Tuesday, 5 October 2010
Give the guys a fighting chance!
It has become apparent to me in recent years that Scottish Golf has been on a downward spiral and it does not seem to be changing anytime soon. Much of this is due to the lack of sponsorship and funding for young golf professionals. Sure we have much talent within Scottish golf but these guys are struggling to survive without this funding and a lack of a recognised Scottish Golf Tour open to all Scottish pros. The best option for these guys at the moment is the EuroPro Tour and I have much experience of this tour through caddying and close friends being members of the tour. Around 250 guys compete on the tour throughout the year but by the end of the season only a handful of these guys break even. 155 guys compete in each tournament and only around 30 of these guys will receive enough prize money to cover the entry fee. By the time you add travel, food and accomodation onto this guys are spending in excess of £700 per tournament. Many out of their own pockets. Now an even bigger worry for Scottish golf is that 90% of tournaments on the EuroPro are held in England and in the 2010 season not a single one in Scotland. Is it any wonder English golf is thriving at the moment. Something has to be done about this. Future stars of the game are having to give up because golf just isn't a viable option with no money. The only way forward is to create a dedicated Scottish golf tour to give talented Scottish golfers a breeding ground to make money but most of all gain the experience needed to further there career. Now I do not mean a tour where the majority of players are losing money due to high entry fees and poor prize money but a tour which has greater rewards than risks on offer. Over the coming months I will be posting a number of my ideas and thoughts. I will also be posting interviews and an insight into male and female Scottish professionals that face many of these problems. I invite anyone to share there ideas and thoughts on this matter. If anyone needs anymore motivation the Ryder Cup just passed involved 4 English players and not a Scottish player in sight (Monty doesn't count). It wasn't all that long ago that Monty was winning European Order of Merits for fun and Sandy Lyle was winning majors so lets support our young professionals and get back to the glory days.
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As I am one of the people in that boat, you are spot on that scotland need a quality scottish tour to help bring young scottish professionals on in the game. There is plenty funding for good amatuer players but then go onto the pro ranks and find it very difficult to fund there season having to travel down south or abroad and having to pay high entry fees to compete.
ReplyDeleteI sent an email to Scottish Golf View on this subject a week or so ago but unfortunately it generated little comment. I think you guys need to speak to your friends, Scott Henry, Paul O'Hara, Wallace Booth and in particular Gavin Dear (he seems to be contributing to this debate)and get everyone together who is in the same boat and form some sort of group that will be listened to. Neil McAllister
ReplyDeleteGood to see you guys taking an interest in this important issue.
ReplyDeleteRef the dedicated Scottish Pro Tour suggested by you and others. An excellent model for this might be the Swedish Nordea Tour. This tour, supported by the Swedish Golf Federation, is open to both PGA members and non-PGA members who pay a joining fee. The tour attracts a large number of sponsors and has a total purse of £7 million. I noted that many of their events are hosted by European Tour Players.
Rather than starting from scratch with a new tour, perhaps the best solution for Scotland might be to open up the Tartan Tour to non-PGA members, to include amateurs as well as allowing entries from other home countries and from abroad. I am sure such a development would attract a lot of interest from our players as well as from Scottish Golf Clubs and from potential sponsors.
Development money earmarked by the Scottish Government for fledgling pros could then be channelled through the Scottish PGA into these events, providing equal development opportunities for both PGA members and non-PGA members alike. The SGU could also play a key role in helping to organise the events and by channelling their elite amateurs into the programme.
Best of luck Liam with your initiative, I wish you every success.