Ambassador’s ace!

Jubilant Iain Lindsay, the British Ambassador to Bahrain, was this week celebrating an amazing hole-in-one at the Wee Monty course as he helped steer his team to a one point victory over a GulfWeekly select foursome.

Lindsay, who described himself as the ‘black sheep’ of a golfing family for his lack of prowess on the course, showed his mettle with a master stroke on the sixth tee with a sizzling sixty yard shot.

As is customary in the circumstances he rang the Royal Golf Club (RGC)’s Members Lounge bell and bought a round of celebratory drinks for those who had competed in the Bahrain British Business Forum competition on Wednesday evening.

“We used to go on holiday to Lossiemouth, in the north of Scotland, where there was a 9 hole ladies/children’s course that I would play on while my father and brothers would play on the challenging Moray Golf Club Course,” said Lindsay, 53, who now plays off a handicap of 20, although it used to be a lot lower until work commitments came into play.

Nowadays, he is lucky to play at Riffa a couple of times a month and, like many players, finds the main Colin Montgomerie-designed course ‘really challenging’.

“The facilities are excellent, better than any club I’ve ever played at,” he added. Lindsay partnered with his wife Bridget and David and Dena Wales in the 4-ball Texas Scramble winning with 21 points, one better than GulfWeekly’s team led by Editor Stan Szecowka and featuring David Axtell, Rodney Davies and Ronan Armstrong, a Year 6 teacher at St Christopher’s School, who took the prize for the longest putt on the second hole.

The nearest the pin contest on the 7th hole was taken by Brian Davis.

“Yes, I’m the golfing black sheep of the family!” admitted Lindsay. “My father, Jimmy, was a Scottish international and captain, won the British Boys twice (a feat matched since only by the former golf professional and Ryder Cup player Peter Townsend), was president of the Scottish Golf Union and a Walker Cup selector. 

“When His Majesty King Hamad visited St Andrews last August it was a huge thrill to go with him to the R&A as my father had been a member there and on the committee,” he explained.

“It brought back many happy memories of family holidays there as a child (and yes, all our holidays were spent in famous Scottish golf towns! North Berwick, where I was a member, and Elie, were later additions). 

“I’m only a half-decent putter because of the hours spent practicing on the superb public putting greens at places like the outrageously difficult Himalayas putting green in St Andrews. 

“My three brothers all play off single figures, indeed my eldest brother Jimmy, at 71, is getting to the stage where he’ll start to break his age, like my father did into his 80s. 

“The golfing DNA has gone down another side of the family: my nephew Ollie won a golf scholarship to St Andrews, got his golfing blue at Cambridge and has also represented Scotland and Great Britain.”

Lindsay added, clutching his hole-in-one certificate presented to him by John Wilson, RGC’s golf sales and events manager.