I switched flights to Spain to play in Where Eagles Dare tournament and won, says Robert Bryce - click here for the full Sunday Mail article

Sandyhills Finish in 6th Place in Scottish Club Championship
Prestwick made the most of home-town advantage to win the NAC Scottish club championship grand final at Prestwick St Nicholas today by five strokes over 36 holes with a total of 285 (144-141)

The Sandyhills trio of Steven Robertson, Tam Martin and Paul McKay finished a respectable sixth place after a very promising start which saw them go into the final round as Prestwick's closest challengers. Counting scores of 72 and 73 from Steven and Tam respectively gave Sandyhills a 1st round aggregate of 145 (7 over par) in extrememly testing conditions.

With two rounds counting out of a possible three Sandyhill's second round was less successful and saw the trio post 76,78,78 for a disappointing 154 aggregate and a 299 total.

Prestwick fielded a team of three former Scotland internationals - past Scottish champion Allan Thomson, Jonathan King and Gavin Lawrie. The Prestwick victors will now represent Scotland in the European club championship final, held as usual in Turkey - at the Klassis Golf Club from October 22 to 24. St Andrews were runners-up at Prestwick St Nicholas with a total of 290 (146-140).

FINAL TOTALS (two from three scores to count per round).
285 PRESTWICK 144 145.
290 ST ANDREWS 146 144.
295 POWFOOT 152 143, McDONALD ELLON 150 145.
298 FORRES 153 145.
299 SANDYHILLS 145 154.
300 BLAIRGOWRIE 150 140.
301 CAMBUSLANG 150 151, GLENBERVIE 153 148.
303 COCHRANE CASTLE 153 150.
307 BEARSDEN 156 151, KELSO 158 149.
310 BATHGATE 155 155, INNELLAN 161 149.
312 DOLLAR 156 156.
316 FORFAR 156 160.

SGU-SLGA name Bookless, Shields, Kenney and Walker for Texas trip
Ladies Order of Merit leader Louise Kenney is one of four players selected to represent Scotland at The Spirit International Amateur Golf Championship at the renowned Whispering Pines Golf Club in Texas (4-7 November).

The Scottish Ladies Championship finalist from Pitreavie is joined by double St Rule Trophy Champion Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle), currently ranked second in the Ladies Order of Merit. The pair were both members of the Ladies Home Internationals team who narrowly missed out on the title to finish runners up to Wales and last week were named in the 2010 GB&I Curtis Cup squad.

Newlands Trophy Champion Mark Bookless from Sandyhills is partnered with twice Boys Championship finalist Paul Shields at the prestigious 72 hole event which has attracted players from across the world. A total of 20 teams have been invited to play in the biennial tournament, selected based on their nations combined men’s and women’s results at the World Amateur Team Championship in 2008.

The Spirit tournament takes place on alternate years to the Eisenhower and Espirito Santo Trophies and provides the 80 competitors with ‘an Olympic style experience from the opening and closing ceremonies, an international village and competing for gold medals.’

The four Scots will hope to follow in the footsteps of the tartan trio that triumphed in Adelaide, Australia last year when Scotland became the first of the home nations to be crowned Men’s World Amateur Team Champions.

There are five medal categories in the tournament, International Team, Men’s Team, Women’s Team, Men’s Individual and Women’s Individual, with gold, silver and bronze medals awarded to the top three places in each competition.

Former individual champions include LPGA stars Lorena Ochoa and Paula Creamer, who will captain this year’s US team. Since the inaugural event was hosted in 2001, 54 former competitors have gone on to play professionally for the PGA, LPGA and Men’s and Ladies European Tours.

England are the defending champions of the International Team event, after they claimed back to back wins in 2005 and 2007. Please click here for link to official website.

Scotland Team:
Mark Bookless (Sandyhills)
Paul Shields (Kirkhill)
Louise Kenney (Pitreavie)
Kylie Walker (Buchanan Castle)

(Source: www.scottishgolf.org)

Finals Day - 20th September 2009
Forgie Cup - G. Clark Def. T. Martin
Cassells - P. McKay Def. R. Reid
Summer Fourball - D. Whitelaw & S. McNeil Def, R.House & D. McDougall
Family Foursomes - D&R Gould vrs B&A Carruthers (TBA)

More details to follow, Congratulations to the winners!

Mark Bookless and Steven Robertson were unable to garner enough points to prevent Glasgow's disappointing defeat to Dunbartonshire which also erased any hopes of reaching the semi finals of the Scottish Area Team Championships.

A narrow 1 up defeat to Kevin Smyth and Paul Betty in the morning foursomes was a disappointing result for the Sandyhills duo who had a 1 hole lead early into the back nine. Glasgow also lost it's remaining morning foursomes to go down 3-0 at lunch.

Steven then lead of the six man team in the afternoon but soon found himself 4 down after 5 after three birdies from home player Gordon Yates and some sloppy stuff from the Sandyhills man. Steven fought back however and stood on the 18th tee with a chance of voctory only to bogey the last for a 1 hole defeat.

Mark also had a tough tie agains Paul Betty who had not put a foot wrong in the morning foursomes. Only 3 halved holes in 17 saw the pair reach the 18th green level and a sporting concession gave both players a half point.

Unfortunately for our duo Dunbartonshire ran out clear winners 7-2 and advance to the semi finals at Crail in October.

Sandyhills Team Wins Jessiman Trophy Final in a Landslide
The excellent Sandyhills Jessiman team produced a sparkling performance to defeat Hilton Park by 15 holes!

The knock-out competition is played throughout the year against other golf clubs in the Glasgow area situated North of the river Clyde and is for players with a handicap of 6-12, each match goes to the 18th and the final scores are accummulated to determine a winner.

This was the 1st time since 2000 that Sandyhills had won the competition and the fourth time overall and adds to the unprecedented success of Sandyhills teams and individuals in 2009.

Congratulations to Willie Keen and the team for a fantastic performance!

A solid start of 67, 76 saw Bookless only 4 strokes behind halfway leader Eddie Wood (current Lanarkshire Strokeplay Champion and former Sandyhills Member) and O'Hara, who many consider should have been a member of GB&I's Walker Cup Team to face the United States but nevertheless is the team's 1st reserve.

A blistering six under par 64 in Sunday morning's third round was enough to see Mark into a 4 stroke lead with one round to play and he managed to finish the job off in style with an impressive 69. That left Mark with a total of 276 (4 under par) to be the only player to finish in red numbers for the tournament.

A total of 280 strokes saw Eddie Wood round out an impressive comeback season with a second place while Paul O'Hara finished a further shot back in 3rd.

The win sees Mark leap to 13th in the overall Order of Merit Standings for 2009. (click here for details)
Summary of Mark's SGU Season

It is the perfect way to sign of a season which has seen Mark progress well and become a consistent challenger on the national stage. Season highlights include his course record breaking performance at Cathcart Castle to win the Glasgow Strokeplay Championship and leading the Sandhyills team to the National Club Championships, an impressive T5 in the North of Scotland Open at Lossiemouth and reaching the 5th round in the Scottish Amateur at Royal Troon loosing only to eventual finalist Paul O'Hara.

Mark's achievements are unsurpassed in recent years in the club's history and even at the age of 19 his achievements can be compared to Gordon Hewitt, Adam Hunter, Derek Crawford and Andy Quinn.

Congratulations to go to Mark from all members of Sandyhills Golf Club!

Mark Bookless closed strongly over the Moray Old Course at Lossiemouth with a 1 under par 70 to finish in fourth place in the North of Scotland Open, his highest finish to date in a SGU order of merit 72 hole tournament.

The Moray links proved a stern test for Scotland's best amateurs as a strong westerly wind during Saturday's opening round allowed the golf course to show it's teeth and Mark's excellent 71 was a testament to both his ball striking skills and scrambling as he matched par needing only 26 putts. The second round 69 took advantage of the calmer conditions which arrived with the change of tide and despite the terrible forecast of wind and rain for Sunday, conditions remained settled for Mark to finish of his weekend with 74 and 70.

A fine total of 284 (even par) left mark 10 shots behind Kevin McAlpine's winning total of 274 (10 under par).

Steven Robertson did not enjoy his return visit north despite success in previous years. An inability to “score” despite decent all round play saw Steven slump to 78-73 for 151 and a missed cut.

The Sandyhills Golf Club Invitational took place on Saturday 22nd August and was a great success with members and guests enjoying the warm hospitality of our club.

The weather was favourable even if the course was very wet and the winners on the day were Gerry Innes and his guest Paul Marshall With a score of 61 which was excellent considering the conditions.

A special thanks go to David Willows (Past Captain), Alan Huxtable, Steven Robertson, the committee and members who helped with the smooth running of the event and and with the ever popular hospitality tent.

Click here for full results

Adam Hunter (Mearns Castle), Chris Russell (RAW Golf Course Design), Alan Lockhart (Ladybank), Mark King (Kingsfield) and Paul McKechnie (Braid Hills) formed a five-way tie at the top in the Sandyhills Pro-Am.

The leading posse all posted two-under-par 68s picking up just shy of £800 each.

In the team event, Hayston pro Stephen Gray led the Gems Engineering amateur trio of Jim Hendry, Dougie Hamilton and Paul Reid to victory with a 56. (Source: www.pga.info) > Results

Craig Anderson successfully navigated his way past Russell Grant of Ralston today to set up a quarter final matchup against Scott Wearing of Bishopbriggs on Friday. This should be a tight affair as both players shot 150 in qualifying for the matchplay stages.

Steven Machin Jnr from Cowglen looks like the favourite for the tournament as the highest qualifier left in the tournament but in Craig Anderson Sandyhills has a very real hope for success.

Full results wil be posted on Monday 10th August.

Luciano Pacitti had a disappointing day at the office by his high standards as he finished in the middle of the field in qualifying for the St Andrews Boys Championship.

A score of 80 and a tie for 80th spot was not enough to challenge for the matchplay stages this year but following a recent 69 in the mens medal at Sandyhills there is no doubt that Luciano is in fine form and is full of potential.

Luciano received better news when he returned home to learn that he had done particularly well in his Higher exams!

Graig Anderson and Russell Calder were Sandyhills only two participants in this year's Glasgow Boys Championship held at Williamwood Golf Club.

Scores of 88 & 85 were not enough to put Russell in the mix in either the gross or nett competition but Craig shot 74-76 to finish 16th and advance to play in the later stages. The strokeplay title was won by the in-form Connor O'Neill from Glasgow Golf Club who had a magnificent 66 in the afternoon to add to his earlier 70 for a 136 total and a 3 stroke victory over club mate David Gallagher.

Sandyhills hosted the Glasgow Golf Union's 2nd fixture of the Scottish Area Team Championships on Sunday and Mark Bookless' and Steven Robertson's attendance meant that the Sandyhills were strongly represented.

Mark and Steven partnered each other in the lead off match in the morning foursomes and played solidly for a comfortable 3&1 victory despite the best efforts of the visiting North team who chipped in for eagle at the 16th to keep the match alive after a birdie from the Sandyhills duo. The Cowglen pairing of Steven Machin and John Laurie let slip a late lead to loose 1 up on the last, whilst Cathkin's Gordon Sangster and Ben Sloan combined well for an impressive 4&3 victory to leave the match poised at 2-1 after the morning foursomes.

Steven led the team off in the singles and earned a hard fought 1 up victory and was closely followed by Mark whose approximate 68 was only good enough for a half. John Laurie, Ben Sloan and Gordon Sangster all returned wins with only Greame McDougall of Bishopbriggs losing out to the visitors.

A final score of 6.5 pts to 2.5 pts ensures that Glasgow are still in with a shout of reaching the final stages of this years competition to be held at Crail in October, but first they must inflict a heavy defeat on Dunbartonshire whom they meet at Cardross in September.

Mixed results from Sandyhills duo at the Scottish Amateur Championship at Royal Troon
Mark Bookless and Steven Robertson had varying degrees of success at this weeks Scottish Amateur Championship - the premier amateur tournament in the country.

Early success from Steven was tempered by a disappointing loss in the third round. A solid 3&2 victory in the first round against home favourite Bert Ferguson was followed by a tight victory at the 18th over Neil Henderson of The Glen. Steven was stopped dead in his tracks however by former Sandyhills member Eddie Wood (now of Crowwood GC) who continued his fine recent form with near flawless golf to win 4&3 with a 15ft putt on the 15th hole. This was the 4th time that Steven had made it to the last 64 and failed to progress.

Mark Bookless fared better in reaching the 5th round before losing out to eventual finalist Paul O'Hara. Fast starts in the opening rounds saw Mark achieve unassailable leads against Calum Stewart of Brora and then Ross Crowe of Westerhope GC. A 3rd round clash with Colin Shanks also ended in a comfortable victory before Mark met Steven Robertson's victor in the last 32. Eddie Wood put up a stubborn resistance against the former Scottish Boys Strokeplay Champion but in the end Mark prevailed with a par on the 16th green for a 3&2 win. Whilst never being 'up' against the current leader of the SGU Order of Merit, Mark held his own an eventually lost a close match 2&1. This has proved to be Paul's toughest match en-route to the final and Mark's appearance in the last 16 of the national championship in his first year as a senior is something to be proud of.

Mark and Steven are next in action at Sandyhills on Sunday 2nd August when they represent Glasgow against the North of Scotland in round 2 of the Scottish Area Team Championships.

Mark Bookless finished T11 in Chiberta Grand Prix - Last year's Scottish boys' open stroke-play champion, turned the clock back to that title-winning performance at Blairgowrie by finishing a highly creditable joint 11th in an international field for the Chiberta Grand Prix tournament at Biarritz, southwest France today. Mark had rounds of 66, 73, 67 and 70 for a four-under-par total of 276 over the tricky par-70 course. Other Scots in the field included Kris Nicol from Fraserburgh tied for 39th place with a total of 289 and Greg Paterson (St Andrews) was disqualified after returning a pair of 70s. . Frenchman Alexander Levy was the winner with an 11-under-par total of 269 (67 70 68 64). (Source: scottishgolfview.co.uk) This is a highly creditable perfromance from Mark and will give him confidence going into The Scottish Amateur Championship at Royal Troon later in the month.

Mark Bookless and Steven Robertson were unable to capitalise on solid starts to the Camaron Corbett Vase competition held this weekend at Haggs Castle. The event which forms part of the SGU Order of Merit was eventually won by Allyn Dick of Kingsknowe with a superb closing 67 which included an eagle at the final hole for a four round total of 273 (15 under par).

Mark started with rounds of 70-69 to leave himself only 5 shots off the pace at the halway stage while 69-71 saw Steven a short further back. Closing rounds of 73 & 78 saw Mark drop back to 2 over for the tournament and a share of 27th.

A third round of 71 saw Steven move up to 8th with the final round remaining but an lacklustre 72 saw him slip into a tie for 11th place at 5 under par.
Click here for full results

Sandyhills won their final Donald Cameron Division 2 league match 7-1 against Douglas Park today. This was an excellent conclusion after an indifferent mid-season which saw a 6-2 away loss to Lenzie and a home draw to Hilton Park.

Although the victory was not enough to place Sandyhills at the top of the two year league after 6 games it does mean that they are handily placed just one point behind leaders Lenzie and runners up Douglas Park. Next year, on the completion of both the home and away fixtures, 3 teams will be promoted back up to division 1.

2009 Club Championship - Qualifying Scores - Round 1 - Round 2, Results & Draw
2009 Ladies Championship - Results & Draw
2009 Matt Dewar Trophy - Results & Draw
2009 Junior Championship - Results & Draw

Robert Clelland, Honorary President 1913 - 2009 - Click here for Bert's Obituary (The Herald)

'Fields in Trust Scotland' entry forms are available online. Prizes and Coaching are available for winners and several Junior members took part last year and won. If you are interested or have a son or daughter who might be intrested please click here for more details. CLOSING DATE 5TH JUNE 2009 Click here to download the Sandyhills GC Parent Consent form

Mark Bookless finished in 27th Position in this weekend's Welsh men's open amateur stroke-play championship at Ashburnham Golf Club. Opening rounds of 72 & 73 left Mark in a tie for 12th with 36 holes remaining. Unfortunately finishing rounds of 76 & 75 caused Mark to slip back to 296 (8 over) for the torunament. The championship was eventually won by Andreas Harte from Denmark with a superb score of 276 (8 under par).

Mark's next tournament will be the Scottish Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship at Murcar Links from 29th - 31at May.

Mark Bookless and Steven Robertson today represented Glasgow against The South but finished up on the wrong side of a heavy defeat at Southerness.

The match was an uphill battle from the start after the Glasgow Team lost out 3-0 in the opening foursomes. Mark and Steven lead the team out in Match #1 in the morning and despite being 2 up with 6 to play some loose play on the 15th, 16th & 17th meant that Mark's fantastic 'lipped-out' eagle chip was not enough to prevent defeat on the last.

Steven again lead the singles charge in the afternoon but lost his way on the greens and was comfortably defeated 3&2. Mark gained a respectable half point in theafternoon after another impressive eagle chip at the 18th which shaved the hole, and he was only one of two Glasgow players to earn points.

The end result was a 7 1/2 - 1 1/2 victory for the home side which leaves Glasgow with an uphill struglle to qualify for the final stages of the competition. Glasgow's next match is at Sandyhills in early August.

Thomson McCrone Team Update by Ian Kilpatrick (Team Convenor)
After two matches our team is holding its own, the results are 1 home win and 1 away loss. The scores were both 4-1, the scoring system is 2pts for home win 3pts for an away win and 1pt for a draw. Currently all four teams - Balmore, Vale of Leven, Clydebank Overton and ourselves have all won their home matches and have 2pts. The plan is to win all your home matches and collect extra points with an away win or draw. Our star players this season so far are M. May and C. Sharp who have a 100% record with 2 matches and 2 wins, well done guys keep up the good work.

My thanks to John France for his organising on match days and in setting  up the pairings in my absence. We are still looking for more players so if your handicap is between 9 and 20 put your name on the list on the notice board. Our next game is a home match against Balmore on Sunday 17th May and is another must win game. I will keep you all up to date with future games.

Rregards to all I. Kirkpatrick team convenor.

Mark Bookless finished joint 31st in the Edward Trophy ( SGU Order of Merit Event) held over Glasgow Golf Club's Gailes Links this past weekend. Stormy and windy weather greeted the players for most of the weekend with the 2nd round abandonded due to lighting. Mark's scores 76-77-74 (226) saw him finish 15 strokes back from the play-off at 2 under par which was eventually won by Paul O'Hara of Colville Park on the second extra hole.

Mark tees it up in Southerness if a few weeks time alongside Steven Robertson as he makes his debut on the Glasgow County 6 man team in the Scottish Area Team Championship.