Following the First Minister's latest update on COVID-19 restrictions, please note that there is no change to the current position for golf. This means:
• Golf courses can remain open for play with a maximum of two players from up to two households
• Outdoor coaching will be restricted to 2 people (including the coach) for those 12 years or over. Under 12s do not count towards the number so a coach can take larger groups of up to 30 U12s
• Golfers must stay close to home, travel only for essential purposes (which includes golf as part of the permitted exercise activities) and in line with the new legislation
The next update is not anticipated until mid-March. Should anything change, we will keep clubs up to date on our COVID-19 page.

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The 2021 golf season heralds the beginning of the first full season of the World Handicapping System (WHS). Not only does WHS provide an international standard for handicaps that is based on course difficulty, but it also enables club members to submit a General Play score at any time from any course. 

If experiences around the world are anything to go by, then clubs in Scotland could see a dramatic increase in scores submitted for handicap. In New Zealand the first full year of WHS saw a 25% per month increase in rounds played, with peak months even higher. 

General Play scores can be submitted directly by anyone with a valid Scottish Golf CDH ID via the Scottish Golf App or other CONGU approved systems. This creates more opportunities for golfers to submit scores for handicapping at their home course, or when playing as a visitor elsewhere.

For clubs there is also the opportunity to relieve pressure on competition start sheets by golfers submitting a General Play score on other days, so that those who want to play competitively for handicap when the course is quieter can do so.

When WHS was introduced earlier in 2020, incorrect CDH IDs, or indeed the fact that not every member had one, contributed to the issues with inconsistent data that were overcome through the hard work of clubs and Scottish Golf. Now that these issues have been resolved we are sure everyone would like to keep the data as consistent as possible!

In the past, some clubs have tended to only give CDH ID numbers to members who played in competitions, as that was the only way to submit a score for handicap. However, now golfers can also submit a General Play score at any time, it is imperative that all members have the CDH ID they are eligible for.

With a potential increase in rounds as golfers take advantage of General Play, Scottish Golf is therefore urging golf clubs to ensure that every member has a CDHID in time for the start of the season so that everyone can benefit from having a WHS Handicap Index.

If any clubs require assistance in understanding how to allocate a new CDH ID please contact Scottish Golf or login to the Scottish Golf Hive platform.

Welcome to the latest Scottish Golf newsletter. Access new Safeguarding Policy templates to use at your club. We also bring you a reminder of the upcoming events taking place for club golfers in 2021. 

The Referrals Policy is a sample policy for affiliated clubs who are making a referral to Disclosure Scotland, should the grounds for referral be met. 

Clubs who use, store and retain disclosure information on anyone undertaking regulated work with Children or Protected Adults within the club can also access a Secure Handling Policy template.

Download or view the newsletter here

The Board of Scottish Golf Ltd is pleased to announce the date of the 2021 Scottish Golf Annual General Meeting. The meeting will be held on Sunday 7 March 2021 with an approximate start time of 11am, so save the date in your diary. 

Given the current COVID-19 restrictions facing the country, we will once again host this year’s Annual General Meeting virtually via Zoom.

Further details, including official AGM papers, will be issued to all affiliated clubs digitally in due course. 

Scottish golf courses CAN remain open despite a further tightening of COVID-19 mitigation measures outlined by the Scottish Government this afternoon. 

Following today’s update in Parliament from the First Minister, a reminder to all affiliated clubs that mainland Scotland is currently in a temporary lockdown or enhanced Level 4 (Stay at Home), with guidance to stay at home except for essential purposes.

Some islands will remain at Level 3 and golf clubs in these areas can continue to follow the relevant guidance for Level 3. For all areas currently in Level 4 (Stay at Home), new restrictions will come into force on Saturday. These are:

Click and collect services should not be offered at this time. Takeaways can no longer allow customers indoors, and must instead operate from a hatch or doorway. 

The sale of alcohol for consumption outdoors is not permitted in all level 4 areas. Indoor starter facilities should not be offered at this time.

An updated table summarising the rules for the current lockdown period (Level 4 – Stay at Home) and Level 3 can be accessed here.

As with all of our COVID-19 guidance, this is subject to further change which can take place at short notice. Should any changes take place, we will inform all affiliated clubs as soon as possible.

Following our COVID-19 update yesterday, we are now in a position to provide further information about the new enhanced restrictions. Please note that mainland Scotland has now moved from Level 4 to a temporary Lockdown or enhanced Level 4 (Stay at Home), with new guidance to stay at home except for essential purposes.

Some islands will remain at Level 3 and golf clubs in these areas can continue to follow the relevant guidance in our Local Protection Levels Table here. 

An updated table summarising the rules for the current lockdown period (Level 4 – Stay at Home) can be accessed here and are effective immediately:
• Golf courses can remain open for play with a maximum of two players from up to two households
• Outdoor coaching will be restricted to 2 people (including the coach) for those 12 years or over. Under 12s do not count towards the number so a coach can take larger groups of up to 30 U12s

• Golfers must stay close to home, travel only for essential purposes (which includes golf as part of the permitted exercise activities) and in line with the new legislation
As with all of our COVID-19 guidance, this is subject to further change which can take place at short notice. Should any changes take place, we will inform all affiliated clubs as soon as possible.

We are in a unique and privileged position in Scotland with our golf courses being permitted to stay open and we respectfully ask that everyone adapts their operations accordingly to ensure that every facility continues to adhere to the revised guidelines. In doing so we can, as a sport, play our part in minimising further spread of the virus, whilst ensuring that golfers across Scotland can continue to enjoy the many health benefits from playing golf.

Following the First Minister’s weekend announcement that a move to Level 4 will be implemented from 26 December, we can advise that there has been no changes advised to the previously shared sporting guidance based on each local protection level.

The Scottish Golf website remains current and the full detail of what is permitted can be found here, with further details from sportscotland on the wider sporting framework and responsibilities of COVID officers available here.

Should there be any changes advised in the days ahead, we shall of course keep you updated but in the meantime all detail on our website shows the current position for golf.

With best wishes to you and your membership for a safe festive season and collectively let’s hope for better things to come in 2021.

Scottish Golf is pleased to announce a full schedule of events for golfers of all ages and abilities will be returning in 2021.

Following a season-long hiatus caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, a full 2021 schedule will offer thousands of golfers the opportunity to play some of Scotland’s top golf courses and bid to become a National Champion. With over 120,000 downloads of the Scottish Golf App since the start of November, the upcoming season will also see several exciting changes to enhance the player and viewer experience. Full hole-by-hole live scoring will now be available at all Scottish Golf events for the first time as players input their scores and sign off scorecards directly on their mobile devices using the Scottish Golf App. The App, which is free to download here, has many exciting features which entrants will be able to take full advantage of in 2021. This includes simple event entry, live scoring and an on-course Caddie which will give you accurate course information for every one of our Host Venues.

The Scottish Medal Finals will make its debut as a combined event in 2021 with affiliated clubs invited to enter three of their top-performing male and female players from both the 2019 and 2020 season’s monthly medals into one of six Regional Finals taking place during May and July. On the day of the Regional Final, male and female players will play alongside each other with the top six net male and female qualifiers booking their place at the Home of Golf for the Grand Final which will be played over The Duke’s Course on Sunday 15 August. The offering for club golfers continues with the hugely successful and free-to-enter R&A 9-Hole Challenge, with Milnathort once again playing host to the two-day Scottish National Final on Thursday 10 and Friday 11 June. The prize for the top four teams from the National Final is the money-can’t-buy experience of playing in the R&A 9-hole Challenge Final over Royal St. Georges on the eve of The 149th Open Championship where they will compete against fellow qualifiers from across the world for the overall title.

Completing the portfolio of National Championships for club golfers is the free-to-enter PING Scottish Mixed Championship which will this year be played over former Men’s and Women’s Scottish Open venue, Gullane No.1 on Friday 17 September. This event will see the Top 40 pairs from a National Leaderboard qualify for a great day out and some fantastic prizes courtesy of Championship sponsors PING.

Fraser Munro, Head of Events at Scottish Golf, said: “2020 has been a hugely difficult year for everyone but we are looking forward to getting back out and engaging with clubs and golfers in the new year. Entries recently opened for our newly combined Scottish Medal Finals and we have been hugely encouraged by the level of response it has received.

“As always, none of this would be possible without the support of our various stakeholders including our many host venues for allowing us access to their wonderful courses and our generous event partners for providing some outstanding prizes throughout the season. With more than 120,000 people having now downloaded the Scottish Golf App, our events and the information available will be more accessible than ever and we look forward to welcoming more golfers of all ages and abilities to our events going forward.”

At elite level, the domestic season tees off with the Scottish Boys’ and Girls’ Open Championships taking place 7-9 April at Lundin and Longniddry who will be celebrating their centenary.

Scottish Golf’s flagship Women’s and Men’s Amateur Championships will be staged over Gullane (4 – 6 June) and Murcar Golf Links & Portlethen (27 – 31 July) with Southerness (28 – 30 May) and the newly announced 2024 Open Championship venue Royal Troon (16-18 April) playing host to the Scottish Men’s Open and Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open Championships respectively. Elsewhere the Scottish Senior Men’s Open Championship will take place at Duff House Royal (16-18 June), Aberdour will host the Scottish Senior Women’s Open Championship (22 – 25 June) as part of their 125th-anniversary celebrations with the Scottish Boys’ and Girls’ Amateur Championships being held at Bruntsfield Links and Strathaven in July, with Kirkcaldy and Stirling completing the offering by hosting the Scottish Boy’s U14 Open and Scottish Girl’s Open (8 – 9 August) respectively.

Participants should note that we will continue to work with our partners in Government and sportscotland to ensure that all events adhere to any restrictions in place at the time. Entries for all 2021 Scottish Golf National Championships will open on 1st February 2021 via the Scottish Golf App and website. To see the full 2021 schedule, please click here.