Salvation Army

Forthcoming Golf Weekend

It’s that time of year again...when Bandmaster Dickie buys the Silver Polish to give his golf trophies a polish (before he wins them back again), and George Ferguson plays his annual (but always very steady) game of golf.

This year we have moved the Bellshill Salvation Army golf weekend to a different weekend and venue. With another busy summer for the Band and corps, we are heading for the hills on the 5^th and 6^th June. 

Over the last few years we have had some great weekends of golf and fellowship (well the fellowship has been great!!), over the courses at Alyth, Glenisla and Strathmore in the lovely Perthshire countryside. This year we are going to a venue that is new for the majority of us; Newtonmore which is often called the Gateway to the Highlands. (For telly lovers it is in Monarch of The Glen country)

After a very early start for some of us (apart from the Bellshill area, some are travelling from as far a field as Fife and Inverness), we must meet at Newtonmore Golf Club at 8.30am for bacon rolls and coffee (It’s the Law!!) Then it’s two rounds of golf before heading to our hotel for our evening meal and debate on whose handicap is way too high (This is also the Law!!)

The weekend finishes with a round of golf at Kingussie (a course so hilly that ropes and a couple of  Sherpas are a better bet than the normal buggies); followed by a  High Tea and prize giving. 

As in previous years the difficulty has been in keeping the numbers manageable. The sixteen participants are members or friends and family associated with the Band and corps, the majority of whom have enjoyed this event for a number of years.

We know the courses, hotel and fellowship will be great. Here’s hoping the weather will be just as good!

by David Ferguson

5th/6th - Golf Fellowship Weekend

Our annual golf weekend was once again superbly organised by Bill Stewart. This year's outing had 14 participants from the band, corps and friends - tearing us away from our loved ones for a weekend of golf, fellowship and “Shark-baiting” (Read on for explanation!!).

As always it has been another busy year for the band and the Bellshill Corps. We decided to bring the Golf Weekend forward to earlier in the year. After the visit from our friends from Treebeek (the Netherlands), and our participation in the Bellshill Street Fayre the following weekend, we headed for the Scottish Highlands, golf clubs in hand, smiles on our little faces and golfing optimism in our hearts (Warning: this does make driving your car a bit tricky) 

Last year we stayed in a hotel in Blairgowrie in Perthshire, and were able to play on the three very different courses at Strathmore, Glenisla and Alyth. We had a great weekend of golf and fellowship with weather to match. Although I managed to win the main trophy of the weekend; Bandmaster Dickie was too close for comfort. With his good memory of golf courses he was starting to know those courses too well, so it was decided to change this years venue in order to keep him on his toes!! 
(Well, if I am being honest my wife liked the trophy on the piano, and there has to be some advantages in being related to Bill Stewart)

This year we were booked to stay in a lovely hotel in Newtonmore, which is in an area often referred to in tourist brochures as “The Gateway to the Highlands”. We were to play both our Saturday rounds over Newtonmore Golf Course, then travel the few miles north to play our final round at Kingussie Golf Club. This added to the excitement and anticipation of the weekend, as the vast majority of us had never played these courses before.

The weather was a bit overcast, but in true Scottish tradition as soon as we passed the “Welcome to the Scottish Highlands” road sign it started to rain! By the time we reached Newtonmore Golf Club it had cleared up and you wouldn't have known it had ever rained. (Well as any golfer knows it never rains on a golf course…does it??)

An early start was needed for most of us on the Saturday, as we were due to meet at 8.30am at the Newtonmore Golf Club for coffee and bacon rolls. This meant a 6.00am departure for most of the Bellshill folk, but for once our friend Allan Milligan who has to travel from Inverness got a bit of a long lie. Unfortunately, John Stewart from Inverness was unable to join us this year, and was missed from our fellowship.

After our refreshments and catching up with each other on how bad our golf was (I don’t recall any one saying how great their golf was and how much it had improved since last year!!!!!), it was down to the serious business of getting that little white ball as far away from you as possible.

Our first round was a team event in the form of a Texas Scramble. This is a great format for shaking the cobwebs off your swing, with the team captain choosing whose drive you use and every one playing their second shots from there, and the same with the next shot, and so on until the ball ends up in the hole. Difficult to explain but good fun to play, and a good way of getting to know a course.

The course was in good condition, and although the weather was overcast it stayed dry and was actually nice and warm. The Texas Scramble competition is always fairly strongly contested, and Ian Dickie`s team pulled ahead from the other teams and won this years competition. His fellow teammates being Bill Coffield and Benny Conway, the three of them played well together and put together a very good round.

Newtonmore is a fairly flat course with a few tricky holes. It sits down along the base of a valley with spectacular hills rising above you for as far as you can see (which if your golf is lousy is some compensation). In the afternoon round we played a single Stableford competition with points being awarded for your score against handicap. There were generally a lot of good scores posted, with shouts of “Well you’ll be getting your handicap cut” after any good shot you played. Gamesmanship being alive and well among the Army golfing ranks!

George Connor took time out from giving our Deputy Bandmaster, Melvyn Shanks, an on-course golf lesson, to unleash a mighty drive. In doing so it secured George victory in the longest drive competition.

The nearest-the-pin competition was won by David Ferguson. I was delighted to just hit the green on such a tricky par 3 hole. It would have been an even greater achievement had it not been for the fact that the majority of us did not hit the green, never mind be close to the pin.

A good day's golf was rounded of with 14 rather tired guys sharing a great meal and fellowship back at the hotel. (Well… 14 great meals actually, its not true about how tight us Scots are!!) It also dawned on us just how much sun we had received during the day, when the clouds had frequently parted. Those of us who are follicularly challenged, had major sun on their solar panels, while the rest of us regretted leaving out the sun lotion in favour of extra waterproofs.

For one shocking moment before our evening meal we thought that John Hill had two identical twin brothers. The explanation simply being that he could not decide which shirt to wear. His sartorial elegance from his golfing gear transferring into evening wear. (I am temped to hire a “tux” for next year to give him some competition!)

The final round of the weekend was at Kingussie Golf Club, which is to the north of Newtonmore. The course is located up in the hills above the town of Newtonmore. The green of the fourth hole is set into another big hill, and the fifth and sixth holes take you even higher up into the hills. The scenery was spectacular and you could not help but be reminded of Gods glory and power as you looked at his creation at its finest.

Our golf may not have been described as spectacular, but generally there was some high scores achieved. This was especially gratifying as when the wind started to blow towards the end of the round, it made a tricky course very difficult indeed.

The Results!

It was decided this year that there would be three trophies presented. One for the best individual score on the Saturday afternoon, another for the Sunday round and the Bellshill Salvation Army Crystal trophy for the overall winner.

With a score of 36 points the winner of the Saturday trophy was Drew Davidson. The trophy was a new trophy presented by Ian Dickie and his family, in memory of his father, Retired Bandmaster Jackie Dickie, who was promoted to Glory in March of this year. Although not a golfer, Jackie was a very important member of our Corps fellowship and although he will never be forgotten by those that had the privilege to know him; it will be great to play for the Jackie Dickie Memorial trophy every year. It is also nice that Drew is the first winner of this trophy, as he is one of Jackies' sons-in-law.

With a score of 34 points, our friend Ian Simpson won the trophy for best score of Sunday. This trophy was the Dale Ferguson Memorial Trophy, which my family had donated the previous year in memory of my Dad who had enjoyed taking part in previous golf days.

Bandmaster Ian Dickies beloved ERC driver reinstated its master back to the front of the longest driving stakes, by winning the longest drive competition. Most of us needed a golf buggy to get as far as he hit that ball. (A hidden power that all lazy bandspeople know is lurking beneath that placid surface. You have all been warned!!!!) The hole nominated for nearest the pin was one of the hardest we have played. Hitting from high up a hill, over a huge gorge filled with trees, bushes and a stream; into a protected small green. Kenny Allan won the nearest the pin competition at this very tough hole (This time he was the only person out of fourteen of us to hit that tiny looking green), and was probably the most improved player from last year.

Those who know me will know that I am a quiet, friendly, honest and upright citizen and pillar of the community. (No laughing please!!) You will all be shocked to have heard descriptions of my golf play, scoring and official handicap. The words “Shark” and “Bandit”, which have a predatory feel to them, were being uttered as my combined scores over the two days helped me win the Bellshill SA Crystal Trophy for the second year running. A tear was nearly seen cascading down my porcelain cheek. (Yeah ..Right!!!)

The results for the Bellshill Salvation Army Crystal Trophy were as as follows:-

Even though my handicap will endure more cuts than the NHS, I cannot wait till next year!

And Finally...

It was good to welcome Allan Crombie to this years outing, and we are already planning next years competition when we will welcome at least another four new victims…..sorry, golfing friends to our golfing fellowship.

All in all we had a fantastic time... the weather was great, the courses were in superb condition, the Hotel and food were great and the golf was pretty good as well. But as my father had commented in previous years, the company and fellowship of those involved is special and not taken for granted.

Roll on 2005…