Dundonald Games Golf Links Swings into Action

Entries are now being accepted for the inaugural Dundonald Games Links Golf Day. This unique eighteen hole handicap stableford event is open to both ladies and gents and will be played over the magnificent Dundonald Links golf course in Ayrshire on the west coast of Scotland just 24 hours ahead of the annual Dundonald Games on Friday 5th of August.

A website specifically for the event has been created by joint sponsors Plan B and visitors can book their accommodation online courtesy of Bookasssist.

Entry forms can be downloaded or you can go reserve your fourball online and pay by Cheque or even PayPal.

For those who just want to play great Ayrshire golf you could hardly do better than play 18 holes over the magnificent Kyle Phillips layout at Dundonald. The course is a wonderful challenge but remains a fair test of all golfing abilities with fast, three club greens, some wonderul pot bunkers, an abundance of dunes and some of the best laid out holes in Scotland.

The day is about enjoyment and added to the golf you will have access to the practice area and free range balls as well as Nearest the Pin, Longest Drive and the handicap stableford event - if you don't have an official handicap there are limited spaces available just to enjoy the course.

Entry is currently strictly limited to 60 golfers and it is sure to be subscribed very quickly so don’t hesitate to get your application in. You can reserve a single or a discounted fourball and pay by debit or credit card.
 

And the Kilted Part?
Well first off it’s not obligatory but we thought that given that it’s an official part of the Annual Dundonald Games week and the day before the games itself we’d add a little bit of fun and offer players the opportunity to compete in their kilt with a special commemorative Targe being presented to the winner of, we believe, Scotland's very first Kilted Golf Classic.

We look forward to welcoming you to both the Links and the Games and perhaps an extended stay in the Ayrshire area.

Fun Golf Event for Ayrshire Visitors in August

This year will see the inaugural Dundonald Games Links Golf Day incorporating the first Kilted Golf Classic teeing off on Friday 5th August.

This unique 18 hole handicap stableford event is open to amateur ladies and gents with an official handicap and will be played over the magnificent Dundonald Links golf course. The course is a wonderful challenge but remains a fair test of all golfing abilities with fast, three club greens, some wonderful pot bunkers, an abundance of dunes and some of the best laid out holes in Scotland.

And the Kilted Golf Classic? Although not obligatory we thought that given that it is an integral part of Dundonald Games Week we would add a little bit of fun and offer players the opportunity to compete in Highland Dress with a special commemorative trophy being presented to the winner!

Entry is strictly limited to 80 golfers and it is sure to be subscribed very quickly so do not hesitate to enter. You can reserve a single or a discounted fourball from only £45 per person including coffee and bacon roll on arrival.

For further information and reservations visit Dundonald Games Golf website

Prestwick St Nicholas co-hosts the Scottish Area Team Championship

Prestwick St Nicholas is co-hosting, along Prestwick Golf Club, the Scottish Area Team Championship on the 14th and 15th May.

The field will feature 96 of the country's leading amateur players (including internationalists) representing their respective areas. The Ayrshire six man team consists of Scottish and South African Amateur Champion Michael Stewart (Troon Welbeck), a trio of Kilmarnock Barassie players - the new Ayrshire Strokeplay Champion Jamie Mackay, 2010 Ayrshire Matchplay winner Euan Brown and Scotland boys international Jack McDonald, and bidding to go one step further than their semi-final appearance last year are Michael Smyth (Royal Troon) and John Haggarty (Loudoun).

The format will see all 16 teams play 36 holes stroke-play on Saturday 14 May (one round over Prestwick and one round over St Nicholas) with the leading 4 teams qualifying for match play on the Sunday to determine the medal positions.

Ailsa Craig for Sale!

According to our very favourite online news website For Argyll - and it is worth reading some of the opinion pieces that they write - Ailsa Craig, or Paddy’s Milestone as it's always been known to us as kids, the unforgettable iconic shape seen from many of the golf courses of Scotland's West Coast Golf Links and seen by millions of TV viewers when the Open is held at Turnberry is up for sale!

Owned by the 8th Marquess of Ailsa, it is being sold by Knight Frank and by Vladi Private Islands, the agent who sold Sanda Island off the east coast of the Mull of Kintyre and who is currently also selling Barcaldine Castle in North Argyll as ‘an island-like property’.

Ailsa Craig is not even yet on the Vladi website, but the 245 acre rock with its distinctive conical shape, lying ten miles off Girvan  on the south Ayrshire coast has an asking price of £2.5 million.

Final hole swing sees Charlotte Ellis clinch Helen Holm

England's Charlotte Ellis staged a charge over the last few holes to win the Helen Holm Scottish women's open amateur stroke-play championship over Royal Troon's Open championship links course on Sunday 24th of April. She had been trailing 16 year old twin Leona Maguire from Co Cavan, Ireland by three strokes with six holes to play until the 25-year-old from Minchinhampton birdied the 13th, 15th and 16th holes to be one shot behind Maguire with two to play. Both parred the short 17th and then Leona, who had made all the running from the start of the 54-hole tournament, ran up a double bogey 6 at the last, taking three shots to get on the green and quite depressingly a further three putts from six feet. Ellis stepped in to win with a par 4.

"Even when I holed out for a par on the last green, I really didn't think it was to win. It was only when Leona eventually missed a two-foot second putt, that I realised I had won. It's the biggest golf title I've ever won but I feel sorry for Leona."