On Saturday 19th September 2015Cathcart Castle Golf Club hosts a special Greenlees Anniversary Tri-Am with players from 28 golf clubs to mark 75 years of the West of Scotland Ladies Inter Club Golf League founded by Ysobel Greenlees. Cathcart Castle is also providing a celebratory brochure about the young Mrs Greenlees and her pioneering idea. Here is an
Extract from the brochure - kindly produced by
Jean Smith (Cathcart Castle Ladies Handicap Secretary and RLCGA's membership Secretary
)YSOBEL GREENLEES
THE WEST of SCOTLAND LADIES INTER CLUB GOLF LEAGUE
75thAnniversary Year 2015
YSOBEL GREENLEES, golf internationalist and captain of the British Ladies Team, was born in Glasgow in 1902, the daughter of building contractor George Findlay (later a Bailie of Troon) and his wife Jessie Greenlees of Campbeltown and daughter of the late Samuel Greenlees. In 1919 age 17 she married her cousin Walter Greenlees, a son of the distiller Samuel Greenlees Jnr who had made Scotch an international drink.
Ysobel and Walter settled in Monkland House, Troon, and by 20 she had her son and daughter.
The Greenlees families hailed from Kintyre and developed three distilleries in Campbeltown (and one in Islay) and were founder members of Machrihanish Golf Club in 1876. They pioneered the mass-marketing and exporting of blended whiskies and soon became the largest holders in the world of thoroughly matured Pure Malt Whisky.
Ysobel learned her golf at Prestwick St Nicholas, which was instrumental in starting the Scottish Ladies Golfing Association, and became Club Champion at age 25 before joining Troon where her husband played. She became West of Scotland Champion in 1932; was a leading member of the first-ever British ladies team which toured Australasia, via India, in 1935; and captained Britain playing in France in 1938 when Britain beat France 7 and 2 at Golf de Morvantaine, where the home nation was captained by Madame Danae Vagliano, after whom the international Vagliano Trophy is named.
Ysobel founded the West of Scotland Ladies Inter Club League in 1930, for which her husband donated the Greenlees Trophy. Her purpose in starting it was to give club players, especially the younger ones, greater experience in playing competitive match-play golf.
It was first played for in 1931 when Prestwick St Nicholas won, after a play-off against Troon. From 1939, due to the War, the League was suspended until 1949, when Troon won. She advertised in the Glasgow Herald inviting more clubs to join in – creating a second division in 1954, and donating its trophy, all followed by a third division in 1986.
She was a vivacious, powerful golfer, and when playing in the Open competitions newspapers reported “her golf gives more aesthetic pleasure to the spectator than any other of the competitors.”
She passed on in 1996, and today is remembered for “The Greenlees” league, now of three divisions, playing in its 75th year of intense competition and rivalry between 27 clubs across the West of Scotland each summer. It is unique in Scotland.
FORMAT --- The format is a
Tri -am with the teams being drawn one member from each division - just to mix everybody up.
More details and a copy of the draw will be posted in the near future.
