Members of Blairmore and Strone Golf Club faced stiff competition across November as they battled fellow golfers and the elements for bragging rights in Saturday competition games and Texas scrambles.
This month, the results were dominated by Raymond Gorman.
Gorman won a bounce competition on November 8 with a ridiculously low 51 net, his driving was great and once on the green he couldn’t miss a put.
For context, second place went to Eileen Dargo with 65.
Raymond then won the second of the monthly Winter Cup qualifiers, played each month from October to March, with a net 65 and Bruce Marshall and Linda Ballard both recorded net 69, with Linda taking second place based on her superior inward nine.
Raymond then won a bounce competition on the 22nd with a net 59, Michael Caveney was second with a net 61.
To round off the month, Raymond also won the Strone Inn Monthly Medal with a net 60, whilst Mike Caveney was again second with a net 62.
Elsewhere, the November 200 Club Draw was won by Anne Devine who received £95.
Meanwhile, the dispute over an access road to the club rumbles on, with members still unable to reach the club via car on the High road.
The move angered many members, as the club claims it has a heritable and irredeemable right of vehicular and pedestrian access dating back to 1896 cited in their deeds.
A spokesperson for the club said: “The access issues along Blairmore High Road continues to pose an existential threat to the future of the club.
“Due to the dilapidated state of the Dunselma stables, the council has issued a Dangerous Building Notice and the owner has responded by erecting a fence, precluding access along the High Road, for both vehicles and pedestrians. This impacts on the golf club and the other properties along the road, including one in the process of being constructed.”
They continued: “Whilst the local councillors and our MSP are very supportive of the golf club and local residents, the council officers are less helpful.
“They [the council] say they don’t have the power nor resources to act, even though they have a mandatory duty to do so. They can either force the owners of the stables to quickly make it structurally safe, or the council can carry out the work themselves and claim back the costs from the owner of the stable.
“The Council is not doing either of these and the owner is also doing nothing.
“During November, a limited number of members have struggled their way to the club, either walking in from Dunselma through the school grounds and following the slippery path through the trees back to the High Road, or if they have a sturdy cross-country vehicle they can drive carefully via White’s Brae along the severely potholed road.”
In October a council spokesperson said: “Public safety is our priority and a legal obligation for the council.
“Given the dangerous condition of this private property, building standards has served a dangerous building notice.
“The owner has chosen to preclude access around Dunselma House by erecting fencing to mitigate the danger.
“This meets the requirements of the dangerous buildings notice.”
The Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park Authority, which acts as the local planning authority, also distanced themselves from the issue at the time, adding: “The National Park Authority has not been involved in this matter, as such we have no comment to offer.”
