Scottish Universities Golfing Society (est 1906)

SUGS V LUGS – Muirfield - 4th February 2022
Morning dawned on a cool, clear but breezy day in Gullane, and all was set for the SUGS v. LUGS fixture of 2022.  The fixture was returning to its usual slot on the Friday before the Calcutta Cup game following a dalliance last year with an autumnal slot as result of Covid lock downs.  Having been played in February 2020 and October 2021, this was the one SUGS “major” match that survived Covid and as a result has been played every year since inception in 1988.
 
The warmup at North Berwick on Thursday allowed for some fine tuning and, alert to the possibilities of being ‘Holt-ed’, the young LUGS came through the pre-match dinner in the Old Clubhouse in Gullane without significant scarring.  
 
A fine performance from the top of the Order meant the first three matches went to SUGS.  The Bruntsfield duo of Reid and Kernaghan triumphed over Gorm “persimmon” Neilsen and the evergreen Hugh Maurice.  The shoeshine game (played, unusually, in the morning series) saw Andrew Jessop and Anthony Shields triumph over ‘Porky’ Kershaw and Kaihan Mobed.  The Hon Sec and SUGS’s very own Phil Mickelson (aka Mike Morrison) triumphed over Nicola Taylor and Sean Dryden.  And then a valiant half from our host Fraser McCluskey and Vice-Captain Simmonds meant a decent 4.5 to 1.5 lead for the SUGS at lunch.  But as recent history will attest such a lead is far from insurmountable in a fixture such as this.  
 
The only pair licking their wounds were Captain Farmer and The Laird (aka Ewan Cameron).  Both took long hard looks at themselves in the mirror ahead of the afternoon foursomes.
 
Lunch at Muirfield is hard to beat and being the day before the Calcutta Cup, the dining room was filled with legendary ex rugby players, many of whom had achieved glory through leading great comebacks. Might their stories of astonishing feats inspire the LUGS to a mighty turnaround in the afternoon?
 
Thankfully not.  With Kernaghan, Shields, Reid and Calder at the top of his team sheet, Match Manager Jessop was looking to post blue on the scoreboard early. And so it proved with some solid SUGS victories. Farmer and Holt earned a hard fought half, whilst Porky avenged his morning defeat with a victory over Cameron and Jessop; he was ably supported by the now full time amateur Neil Falconer.  And there was a Jacklin and Nicklaus style half in the final match when they came in after 9 holes due to the cold wind which was causing some challenges.
 
Dinner at Luffness was marvellous starting with an excellent salmon platter before moving on to every slimmer’s dream, pheasant stuffed with haggis; delicious! We were honoured to be joined by the SUGS President, Nigel Watt, who had played in the very first fixture in 1988. There was much reflection about having been in the very same clubhouse exactly two years ago with little anticipation of what was about to happen to the world. Stuart Farmer spoke beautifully for the SUGS illustrating clearly what these days mean to all of us and Neil Falconer was as entertaining as ever with his reply.   A terrific day.  We look forward to reconvening at Royal St George’s in 2023.  The Falconer Ball resides again back on Fraser’s mantlepiece.
 

AM Results (SUGS names first)
1) Mark Kernaghan & Sandy Reid beat Gorm Nielsen & Hugh Maurice
2) Andrew Jessop & Anthony Shields beat Mike Kershaw & Kaihan Mobed
3) Simon Holt & Jonny Calder beat Joe Park & Jeremy Smith
4) Stuart Farmer & Ewan Cameron lost to Sam Campbell & John Dennis
5) Iain Crawford & Mike Morrison beat Nicola Taylor & Sean Dryden
6) Gordon Simmonds & Fraser McCluskey halved with James Bull & Neil Falconer

 

Result: SUGS 4½  - 1½  LUGS

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PM Results (SUGS names first)
1) Mark Kernaghan & Anthony Shields beat Sean Dryden & Hugh Maurice
2) Sandy Reid & Jonny Calder beat Jeremy Smith & Sam Campbell
3) Simon Holt & Stuart Farmer halved with Gorm Nielsen & James Bull
4) Ewan Cameron & Andrew Jessop lost to Mike Kershaw & Neil Falconer
5) Mike Morrison & Gordon Simmonds lost to John Dennis & Joe Park
6) Iain Crawford & Fraser McCluskey halved with Nicola Taylor & Kaihan Mobed

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Result: SUGS 3 - 3 LUGS

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Overall Result: SUGS 7½ - 4½ LUGS

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SUGS v Heriot Watt University - Gullane No 2 - Saturday 27 February 2022

The weather was bright sunshine with a cold two or three club wind at times. Greens were fast for this time of year but very true. One of the students was a Dutch lad who had never played in Scotland before, he was stunned by the quality of the course and the views across the Forth, lovely to see someone exuding such happiness for the duration of a meal. Charles and I played against Conor Clarke who compressed the ball the way his generation can, it turns out that his father is called Darren……….

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Results (SUGS names first)
1) Kenny McKay & Mark Kernaghan beat Kyle Perkins (c) & Jonny Canning by 3&2
2) Drew McCrone & Daniel Forbes beat Blare Callan & Lewis Ross by 3&2
3) Charles Hammond & Andy Pendry halved with Conor Clarke & Alex Young
4) David Giffin & Phil Prichett beat Sam Van Pomeron & Tom Lammers by 1 hole

 

Result: SUGS 3½ - ½ Heriot Watt University

 

Charles Hammond gave an excellent speech on behalf of the absent SUGS Captain. In particular he commented on how impressive the students were on and off the course, they are a credit to their generation. The meal was really excellent, and everyone at the table commented on how much they enjoyed the course, the meal and the company. 

 

Andy Pendry
 

SUGS v Aberdeen University at Royal Aberdeen GC - Sunday 6 March 2022

A superb day for the match - wall to wall sunshine, blue sky, a testing breeze, and a magnificent golf course. Fortified by pre match coffee and bacon rolls, the matches teed off under the watchful eye of SUGS President, Nigel Watt. With 3 x RAGC Past Captains in the SUGS side, course knowledge was not in short supply. One of the PCs, Steve Judge, making his SUGS debut, got off to a perfect start by winning the opening game comfortably in partnership with the current holder of the Norman Boase Putter (main scratch prize at SUGS Autumn Meeting), Daniel Forbes. The remaining 4 matches were all closely contested, and could have gone either way, but SUGS prevailed to take a further 3 points, resulting in a 4-1 overall win.

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AMT

 

Results (SUGS names first)

1) Daniel Forbes & Steve Judge beat D'Artagnan Voegt & Sean Whyte by 4&2
2) Callum Connacher & Ross Finlay beat Aidan Fulton & Matthew Jacques by 1 hole
3) Niall Farquharson & Stuart Farmer (c) beat Campbell Watt (c) & Weston Farnsworth by 1 hole
4) Andrew Thomson & Noel Crilley lost to Gregor Logan & Simon Burnett by 2&1
5) Shaun George & Robin Duncan beat Thomas Snodgrass & George Hilton-Rhind by 1 hole

 

Overall Result: SUGS 4 - 1 Aberdeen University

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Glasgow University – Western Gailes GC - Sunday 13 March 2022

SUGS managed to beat Glasgow University 3.5 - 0.5 on a sunny day on the west coast. 

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Results (SUGS names first)
1) Stuart Farmer & Stewart McCaffrey vs Patrick Lawrence & Jack McDonald  - Result: SUGS won 3&1
2) Al Pugh & Charles Hammond vs Euan Griffin & Liam Martin - Result: SUGS won 6&5
3) Noel Crilley & Michael Choong vs Bruce Grant & Francisco Miranda - Result: SUGS won 3&2
4) Ross Finlay & Phil Pritchett vs Dan Toner & Thomas Simmons -  Result: Half match

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Overall Result - SUGS 3½ - ½ Glasgow University

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Jak Muir

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Strathclyde University – Western Gailes GC - Sunday 20 March 2022

Results (SUGS names first)
1) Robert Watson & Callum Connacher beat Robbie Main & Hamish Roy by 2&1
2) Kenny McKay & Bobby Alexander beat Phil Devine & Daniel Norris by 2&1
3) Andrew Biggart & Al Pugh halved with Seamus Donaghy & Ben Paterson
4) Kenny Hunter & Andrew McCrone halved with Tom Merton & Jack Headon
5) Sandy Reid & Michael Choong beat Ben Paterson & Euan MacDonald by 1 hole
6) Ben Gibson & Ross Finlay beat Jamie Hay & Callum Byres by 3&2
 

Overall Result - SUGS 5 - 1 Glasgow University

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St Andrews University - Saturday 26 March 2022

Morning Foursomes (Jubilee Course, SUGS names first)
1) Simon Holt & Stuart Farmer beat Sean Millar & Thomas Murray by 2 holes
2) Alex Hill & Phil Pritchett beat Doug Wright & Teddy Wallace by 5&4
3) Fraser McCluskey & Mark Kernaghan beat Charlie Webb & Christie Paul by 2 holes
4) Colin Steele & Richard Muckart lost to Fin Matheson & Finlay Watson by 5&4
5) Bobby Watson & Daniel Pilley lost to Kevin Kane & Nici Kur by 8&7
6) Al Pugh & Peter McCallum beat Adam Fotheringham & Billy Cropper by 5&4

 

AM Result: SUGS 4 - 2 St Andrews University

 

Afternoon Fourballs (Old Course, SUGS names first)
1) Mark Kernaghan & Phil Pritchett lost to Teddy Wallace & Fin Matheson by 1 hole
2) Stuart Farmer & Bobby Watson beat Doug Wright & Charlie Webb by 2&1
3) Simon Holt & Richard Muckart beat Thomas Murray & Christie Paul by 1 hole
4) Colin Steele & Peter McCallum lost to Sean Millar & Adam Fotheringham by 3&2
5) Alex Hill & Daniel Pilley beat Kevin Kane & Billy Cropper by 3&2
6) Al Pugh & Fraser McCluskey halved with Finlay Watson & Nici Kurz

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PM Result: SUGS 3½ - 2½ St Andrews University

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Overall Result: SUGS 7½ - 4½ St Andrews University

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DUGS - Portmarnock GC - Friday 1 April

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Morning (DUGS names first)
Darragh Coghlan & Barry Conway v David Simpson & Daniel Forbes 1up
Jerome Counihan & Andy Stokes 2/1 v Simon Holt & Sandy Reid
Mateo Crowley & Dougie Heather v Jonny Calder & Jack Nelson 2/1
David Conway & Fran Quilty A/S v John Tully Jackson & Luke O’Sullivan A/S
David Conway Jnr & Mark Murnane 2/1 v Noel Crilly & Ross McNeill
John Kenny & Peter Pigot A/S v Brendan Ferguson & Gerard Torney A/S

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Afternoon (DUGS names first)
Darragh Coghlan & Andy Stokes 5/4 v Sandy Reid & David Simpson
Barry Conway & Fran Quilty 2/1 v Brendan Ferguson & Ross McNeill
John Kenny & Jamie Myerscough v Daniel Forbes & Luke O’Sullivan 7/6
David Conway Jnr & Mateo Crowley A/S v Jonny Calder & Noel Crilly A/S
David Conway & Jerome Counihan A/S v Simon Holt & Jack Nelson A/S
Dougie Heather & Mark Murnane A/S v John Tully Jackson & Gerard Torney A/S
 

Result: SUGS 5½ - 6½ DUGS

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DUGS Seniors - Portmarnock GC - Friday 1 April

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Morning (DUGS names first)
Aedan Jameson & Niall O’Kelly 3/2 v Stuart Farmer & Philip Pritchett
Brian Dunnion & Jamie Myerscough 1up v Charles Hammond & Andrew Thomson
Gavin Caldwell & Huntly Lauder 6/5 v Ian Crawford & James Haggart

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Afternoon (DUGS names first)
Brian Dunnion & Peter Pigot 2/1 v Ian Crawford & Charles Hammond
Gavin Caldwell & Niall O’Kelly 1up v Stuart Farmer & James Haggart
Aedan Jameson & Huntly Lauder v Philip Pritchett & Andrew Thomson 1up
 

Result: SUGS 1 - 5 DUGS

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Spring Meeting - Prestwick GC - 10 April 2022

A wonderful spring morning greeted the twenty-six SUGS who had made their way to Ayrshire on a Sunday in April. The two-tee start was an attempt to lunch at 1:00 pm which unfortunately didn’t quite work. Although the play was unhurried, it was of high quality. Eight players broke 80, which off the White Tees is very solid scoring. 

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Some including Hon.Sec. Crawford and past captain Hammond fell foul of the local rule which designated the Pow Burn as OOB, rather than a lateral hazard and it was the formers good fortune to be playing with R&A rules official Andrew Biggart which saved him being disqualified.

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The greens were consistent although some said that they were slower than those in East Lothian. The first group out  (the sum of their handicaps being +4) were setting the pace, but it was Ross Finlay in the second group, who finished with two 3’s and posted the winning score of 73 and left with the Baird/Purdie Trophy. Second was Robert Watson, who can clearly putt better than his father, with a 76. Robert edged out Sandy Reid by dint of a better back nine.

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The handicap prizes had Andrew Biggart (78-6) 72 in second place, but the clear winner was David McLeary with a wonderful (80-13) 67 to carry home the Thomson Quaich and a significant handicap reduction.

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Lunch was the usual Prestwick excellence, and our Captain took the opportunity to remind those present that he had the pleasure of playing with someone who knew every nook and cranny of the course and the past amateur champion of both Belgium and Scotland. Captain Farmer also made a compelling case for the day to be known as SUGS Sunday, rather than Masters Sunday, due to our longer history.

The efforts made by Anand Shad, who had driven from Bath and headed home before the afternoon round in order to catch the end of the Masters, and to Ewan Cameron who had flown in specially for this event, were noted.
After such a good lunch, the afternoon games went off much later than intended and provided there were no more than three balls in play in any match met with the Hon. Sec’s approval. Some of course took this at face value and played a 3 ball sixsome, which looked like great fun.

 

The last word goes to Stewart McCaffrey who lost his wallet and after emptying his bag, the boot of his car and searching the changing rooms was pleased that Andrew (from PGC) took him out onto the course as the light faded to search the final few fairways.  Nothing was discovered, until he looked on the roof of his car ……..

 

Our heartfelt thanks go to Ken Goodwin and all at Prestwick GC who make this such a special event.
 

IRC

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Perthshire Pinehurst - Sunday 22 May - Comrie Golf Club

A similar format to the previous year, 16 golfers comprising 14 x SUGS and 2 x invited guests to make up the numbers. Without question one of the most relaxed fixtures in the SUGS calendar, with Comrie's dog friendly policy adding 8 legs to the numbers taking part, perhaps attracted by the post golf BBQ provided by the Comrie GC caterers. To those not familiar with the Pinehurst Foursomes format, it is an extension of Greensomes, and is 2 against 2. Within each pairing, both players tee off, then they switch their play of golf balls, meaning Player A plays Player B's ball, and Player B plays Player A's ball (and similarly for Players C and D). After the second shots, each pairing select which ball they will continue to play, and that ball is then played by alternate-shot until the hole is won / lost / halved. Whilst the results are included, they are most definitely immaterial. What does matter is the enjoyment of golf amongst old and new friends, with plenty time to relax and catch up, whilst enjoy all that the 9 hole Comrie course has to offer.

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1) Nigel Watt & Alastair Anderson halved with Joanne Watt (Guest) & Craig Cameron (Guest)
2) Bobby Watson & Sandy Reid halved with Callum Connacher & James Haggart
3) Stuart Farmer & Robin Duncan lost to Andrew Thomson & Michael Choong by 2&1
4) Charles Hammond & Andrew Biggart halved with Dave Greenshields & Phil Pritchett

 

AMT

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SUGS vs Midlothian Ladies - Friday 27 May 2022

Following a cancellation in 2020 and restrictions on post match socialising in 2021 due to COVID, it was a relief to return to normal in 2022 for the annual foursomes encounter over Gullane 2 in sunny but breezy conditions. The course was in excellent condition, but the conditions placed a premium on shotmaking. Club selection was also challenging, and 2 approach shots were witnessed that both ended up 50 yards beyond the target green! MCLGA Captain, Isla McCrone, was out on the course lending support, and slowly word got around that SUGS were performing better than expected. By the time matches 3 & 4 had finished and were walking in, they were able to watch David Anderson hole the winning putt on the 16th in match 2, guaranteeing the overall win. This was further enhanced when it became apparent that match 1 had gone the way of SUGS too. This was only the second whitewash in the long history of this match (the first being a clean sweep win for MCLGA in 2015). Drinks, sandwiches and the trophy presentation followed in the recently refurbished Gullane Links clubhouse - all in all a very enjoyable evening. A team photo was taken to mark the occasion, lest it never happens again! (click here).

AMT

 

Results

1) Andy Pendry & Joe Dilks beat Hilary Laughland & Caroline Steedman by 3&1
2) Andrew Thomson & David Anderson beat Karen Ferguson & Fiona Wait by 3&2
3) Kenny McKay & Nigel Watt beat Karen Marshall & Anne Hanson by 4&3
4) Richard Muckart & Tim Edward beat Grace Cannon & Wendy Nicolson by 5&4

 

SUGS 4 - 0 Midlothian Ladies