Porky also gives a left knee massage as part of the outstanding LUGS hospitality.