THE STORY BEHIND THE ANNUAL MATCH FOR ROLY’S PUTTER

THE bonds between Royal Dornoch and the Country Club of North Carolina see 12-strong teams competing annually for The Roly Bluck Putter.

And in the latest of our “Monday Memories” series of interviews, Roly’s widow Pat provides a glimpse into the fascinating backstory which paved the way for these friendly trans-Atlantic matches.

Speaking to past captain Willie MacKay, Pat recalls how the couple bemused friends in the Midlands when they decided to take early retirement from their business in Walsall and put down roots in Dornoch.

Little did they know that when they made that 500-mile trip north in the winter of 1990 that it would pave the way to the enduring relationship Royal Dornoch enjoys with the members at CCNC.

Roly, who passed away 12 years ago, and Pat first fell in love with the town holidaying with friends in 1978 – in the days before the three bridges made the journey from Inverness so much easier – and they returned annually to the old Burghfield Hotel and the Dornoch Castle before eventually deciding they wanted to settle in the Highlands.

The Blucks had been tempted to make their initial trip north after Roly spotted an article in one of the golf magazines in which Tom Watson, now an honorary member, had been waxing lyrical about his visit to Royal Dornoch.

“It was another world to us when we drove into Dornoch in 1978. It was wonderful,” said Pat, who remembers £21 green fees covering the couple’s golf for their two-week summer holidays.

As a leading figure on the Staffordshire golf scene, Roly was quickly drafted onto the Council of Management and served as captain from 2004-2006, when he laid the foundations for the Captain’s Invitational which has developed down the years into a popular three-day member and guest event.

Pat, who found time to handle a treasurer’s role along with her golfing commitments and hectic social life centred around the golf club, fondly recalls becoming close friends with American couple Ziggy Zalzneck and his wife Sara, which ultimately led to the first match between Royal Dornoch and the CCNC in 2011, and teams hosting the opposition year about for the honour of claiming her husband’s putter for the next 12 months.

Watch Pat’s interview below: