The R&A has appointed Russell Smith as the General Manager of its new community golf facility at Lethamhill in Glasgow. Smith brings a wealth of experience and commercial acumen to the role having held a number of senior positions in sport, including football, international rugby and horseracing, and the staging of world-class cultural events. 

He has assumed operational responsibilities for the development and day-to-day running of the new facility and implementation of its business plan, which will include the launch of a new consumer brand next year ahead of the family-focussed venue opening in the spring of 2023.

Martin Slumbers, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “Russell is joining us at an important time as our development of the new facility in Glasgow gathers momentum. He will play a key role in overseeing the construction of the venue at Lethamhill alongside our contractor. 

Read the full story here

Scottish Golf has today announced that they will be teaming up with electric vehicle charging provider, EVC, as their exclusive partner to provide affiliated golf courses across Scotland with charging infrastructure.

EVC are a well-established EV charging network. With 324 chargers already on their current network, the renewable energy experts are set to close 2021 with a total of 500 chargers across the UK.

This coincides with the ambitious and necessary rollout of 100,000 charge points over the next 5 years, including an additional 6,000 chargers to be added to the public network in 2022.

EVC specialise in providing zero-cost charging solutions to developments, working alongside the Government’s net-zero emissions plan to facilitate the UK’s transition to electric vehicles.

With September showing the highest ever growth in sales for electric vehicles, and a 75% increase of EVs on the road compared to this time last year, the need for widespread accessible charge points throughout the UK has never been more evident.

Scottish Golf’s partnership with EVC will eliminate charging anxiety for members and visitors alike, giving them the confidence that comes with knowing an EV charger will be available for use when they arrive at a course. Get the full details here

It’s been almost 1 year since we went live with one of the biggest changes in golf in recent times. The new World Handicap System (WHS) allows golfers to have a handicap which is portable around the world and aims to welcome more golfers into the game by making it easier to understand. Since going live with WHS on 2nd November in Scotland, there have been an incredible 1.9 million scores submitted through the system.

All scores have been calculated correctly, providing golfers with an updated Index that is reflective of their demonstrated ability overnight.

We are delighted to see that over 244,000 golfers in Scotland have also now registered for the Scottish Golf App.

The App, which has a variety of different functions from allowing General Play scores to Course Look up information, is the go-to place for News and Handicap information in Scotland. 

General Play is a new feature under WHS that allows golfers to play for their handicap at any time using the Scottish Golf App. Since launch, over 350,000 General Play scores have been submitted, with 200,000 of these being processed through the Scottish Golf App.

It has been a busy year for all associated with Handicapping in Scotland and we wanted to provide all clubs with a brief update on some key points as we continue to work together to embed the new system.

Read the complete newsletter here

The End of Season report looks back on the Championship season of 2021. It started last May on a glorious day at Gailes Links with our Seniors Championship and proved to be our most popular event with a field of over 130 players taking part.

It progressed through our Strokeplay and Matchplay events which were keenly contested, and had worthy first time winners.

Meanwhile the Champion of Champions and Order of Merit competitions were building up nicely in the background to provide excellent finales and again deserving champions.

Our Juniors got involved and served up a great championship at delightful Douglaston.

And after a failed attempt due to a monsoon rainfall, out flagship event, the Glasgow Open provided our final champion, and yes, another first time winner.

It's been a very successful season and you can read our End Of Season Championship report here

Scottish Golf is delighted to announce that members of Scottish Golf affiliated clubs are once again being given the opportunity to play some of the country’s most famous Open and Scottish Open Championship venues at preferential green fee rates. With support from Muirfield, Prestwick, Royal Troon and Castle Stuart, proceeds from all tee-off time sales will go towards the development of junior golf in Scotland. Due to the popularity of these offers, a ballot system will be in operation, to make sure you are in with a chance of enjoying a memorable golfing experience, register your details on one or more of the courses below via the online form before 5pm on Friday 22nd October 2021. 

You are limited to one application per course, with the option of selecting multiple dates, giving you the best chance of success in the ballot. Booking is subject to the terms and conditions set out by each club and Scottish Golf.

To be eligible for this special offer, the lead player in each group must be a member of a Scottish Golf affiliated club. If you are successful, you will receive notification of your allocated date no later than Tuesday 26th October 2021 with an online form to complete your payment.

Get more details of these offers and how to enter the ballot here

The Junior Strokeplay event will take place this coming weekend (17th Oct) at Glasgow Gailes, with the first tee time at 1.37pm.

This is an 18 hole competition, open to all junior boys with a handicap index of 13.0 or below and aged 18 or under on 1st Juanuary 2022.

Soup and sandwiches will be available before starting, and entry to the competition is free. 

The event is designed to identify more young golfers in the county who are enthusiastic about playing county golf. It is a try out that will qualify juniors for the pool of players that will be put forward to events such as Area Teams and West League team matches.

They will also benefit from being involved in the new county coaching programme.

To enter, click on this link - https://tourentry.golfbox.dk/?cid=3152193

Get into Golf Initiative - See how Crail Golf Society are utilising their new Get into Golf Initiative to encourage more femailes to take up the sport at their club. Hear from some of the participants at the Get into Golf event in July.

Also in this months edition, with the 2021 season drawing to a close, prizegivings around the country are starting to take place. 
This offers an opportunity to provide affiliated clubs with details about the 2022 Scottish Medals Finals.

Education opportunities - SGCMA will be running a new course - "Colour Accounting - a unique way to learn about Finance & Accounting" which is now available to book.

Read the complete newsletter here

The GGU is pleased to confirm Fraser Grant of Ralston Golf Club is this year's winner of the Order of Merit. Fraser played in 6 out of 9 events scoring a total of 695 points, winning both the McKinnon Wood Trophy in May, and then the GGU Matchplay title in July. 

Vic Skelton, GGU Championship Convenor spoke to Fraser about his success - 

"One of my main goals this year was to win the GGU Order of Merit so I am absolutely delighted to have done so - winning 2 of the events certainly helps. An order of merit win usually means you’ve had a consistently good season. I felt great at the start of the season and was looking forward to getting started with competitive golf again following an almost empty 2020 calendar. A win at the McKinnon Wood was a great way to start the season at Cawder - an event that I’ve been trying to win for a few years now.

The highlight of my year would have to be the GGU Matchplay Championship which (fortunately for me) was played over my home course at Ralston. To have some friends and family there to support and celebrate made it even more special. Overall, this is one of my best seasons in recent years having also managed to win Ralston’s Club Championship and Ralston’s Strokeplay Championship so for 2022, anything close to the success of 2021 and I’ll be happy.”

Congratulations to Fraser on a great season and on winning this prestigous title.