SUGS v LUGS v QUGS v DUGS Thursday/Friday 23/23 June 2022 Luffness Golf Club, East Lothian
LUGS was established at Luffness in March 1988 where we played our first match against the SUGS. So it was fitting that we returned there in June to play a quadrangular match with the three university golfing societies that form the bedrock of our fixture list.
A very fine LUGS team was assembled from far and wide. Ian Hedley flew in from Sydney with luggage full of sharp suits, moisturiser and a four wedge short game strategy. Post Covid travel was reported to be pretty straight forward; until, that is, you reached the UK. Rail strikes, flight cancellations and a gridlocked London meant that Rudder spent longer travelling the 400 miles from London to Edinburgh than the 3000 across the Atlantic.
LUGS golfers are nothing short of resilient though and, with the promise of a top quality tour, the full team assembled in the Old Clubhouse in Gullane for a pre match supper.
There were familiar faces everywhere. The Dick brothers brought their usual swagger and bonhomie from Belfast. SUGS stalwart Jonny Calder gave every impression of having arrived straight from Raffles in Singapore, sporting pastel shades and seersucker trousers. The DUGS fielded only two Conways – but they don’t come any more competitive than John and David.
The LUGs team was billeted at Craigielaw Golf Club in Aberlady and congregating for a nightcap gave the opportunity to hand out tour shirts, hats and balls. Whatever our results on the course, we would certainly look the best coordinated team.
Thursday dawned and the weather was set fair for the 72 holes of golf. The Luffness course ran true and fast and it is difficult to think of a better venue for a match of this sort. We were enormously grateful to the membership for giving up their course for two days of high summer; and to the staff for looking after us so well.
While competitive throughout, LUGS were more often on the wrong side of tight struggles than victorious and tales of ‘the one that got away’ abounded. That said, the QUGS, with some excellent play, were clear winners in each of their flights. Final scores were:
| QUGS | 13 |
| SUGS | 9 |
| DUGS | 8 |
| LUGS | 6 |
Luffness provided a marvellous setting for the Thursday night dinner and we were honoured to be joined by the Colin Scott, vice-captain, Derek Henderson, past captain, and Stuart Graham, the secretary. Aidan Walsh, captain of the DUGS, gave a fine vote of thanks to the club.
The black tie dinner at Ducks in Aberlady was a fine celebration of all that is good about university golf. Iain Crawford, the SUGS organiser of the event, received particular credit for masterminding the event. That it had all gone so smoothly was testament to all his hard work.
A mixture of young and less young combined to represent the LUGS with considerable panache. These were:
Andrew Berryman
James Bull
Ed Clutton
Neil Falconer
Ian Hedley
Rudder Jenkins
Jonathon Lavelle
Alex Modgill
Mike Kershaw
Nick Kershaw
Joe Park
George Yeandle
London University Golfing Society 