North seniors face daunting challenge
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MEMBERS of the Caithness and Sutherland Seniors’ Golf Society made their annual assault on Royal Dornoch’s championship course last Thursday and, as ever, found it a daunting challenge.
The course was in fine shape, with little or no wind, but heavy rain for about an hour made points hard to come by.
Dornoch’s Don Mackay was last year’s individual winner with Ronnie Gray (Thurso) the runner-up.
That situation was repeated in the low-handicap category last Thursday when a fine inward nine gave Mackay victory on countback over Gray after both scored 31 points.
The winner made a poor start with a blank at the opening hole. Another was to follow at the long seventh on the way to an outward total of 12 points.
Things got decidedly better after that though.
Encouraged by a birdie two at the short 10th, Mackay covered the back nine in four over par and 19 points.
Gray also had a couple of blanks on the way out but still claimed 18 points, helped by a four-point birdie at the eighth hole. He was to claim another birdie at the 17th but a couple of blanks at the opening two holes of his back nine proved to be costly.
Despite failing to get a point over the two closing holes, Reay’s Fred Groves earned third place on countback from the home club’s David Maclean after both scored 29 points.
The day’s best points total came from Thurso’s Bob Black with 34 points. Black had a very good front nine of 19 points and he continued to score well with his only real blemish a blank at the 17th.
Stewart Busby (Wick) made his effort on the back nine with 19 points, four of those from a birdie at the 15th, to add to his 14 points for the front nine.
His club mate, Jim Harrold, also had 14 points going out and added 15 more on the way in to claim third place in the category.
Geoff Robinson (Bonar and Ardgay) and Clive Austin (Golspie) were a point further back.
Yet another with a 14-point outward nine was Gerald Klein (Durness) and he was to add 16 more to win the higher handicap on countback from Thurso’s Jim Hawthorn who made 14 points on the way in for his 30-point total.
Wick’s Joost Leeuwenberg, second in this category at the Reay meeting, had 14 points for both nines to win third place on countback from club mate Ricky Shearer.
The society’s next outing is to Brora on Thursday, May 3.
