It’s not often you see more than one on a golf course.
But on Sunday, 44 left-handed players took to the fairways and greens at Muir of Ord to take part in the Scottish Left-handed Championships.
Club captain Hamish Milne, who was playing in The Press and Journal-sponsored amateur event, said most of the golfers came from local clubs while others came from as far as Perth and Gairloch.
Scottish left-handed golf championships to be held in Muir of Ord
Mr Milne said there are at least 20 left-handed golfers who play at Muir of Ord – but not all of them played on Sunday.
He said: “It’s probably to do with the shinty, where you can hit it with both sides of the stick, so that’s why there are so many left-handed players around here.”
Mr Milne said the event has been held at Newtonmore for a while but that the number of entrants has been steadily dropping, down to 19 last year, which is why it was offered to Muir of Ord.
He said it remains unclear how the event started, but they very recently acquired some old trophies which date back to 1966.
On Sunday, there were three separate competitions involving left-handed golfers.
The “scratch” event – where there is no handicap allowance – was won by John R MacKay from Muir of Ord, while the handicap competition was won by Charlie Farren, also from the village. Brian Maclennan from Gairloch won the over-65s event.
Mr Milne added: “Conditions on Sunday were absolutely fine. It was dry with a wee bit of a breeze. It was a good day for it and the course is in excellent condition as well.
“We are certainly hoping to get it next year as well, and we’re very pleased to have had good coverage from the Press and Journal on this one.”
Some of the best known left-handed golfers playing at the top level of the game in recent years include Americans Phil Mickelson and Bubba Watson and Canadian Mike Weir.
The first left-hander to take a major title was Bob Charles (Sir Robert Charles since his 1999 knighthood) of New Zealand, who won the British Open in 1963 at Royal Lytham & St Annes in an 18 hole playoff with American Phil Rogers.
