News
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Bolton wins 10th Matchplay title
Argyll & Bute Matchplay Results 2024
Rothesay’s Graham Bolton secured his 10th Argyll and Bute Matchplay title with a hard fought win against Machrihanish’s Gordon Tyre. This was a repeat of the 2001 final which was also held over the moorland Millport course. The game played in a blustery westerly wind was error strewn with the difference being Graham making slightly less mistakes than Gordon, resulting in a 3&2 victory for Graham which ironically was the same score as 23 years ago.
Beaten semi finalists were John Jack and Niall Gallacher.
The area would like to thank Millport GC for hosting the event and for presenting the course in good condition particularly the greens which were excellent.
Pictured are the finalists Graham Bolton and Gordon Tyre
Semi finals
Gordon Tyre bt Niall Gallacher 3&2
Graham Bolton bt John Jack 6&5
Qtr-Finals
Niall Gallacher bt Craig Pirie 19th hole
Gordon Tyre bt Calum McKirdy 6&5
John Jack bt Sam Johnston 4&3
Graham Bolton bt George MacMillan 3&2
1st round
Niall Gallacher bt Iain Simpson 3&2
Gordon Tyre bt David Lamont 3&2
Calum McKirdy bt Ross Johnston 5&4
John Jack bt Alastair Shaw 1up
Graham Bolton bt Greg Watson 5 &4
Craig Pirie captures another Area title
Millport’s Craig Pirie secured his 3rd Area Strokeplay Championship at a sun drenched Machrihanish Dunes on Saturday 27th July.
Despite the benign conditions, scoring was high with treacherous pin positions and deep knarly rough wreaking havoc on many a scoreboard.
Craig however was a model of consistency with a 2 under par total of 142 , which saw him win by a convincing 4 shots from Cowal’s Chris Carson.
In joint third place was Youths Winner Jack Shaw tied with the evergreen George MacMillan
The main handicap prize was shared by Ally Shaw and another veteran Paul Davis
Scores were as follows
1st Craig Pirie 72-70 -142
2nd Chris Carson 73-73-146
3rd George Macmillan 73-75-148
Jack Shaw 76-72-148
5th Calum Mckirdy 78-73-151
Sam Johnston 79-72-151
Gordon Tyre 78-73-151
Ally Shaw 77-74-151
9th Graham Bolton 76-76-152
10th Donald standaloft 75-78-153
The area would like to thank Machrihanish Dunes for hosting the event and their continued support to the Area and commend the greenkeeper on its fine condition
The next area action will be the Matchplay at millport on the weekend of the 17th/18th August. The top 16 from yesterday have been invited to compete
Pictured are winners Craig Pirie and Youths champion Jack Shaw with Area Secretary Graham Bolton
Area Team Championship
Argyll & Bute 1.5 Glasgow 7.5
A&B's six man team slumped to a heavy defeat against a good Glasgow team at Rothesay Golf club on Sunday 14th July .
Trailing after losing 3 - 0 in the foursomes, there was no way back for the team , with only a solitary win by Calum McKirdy and a 1/2 point by Sam Johnston in the 6 afternoon singles.
This was a disappointing end to a difficult year for the team.
Scott Marshall wins Handicap Championship
Pictured is Scott Marshall, today’s winner of the Argyll and Bute Handicap Championship.
Scott fresh from his victory in the Dunoon Trophy a couple of weeks ago secured the win over his home course Cowal with a Nett 65,
The winner of the scratch section was Chris Carson whose 68 included a spectacular back nine of 32,
The Area Executive would like to thank the club for hosting the event and commend them on its fine condition
Prize Winners as follows
Scratch
1 Chris Carson 68
2 Andy Jones 75
3 Graeme Blair 76
Handicap
1 Scott Marshall 65
2 Martin Allison 67 bih
3 Scott Lauffer 67 bih
4 John Blincow 67
5 Michael Cannon 69
6 Liam O’Loughlin 70 bih
7 Stuart Brady 70
8 Jimmy Galloway 71
Scott receiving his trophy from Executive member Donald Mackay
Mens ATC v Clackmannanshire
Argyll and Bute’s six man team came off second best to Clackmannan at Alloa Golf Club earlier today. Trailing 2-1 after the morning foursomes,they were unable to turn the tables in the singles and succumbed to a 6-3 defeat.
The next game is against Glasgow at Rothesay on the 14th July where Argyll & Bute will hold the key to which area qualifies for the knockout stages if they can win their last game.
In the other game in our group Glasgow halved with Ayrshire at Louden
Mens ATC v Ayrshire
Scottish Area Team Champs 2024
Argyll & Bute's six man team succumbed to a 8-1 heavy defeat at the hands of Ayrshire on Sunday at Rothesay.
Despite an encouraging start in the opening foursomes with a win in the first game by Craig Pirie and Jack Reynolds. Unfortunately after that it was all downhill with the Area losing 8 games on the bounce.
The scoreline flattered Ayrshire as many of the games were tight and at one point the game was in the balance. However the experience of Ayrshire got them over the line in style.
Next up for the Area team is Clackmannan at Alloa Schawpark on the 9th June.
Argyll & Bute Open Seniors 2024
The 2024 Argyll & Bute Open Seniors took place at a blustery Machrihanish yesterday. However 70 odd hardy souls ventured out on to the course and were greeted by four seasons in one day.
Despite that there was some decent scoring with local Malcolm Stalker emerging the overall winner with a net 69 pipping Donald Laing by better inward half.
The scratch winner was David Lamont. The Area executive would like to thank the club for hosting the event and for presenting the course in fine condition.
Winners as follows
Overall Winner: Malcolm Stalker net 69
Scratch Winner : David Lamont 78
Over 50s
Winner Donald Laing net 69
2nd Derek McCulloch net 72
3rd Kenneth Swan net 74
4th Jamie Campbell net 76
Over 60s
Winner James Hamilton net 71(bih)
2nd Craig Kelly net 71
3rd David Fraser net 74
4th Dale Robertson net 76
Over 70s
Winner Duncan Munro net 72
2nd Robert Baxter net 74
3rd James Ewing net 75
4th Iain MacKinnon net 76
Spring Meeting 2024
Pictured is today’s Spring Meeting winner James Muir. James emerged from a 5 way tie by virtue of the better inward half with a net 64. In second place was Philip Murphy
Prize winners net
1st James Muir net 64 bih
2nd Philip Murphy net 64 bih
3rd Gavin MacMillan net 64 bih
Scratch
1st Graham MacColl 68
2nd Allan Macphee 70 bih
3rd Chris Carson 70
The Area executive would like to thank the club for hosting the event and would like to thank Dougie Macintyre and his team for presenting the course in pristine condition.
The next Area action is the Open Seniors event at Machrihanish on the 5th June. Limited spaces still available early in the morning , contact Graham Bolton on 0772 062 7397 for a space or enter on the Scottish Golf App under Argyll & Bute Golf Union until midnight on Tuesday 28th May
Seniors 2024 at Machrihanish
Click on image for entry details for the Seniors Champs 2024 at Machrihanish
Spring Meeting
click on image for Entry details for the Spring Meeting 2024 at Glencruitten
Argyll &Bute Fixtures 2024
Argyll & Bute Fixtures 2024
Sun 5th May Mens Area Team v Ayrshire at Rothesay GC
Sat 25th May - Spring Meeting at Glencruitten GC
Wed 5th June - Open Seniors (over 50s) at Machrihanish GC
Sun 9th June - Mens Area Team v Clackmannan Venue Alloa Schawpark
Sat 29th June - Handicap Championship at Cowal GC
Sun 14th July - Mens Area Team v Glasgow at Rothesay GC
Sat 27th July -Strokeplay Championship at Machrihanish Dunes GC
Sat /Sun 17th /18th August - Matchplay Championship at Millport GC
Craig secures match play hat-trick
Millport's Craig Pirie secured a hat -trick of matchplay wins after a titanic tussle with Area Strokeplay Champion Calum McKirdy. A final of great quality the two shared multiple birdies from the start with Craig's birdie at the 17th giving him a valuable 1 hole lead going up the last, which he held onto with a solid par at 18 to secure the narrowest of victories. The beaten semi-finalists were Ally Shaw and the evergreen Gordon Tyre
Calum wins his first area title
Calum McKirdy of Bute Golf Clubs wins his first area title at Machrihanish after holing an outrageous 60 foot putt on the last green to pip former multiple winner of the strokeplay title Gordon Tyre by one shot, in third place was Islay’s Sam Johnston with local George Macmillan a further shot back, winner of the youths title was Rothesay’s Jack Reynolds with a 149 total . Full results will follow tomorrow
Gross
1st Calum McKirdy 68-74-142
2nd Gordon Tyre 70-73-143
3rd Sam Johnston 71-73-144
4th George MacMillan 71-74-145
Jt 5th Craig Pirie 72-75-147
Jt 5th Graham Bolton 76-71-147
Jt 7th David Lamont 78-71-149
Jt 7th Donald Standaloft 75-74-149
Jt 7th Dale Foley 72-77-149
Jt 7th Jack Reynolds 69-80-149
David MacBrayne wins Handicap Championship at Dunaverty
Pictured is David Macbrayne, the winner of yesterday's Handicap Championship at a windswept Dunaverty. His net 62 was enough for a two shot victory over Andrew Wallace. In 3rd place was George Macmillan.
Winner of the scratch prize was Philip Murphy with a gross 68.
The Area executive would like to thank Dunaverty for hosting the event and their greenkeeper who presented the course in first class condition.
Argyll & Bute Golf Union
ARGYLL & BUTE HANDICAP CHAMPIONSHIP 2023
Net Medal Results
Overall - Round 1
Sunday 16 Jul 2023
1st David MacBrayne, Dunaverty 62
2 Andrew Wallace, Machrihanish 64
3 George Macmillan, Machrihanish 65
4 Robert Irvine, Dunaverty 65
5 Lee Gallagher, Tobermory 66
6 Jamie Robertson, Carradale 67
7 Donald MacLean, Glencruitten 68
8 Kenneth Johnstone, Dunaverty 68
Scratch
1st Philip Murphy Glencruitten 68
2 Paul Davis Carradale 71
3 Sam Johnston Islay 71
Area Team narrowly beaten by Dunbartonshire at Cardross
Argyll & Bute’s six man team came up a little short in their quest to reach the finals at Cardross against Dumbartonshire .
Buoyed by an excellent morning performance they had great hopes of getting the necessary points to secure a victory.
However it wasn’t to be with only Craig Pirie and Calum Mckirdy producing the goods and winning their crucial games, the other team members all succumbed to defeat leaving our hopes in tatters.
The team have again punched above their weight and with a couple of more players being available we may have prevailed.
The final score was Dumbartonshire 5 Argyll & Bute 4
Iain White wins Seniors Event at Rothesay
The inaugural Argyll and Bute Open Seniors took place at Rothesay Golf Club today in inclement weather. Heavy showers greeted the seniors but it did not dampen some fine scoring that took place over all the age groups.
Winner of the medal and pewter tankard was the host club’s Iain White whose 67 less 3 net 64 was just enough to pip young kaki Graham McArthur by virtue of the better inward half, however Graham picked up first place in his age category. Winner of the scratch prize was Area six man team member Port Bannatyne’s Donald Standaloft with a fine 2 under 67. The area executive would like to thank Rothesay Golf Club for hosting the event and compliment the greens staff on the courses great condition.
Prize Winners as follows ( Rothesay members unless indicated)
Overall Winner
Iain White net 64 bih
Scratch Winner
Donald Standaloft (Port Bannatyne) 67
Over 50s
1st Graham McArthur net 64
2nd Graham Dunn (Port Bannatyne) net 65
3rd Stephen McDonald net 66
4th George Reynolds net 69
Over 60s
1st James Burke net 65
2nd Andy Holland (Innellan) net 67
3rd Allan Scott (Windyhill) net 68
4th Michael Dodds net 69
Over 70s
1st Robert Macdonald net 65
2nd David Coll net 67
3rd Tommy Duncan net 68
4th Allan Smith net 69
Area Team win at Inverness
Argyll & Bute’s 6 man team overturned a 2-1 deficit after the foursomes to comeback and pinch a victory at Kings Golf Club Inverness against the North Area in the Mens Area Team Championship.
The winners in the foursomes were Calum McKirdy & Graham Bolton who ground out a victory. With a strong singles result required to overturn the morning deficit,
Team manager Calum McKirdy came up with an inspired singles line-up and loaded the last 3 games to surprise the North around their own patch. However this was a team effort with debutant Sam Johnston securing a narrow victory to get a vital point in game two of the singles.
This left the scene for Messrs Pirie & McKirdy to play some inspired golf to leave the tie at 4-4 with one game to complete. Craig & Calum played the golf of the day to give Argyll & Bute a fighting chance.
Veteran Graham Bolton after 3up up early on conspired to lose his lead and be 1 down with 6 holes to play, however his putter duly heated up and he finished by holing an outrageous putt on the last to secure a victory after airmailing the last green with his approach. This gave the team the narrowest of wins and leaves them with a chance of reaching the finals in September. This victory ranks alongside the wins at Lothians 30 odd years ago and the victory over Renfrewshire in 2005.
Jonathon Turner blitzes field at Spring Meeting
The first area event of the 2023 season took place at Port Bannatyne Golf Club. 50 Golfers from all over Argyll and Bute descended on Port Bannatyne Golf Course yesterday for the annual Argyll and Bute Spring meeting.
Despite the overnight heavy rain the players were greeted with excellent playing conditions despite the early starters being eaten alive by the midges.
The early leader was John McBride whose excellent 68 less 4 net 64 was the proving hard to catch until Jonathan Turner from Cowal whose 81 less 20 net 61, knocked John's leading score off its perch for a three shot victory.
Donald Standaloft took home the scratch prize with a 69 after John took the 2nd overall prize.
The area would like to thank Port Bannatyne Golf Club for hosting the event and for looking after the players with splendid catering and hospitality, with a special mention to the green keeping team who presented the course in fine condition.
Pictured is Winner Jonathan Turner with Area Executive member and club Captain Donald Standaloft
Full list of prize winners below
Winner - Jonathan Turner
Second - John McBride
Third - Joe Livingstone
Fourth - Graham Fisher
Fifth - David Greer
Sixth - Sam Jamieson
Seventh - Iain McFarlane
Eighth - Carl Kelly
Scratch
Winner - Donald Standaloft
Second - Jack Reynolds
Third - Ryan McKirdy
Argyll & Bute the Draw Specialists
Argyll & Bute’s six man team drew with the might of Ayrshire at Rothesay on Sunday 7th May. Leading 2-1 after the morning foursomes,the boys from A&B could not quite get the win, however a half match was a reasonable result. Pictured are the team resplendent in their new kit for the season kindly sponsored by David Kilpatrick of Bute Signs and Graphics.Next up for the Six man team is a trip to Inverness on the 4th June Click on Image above for detailed results and team picture
Craig wins a matchplay double
Craig Pirie completed a unique double by winning two matchplay championships in the same year by beating Graham Bolton in a one sided final yesterday over the links of Machrihanish Dunes. He overcame an early deficit to win 4&3, to go with his earlier win in April prior to the switch to September.
Beaten semi-finalists were George Reynolds & Calum McKirdy.
Pictured is the winner Craig Pirie alongside Area Secretary Graham Bolton.
The Area would like to thank Machrihanish Dunes for their continued support and commend the greenkeeping staff in turning the place around after a difficult winter in 2021/22.
The Area are delighted to announce the following fixtures for 2023
Spring Meeting - Sunday 21st May - Port Bannatyne GC
Handicap Championships - Sunday 16th July - Dunaverty GC
Strokeplay Championship - Saturday 29th July -Machrihanish GC
Matchplay Championship - Sat/Sun 16th/17th September - Machrihanish Dunes
Click image for Results
Lachlan Wins Another Strokeplay title
Pictured is the winner Lachlan Reynolds who spreadeagled the field yesterday at the Argyll & Bute Golf Union Strokeplay Championship which was held at Rothesay Golf Club.
Lachlan’s opening course record equaling 62 gave him a commanding 4 shot lead over Craig Pirie after the morning round.
In the afternoon Lachlan nursed his way round to a 69 giving him a 131 total and a runaway victory by 8 shots from his uncle George Reynolds. In third place was Graham Bolton.
This was Lachlan’s third strokeplay victory in four years and his fourth youths title in a row as well.
The area would like to thank Rothesay for staging the event and commend them and their greenkeeper for the course’s stunning condition despite some heavy overnight rain.
Qualifying score for the Top 16 to reach the Matchplay Championship was 151, which will be held at Machrihanish Dunes in September.
6 man team holds North East to a draw
Argyll & Bute's six man team played host to the might of the North East at Rothesay yesterday. Despite the game being a dead rubber, it was a mighty competitive fixture with the home area looking to get a victory over the league leaders.
Nip and tuck all day the morning foursomes were drawn 1.5- 1.5 with the Area's full point coming from a stunning victory by Donald Standaloft and recent East of Scotland winner Lachlan Reynolds. The unlikely half point came from the Houdini exploits of Calum McKirdy and Graham Bolton who looked dead and buried being 2 down with 2 go. However the North East contrived to give up the point.
The afternoon fixtures saw the home area lose the first two singles and a gloomy outcome was looking likely, but great wins from Ally Shaw and young Jack Reynolds following his father' s footsteps put the outcome in the balance. Team Captain Calum McKirdy lost in penultimate game leaving the Area facing a narrow defeat as Graham Bolton was in a losing position with six to go. Fortunately Bolton found some form and managed to win on the last green to give the Area a halved match.
Many thanks go to Rothesay Golf Club for hosting the match and thank HGK Derek Smith for presenting the course in stunning condition.
Results below
Lauffer wins Handicap Championship
Scott Lauffer of Innellan continued his fine run of form by winning the Argyll & Bute Handicap Championship at a blustery Cowal Golf Club pipping Local member Martin Galloway by one shot. In third place was Fraser MacDonald. Winner of the scratch prize was Andy Jones. The area would like to thank Cowal Golf Club for hosting the event and commend the members for presenting the course in good condition despite the recent weather.
The winners were as follows
Pos. Score Name Home Club
1st 69 Scott Lauffer Innellan Golf Club
2nd 70 Martin Galloway Cowal Golf Club
3rd 71 Fraser MacDonald Cowal Golf Club
4th bih 73 Sam Jamieson Port Bannatyne Golf Club
5th bih 73 Colin Smith Cowal Golf Club
6th bih 73 Michael Cannon Cowal Golf Club
7th 73 Ally Macdonald Cowal Golf Club
8th bih 74 Francis Gallagher Cowal Golf Club
Gross
1st 74 Andrew Jones Cowal Golf Club
2nd 76 Adrian Robertson Cowal Golf Club
3rd 76 Andrew Barton Cowal Golf Club
6 man team succumbs to narrow defeat
Argyll & Bute's 6 man team slipped to a narrow defeat at the hands of Renfrewshire at a sun drenched Paisley yesterday. The game got off to a bad start with our first two pairings suffering heavy losses in the foursomes. However McKirdy and Bolton when looking in trouble managed to turn things around and secure a last hole victory with an up and down at the last.
2-1 down after the morning a strong performance in the afternoon was required. The games were tighter in the afternoon with Craig Pirie beaten on the last . Lachlan Reynolds getting a half match, Calum McKirdy beating local Jack Bradley 2& 1 and Graham Bolton winning 4&3 in a dour battle.
Final score 5.5 - 3.5 in Renfrewshire's favour with the next game at Rothesay on 10th July against league leaders the North East
David Howie Wins Spring Meeting
Taynuilt member David Howie wins the Spring Meeting on his sun drenched home course after shooting a fine gross 65 Nett 62 to pip clubmate Jimmy Allan with a better inward half, in third place was another local member Jim Milligan with a nett 63.
The area would like to thank Taynuilt Golf Club for hosting the event and commend them for it’s fine condition.
Pictured is the winner David Howie and a screenshot of the results which can be found in full on the Scottish Golf App
Area Team Result 1st May 2022
Our 6 man team secured a hard fought half match against Lanarkshire at Machrihanish yesterday. The match went right down to the wire with Lanarkshire’s Kevin Prentice birdieing the last against ABGU’s Calum Mckirdy after we had turned around a 2-1 foursomes deficit to look like nicking a narrow victory. Nevertheless a good result for our boys who were missing one or two players from their strongest lineup,with single wins from Craig Pirie, Ally Shaw & Graham Bolton . Foursomes winners were Calum Mckirdy and Graham Bolton . The other match in our group saw the North-East beat Renfrewshire 6 -3 at Portlethen.The next match is on Sunday 5th June against Renfrewshire at Paisley Golf Club. click image for full results
Matchplay winner Craig Pirie holding the Trophy after beating Calum McKirdy after a Titanic tussle at Machrihanish last weekend. The game see-sawed back and forward with Craig winning 11 & 12 to get a two hole advantage which he did not relinquish. It was a high quality match with numerous birdies exchanged in challenging conditions. The beaten semi finalists were Graham Bolton and Matthew Dunn. The Area would like to thank Machrihanish Golf Club for hosting the event and commend the club for its fine condition.
Please click the image for full results
Matchplay Championship 2021
Argyll & Bute Matchplay Championship
16th /17th April 2022 Machrihanish Golf Club
Click image for draw
Winner Ally Shaw with the matchplay trophy presented by Area secretary Graham Bolton at Machrihanish Dunes on Sunday 19th September
Congratulations to Ally Shaw who secured his first Area title in convincing style at Machrihanhish Dunes. Ally swept everyone aside with some impressive striking and inspired putting beating Calum McKirdy by 3&2 in the final. Ally got off to a flying start and didn't relinquish his early 3 hole lead. The beaten semi finalists were Donald Standaloft and Graham Bolton meaning that 4 players from the Isle of Bute were in the semis for the first time. . The Area would like thank Machrihanish Dunes Golf Club, its staff and owners for making the event a success.
Winner Craig Pirie with the Area Championship trophies presented by Millport club captain Alex Haggerty.
Craig Pirie cemented his second Argyll & Bute strokeplay title with a fine 135 total at Millport beating Niall Gallacher by two shots. This was Craig's second and long overdue wins after losing in a playoff in 2019. The winning margin was narrower than it should have been after Craig opened the door to his challengers with a triple bogey at 13th in the asfternoon round. Despite that Criag still scored a two under 66 to post a 135 total. . The Area would like thank Millport Golf Club, its staff and particularly Nettie for owners for making the event a success.
