ISGA Home Internationals 2009

The ISGA's most prestigious competition of the year is a culmination of the best finishing schools from England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales

A two day scratch stroke play event played at some of the best courses the UK has to offer

The first year 2008 was hosted by Campbell College with golf being played at Royal County Down and Royal Portrush

2009 was hosted by Loretto a school that has taken the golfing initiative by raising golf to a different level with its golf academy

The Renaissance club is a very special place situated on the Firth of Forth between Muirfield and Archerfield links on the Duke of Hamilton's Estate

This will be a day to remember as the club is only open to a very select membership. The course was designed by world renown American architect Tom Doake. We were amongst the very first to play the magnificent course which officially opens in the spring

As we drove along the spectacular coastline it became apparent that the scores maybe fairly high as the wind was gusting to 50 mph. undeterred the players readied themselves for the task ahead. The nervous first group were rather worried about taking a divot off the first tee as it was better than most golf course greens!

The best 2 scores of the day came from England's Ben Taylor (74) and Scotland's Philip Buckendorf (74). 6 players from each school represented their country with the best 4 scores counting. At the end of day 1 the team scores were as follows

"The boys did enjoy both courses and felt that they were made especially welcome at the Renaissance Club, in fact they could not have been treated better and it was an extraordinary act of generosity to open the course simply for them" KJ Madsen M I/C Golf Monmouth

The hospitality from the Renaissance Club was exceptional, with our tournament being the only players on the course. We were very grateful for the chance to play such an fantastic course

As well as the main team competition there were also trophies for the best Individual score of the championship, plus the best aggregate score for the Championship from all 4 countries

Even though Loretto and Millfield were ahead in the team stakes, all the pupils had a chance to play for their country individual trophy

Going into day 2 was a battle between Loretto and Millfield for the trophy and Campbell college and Monmouth for 3/4 place

The second day was being held at Craigielaw home ground to Loretto’s team. Would any team be able to catch the favourites Loretto

Designed by Donald Steel the championship course is inspired by the great links courses of Scotland. It has been host to many national events including the Amateur stroke play event.

With challenging cavernous bunkers and thick rough the course has spectacular views over the Firth of Forth

Again the day was windy but with the sun shining the boys set off to try their best to catch the favourites Loretto.

The first few groups out were looking good with a big come back from Campbell college with much improved score of 74 from the previous day Patrick (Paddy) Thompson came in as the best player over 2 days from Ireland and Liam McVeigh came in with the best 2 scores for Wales.

As the first groups with Millfield and Loretto players came in, a dramatic swing in favour of Millfield became apparent with the best score of the tournament 72 from Alex Quin which put Millfield into a one shot lead With 2 more groups to come in, would Millfield be able to keep their nerve or would the home teams experience show through. With good scores coming in the last group, 2 players came in with excellent rounds of 72 and 73 from Lewis Gregory and Ben Taylor respectively. This left Millfield with a 1 shot lead to take the trophy for the second year running. An excellent tournament to have 2 teams battle down to the last putt.

The 2009 Home Internationals were a great success. It provided an excellent platform for the leading schools of the Home Nations to showcase their talents. The first day proved to be particularly challenging with a strong south-westerly wind making scoring difficult. The Renaissance Club were very kind in opening their doors especially for the tournament and the players thoroughly enjoyed the experience of playing there. After day one, Loretto were in the driving seat and, but for one or two mistakes, could have led by a much wider margin. Day two was a very different affair. Although Craigielaw is a links course it is unique in having upturned greens and creates some other challenges. Millfield closed the gap and ran out narrow victors. The tournament literally came down to the last putt of the last player on the last green – what a climax!

It must also be noted that the organizers did a fantastic job in arranging the tournament to a very professional standard.

''The ISGA Home International once again proved to be an excellent tournament very ably organised by David Quin. Loretto School did a magnificent job of hosting the competition this year managing to use the new Renaissance Golf Club and the spectacular Craigielaw Club. We all owe Rick and Kevin a big thank you for their help with transport, facilities, meals and general organisation. The result of the competition was always in doubt right up until the last match on the last green. A hard fought contest played in excellent spirit says a great deal about the boys who played and about the rising standard of junior golf. This match is now firmly at the top of the schools golf calendar.

Lorettos headmaster Peter Hogan gave a welcome speech to all the schools taking part in the Home Internationals Trophy. He also noted that Independent schools golf was reaching new levels with the competitions now on offer. David Quin Chairman of the ISGA gave a special thanks to Rick Valentine and Kevin Reid for their huge efforts in hosting this years event in Scotland.

Millfields Captain Sam Parsons thanked all for their efforts in organizing a successful competition

Lewis Casserley, Alex Quin, Luke Krupa, Sam Parsons, Ben Taylor, Harrison Greenbury