Seniors overcome 50-year age gap to defeat junior stars at Duff House Royal Golf Club in Felicity Cup anniversary celebration
A team of Banffshire golfing masters turned the clock back 50 years to repeat their success in an inaugural junior competition.
Duff House Royal Golf Club marked the 50th anniversary of their Felicity Cup tourney by reuniting the very first winning team of eight from 1974 to play against the current junior holders.
The history books show that the competition was founded after a trophy was donated by the late John Mair from Whitehills, skipper of the Felicity fishing boat, to help promote junior golf in the area.
Any clubs in Banffshire or within a 35-mile radius of DHR are invited to enter a team of eight under-18s to the event, and with the host club winning the very-first running, and also the most recent last year, it paved the way for a memorable club occasion.
“To mark the occasion, the winners of the first tournament in 1974 challenged the current holder of the trophy - both Duff House Royal,” said the club’s junior convenor Craig Matheson.
At least two generations separated the now senior history makers from the up-and-coming youngsters, but experience told as the golden oldies triumphed in Saturday’s unique match-up.
“It was a 5.5 to 2.5 win for the 1974 players...they still have it!” Matheson added.
Of those who assembled that original team, three are still members at Duff House Royal and one plays at Buckpool in Buckie.
Matheson said all remain in good health and meet up each year at various senior events around Scotland to keep discussion on the Felicity Trophy alive.
All were said to have received great support in their golfing development by their own junior convenor Willie Rennie, and his sons Sandy and George.
The 1974 team included Duff House Royal legend and former Scottish seniors international Ian Angus, an eight-time club champion, six-time five-day tourney holder and winner of the club’s Aitken Cup scratch matchplay competition on no fewer than 15 occasions, who still plays off a handicap of 1.9.
Fellow current member Duncan Clark won four club championships and held the course record for 13 years.
Alan Kennedy now plays off 2.1 handicap at Carnoustie, where he won two club championships and two senior club championships and won the Senior Northern Counties Cup alongside Angus and Clark in a DHR squad.
Former football ref Paul Watson, who combined 24 years of officiating - including a European Cup Winners Cup tie - with his golfing pursuits, also lined up for the inaugural winners.
Yet another member of the 1974 year, Graham Hepburn, now plays out of Inverurie but over 35 years ago he was runner-up in a competition in Oldmeldrum to a teenager from Kemnay by the name of Paul Lawrie, who went on to become an Open champion.
The young guns on show included current junior team captain James McLardy (16) who plays off 2.6 and is a two-time DHR junior scratch club champion and also plays in the gents’ teams.
Three-handicapper Scott Riddoch (17) captained the team at a Home Nations tournament in Cheshire in 2023 is the current DHR gents 5-day scratch champion and assists with coaching alongside the club PGA pro James Calam.
