Flowers of Scotland. Left to right: Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth), Carly Booth (Comrie), Sammy Vass (Tain) and Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar). Image by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved). You can enlarge the image by clicking on it.

Scotland coach Kevin Craggs

forecasts five-star display

from home team girls

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
SLGA National coach Kevin Craggs worked the Scottish team of four very hard in drill sessions at Murcar Links today - and then forecast a five-star display by the host nation's representatives in the European Under-18 girls' team championship.
"They're all fine and playing well," said Kevin. "But I don't let them off with anything. If the girls don't complete the practice drills the way they are supposed to, then they don't get into the clubhouse for a break until they do. It's as simple as that."
The girls are Curtis Cup 16-year-old Carly Booth (Comrie), Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn), Sammy Vass from Tain and Rebecca Wilson (Monifieth).
Rebecca has come in as a subsitute for Sally Watson (Elie & Earlsferry) who had a "Tiger Woods-style knee operation" a few days after she played in the Curtis Cup match at St Andrews in late May-early June.
"The practice facilities here at Murcar Links are superb - the best I've seen belonging to any golf club in Scotland. What a pity more clubs don't give priority to setting up a complete practice range like this, even with covered driving bays," said Kevin, pictured above by Cal Carson Golf Agency (all rights reserved).
"This would be just the norm on the Continent but over here it is exceptional for a club to have a set-up like this, and at the back of the clubhouse too. Well done, Murcar Links!"
Such was the Continental girls' domination of this event 12 months ago in Oslo, Norway that neither Scotland, England, Ireland nor Wales managed to get into the championship flight of match-play, i.e. they were outwith the top eight teams' aggregates at the end of the 36-hole qualifying test which occupies the Tuesday-Wednesday programme.
And we have seen further evidence of the Continentals playing a higher class of golf than the British and Irish can produce in the recent British women's open amateur championship at North Berwick where three of the semi-finalists were Swedish and only Roseanne Niven (Crieff) of the total GB&I entry making it to the last four.
Coach Craggs is convinced that the long-term key to closing the gap is for clubs to follow the Murcar Links' lead and build their own practice facilities, giving their own members, male and female, the opportunity to improve their own games.
And Kevin would like the emphasis on practice facilities to be not just on providing drive ranges but almost or even preferably short-game practice facilities.
"That's where the Continentals are better than our players, men, women, boys and girls - they have better short games in general. That's because they have more short-game practice areas than we have," said Kevin, warming up to his subject.
"Outwith St Andrews, name me a place where I could take players - or players could go themselves - to practice their short game at first-class facilities. Murcar Links are meeting a need for their members. We need more like this all over Scotland."
Getting back to the European girls team championship: Carly Booth, even at 16, is a key player for Scotland this week. The rest of the team look to her for inspiration - and she has come to Aberdeen on a high from finishing top amateur and leading Scot in the Ladies European Tour's English Open at The Oxfordshire at the weekend.
I understand the flight north from London was delayed over an hour and it was very late on Sunday night before Carly made it to the Scotland team hotel at Dyce.
She must be tired after playing in a 54-hole Ladies European Tour event Friday-Saturday-Sunday but, I have to say, she didn't show it today as the Scots girls enjoyed themselves with a bit of light-hearted fun on the huge Murcar Links practice area.
Laughter is not something you usually associate with golf - maybe, more's the pity - but there was plenty of laughter coming from Carly, Kelsey, Sammy and Rebecca, once Coach Craggs had left them of the leash.
Last word from the Scots team captain, Elaine Moffat (St Regulus) who is a former Scottish champion. "I think it's going to be a fantastic week. The girls are in good heart and if Kevin says we can go all the way to Saturday's final, then that would really be fantastic."

*The Murcar Links Golf Club facilities are reckoned to have cost in excess of £100,000, including the purchase of fields from neighbouring farmers. Graham Thom, a highly successful businessman-cum-member, paid most of the bill.