Thanks to Niall for organising the gathering at Gullane Golf Club.
I had the privilege of playing with Rich & Josie Goodale, and very much enjoyed their company. It was nice to put faces to the names of some of the other GCA'ers of whom I had not met before.
Gullane 3 is an honest little course, and was in good condition for this time of year. There were some wet patches (e.g on the 14th fairway) but the greens were running particularly well. The course is not full of much design interest, but has some short holes with some interest – e.g. 6th, 12th holes. The best hole and green is the 16th, especially the front section. The bunkers across the course are fairly poorly placed and offer little strategic interest. The views from on top of the hill at the 4th green and 15th tees offer expansive views of North Berwick around to Edinburgh. Overall the course is like the new Snoopy movie - well presented and provides light entertainment, has some highlights, is non-offensive and fine for the family, but not strongly memorable. Where my analogy fails, is that I would play the course again if needed, but very unlikely to watch the Snoopy Movie again.
Well done to Mark for winning the closely contested sweep. Sorry it was not enough money to cover your petrol costs back to Newcastle.