We are now in the final week before WHS comes into play here in Scotland. Thank you to all clubs who took part in our golfer awareness campaign last week, it was great to see so many clubs from across Scotland utilising our information graphics and key messaging toolkit. 
As we continue the countdown to 2nd November, the second week of our campaign will focus on: 

• Course & Sloping Rating
• Playing Conditions Calculations (PPC)
• Exceptional Score Reduction
• Soft and Hard Cap
• WHS Summary for Golfers 

If you missed out on accessing last week's resources, you can click here to find out more. To read the full document click here

The GGU's End of Season newsletter is now available. It includes a message from President Sandy Anderson, plus reviews of this year's Annual Dinner and Prizegiving, our Competitions, and the Union's Executive. To read the newsletter please click here

Following our latest update on 8th October, Scottish Golf has been in ongoing dialogue with our partners at sportscotland and the Scottish Government to seek further clarity on the licensing of premises and how this might impact our affiliated clubs.

We have today received confirmation that individual premises will need to act in accordance with the current guidance in place based on their existing license. As the type of license can vary from club to club, we would encourage all clubs to make contact with their local authority and environmental health team who will be able to further advise on the type of license your clubhouse has.

Scottish Golf would like to remind clubs that the current guidance is as follows and that all clubs should adhere to the restrictions in place in their local area:

Pubs and restaurants in five Scottish health board areas - Greater Glasgow & Clyde, Lanarkshire, Ayrshire & Arran, Lothian and Forth Valley - must shut to all but takeaway customers. In these areas, licensed cafes can remain open from 6am to 6pm but must not sell alcohol.

In other parts of Scotland not mentioned above, pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes can operate 6am to 6pm but cannot serve alcohol indoors during that time. These premises can sell alcohol outdoors until 10pm.

Rules on gatherings remain the same with a maximum of six people from two households permitted. Thank you for your ongoing understanding during these challenging times.

Following the First Minister’s latest update in Parliament on Wednesday 7 October, Scottish Golf has been in dialogue with our partners at sportscotland and the Scottish Government to obtain further clarity about the new national restrictions being implemented across Scotland and how these might impact private member clubs.
On-course golf activities can continue under our current Phase 3 Guidance, with up to four players from four different households allowed to participate together. There are no changes to access to toilet facilities, locker rooms or professional shops which can continue to be utilised provided all appropriate measures, such as use of face masks, increased sanitation are adhered to. 

The key changes that apply to all golf club, are the hospitality restrictions which apply to private members clubs across the country. These are summarised below and are effective from 6pm on Friday 9^th October 2020:  Full details can be read here

The third in a series of newsletters from Scottish Golf about the new World Handicap System (WHS) is now available. These updates will give Clubs updates on the latest news, information and developments about the implementation of WHS in Scotland, and while at some points, they may be repetitive, they will provide Clubs with essential updates on what needs to be done to ensure a smooth transition to WHS. The newsletter may be viewed in our Document archive here

Following the First Minister’s update in Parliament today (10 September), Scottish Golf would like to clarify that on-course golf activities can continue under our current Phase 3 Guidance, with up to four players from four different households allowed to participate together.

Golf Clubs with hospitality venues should also note that the following changes are effective from Monday 14 September:
• A maximum of six people from two households can meet both indoors and outdoors.
• Staff will be required by law to wear face coverings.
• Customers will be required to wear face coverings while moving around inside a hospitality venue such as entering or exiting a venue or going to the toilet.
We thank all affiliated clubs for their ongoing cooperation during these challenging times. To keep up to date on the latest COVID-19 updates from Scottish Golf, please click here.

The Matchplay Championship will be held at Sandyhills Golf Club on Friday 11th - 13th September. The Quarter-finals will be played on Friday 11th, with the Semi-Final and Final on Sunday 13th. The draw is as follows - 

Qualifiers for Matchplay – 11^th September 2020 – Sandyhills G C

Seed         Name                                     Club

1                Craig Harper                           Haggs Castle G C

2                Gordon Sangster                    Cathkin Braes G C

3                Brendan McKenna                  Pollok G C

4                Jonny Robertson                    Haggs Castle G C

5                Alan Murphy                           Ralston G C

6                Matthew Clifford                     Sandyhills G C

7                Greg Brown                            Cathkin Braes G C       

8                Chris McMillan                        Bishopbriggs G C

QUARTER FINALS – 11^th September 2020  - starts at 16.00

Match 1 

Craig Harper  v Chris McMillan 

Match 2 

Jonny Robertson v Alan Murphy  

Match 3 

Brendan McKenna v Matthew Clifford 

Match 4 

Gordon Sangster  v Greg Brown  

Semi Finals – Sunday 13^th ( Morning ) 

1st : Winner Match 1 v Winner Match 2

2^nd : Winner Match 3 v Winner Match 4 

Final – Sunday 13^th ( Afternoon )