Golf in Scotland still in Lockdown

It’s a headache as Scots’ hopes of hearing ‘game on’ are frustrated

• The Scotsman
• 19 May 2020
• MARTIN DEMPSTER ON GOLF

Bloody hell. Covering Scottish golf has given me the odd headache over the years, but this current one is a stonker and it’s not about to go away. Not with so many opinions flying about over courses all around the country continuing to remain closed.

It didn’t help, of course, that hopes about a reopening were raised by a weekend report claiming that the Scottish Government had been expected to ease lockdown restrictions this week, paving the way for the Royal & Ancient game’s imminent return.

In one fell swoop, golfers the length and breadth of Scotland began to have thoughts about being back on their local course by this weekend, perhaps, and next Monday at the latest. And why not?

Courses in England have now been open for almost a week and, by the sounds of things, guidelines in place to deliver “safe golf ” have been working a treat. Golfers are also now back out on courses in Wales and the Republic of Ireland, with courses in Northern Ireland set to follow suit as part of lockdown restrictions just being lifted there.

In Scotland, though, that return will now be 29 May, the day after the Scottish Government’s next official review of lockdown restrictions, at the earliest and, most likely, Monday 1 June.

On the one hand, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon’s announcement that the first phase of a lockdown exit road map including “some limited outdoor sports” such as golf and fishing being allowed “within a few days” of 28 May should be applauded.

That, after all, is what most golfers have been waiting to hear ever since Boris Johnson gave the go-ahead a week past Sunday for courses in England to reopen and the Welsh government following suit last week.

On the other, though, she has also added fuel to a raging fire of frustration as Scottish golfers continue to be kept off their courses at a time when they are being used on an increasing basis by walkers, runners and cyclists.

Twitter went into meltdown as golfers north of the Border faced up to another ten to 14 days before they are probably back occupying those huge open swathes of land instead and enjoying the fresh air the sport affords.

Even now, a full eight weeks into lockdown, golf is still way down the list of priorities as the world continues its fight against the coronavirus, but, as the home of golf, it seems feasible to suggest the time is right for someone to open up a bit more about why the process of reopening courses in Scotland is taking longer than England, Ireland and Wales.

If it is down to concerns about people starting to travel a bit more again, venturing from built-up areas where there have been more Covid-19 cases into rural areas, then come out and get that message across.

That should probably come from the First Minister but, if not, then sportscotland and Scottish Golf are “working through final details” with the Scottish Government about a planned return, so they could be putting people in the picture a bit more.

I’m still in the camp of believing that people should be patient and a 1 June restart will still give golfers an opportunity to enjoy a decent summer season out on courses that continue to whet appetites by looking in mint condition.

However, I can also see why frustration is growing day by day among Scotland’s army of golfers as their neighbours south of the Border prepare to enter a second week back on their courses without a hint of any reported problems with social distancing.

A week ago, Scottish members of English golf clubs might have been reluctant to cross the Border for a game but not any more, by the sounds of things and, the longer the courses in Scotland stay closed, that temptation will start to grow among many others.

It’s a pity, really, that it is getting to that stage, which is why someone needs to stand up and deliver a detailed explanation about why the home of golf is staying closed as the sport is back being played in just about every country on the globe.

It’s not often the world is watching Scotland, but you get the feeling that’s exactly what is happening at the moment and, therefore, it is time for the rationale behind the Scottish Government’s position on golf to be outlined.

If not, more and more golfers around the country are going to grow frustrated over the coming days and, believe me, that is not going to allow my mother of all golfing headaches to ease!

Fears expressed about some Scottish golf clubs ‘being on the edge’ of abyss

By Martin Demp­ster

The Scotsman

14 May 2020

As Scot­tish golf clubs en­ter an eighth week of lock­down, fears have been ex­pressed that “quite a few could be on the edge” of fi­nan­cial abyss due to the coro­n­avirus cri­sis.

The mes­sage has been de­liv­ered by of­fi­cials at grass­roots level in the Scot­tish game as clubs face sig­nif­i­cant rev­enue losses in the big­gest cri­sis to hit the sport.

While no club in the home of golf has yet ad­mit­ted pub­licly to be­ing in dire straits, it is be­lieved that a num­ber are tee­ter­ing on the brink around the coun­try de­spite sup­port from both Scot­tish Golf and the lo­cal Area As­so­ci­a­tions.

“None of our mem­ber clubs has come for­ward to say they are strug­gling, but my guess is that quite a few could be on the edge,” Ge­orge Young, sec­re­tary of the North East District, told The Scots­man.

Echo­ing that view, his North coun­ter­part, Peter Abbot, ad­mit­ted: “We have a num­ber of clubs strug­gling at the mo­ment and no in­come isn’t help­ing.”

A sim­i­lar story was re­ported in the south of the coun­try by Bor­ders sec­re­tary Roy Thom­son, who said: “We are aware of at least three clubs cur­rently ex­pe­ri­enc­ing fi­nan­cial dif­fi­cul­ties to vary­ing de­grees.”

In Ar­gyll & Bute, home to some of the small­est clubs in the coun­try, the open­ing of cour­ses can’t come quick enough. “None that have in­di­cated so as yet,” said Area sec­re­tary Gra­ham Bolton to be­ing asked if he knew of any clubs in par­tic­u­lar that might be re­ally strug­gling at the mo­ment. “But I think that will de­pend if lock­down re­stric­tions are not lifted soon.”

Most of the 16 Area As­so­ci­a­tions have of­fered re­funds to clubs for the nom­i­nal lo­cal af­fil­i­a­tion fee paid by club mem­bers as part of their an­nual sub­scrip­tion. Those re­funds have ei­ther been in full or 50 per cent, with the Bor­ders, for ex­am­ple, giv­ing £7,500 back to clubs.

At na­tional level, Scot­tish Golf is sup­port­ing clubs to the tune of more than £575,000 by way of a 25 per cent re­fund or re­bate on its af­fil­i­a­tion fee of £14.50 per mem­ber.

Since tak­ing over the reins of the gov­ern­ing body fol­low­ing An­drew Mckin­lay’s shock and sud­den de­par­ture, chief op­er­at­ing of­fi­cer Karin Sharp has been spend­ing most of her time com­mu­ni­cat­ing with clubs and the Area as­so­ci­a­tions, with the mes­sage to her from the lat­ter ap­pear­ing to be mixed.

“I think Scot­tish Golf are try­ing to do their best in dif­fi­cult cir­cum­stances,” said Glas­gow sec­re­tary Mark Jamieson, ex­press­ing a view shared by Young and Thom­son, as well as David Doig (Loth­i­ans) and Dave Mcpher­son (Fife).

“I do re­ally be­lieve that they are do­ing ev­ery­thing they can to” as­sist clubs, but are driven di­rectly with what they phys­i­cally and fi­nan­cially can achieve in do­ing so,” said Doig. “I don’t think they wish to pro­vide false prom­ises and can eas­ily be caught out if they do some­thing that they can then no longer de­liver.”

Mcpher­son added: “Scot­tish Golf of­fer what they can in the way of ad­vice. I’m sure if any club was to con­tact them with a spe­cific prob­lem, then they would do their best to help.”

But Alas­dair Mal­colm (Ayr­shire), Iain Sto­rie (Ren­frew­shire) and John Struthers (Dum­bar­ton­shire) all claim that the gov­ern­ing body should have been of­fer­ing at least 50 per cent to mem­ber clubs for that af­fil­i­a­tion fee re­fund or re­bate.

“The SGL sub­scrip­tion is of­ten the great­est out­lay many of the mem­ber clubs have all sea­son,” said Mal­colm.

“Skirt­ing around the is­sues with ad­vice and web pre­sen­ta­tions is all very well, but clubs need prac­ti­cal ac­tion at the mo­ment.

“I am aware of at least a cou­ple of our clubs who have writ­ten to SGL mak­ing that very point.”

Claim­ing that a larger per­cent­age re­bate would have been bet­ter in the cur­rent cli­mate, Stor­rie said: “I would sug­gest that could have been ef­fec­tive for next sea­son, to al­low mem­bers to ben­e­fit di­rectly.”

On the com­pe­ti­tion front, it will be slim pickings for golfers all around the coun­try. Scot­tish Golf has scrapped its en­tire 2020 sched­ule while the Area scene, still fairly vi­brant nor­mally, looks set to be dec­i­mated.

“We have can­celled our first three events,” said Bolton of the sit­u­a­tion in Ar­gyll & Bute. “We are still hope­ful about run­ning our main events, but that is all de­pen­dent on lock­down re­stric­tions and whether com­pet­i­tive golf is pos­si­ble.”

In Dum­bar­ton­shire, all the fix­tures have been can­celled, but Struthers said: “If pos­si­ble, we will look to run the ju­nior and gent’s cham­pi­onships at the end of the sea­son.”

Else­where, the de­ci­sion de­pends on how long Scot­tish clubs have to wait to join their English neigh­bours in re­open­ing. “We are still hope­ful to run some tour­na­ments, but the longer the lock­down con­tin­ues the slim­mer the chances of do­ing so,” said Young of the plan in the North East.

“None of our mem­ber clubs in the North East have come for­ward to say they are strug­gling, but my guess is that quite a few could be on­theedge”

GE­ORGE YOUNG

Shared via PressReader - connecting people through news

WALES GOLF TO REOPEN ON MONDAY 18th MAY

By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman Newspaper

Golf courses in Scotland will soon be the odd ones out in Great Britain after Welsh venues were given the green light to reopen hot on the heels of their English neighbours.

After getting the thumbs up from the Welsh Government, Wales Golf is advising member clubs to reopen on Monday, 18 May. That means courses in the Principality can come out of a seven-week shutdown five days after English courses, which reopen today.

That will leave Scottish courses as the only ones staying closed in Britain for the time being on the advice of the Scottish Government, with no imminent plans for that situation to change.

“No further update will be issued from us as our stance remains unchanged in Scotland,” said Scottish Golf in reply to the development in Wales, where the green light was announced by Jason Thomas, the director of the Welsh Government’s culture, sport and tourism department.

Speaking to a Senedd committee in Cardiff, he said: “Legal clarification is that golf courses are not included on the list of businesses or establishments that must remain closed – they have never been on that list.

“It’s been other measures in force that has restricted the ability of the clubs to open – travel measures etc, so we have clarified this. Legally they don’t have to be closed.”

A subsequent statement from Wales Golf read: “Following recent Welsh Government announcements and the revision of certain Covid-19 related restrictions, golf clubs are permitted to open if they so wish.

“It is entirely at each golf club’s discretion as to whether they choose toopenandifsowhen they choose to do so”

“It is entirely at each golf club’s discretion as to whether they choose to open and if so when they choose to do so.

“We would advise that clubs that do wish to re-open do

not do so immediately so as to ensure they have sufficient protocols in place to adhere to these guidelines, which we will be on hand to assist with.

“This would allow for a managedandco-ordinatedreintroduction of golf across Wales from next Monday 18 May at the earliest.”

No distance restrictions have been put in place due to the country’s geographical spread, though golfers are being urged to stay “local”.

“People should not travel a significantdistancefromtheir home to exercise,” continued the statement.

“We have deliberately not defined this more precisely as it could be seen to be arbitrary

and it will also depend on the circumstances – what people perceive to be “local” in Cardiff on the one hand, and in Mid Wales on the other, could be quite different.

“People are asked to exercise good judgement and common sense. If you live in Cardiff and have driven to Porthcawl to exercise on the beach, you haven’t stayed

Golf courses in Scotland will soon be the odd ones out in Great Britain

Golf courses in Scotland will soon be the odd ones out in Great Britain after Welsh venues were given the green light to reopen hot on the heels of their English neighbours.

After getting the thumbs up from the Welsh Government, Wales Golf is advising member clubs to reopen on Monday, 18 May. That means courses in the Principality can come out of a seven-week shutdown five days after English courses, which reopen today.

That will leave Scottish courses as the only ones staying closed in Britain for the time being on the advice of the Scottish Government, with no imminent plans for that situation to change.

“No further update will be issued from us as our stance remains unchanged in Scotland,” said Scottish Golf in reply to the development in Wales, where the green light was announced by Jason Thomas, the director of the Welsh Government’s culture, sport and tourism department.

Speaking to a Senedd committee in Cardiff, he said: “Legal clarification is that golf courses are not included on the list of businesses or establishments that must remain closed – they have never been on that list.

“It’s been other measures in force that has restricted the ability of the clubs to open – travel measures etc, so we have clarified this. Legally they don’t have to be closed.”

A subsequent statement

from Wales Golf read: “Following recent Welsh Government announcements and the revision of certain Covid-19 related restrictions, golf clubs are permitted to open if they so wish.

“It is entirely at each golf club’s discretion as to whether they choose toopenandifsowhen they choose to do so”

“It is entirely at each golf club’s discretion as to whether they choose to open and if so when they choose to do so.

“We would advise that clubs that do wish to re-open do

not do so immediately so as to ensure they have sufficient protocols in place to adhere to these guidelines, which we will be on hand to assist with.

“This would allow for a managedandco-ordinatedreintroduction of golf across Wales from next Monday 18 May at the earliest.”

No distance restrictions have been put in place due to the country’s geographical spread, though golfers are being urged to stay “local”.

“People should not travel a significantdistancefromtheir home to exercise,” continued the statement.

Read More in the Scotsman Newspaper 

The Scotsman Newspaper

Time for golfers in Scotland to be patient rather than angry

By MARTIN DEMPSTER - The Scotsman Newspaper 

Talk about a right old guddle. In England, it’s tomorrow, it could be the weekend in Wales and, in parts of Ireland, it’s Monday. Oh, and no one knows when it will be in Scotland. The reopening of golf courses is turning into an almighty mess and not what the sport needs at a time when it is going to be under the microscope.

As far as the UK courses are concerned, it would have been much better if they had all been reopening at the same time following the mass closure on 23 March due to the coronavirus crisis, but that possibility is no longer on the table following Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s address to the nation on Sunday.

He gave the green light for courses to reopen in England, with play now confirmed as being permissible with someone from another household, but, due to devolved administrations taking differing approaches to the lockdown, venues in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales will remain closed for the time being.

The Scottish Government had made its position clear on Friday, with Joe Fitzpatrick, Minister for Public Health, Sport and Wellbeing, insisting the sport can only return in its cradle “once it is safe to do so” and that, apparently, isn’t now due to the focus remaining on “measures to slow the spread of the virus, protect the NHS and save lives”.

In the same statement, Scottish Golf said “nothing has been finalised regarding a date, or any details of potential phasing with Government”, with the governing body subsequently responding to the Prime Minister’s announcement that the position in Scotland remains the same – i.e. courses must remain closed.

In short, Scottish golfers are being urged to remain patient. Their eagerness to get back out on courses after seeing them shut for seven weeks is about to increase even more when club members in England start to relay how good it feels to be back playing, but now isn’t the time for anyone to do anything silly.

In that statement at the end of last week, Scottish Golf ’s chief operating officer, Karin Sharp, said it had been “disappointing to hear that some clubs in Scotland have communicated to members their intent to reopen their golf courses ahead of restrictions being lifted”.

That claim came out of the blue, to be honest, and there has been no talk of any such plans in the tsunami of golf club chat on social media recently, but, if any club is indeed contemplating that step, then don’t. It would be reckless and foolish, bringing shame on the club and Scotland as a golfing nation.

It will indeed be painful to see golf courses here continuing to lie empty tomorrow and every day thereafter as England gets a headstart in trying to kickstart the sport’s recovery in the UK, but this is the time for cool heads and clear minds.

Yes, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is adopting a cautious approach when it comes to the possibility of lockdown restrictions being lifted and, yes, that is frustrating some golfers at a time when their courses are being used as exercise areas for walkers, cyclists and, in some cases, impromptu football kickabouts.

But surely that will be worth it if it helps deliver an environment that a) allows golfers to feel comfortable about returning to courses and b) allows clubs to ensure they are getting it right when it comes to delivering “safe golf ”, because both those things are vital as part of the bid to avoid a spike in the current number of Covid cases and also a potential second wave.

While some Scottish golfers feel they should be back on the golf course soon, if not already, it is clear that others are prepared to show that patience. At the same time, though, it would be good if they could be given some indication of the date we might be talking about. Say, for instance, it was 25 May. That would give everyone in the industry good and proper time to get clubs ready to open for business because, just in case anyone has forgotten, staff at most venues are still on furlough.

No-one in Scotland is enjoying being kept away from their golf course at the moment and the sooner courses reopen the better in terms of the sport’s economy here. But let’s do our country proud by adhering to what we are being advised and return to the fairways only when the time is deemed right.

One game per week when golf courses are open again

● Club managers are braced for tight restrictions as they prepare for easing of the shutdown

• The Scotsman
• 8 May 2020
• Martin Dempster

Golfers have been warned they could initially be limited to one round per week due to the expected high demand when courses in Scotland re-open following the coronavirus closure.

In another message that will grab the attention of the country’s army of golfers, it is being predicted that some clubs are likely to limit play initially to single players and two-balls from the same household.

David Roy, who holds that post at Crail Golfing Society, and Gordon Simpson, who runs the day-to-day affairs at Gullane, are still waiting to hear exactly what the government guidelines will be and when courses can reopen.

However, they are in agreement that golfers around the country are going to be faced with some restrictions at the outset that might not be met with approval but, nonetheless, will need to be followed in an attempt to create “safe golf ”.

“I think it is safe to say there will be an excess of demand over supply when the courses reopen,” said Roy. “Therefore, do we say to the members: ‘you are only going to get one single game in the week?’

“Every single club will have a bundle of members who want to play every single day in the year. We can’t have a situation where the place is being hogged by a handful of members. So, do we say in the first week ‘you are only getting one game’ and just be prepared for the flak from that?”

It was initially suggested by Karin Sharp, Scottish Golf’s chief operating officer, that play at first might be limited to single players and groups from the same household. The R&A plan submitted to the government made no reference to that, but Roy reckons some clubs could go down that route at first.

“Our feeling, and this comes from talking to as many people as possible at other local clubs, is that, regardless of what government restrictions come out, in the early phase we might insist on single players and two-balls from the same household,” he added.

“You wouldn’t want to have a situation where two players find themselves in the same group due to that being the only available time and a potential argument ensues because one of the players isn’t comfortable. It might be simpler in the first couple of weeks to say it’s single players only or two players from the same household.”

Even with three courses in operation, Simpson reckons restrictions are also likely to be in place at Gullane. “I believe that we will have to introduce limitations when we first get the go ahead to open up as there will be huge demand,” he said.

In Ireland, golf is set for a phased return on 18 May, starting with members living within five kilometres of their club before being extended to 10km on 8 June then beyond 20km on 20 July.

“I’m not sure there are going to be travel restrictions in the UK,” said Roy. “But, if there are, my guess would be it is going to be broader than 5k. At the moment, we don’t have the same travel restrictions they have in Ireland.

“We’ve done our stats on membership numbers based on how many members live in the KY11 postcode. We’ve got 550 out of the 1400 playing members, with 400 who have an alternative place to play golf due to being a member of another club.

“That leaves us with potentially 500-600 members who are going to be inconvenienced by not getting a game. We would only be able to deal with that as and when we know more.”

A large chunk of Gullane’s big membership live in and around Edinburgh, meaning either a 5km or 10km restriction would stop them from heading down the East Lothian coast if that sort of restriction was part of the UK plan.

“I prefer a postcode system,” admitted Simpson. “I feel a 5km boundary would be very limiting to many clubs and unrealistic for clubs to police.”

Greenkeepers have been advised to have their courses ready for reopening at very short notice, “perhaps even overnight”, by the British and International Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA).

READ MORE IN THE SCOTSMAN AND SUBSCRIBE 

Golf return seems close but will it be like it is in Ireland?

BY MARTIN DEMP­STER  THE SCOTSMAN NEWSPAPER

The Scotsman

05 May 2020

It seems tantalisingly close. Maybe as early as next Monday, but more likely to be a little bit longer. Golf ’s return in Scotland and elsewhere in the UK certainly seems to be imminent, but be warned that it might not be as straightforward as some people might be expecting.

Take Ireland, for example. Courses are set to reopen there on 18 May as part of a first phase of lockdown restrictions being relaxed. However, the fine detail of that decision has opened a can of worms. That’s because the reopening is being phased, meaning an eagerlyawaited return to the fairways is still more than two months away for some.

Only members living within 5km of their golf club will be given the green light to start playing in the first instance, 8 June having been earmarked for that radius to be extended to 10km before it is stretched to beyond 20km on 20 July. I bet lots of people didn’t see that coming and, by the sounds of things, it is going to cause major headaches for lots of clubs.

Consider these examples highlighted by Philip Reid, an outstanding golf correspondent, in his newspaper, the Irish Times. Tralee Golf Club is 13km from its primary membership base in Tralee town; Connemara links is located some 10km from its main membership cohort in Clifden; Donegal Golf Club at Murvagh is 10km from Donegal town; Co Sligo Golf Club at Rosses Point is 7.5km from Sligo town; while Co Louth Golf Club is 7km along the River Boyne from Drogheda town centre.

To try to offer some perspective here, if something similar is being planned by the UK government, then a lot of golfers in the Edinburgh area, for example, would not be allowed to return straight away to their clubs in East Lothian and it would be the same story for Glasgow golfers who are members of clubs on the Ayrshire coast.

Heck, I’ve just checked and the journey from my home in Dalgety Bay to Aberdour, where I’m a proud member, is 5.4km, though that is by car and a more direct walking route along the coast comes in at 4.98km – honestly!

The policing of that 5km ruling in Ireland is going to be a nightmare, surely. Can it actually be policed? In effect, it will come down to the golfers themselves to self-police and, though that is nothing new in the sport, I fear the temptation of wanting to get back out on a golf course again could cloud judgements about whether someone lives 5km, 15km or 50km away from their club.

It could be, of course, that the UK government, which will ultimately make the call, has a different plan in mind for the reopening of courses in Scotland, England and Wales.

That will hopefully be part of the lockdown exit plan set to be announced, we are told, by Prime Minister Boris Johnson, on Sunday.

By then, the government will have had more than a week to digest the stringent measures that have been proposed by the R&A to be in place when that green light is given. It is absolutely imperative those measures are followed because, let’s face it, they all make complete sense at the moment and let’s remember, please, that lives are still being lost as golf and other sports are topics of discussion.

Personally, I don’t see too many problems cropping up on golf courses in terms of social distancing. The vast majority already know what is required in that respect. It’s more when it comes to people either turning up too early for their round – not a problem for me, as my golfing buddies will testify – or hanging around afterwards that clubs will probably have to hammer home messages.

Make no mistake, golf will be in the spotlight once that return happens. There will be people out there waiting to pounce on any misdemeanours, so to speak, in respect of those measures drafted by the R&A in conjunction with other golfing bodies.

It will be the duty of every single golfer to follow the new set of rules to the letter, do the sport proud by doing so and ensure that golf gets off to the best possible start in a world that probably won’t return to normal – whatever that actually is – for a long, long time.

Shared via PressReader connecting people through news

Karin Sharp takes over Scottish Golf reins with support from Iain Forsyth

By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman Newspaper 

Karin Sharp

Karin Sharp, the chief operating officer, has been handed the Scottish Golf reins following Andrew McKinlay's swift and shock departure as chief executive.

Sharp held the same position with the Scottish Ladies Golf Association from November 2013 before its amalgamation with the Scottish Golf Union in 2015.

In now taking over at the helm of the governing body, she will be supported by Iain Forsyth, the current chief commercial officer.

Both Sharp and Forsyth have "voluntarily decided" to take a 20 per cent pay cut for the foreseeable future.

Announcing the leadership change, Scottish Golf chair Eleanor Cannon said: “The Board and Executive Team have had to make very tough decisions in order to focus on ensuring we are in a sustainable position going forward when courses reopen.

"With many clubs feeling the financial strain, which in turn has had a knock-on effect on our income, we have prioritised expenditure accordingly.

"Now more than ever we need strong leadership backed up by robust actionable plans. I am very pleased to announce that The Board has invited Karin Sharp to lead the organisation with immediate effect, from her current role as Chief Operating Officer.

"Karin has outstanding operational pedigree gained through various leadership roles within RBS where her career spanned 23 years, predominately in their Corporate & Commercial Banking Division.

"She joined Scottish Ladies Golfing Association in November 2013 as Chief Operating Officer and, following the amalgamation in 2015, has ultimately continued in the same role for Scottish Golf.”

As revealed by The Scotsman earlier this week, Scottish Golf has asked its 550-odd member clubs to reveal sensitive financial information in a survey aimed at gauging the impact of courses being closed due to the COVID-19 crisis.

That decision was criticised by some club managers, but Sharp said the governing body is pushing ahead with its attempt to gather the information.

Sharp said: “In response to these unprecedented circumstances, we have issued a short financial health check survey to our member clubs which seeks to gather key information, specifically around the impact of COVID-19 to golf club operations.

"This detail will directly contribute to, and significantly inform, our ongoing dialogue with Scottish Government in relation to the struggles faced by golf in Scotland.

"This information is crucial. To enable us to represent the situation accurately and effectively, I urge all clubs to complete the survey at the earliest opportunity."

Teasing times for Scottish golfers but too early for courses to reopen

Guilty as charged -- Your webmaster Carol
 out for a walk over Douglas Park GC !!

By Martin Dempster - Subscribe to the Scotsman Newspaper

Today's Scotsman Newspaper - Click to enlarge

Pictures flooding social media of courses looking resplendent are making this an even more frustrating period

What’s not helping, either, is social media being flooded with photographs of courses around the country looking resplendent. Taken either by green keepers as they carry out essential maintenance or club managers, they are merely having a teasing effect at the moment as golf clubs lie closed due to the ongoing threat caused by COVID-19.

Mike MacDonald, the switched-on and extremely welcoming club manager at Fortrose & Rosemarkie, posted a couple of videos on Twitter over the weekend showing the Black Isle course, with the gorse starting to bloom, in its full glory. “Just whetting our appetites,” said one person on seeing those clips, while another jokingly declared: “Please, I can’t take any more!”

Many felt the same, albeit in a totally different tone, about another short video that popped up on social media last week, this one showing what appeared to be a man and his son kicking a football back and forward in the middle of a green at West Kilbride on the Ayrshire coast as three others stood at the side and watched.

Equally infuriating was hearing a similar story about someone thinking it was acceptable to use the 18th green on the Championship Course at Carnoustie to do what was described as a “Joe Wicks’ training session”. Seriously? He was lucky, surely, not to have ended up where Jean Van de Velde wrote himself into folklore in the Barry Burn.

Four weeks into lockdown, it is no surprise to be hearing a good few people starting to ask if serious consideration should be given to those guidelines being relaxed in order to allow golf to be acceptable as a form of our permitted daily exercise. Wisconsin, where the Ryder Cup is due to be played in September, is allowing its courses to re-open later this week with restrictions in place, while Golf Australia announced on Friday that it is now satisfied that “golf can be played at minimal risk” under strict and specific safety protocols.

Pete Smith, a former Turnhouse member, moved to Australia in 2006 and currently plays his golf at Kogarah Golf Club in Sydney. There, in addition to social distancing, rakes being removed from bunkers and pieces of polyethylene foam stopping balls dropping into the bottom of holes, members have to arrive on a “just-in-time basis”, not more than 15 minutes before a booked round, then leave the club immediately afterwards. Under strict guidelines outlined by New South Wales Public Health officials, clubs face possible fines of up to Aus $55,000 for any breach of the protocols. 

“Here, the majority of golf is played in competitions, and our Wednesday and Thursday competitions are running as normal,” Smith told me. “We play in twos and tee-time intervals are a bit longer than usual. I still miss the chance to go and have a beer and a chat with my playing group at the end of the round, and other members, but being able to get out and play golf is definitely a highlight of the week when you are stuck indoors all day!

“I have not observed anyone break the social-distancing rules – and they are really easy to maintain on the golf course. My view here is golf provides a great source of exercise for many. For our older members, golf is often their main source of social interaction during the week and, whilst they can’t meet with all of their friends, they can at least enjoy company at a time that can be lonely for many people.”

Fellow Scot Craig Morrison, who has been in Perth since 2010 and is a member at Royal Perth, as well as Kilmacolm back home, is taking a different view despite golf also being an option for him at the moment. “There’s nothing better than getting on the course with your mates,” he admitted. “However, I haven’t played since Christmas and most of my regular playing partners, like me, have decided not to partake for the time being.”

Is it time for golf to be permitted again in Scotland? In my opinion, no. We are still in the grip of a pandemic, and as long as that daily exercise is only for an hour, there seems no point, even though a two-ball could get in a decent few holes in that time. Reopening courses would mean more people jumping back in cars and starting to travel around again. With another three-week lockdown having just been implemented, it’s too early for that.

Let’s be patient because there is a good chance that golf could well be something that is indeed part of a phased return to normality. Just don’t expect it to be what we were used to before the world was turned upside down. It goes without saying, of course, that you’ll need to look out those waterproofs because we all know what’s what’s going to happen when the courses are open again…

WHITECRAIGS GOLF CLUB RAISES FUNDS TO SUPPORT NHS STAFF

David Orr

Nice story in the Scotsman Newspaper by Martin Dempster about Whitecraigs pro David Orr teeing up video sessions for members during coronavirus course closure to raise funds to support NHS staff ....

Scotsman Newspaper 9th April 2020
Click to enlarge and read 

 Alternatively -- CLICK HERE

Martin Dempster: Why a golf course is one of safest places at the moment

By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman 

Enjoy your game”, said a nice man as myself and a friend left the first tee at Aberdour on Sunday afternoon. I’d never seen him before in my life, but, of all the days for someone to say that out of the blue, it was actually quite comforting.

Given everything going on at the moment due to the coronavirus, I had a feeling that someone could actually
have been waiting on that first tee to say we shouldn’t be going out to play golf.

If truth be told, I’d been put on edge slightly by someone highlighting on social media earlier in the day about the dilemma of having to pull out the pin or rake a bunker without touching them.

As a result of that, from start to finish I paid a lot more attention than normal to what I was doing on my way around the golf course. But, hand on heart, there was hardly anything that has left me with cause for concern about continuing to play over the weeks and months ahead.

I accessed the clubhouse with a swipe card and retrieved my clubs and golf shoes from my locker, feeling very comfortable about that. The only time, in fact, that I felt someone could have picked up on anything before actually getting out on the course was that I had 
to push a button to exit the locker-room.

As for those aforementioned concerns about pins, bunker rakes and also picking the ball out of the hole, they actually proved easy to overcome bearing in mind, of course, that golf is a game that, for most people anyway, already involves wearing a glove.

As is now permitted in the game, even in competitions, we left the pin in all the time. I normally take my glove off when I’m putting, but I didn’t on this occasion and had no worries whatsoever dipping my gloved hand into the hole. I also used that hand to pick up a rake on a couple of 
occasions.

Once or twice, I had thoughts going through my head – when placing a tee in the mat, for instance – but, honestly, there was absolutely nothing that left me thinking that golf should not be encouraged in the current situation.

It has built-in “social distancing”. Rarely do you ever find yourself crowded or with someone in your face on the golf course. And, of course, the maximum number of players you can have in a group is four.

To me, it has to be one of the safest places anyone could be at the moment and, by the sounds of things, the medical experts are of the same opinion. “You’re not in contact with a whole lot of other people,” Dr Catherine Troisi, an infectious disease epidemiologist at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston told golfdigest.com.

“Sunlight and other environmental conditions can kill viruses like this, so it is probable that that is true for this novel coronavirus, as well. So I would say in the actual 
playing of golf, you’re not at much risk.”

Yes, of course, adjustments need to be made around the actual playing part and that, unfortunately, is probably going to see clubhouses a lot emptier than they would normally be, especially with some better weather hopefully just around the corner.

However, at a time when an antidote is badly needed, golf can be just that. As that friendly man in the group behind us at Aberdour on Sunday would say, keep enjoying your game!

Clubs consider holding back fees to Scottish Golf over ‘railroading’ claims

By Martin Dempster  - 

FROM THE SCOTSMAN NEWSPAPER

Scottish Golf is facing a potential revolt by some of its member clubs who are threatening to hold back affiliation fees because they feel they are being “railroaded” by the governing body.

The source of their discontent is a software system which is supposed to simplify golf clubs’ tee booking, competition scoring, handicapping and other administration.

But the Venue Management System (VMS) has been given the thumbs down by some clubs in the Lothians, the biggest of the 16 men’s area associations in Scotland.

The introduction of the VMS was one of the pillars of Scottish Golf’s campaign in 2018 to increase affiliation fees, with the promise that the system would eventually remove the need for clubs to have multiple software packages. Resistance to the system comes as the 
governing body prepares to hold its annual meeting in Stirling this weekend

A show of hands on the possibility of blocking the payment of affiliation fees resulted in a resounding ‘yes’ among the club delegates at the recent Lothians Golf Association agm. As a result, Lothians GA secretary David Doig has written to Scottish Golf Limited (SGL) to outline the unrest among some clubs and determine what the implications would be if affiliation fees for this year were held back.

“There is a fairly strong feeling that clubs are being railroaded by SGL in their attempts to initiate their VMS system, and there was a fairly healthy discussion on two fronts,” said Doig of the Lothians meeting at Newbattle Golf Club. “Firstly, there are concerns that the CDH (Central Database of Handicaps) system is currently not providing an adequate service for clubs with many anomalies being detected by clubs at this time.

“The second is that the SGL’s VMS system appears to be providing many difficulties for clubs who are not adopting the VMS, which restricts various operations that they previously enjoyed with the old system. The clubs are also concerned that SGL have taken decisions recently without the prior knowledge of clubs, eg the closing down of the CDH for a period, the launch of a new website etc.

“On the basis of this some clubs asked the question of what the implications would be if they chose to withhold their annual subscriptions for a period until such time SGL listen and act on what clubs want.”

The Scotsman understands one delegate at the Lothians meeting claimed that Scottish Golf was “not interested in helping” a club that had not signed up for the new VMS system while another said a club had “received next to no help with many questions”.

“What I got from the meeting is that most clubs are not happy with Scottish Golf and their methods of pushing clubs into a corner to either switch to their systems or be ignored,” said one club manager. “The mood in the room at the Lothians agm was very ‘anti-Scottish Golf’ and clubs are now seriously asking what are we getting for our affiliation fees – money that many struggling clubs could put to better use.”

Iain Forsyth, Scottish Golf’s chief commercial officer, has been leading a team delivering VMS demos around the country and said that he had been unaware of any unrest among Lothians clubs at a demo to more than 50 people in Edinburgh last month, after which clubs had actually signed up for the new system.

“Clubs are certainly not being railroaded into VMS,” he said. “Much consideration has been given in the design process to ensure that a club not using VMS is not disadvantaged in anyway.

“We recently added a newly-designed function to our website allowing clubs to upload their open competitions. This not only gives clubs exposure on the SGL website, but also all app users, iPads, and any club using a VMS website. It also makes it easy for the golfer to enter the competition through the website. This was only launched on 3 March and we already have 192 competitions uploaded, but, interestingly, more non VMS clubs have used this facility [16 non VMS clubs and 14 VMS clubs].”

Juniors playing in adult events is no brainer

Hannah Darling, who developed her game in competitions at Broomieknowe,
in action at the junior Solheim Cup. Picture: Jamie Squire/IMG

By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman Newspaper

So, the “Pillocks of the Year” prize goes to the lady members who wanted to stop juniors from taking part in their club competitions before someone with a grasp on modern-day life intervened.

Well done to John Clark, the managing director of Ping, for quickly stepping in and avoiding any further embarassment for Thonock Park, which is owned by the equipment manufacturer, but what on earth possessed those lady members at the Lincolnshire club to pass such a vote?

Was it because they are precious wee souls and don’t like losing out to youngsters in competitions? If so, they should hang their heads in shame because such an attitude is just not acceptable in the sport.

No wonder there were lots of people expressing disbelief over the decision before Clark issued a statement from Ping’s European headquarters nearby to say that it had been revoked due to the fact it was “completely against the values, principles and philosophies” of the company.

“This shouldn’t even be a debate/question!” declared Bradley Neil, the 2014 Amateur champion, on Twitter and, in fairness, he should know, having played in men’s competitions at Blairgowrie as he came through the junior ranks.

“Most of the best golfers – if not all – this game has seen will have played adult competitions as a junior. How can we expect to grow the game if we deny them the chance to improve?”

Exactly and how ironic that this story came to light on the same day that 15-year-old Englishman Josh Hill earned a place in the record books by becoming the youngest winner of an Official World Golf Ranking event with his victory in the Al Ain Open on the MENA Tour, one of the game’s third-tier circuits. Like many players of his age, Hill has seen his game flourish through competing against adults from an early age.

There’s more to it than just that, though. Youngsters can learn life skills from spending time in adult company and, speaking from experience, 
a golf course can be one of 
the best places to appreciate that.

Yes, of course, there are some people out there who aren’t necessarily the ideal role models but, in the main, the majority of people that play the game can be instrumental in that respect and, what’s more, are happy to do so.

It really is a no brainer that juniors should be allowed to play in adult competitions and even more so these days when older members should feel a sense of duty when it comes to doing everything possible to proctect the future of their golf club.

If Ping hadn’t stepped in, those lady members at Thonock Park would have been scoring a shocking own goal as far as the club was concerned and also for the game itself in the bigger picture.

At a time when attracting new blood into the game is vital, the sport needs more players like Hannah Darling, for example, who has been encouraged by her home club, Broomieknowe, and has seen her talent blossom as a consequence.

Would she be on the verge of breaking into the world’s top 100 if she’d been stopped from playing against older and more experienced players over the last few years? Probably not.

The Glasgow Golf Club finally agrees to let women become members

From the Scotsman Newspaper by Amy Watson

An  upmarket private golf club on the outskirts of Glasgow has finally agreed to let women become members.

The prestigious Glasgow Golf Club in leafy Bearsden had been one of the last bastions of male only memberships in world golf.

Formed in 1787, it’s the ninth oldest golf club on the globe, and only men could join and play the parkland Killermont course in the exclusive suburb and its sister course in Irvine, Gailes Links.

For decades members resisted the call to drag the club into modern life and it was only recently that youngsters under 18 were able to join.

However, last night at an emergency general meeting of the club, members voted unanimously in favour of adopting an open membership – meaning ladies can now join.

They have finally followed the Honourable Company of Edinburgh Golfers – based at Muirfield.

The club it the headlines many times for its controversial approach to female membership.

In 2016, the golf's ruling body, the R&A, removed Muirfield as a host venue for the Open Championship as a result. That has since been reinstated.

They then voted for open membership in 2017 but it took until only a couple of months ago for the club to finally announce that 12 women would be joining.

Glasgow Golf Club’s Killermont House clubhouse was struck by a devastating fire a year ago that gutted the listing building that dates back to the 19th century.

A temporary clubhouse has only just been opened while a £6million renovation takes place.

Joining Glasgow Golf Club involves a strict process. A prospective, member needs to be proposed, seconded and six members need to sign an application book – and then the applicant is interviewed.