Latest news with #TheHeraldScottishGolfSurvey
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Club collaboration to put Wigtownshire on the golfing map
'We are aware that it really helps the local economy because they are all staying somewhere, so that drives people into the accommodation providers and the restaurants, so there's a bigger picture to the whole thing outwith the golf clubs,' says Chris Robinson, head professional at Portpatrick Dunskey. The club relies on visitors for about 60% of its annual income, a relatively high proportion compared to most taking part in The Herald Scottish Golf Survey. Visitors are also vital to Stranraer Golf Club, though slightly less so. Entry fees for open competitions are substantially cheaper than standard green fees, making them a popular draw. Stephen McCauley, the general manager at Stranraer, says the Nan Cook makes money but is primarily a marketing tool. 'The point for us of open competitions is it's a way for us to introduce the golf club to other golfers and allow them to play the course at a very good preferential rate, with the thought process being that they will then either return to the club to play again at a full green fee, or to bring a society back with them,' he said. 'But the truthful part about it is that if I had a group of 20 golfers here for that day – in golf that's just five tee times – I would make more off of them paying the full price for a round than what I do in the open competition.' Read more: Mr Robinson said all clubs in the area work on a collaborative basis, which is the 'sensible approach'. 'There are six local clubs within the Wigtownshire area and we all communicate and try to agree fixtures that don't clash with each other to drive support to each other's open competitions,' he said. Mr McCauley added: 'For us it is the right approach, rather than working against other local clubs, because we want to put Wigtownshire on the map because a lot of people don't even realise that Stranraer and Portpatrick fall under Wigtownshire. 'Yes, it is overall Dumfries & Galloway, but a lot of people haven't even heard of Wigtownshire even though we've got a lot of good golf courses here on our doorstep…so we realised very quickly that we have to work together to put Wigtownshire on the map.'
The Herald Scotland
2 days ago
- Sport
- The Herald Scotland
Open to abuse? Scottish golf clubs weigh in on OpenPlay
Scottish Golf and other national governing bodies that operate similar schemes say the aim is to keep independent players in the golfing fold and perhaps ultimately guide them back into club membership. Some club officials taking part in The Herald Scottish Golf Survey maintain that it cheapens the game and is detrimental to their finances. Independent golfers who are not a member of a club make up the majority of players in the UK. Golf club membership in Scotland currently hovers around 210,000, including junior players, while the number of those not affiliated to a club has been estimated at roughly 500,000. To date, OpenPlay has attracted about 4,800 members. 'My personal view is that I'm not really that fussed about it," said Douglas Slater, lead coach and junior section coordinator at Stromness Golf Club in Orkney. "If it gets folk playing golf, that's mainly my aim and has been my aim for years. "But I know that in the rural clubs and the island clubs, we are keen to have paying members. For folk to come and play in our opens [who don't] belong to a club, OpenPlay isn't really the angle that we want to look at, simply because we want them to pay their membership same as everyone else pays their membership.' Others are more categorical in their scepticism. "We are in the firm belief that it is detrimental to the state of golf clubs," a spokesperson for Insch Golf Club in Aberdeenshire told The Herald. Read more: "From [Scottish Golf's] perspective, they feel like they are keeping players in the golfing system that can't commit to a full membership and we appreciate that, but we feel there is room for it to be amended. Maybe a limit of two years, after which you have to join a club. "An entry point into the world of golf is OK, but there's no limits on anything at the moment." Graeme Jolly, immediate past captain and committee member at Milngavie Golf Club in East Dunbartonshire, said he personally believes Scottish Golf is generally doing a good job but the "bugbear" is OpenPlay which "conflicts directly with club membership, offering people the chance to play our golf courses without making any kind of major contribution to the upkeep". "They're not committed to joining any club in the future and in the meanwhile they're getting good access to golf clubs," Mr Jolly said. "If they weren't able to play for handicaps that might be slightly different, but the fact they can rock up and put in a general play score and submit that to Scottish Golf towards their handicap, that's a downside for us because there is no incentive for them to go and join a golf club - none whatsoever." Some says there is 'no incentive' for OpenPlay members to join a golf club (Image: Pixabay) Scottish Golf chief executive Robbie Clyde said the governing body provides OpenPlay members with information on offers for golf club membership in their area. This contributed towards 17% of OpenPlay golfers in Scotland transferring into club membership last year. "There are golfers out there who because of their personal circumstances – their life circumstances, their financial circumstances, their job, their career, their family – they are not able to be a member of a golf club, or they choose not to be because perhaps it's not affordable, or perhaps they don't have the time to justify being a member of a golf club," he said. "Perhaps they travel a huge amount, or perhaps they don't live in the same location for 10 or 15 or 20 years, and therefore to become a member of a golf club is just not for them at that point in their life.' He added: "OpenPlay is one of the best tools that we have to ensure we maintain regular contact and provide support to golfers for whom club membership is not right at this point in time." Members of both traditional golf clubs and OpenPlay can submit "general play" scores from rounds that are not part of an organised competition to contribute towards their handicap under the World Handicap System (WHS), provided they adhere to WHS requirements. Read more: This is done through an app by pre-registering their intention to submit a score which can be entered a few hours later after the round is completed. This score must be verified by another player with a WHS handicap and submitted while within close proximity to the golf course. The flexibility of submitting general play scores and the casual nature of the monthly membership option within OpenPlay has given rise to concerns in some quarters that the system is being manipulated by a minority of independent golfers who maintain an artificially high handicap to improve their chances of winning prizes, often vouchers of £100 or so, when entering "open" competitions hosted by many clubs on an annual basis. To counteract this and related concerns, some clubs have taken matters into their own hand. Insch and others charge OpenPlay members a green fee in addition to the open competition entry fee; at Clydebank & District, match secretary John Stirling said the club does not allow OpenPlay members to enter its competitions. Asked about this, Mr Clyde at Scottish Golf said there are a "lot of myths out there" and he had yet to hear of "a single actual example" of any player cheating at an open competition "just to win prizes". Read more: "If that is the case and clubs [know it], then they should let us know and we will look at the handicap record and scoring record of that individual," he said. "If we can see that we think there has been manipulation we will deal with it, as any club should do.' Mr Clyde added that Scottish Golf would ultimately prefer all members of clubs, including OpenPlay, be treated equally but if some choose to ask for additional fees "we don't have an issue with that". However, he pointed out that the potential for manipulating the WHS general play submission system is not limited to OpenPlay members. 'Any club golfer could do exactly the same thing – there's no difference between an OpenPlay member and any other club golfer, and any sort of inference that an OpenPlay member would be more inclined to do that than any other club golfer is incorrect," he said.
The Herald Scotland
4 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
The Herald Scottish Golf Survey: Results in 12 charts
It marks the start of a three-day series that will be followed tomorrow by the findings from the survey on clubs' opinions of governing body Scottish Golf, and a look at the potential financial impact of implementing a 'one player, one fee' system in the collection of affiliation payments to Scottish Golf. OpenPlay, the flexible subscription for non-club members to obtain an official handicap, will come under the microscope on Saturday. We also speak to some clubs that are working together to improve their financial fortunes. Ageing membership has ranked second only to rising costs in the list of the greatest challenges faced by golf courses in Scotland, yet there is more concern about bringing in additional visitors than attracting the new members to maintain what is the majority of the income stream at most clubs. Asked whether their club or facility benefits in any way from the location of the R&A's headquarters in Scotland, one respondent wrote: "The R&A are an elitist club who may as well be HQ'd on the moon. Nothing they say or do relates in any way to the management and operation of a private members' club." However, Kevin Fish of the Contemporary Club Leadership (CCL) consultancy based in North Berwick disagrees with this assessment. "Every golfer's dream is to go to St Andrews, so it is absolutely right that the Home of Golf is the home of the international governing body for golf. "They are careful not to tread on the toes of others bodies whose responsibility it is to support clubs, but believe me, being in Scotland you are more likely to benefit from the odd spin-off of what the R&A do than you are if you are in Azerbaijan." Meanwhile, the pros and cons of the World Handicap System introduced in November 2020 also dividend opinion among those taking part in The Herald Scottish Golf Survey. Clubs with between 201 and 400 members made up the largest group in the survey sample, while only 14 either have a waiting list or have closed their waiting list. The received wisdom is that golf, and golf clubs in particular, were in a general state of decline before the pandemic with a 20% reduction in membership levels during the 20 years prior. Then along came the 'Covid bounce' when golf was among the first activities allowed during the lockdown period, rekindling the game's popularity and reviving financial fortunes. Our survey shows that while this has undoubtably been the case for some, the broader situation is not as clear-cut as that narrative suggests. And while those with waiting lists and larger memberships have tended to fare better throughout, there are a sprinkling of high-profile facilities and clubs in well-heeled areas who say their finances are not as strong as what many outsiders might have guessed. Asked to rank their financial strength on a scale of zero to 10, clubs with larger junior sections of 70 or more were more confident of their finances than those with fewer junior members. The former scored a collective 7.8 compared to 6.1 or less for those with fewer junior members. Read the entire series from The Herald Scottish Golf Survey here:
The Herald Scotland
5 days ago
- Business
- The Herald Scotland
Scottish castle hotel where Nelson Mandela stayed for sale
Graham + Sibbald is marketing the Shieldhill Castle Hotel, Quothquan, Biggar. Mr Mandela stayed there in 1997 during the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting. The agent said: 'A house has stood at Shieldhill on its present site overlooking the Clyde Valley and Lanarkshire hills, for over 800 years. It originally dates back to 1199, and parts of the original remain, but it is the 18th and 19th Century additions to the main property that predominate. The house has been occupied since 1560, mainly by the Chancellor family, who it was that sold the property in 1959. It was then that Shieldhill metamorphosed into hotel use.' The hotel has spaces available for a variety of uses. (Image: Graham + Sibbald) Graham + Sibbald said: 'There is an attractive range of public areas, in the hotel, to suit a variety of uses and guests and there is a marquee for weddings and functions. 'Externally, the hotel boasts tranquil tree lined grounds of 6.5 acres with lawns and an ornamental pond; plus the 'Nelson Mandela' tree commemorating his visit in 1997.' Alistair Letham, a hotel and leisure consultant with Graham + Sibbald, said: 'Shieldhill has been a feature in the country house hotel sector, in Southern Scotland for many years. The availability of Shieldhill Castle Hotel presents a wonderful opportunity to acquire an established country house hotel, in good order, with excellent business development prospects.' Graham + Sibbald is inviting offers around £1.5 million. Results are in from The Herald Scottish Golf Survey Some surprising findings have been uncovered in the first-ever Herald Scottish Golf Survey, with custodians of the country's courses sharing their views on finances, governance, the challenges they face and the opportunities that lie ahead.
