BU Club Competitions
There are 5 “Majors” in the Braids United Calendar - they are as follows
Club Championship
As this important annual trophy is played using Gross Scores, members are divided into three sections based on their Handicap Index on the day of the first qualifier
A Section : HI up to 9.4
B Section : HI between 9.5 and 18.4
C Section : HI of 18.5 and above
The Championship starts with 3 qualifiers, and your best two scores count. The top 8 players (regardless of what section they are in) qualify for the knock out stages of the A Section.
The best 8 scores from the remaining players in B&C sections then qualify for the Bs, and the next best 8 players in the C Section qualify for the knock out stages
Knock Out Stages
These take place over the course of a week - you need to be available for all three rounds to go forward:
Quarter Finals in each section on the Tuesday
Semi Finals in each section on the Thursday
Finals on the Saturday
These are MatchPlay, off scratch. They are seeded so best scoring qualifier plays 8th best, 2nd plays 7th and so on
Order of Merit
Points are awarded for finishing position in the 12 Monthly Medals. The “season” runs from the November Medal (played just after the annual dinner and prize giving) up to the October Medal the following year. Most points after 12 medals wins the OOM. Points are awarded as follows
1st : 12 points
2nd : 8 points
3rd : 6 points
4th : 5 points
5th : 4 points
6th : 3 points
7th : 2 points
8th : 1 point
Harvieston Badge
This is one of the oldest prizes in the club, and is played for on one day in October. Anyone who has finished 1st or 2nd in the 12 medals as above is in the field to win this, with best nett score on the day taking the badge
Sandy Rennie
This is a summer individual MatchPlay competition. The draw is made in early Spring, and each round has about 1 month for you to arrange your tie. These ties should always be played separately from other club competitions
Championship Shield
The Championship Shield is awarded to the person who has the best 4 nett scores in 8 summer competitions. These competitions are the 6 medals April - September inclusive, plus the Heriots Trophy and the Edinburgh City Quaich.
Other Competitions
Ye Monks
There are 5 rounds of competition for the Ye Monks trophy - four rounds, plus a final.
These are Stroke Play and your best 2 nett scores from the initial rounds count, and then your score in the Final. We try to put players out in the final in order of position after the first 4 rounds
Leith Links
This is a summer Tuesday night Stableford competition. Your best four rounds over the summer (usually about 10 - 12 rounds) count for your overall score
Various other Competitions
On other weeks there are various competitions that take place for trophies :
RNLI Trophy,
David Ramsay Stableford.
Hind cup (traditionally played just after Christmas - with unwanted presents as prizes).
Currie bowl (traditionally played just after New Year and is a great social occasion with members bringing curries etc)
And plenty of others too
Harry Phoenix Seniors
Played on the same day as the October medal. Open to members aged 55 and over
Willie Drummond Quaich and Balcomie Quaich
Contested over the morning round at the Spring Outing and Autumn Outing respectively
Melrose Cup & Last Chance Trophy
Just before the dinner in November we hold the competition for the Melrose Cup. This is competed for by anyone who has won any of the trophies since the last dinner. On the day the highest placed player who has won nothing all year wins the Last Chance Trophy
Winter League
This competition is played over the Winter Composite course (a mix of Braids holes and
Wee Braids holes set up for winter play) between November and February. Its a Stableford competition, and your best 5 scores count
Winter Foursomes
Pair up with another member of the club for this knock out matchplay competition over the winter months. Draw made in early winter
Nine Hole Qualifier
The R&A run a nine hole pairs competition, with a Scottish Final in June leading to a UK final in July. We hold a qualifying competition for this in early May at the Wee Braids - the pair with the best joint Stableford score will qualify for the Scottish Final
We also send players to various other Scottish Golf, and Lothian Golf Association finals /medals based on winning some of the clubs competitions / series
Mixed Greensomes
This is a relatively new competition in the BU Calendar and has been competed in slightly different ways over the last couple of years, due to Covid. However it is a pairs competition, with a BU member and a female partner. We have links with Comiston Ladies and with Glencorse, so if you want to take part and don’t have a partner you can be paired up for this event
3 Club Challenge
An annual fun event, in which you can bring only three clubs
Murray Dunbar Silloth
Invitational event in which you bring a guest to the club as your partner
Two person Scramble
A Texas Scramble played in teams of two, which may be a Member & Guest, or two club members
Annual Team Matches
The BU have a tradition of four team matches a year. These are open to all players, not just the best players in the club so PLEASE put your name forward when you see them advertised.
We usually have a team of 10 players, who play in pairs, against 5 pairs from the opponents. 4BBB format, with a point for the team for each winning pair (or a half for a match tied after 18 holes)
We have two matches a year against Heriots (one at the Braids, and one away - usually at Gullane). We have one annual match against Hailes, which alternates between the Braids and Kingsknowe, and an annual match against Caermont always at the Braids.
All handicaps welcome, and they are usually very friendly events with food and drinks after
Eclectic
We run a winter eclectic, tied into the Winter League above. This takes your best score at each hole over the competition, minus a %age of your handicap as it is on day one of the competition
We also usually run a summer eclectic competition with an entry fee and cash prizes. This again is best score at each hole in all Saturday competitions between April and the dinner in November.