City juniors impress at Dornoch
Register for free to read more of the latest local news. It's easy and will only take a moment.
A TEAM of Inverness youngsters finished fifth overall at the clubgolf Junior Pro-Am competition, which was part of the Sandy Pipey Masters at Royal Dornoch Golf Club.
Loch Ness duo David Grindell and Shaun MacLeod, and Roy Carson, of Inverness Golf Club, teamed up with Eastwood professional Ross MacLeod to contest the event.
However, it was the host club that prevailed, winning by a point over a combined team from Ross and Sutherland.
The clubgolf Junior Pro-Am team comprised 18 juniors from nine Highland golf clubs. The youngsters, many of whom were playing the famous Dornoch links course for the first time, enjoyed a dry, but breezy, start to their round.
For the first eight holes, this was favourable, but as they turned back and played the par five ninth, club selection for distance was a different game, while the short par three 10th was a severe challenge into a now brisk wind.
This and the rolling, undulating greens made it a round of contrasting halves, even with the expert advice from their professional on lining up putts.
For the juniors playing in the competition, however, this round will be invaluable for them when they return to play in the two-day Donald Ross Competition during the first week of their October school holidays.
Preparing for a tournament was the underlying theme of the day as the juniors and pros met as a team, enjoyed a warm-up on Dornoch’s extensive practice area, before taking part in a session where they worked up from hitting wedge shots to a full driver.
Their pros then timed the session for them to have 15 minutes putting before they were called for their tee-off time.
The final results were as follows:
1 Royal Dornoch, 136 points; 2 Ross/Sutherland, 137; 3 Caithness B, 144; 4 Girls Team, 145; Inverness Team, 146; 6 Caithness A, 147.
