Copyright scotsman
Here is a round-up of the latest golf news across Scotland... James Erskine, the Dumfries and County Golf Club head professional, picked up this year’s Sir Henry Cotton Lifetime Achievement Award. The coveted prize is handed out by the Golf Foundation for meritorious service to junior golf, with Erskine receiving the trophy from Golf Foundation president Nick Dougherty. Through Erskine’s quest to grow the game, Dumfries and County Golf Club now has more than 120 junior members while a state-of-the-art practice facility and short course opened last year. “I grew up in a sparse area with poor facilities and little coaching,” said Erskine. “I made it my mission to change that. Over the last 20 years, I’ve delivered coaching at 23 of 24 local clubs, and seeing kids now play the game – that’s the greatest reward.” His efforts have helped produce national champions and more than 20 PGA professionals, but his philosophy remains rooted in grass-roots growth. “It’s not about the tour players,” he added. “It’s about giving kids the gift of golf and helping them belong to clubs. If we don’t grow the game, we don’t have golf’s future.” Fife players claimed three of the four main titles in the season-long Scottish Golf Order of Merit battles this year. Crail’s Andrew Davidson landed the men’s crown while St Andrews duo Finlay Galloway and Carly McDonald won the boys’ and girls’ titles respectively. Helped by winning the Battle Trophy at his home club then finishing joint-third in the Lytham Trophy, Davidson amassed 915 points to win comfortably from Aldeburgh’s Natan Tait, who finished second with 678 points. Galloway lit up his season by winning the Scottish Boys’ Championship while 14-year-old McDonald underlined her talent by being crowned as the Scottish Girls’ champion. Pollok’s Rosie Maguire topped the Women’s Order of Merit while Alison Davidson (Stirling) and Kenny Gallacher (East Kilbride) landed the senior titles. More than 20 golf clubs drawn from across the north of Scotland attended a Finance Workshop in Inverness. The ground-breaking event was spearheaded by golf finance expert Kevin Fish, who runs his own training and consultancy business, Contemporary Club Leadership. It was organised by the Golf Highland cooperative in tandem with Scottish Golf and 25 delegates from 15 member clubs, including Nairn, Inverness, Carrbridge, Tain and Abernethy, were joined at the Kingsmills Hotel by ten Scottish Golf North club representatives drawn from Moray, Shetland, Orkney and Stornoway. Eilidh Paterson, Scottish Golf's North Regional Manager said: "Scottish Golf is delighted to work alongside Golf Highland to support the business development of golf clubs in the North Region. "It was fantastic to have Kevin deliver this much needed workshop to affiliated golf clubs in Inverness which explored many areas of work I can further assist clubs with in my role. A Junior Tour Scotland team pulled off a brilliant win over the Madrid Golf Federation in an annual match played this year on Spanish soil. Held over two days at Golf Santander Golf Club in Madrid, the visitors upset the odds to claim a 14-10 victory. “I was beyond proud and every single player played their part,” said Paul Gibson, one of the Junior Tour Scotland’s driving forces. “Our team spirit, togetherness, and determination shone through, and it capped off a fantastic week in the sun. “The MGF were magnificent hosts. Their kindness went above and beyond, and we will ensure we reciprocate on their return to Scotland in 2026.” The trip also involved the circuit’s Order of Merit Final, with Aidan Lawson (Bruntsfield Links) carding an impressive three-under 36-hole total to land the boys’ title while Stella Walters (Blairgowrie) and Anna Zonova (Royal Musselburgh) land the girls’ scratch and net prizes respectively. Robyn Fowlie has been selected as Robert Gordon University’s first golf scholar. The 21-year-old from Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire, who is in the second year of her studies as a Business and Management student, will be representing RGU on The R&A Student Tour Series, which takes place across Europe. Thanks to support from the Gym Rental Company, the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre and Murcar Links, the RGU Golf Scholarship aims to assist players in their development. “Being awarded a place on the RGU sport scholarship programme is a big step forward for me,” said Fowlie, who won the Northern Ladies Open at Carnoustie this year. “I’m just getting started, but I can already see how valuable this support will be in helping me balance high level golf with university life. I’m excited to compete on The R&A Student Tour and start putting the scholarship backing into action.” Clubs handcrafted by legendary US golf course architect Donald Ross have returned to the Highlands. Two 19th Century woods and three irons have been gifted to the Historylinks Museum golf memorabilia collection in his hometown of Dornoch by Vancouver- based great niece Jane McElligott. “I am so pleased to share these clubs with the Historylinks Museum, and with Dornoch. which was so close to Donald’s heart all his life,” she said. “He would be so glad to know they are here now, as is the whole family.” The presentation took place in front of the Ross family home in St Gilbert Street, which is a magnet for visiting US golfers making the pilgrimage to play Royal Dornoch, where Ross was greenkeeper and the club’s first professional before embarking on a new life in America. Neil Henderson will go down in the record books as the last player to win on the Golfbreaks Get Back to Golf Tour. Set up by Alan Tait to provide playing opportunities for Scottish players during the Covid pandemic, the circuit has come to the end of its journey. The curtain came down at Dumbarnie Links, where Henderson, who is based at The Renaissance Club, carded a four-under-par 68 to win this season’s grand final. The reigning Edinburgh & East of Scotland Alliance champion won by a shot from Duddingston’s John Gallagher, with Dominic Bradburn (Panmure) and Rob Paterson (Kilspindie) sharing third spot on 70. “It’s a little bit sad that this was the last event,” admitted Henderson, “but a huge thank-you to Alan for providing people like myself the opportunity to keep playing competitively over the last few years.” Admitting that his initial aim had been to run the tour for just four months, Tait said: “The numbers dwindled in the last couple of years as players had plenty of things to play in again, but I’m glad the tour served a purpose and helped my fellow pros and elite amateurs over the last few years.” Royal Dornoch has welcomed a unique addition with a new par-3 hole in play on the Struie Course. Golf course architect and club member Tom Mackenzie, a founding director with Mackenzie and Ebert, joined captain Gary Bethune and course manager Eoin Riddell for a close look at the 175-yard hole, which has emerged from linksland by the Dornoch Firth. Riddell and the greenkeeping team were entrusted with the task of turning Tom’s vision into reality, overcoming challenging weather and terrain during the construction process. “It is the only hole on either of the courses that faces in the south-east direction towards the Dornoch Firth,” explained Riddell. “It is a stunning addition to the Struie Course - a real cracker!” Kelso’s Leanne Wilson and Eva Woodward of Linlithgow landed Order of Merit title triumphs on this season’s Golfbreaks Scottish Women’s Amateur Tour. Wilson, who played in ten events, topped the scratch points list ahead of Royal Dornoch’s Caitlin Boa while Woodward won the net section from Ailsa Cackett (Broomieknowe). The season-ending event, the Tomatin Tour Championship Final sponsored by Tomatin Whisky, was held at Cabot Highlands Castle Stuart, where Ralston’s Melissa Keay won the scratch section with a four-under 76 while Wilson claimed the handicap honours with a net 72. “I hope everyone who took part in this year’s Golfbreaks Scottish Women’s Amateur Tour enjoyed themselves throughout the season,” said Alan Tait’s, the circuit’s founder. “The final 2026 confirmed schedule will be coming out very soon and we have 21 events lined up, including a Tour Championship Final at Dumbarnie Links.” Broomieknowe’s Kai Laing signed off the Stephen Gallacher Foundation season in style by storming to a four-shot success in the Race to Dunbar event. Laing carded a fine 68 in testing conditions at East Links to claim the trophy ahead of both Luca Smith and Calum Morrison. Laing followed in the footsteps of both Cameron Adam, who is now a DP World Tour card holder, and two-time Walker Cup player Connor Graham in landing the title. The success came on the back of Laing sharing top spot in the SGF Fairmont St Andrews event with Martin Shone (St Leonards) while Loudon’s Hannah Ounap was the top girl in that event. Supported by Scottish Golf, Niddry Castle Golf Club in Winchburgh has more than doubled its female membership in the past three years thanks to two initiatives aimed at encouraging women and girls to try the sport. The club’s female membership now stands at 24 per cent, which is double the national average for women’s membership in a Scottish golf club. The club’s increase in female membership is largely due to the club’s entry level coaching course called Get Confident in the Basics for Women. The club’s female membership has risen from 22 to 49 since 2022 and head coach John Pritchard said: “This is our club’s first venture into an initiative like this, and we have worked closely with Scottish Golf and Active Schools in West Lothian to make it happen. “Initially, we had 36 emails from people showing interest then eventually settled on 16 girls attending regular coaching sessions. The success of the Hub along with the adult sessions, show women and girls golf is thriving.” Wishaw duo David Park and Andrew Oliphant beat nine English rivals to win The PGA Pro Captain Challenge Grand Final in Italy. Pro Park teamed up with club captain Oliphant to card Stableford scores of 41 points and 43 points in a fourball better-ball format at Argentario Golf Resort in Tuscany. Their 84-point total secured the title by two points from Moyola Park pair Gareth Shaw and Tom O’Kane. “It’s unbelievable,” said Oliphant. “Winning the qualifier was out of this world but to go to Italy and come back as champions is beyond our wildest dreams.” Gavin Hay, who hails from Grantown-on-Spey but is now based at East Renfrewshire Golf Club, has cleared the first hurdle in his bid to become an Asian Tour card holder. He finished third in the first of a series of Qualifying School Section A events after carding scores of 71-66-70-67 for a ten-under-par aggregate at Royal Golf Dar Es Salam in Morocco. “Delighted to get through,” said Hay. “Really pleased with my game over the four days and how I handled myself on the back nine in the final round.” Hay, who had his dad caddying for him, will now tee up in the Final Stage in Thailand. The card battle takes place at Lake View Resort & Golf Club on 17-21 December.
