Monday 9 July 2012

Seniors Open Qualifying on Scotland's West Coast Links

Of course the thing about Scotland's West Coast Golf Links is that it provides so much more than just three Open Championship venues and that has been shown this year with the number of clubs involved in providing venues for big events.

2012 has seen The Amateur Championship being held over Royal Troon and Glasgow's Gailes Links, The Scottish Amateaur at Barassie Links and the Seniors Open is on its way to Turnberry's Ailsa course - however three other great west coast links courses are involved in the Qualifying for the Seniors Open.

Dundonald Links, Kilmarnock Barassie Golf Club and Turnberry’s Kintyre Course will be hosting an estimated 300 hopefuls hoping to seal a spot in the Championship on the Ailsa course at Turnberry.

The 18-hole qualifier will be played across the three courses on Monday July 23 ahead of the star-studded Senior Open Championship starting three days later and it will give non-exempt players the chance to join some of golf’s great names in the Championship with the hope of reproducing the performance of Pete Oakley in 2004, who came through qualifying before going on to win the Championship at Royal Portrush.

Johnnie Cole-Hamilton, R&A Assistant Director of Championships, said on behalf of the Championship: “We are delighted to bring this most prestigious tournament back to the wonderful Ailsa course at Turnberry, which has produced so many historic and memorable moments in the past. The quality of golf courses on display for the qualification stage of the Senior Open Championship, as well as the main event at Turnberry, only serves to highlight the plentiful golfing assets in the region of South Ayrshire.

The 2012 staging will be third time since the turn of the century that the Championship has been held at Turnberry and if the previous two occasions are anything to go by, it is sure to produce some drama.

We think the drama will start on the three qualifying courses and if you get the chance why not pop along - it's free admission at all three clubs.

Seniors Open Returns to Scotland's West Coast Links

If you're looking to generate interest in a golf event the press release often needs embellishments and facts and figures and lots of pictures and price incentives.

This blog has none of these; here is our content to promote to Seniors Open Championship at Turnberry from 26th - 29th of July 2012. You decide whether more words are required...

Tom Watson, Bernhard Langer and Greg Norman, Fred Couples, Tony Jacklin, Tom Lehman, Corey Pavin, Sam Torrance...




Monday 24 October 2011

Dundonald Links Best Environmental Performance

Dundonald Links has received the ‘Best Environmental Performance Award’ at the recent Ayrshire Business Awards. Over 260 business leaders from Ayrshire and beyond attended the annual awards ceremony which recognises the best performing companies in Ayrshire. The event was held at the Gailes Hotel, Irvine where the BBC’s Kaye Adams presented the awards.

The ‘Best Environmental Performance Award’ award, sponsored by Nestle (worlds leading Nutrition, Health and Wellness Company), has been designed for organisations that demonstrate environmental best practice, ethical best practice or sustainable development. In order to qualify for the final selection process, Dundonald Links was invited to demonstrate these practices and to explain the impact that these initiatives have had on the company.

Dundonald competed with two major employers in Scotland, McCaig Renewable and Lowmac Recycling, for the award.

Bill Donald, General Manager, Loch Lomond Golf Club and Dundonald Links, commented:

“This is a tremendous achievement for the team at Dundonald Links and is testament to all their hard work and commitment in ensuring that the golf course is maintained to the very highest of standards with environmental best practice always in mind.”

The club website also features an environmental policy.

Dundonald Links is committed to the implementation of a wide range of proactive measures, to help protect, and sustain, the local, national, and global environment, and strives for continual improvement of its environmental management systems.

Our Vision

To provide players with an authentic and distinctive links land experience by using best environmental practices and policies.

Our aim is to:
  • Minimise waste, working towards zero waste
  • Minimise energy consumption
  • Protect and enhance biodiversity
  • Maximise the Club’s role to provide the public with knowledge of ongoing environmental issues
  • Inspire others to pursue sustainable resources
For further information, please contact Guy Redford, Director of Golf, Dundonald Links

T: 01294 314000 or E: guy.redford@dundonaldlinks.com

Monday 25 July 2011

Turnberry and their iWine List!

It's been repoerted in the Scottish papers as the world's most expensive menu. The West Coast Golf Links golf resort of Turnberry has decided to use iPads for the wine menu instead of traditional paper and leather bound versions!

Turnberry is trialling the product for the wine list in its fine dining restaurant and plans to extend the concept to its other restaurants and bars by the end of the year all owing their guests to use the obvious benefits of inbuilt  search tools to find out more about their wine.

Ralph Porciani, director of operations at Turnberry, said: "We've seen this in the States for a while and it improves and enriches the experience of choosing from a menu. The ability to combine images, with more colourful background information on the product - be it the wine maker or the grapes - is incredibly satisfying for guests and gives them a far more informed choice."

"Around 60 per cent of our guests wander around with an iPad already tucked under their arm. So it is a technology which is very useable and very familiar to many people."

In other countries where the iPad has been used instead of a menu, restaurants have claimed a rise in turnover from diners finding their ordering inhibitions are lifted when ordering direct, rather than via waiters.

The trend began in the US shortly after the launch of the tablet devices last year. The technology used in some American restaurants allows staff to communicate with customers through email-style messages, suggesting, for example, that they may be ready to buy another drink - and also pay for their meals through the device using an in-built swipe card slot.

Another first for one of Ayrshire's West VCoast Golf Links

Scottish Amateur Heads for West Coast Links

Troon Welbeck’s Michael Stewart heads into this week’s Scottish Amateur Championship which is being held at the West Coast Links gem of Western Gailes between the 25 and 30th of July aiming to become the first golfer for twenty-eight years to successfully defend the title.

The 21-year-old, who defeated Fraserburgh’s Jordan Findlay 3 and 2 in the final at Gullane twelve months ago, has enjoyed another superb season, winning the South African Amateur Championship in February before narrowly losing the final of The Amateur Championship at Hillside last month.

Legendary amateur Charlie Green was the last man to win back-to-back titles in 1982-83 and Stewart is relishing the prospect of retaining the championship in his native Ayrshire, believing he is a vastly improved player a year on from his East Lothian win.

“I’m looking forward to the challenge of defending the title as it’s been a while since anyone’s achieved that. There will obviously be some extra pressure on me but I seem to thrive on that and play some of my best golf in pressure situations, as I did in some of my close matches last year,” said Stewart, who is eyeing a place in the Great Britain and Ireland Walker Cup side to face the United States in September.

“All aspects of my game have improved since my win at Gullane and I would say I’m definitely a better golfer. The SGU squad training over the winter was of real benefit and the win in South Africa and my run in The Amateur Championship was great for my confidence. It will be nice playing at home in Ayrshire and I’m excited about the week ahead.” he added.

Scotland’s 256 leading amateur golfers representing 150 different clubs will descend on the Western Gailes links, which last hosted the championship in 2002 when Andrew McArthur defeated Scott Jamieson in a keenly contested final, before both players went on to compete on the European Tour.

The last Ayrshireman to win on home soil, was from another West Coast Links course, Barassie’s Jim Milligan in 1988.

Action gets underway on Monday morning at 0645 with 128 ties being played over the first two days. The 36-hole final will take place on Saturday 30 July with 0830 and 1300 tee-times. Live scoring and updates will be available throughout the week here on the SGU's website.



You can find out how you can play Western Gailes and the rest of Scotland's West Coast Golf Links courses on the website