[RedWeb]

Good to see another stunning display from Scotland's finest gowfers at the World Cup. Finished stone cold last a mere 25 shots behind the might of Italy. Not only were we last but we finished last by 3 shots. Have to reckon Old Tom Morris and Brian Barnes would have done a better job than Drysdale and Forsyth.

What the f**k is wrong with Golf in this country ? At the Dubai World Champs last week there was only one Scotsman in a field stuffed full of players from England, Ireland (North and South), Wales and Sweden. For the country who invented the game our current inability to play it is cringeworthy. Looks like the only Scot at the next Ryder Cup will be captain Colin Montgomerie.

This post has been edited by RedWeb: 29 November 2009 - 17:31

[lichtie23]

I seriously believe it comes down to the cost of playing the game.

Many clubs charge extorunate amounts for memberships and green fees, double that up with the price of the equipment (Clubs,Balls,Shoes etc) its a serious amount of money

With the way the world is financially money is tight for alot of people just now.

Also are weather is very very poor from usually September to march-April time. That only gives 4-5 months of decent golfing conditions.

[Yer Maw Has a Sac.]

lichtie23, on Nov 29 2009, 17:51, said:

I seriously believe it comes down to the cost of playing the game.

Many clubs charge extorunate amounts for memberships and green fees, double that up with the price of the equipment (Clubs,Balls,Shoes etc) its a serious amount of money

With the way the world is financially money is tight for alot of people just now.

Also are weather is very very poor from usually September to march-April time. That only gives 4-5 months of decent golfing conditions.

Ireland, England and to an extent Wales don't seem to have this problem with basically the same conditions.

[lichtie23]

Magnemite, on Nov 29 2009, 17:54, said:

Ireland, England and to an extent Wales don't seem to have this problem with basically the same conditions.

Fair comment,

Also going to add that I dont think Golf is a game that appeals to many youngsters to take up.

Many clubs are full of elderly members who moan about seeing kids on the course.

[Yer Maw Has a Sac.]

lichtie23, on Nov 29 2009, 18:00, said:

Fair comment,

Also going to add that I dont think Golf is a game that appeals to many youngsters to take up.

Many clubs are full of elderly members who moan about seeing kids on the course.

Golf is also a game in which it is quite hard to reach a decent standard, many give up after playing for the first time.

This coupled with the fact that golf is a very time consuming game and alot simply do not have the time to be trailing round a golf course for 4 odd hours, well, with the exception of the elderly. (as you pointed out).

[mid-table]

lichtie23, on Nov 29 2009, 17:51, said:

I seriously believe it comes down to the cost of playing the game.

Many clubs charge extorunate amounts for memberships and green fees, double that up with the price of the equipment (Clubs,Balls,Shoes etc) its a serious amount of money

I don't buy that argument at all, golf in Scotland is ridiculously cheap. I moved from an Open Final Qualifying course on the east coast of Scotland, with 2 courses to choose from, paying £450 a year, to a course in Middlesex, which is a good course but only has 18 holes and no practice facilities, and I'm now paying £1,500 a year.

In terms of professional golf, it all comes down to youth development from about 15 years ago, it's not dissimilar to football. The reason todays 25-35 year olds aren't in the world's elite isn't because of anything that happened this year, it's down to what happened when they were most able to develop between the ages of 12 - 21. If you want to be a tour pro you really need to be off scratch by the time you're 14/15, the kids who have the potential to do this don't get the support they need.
The National Golf Centre is nowhere near the main population bases, it has had various financial crises over the years, and the general setup is not good enough to develop players into world class players. The R&A invest a lot of money into youth golf, but they are more interested in participation rather than spending fortunes on an elite few (I don't necessarily disagree with them on that).
It's no coincidence that the only Scot to have won on the PGA tour in the last goodness knows how many years was Martin Laird a few weeks ago, and he has spent most of his time in the US developing his game, if he'd stayed in Scotland I'm fairly confident he wouldn't be where he is now.

[rocket_scientist]

RedWeb, on Nov 29 2009, 17:30, said:

Good to see another stunning display from Scotland's finest gowfers at the World Cup. Finished stone cold last a mere 25 shots behind the might of Italy. Not only were we last but we finished last by 3 shots. Have to reckon Old Tom Morris and Brian Barnes would have done a better job than Drysdale and Forsyth.

This the same event that Marc Warren and Monty won 2 years ago? The same event that they beat in a play off the year before? 4 days of fourball and foursomes golf does not reveal much about the state of the nation.

RedWeb, on Nov 29 2009, 17:30, said:

What the f**k is wrong with Golf in this country ? At the Dubai World Champs last week there was only one Scotsman in a field stuffed full of players from England, Ireland (North and South), Wales and Sweden. For the country who invented the game our current inability to play it is cringeworthy. Looks like the only Scot at the next Ryder Cup will be captain Colin Montgomerie.

Scotland are reigning Amateur World Champions and reigning Amateur European Champions. We have some great talent coming through the amateur ranks. Every period has it's ups and downs. 4 of the 31 qualifiers at Tour School today were Scots. Sweden and England had 5. We punch above our weight and always have done. Watch out for Richie Ramsay and Marc Warren in 2010. I can list you more than half a dozen for 2011 and beyond.

Too easy to embrace the negative and ignore the positives. We're good at that.

I grant you that the Official World Rankings reads for grim viewing at the moment but we've only just lost two golfers with awesome records from serious contention purposes - Lawrie and Monty. The next guys aren't far behind. Scotland will rise again.

[rocket_scientist]

Magnemite, on Nov 29 2009, 18:03, said:

Golf is also a game in which it is quite hard to reach a decent standard, many give up after playing for the first time.

This coupled with the fact that golf is a very time consuming game and alot simply do not have the time to be trailing round a golf course for 4 odd hours, well, with the exception of the elderly. (as you pointed out).

Yet they sit on their fat arse with a play station?

[rocket_scientist]

mid-table, on Nov 30 2009, 13:18, said:

I don't buy that argument at all, golf in Scotland is ridiculously cheap. I moved from an Open Final Qualifying course on the east coast of Scotland, with 2 courses to choose from, paying £450 a year, to a course in Middlesex, which is a good course but only has 18 holes and no practice facilities, and I'm now paying £1,500 a year.

Agree.

mid-table, on Nov 30 2009, 13:18, said:

In terms of professional golf, it all comes down to youth development from about 15 years ago, it's not dissimilar to football. The reason todays 25-35 year olds aren't in the world's elite isn't because of anything that happened this year, it's down to what happened when they were most able to develop between the ages of 12 - 21. If you want to be a tour pro you really need to be off scratch by the time you're 14/15, the kids who have the potential to do this don't get the support they need.
The National Golf Centre is nowhere near the main population bases, it has had various financial crises over the years, and the general setup is not good enough to develop players into world class players. The R&A invest a lot of money into youth golf, but they are more interested in participation rather than spending fortunes on an elite few (I don't necessarily disagree with them on that).
It's no coincidence that the only Scot to have won on the PGA tour in the last goodness knows how many years was Martin Laird a few weeks ago, and he has spent most of his time in the US developing his game, if he'd stayed in Scotland I'm fairly confident he wouldn't be where he is now.

Disagree.

Don't get the support? General setup not good enough? The R & A don't invest in youth. The SGU do. The "National Golf Centre" does not exist anymore. It was a white elephant anyway but this is irrelevant to the development of our amateurs. The support they get is tremendous. One amateur golfer with a fantastic talent has trips planned to the Jones Cup, Georgia, Portugal and Spain for the national amateurs and South Africa already for the first half of 2010. We are currently investing heavily in helping our cream get to where they need to be.

[Big Grant]

Is there a P&B golf society?

I agree with Mid table, I can't wait till next May when I move back up to Scotland and don't have to pay £1500 per year for a golf membership!

Cardross here I come!

[Big Grant]

not many golfers then?

[celtic_glasgow]

Just seen this thread and its remarkable how many people know f**k all about Scottish Golf.

Since this thread started, Richie has won on the European Tour for a start! The comments about the SGU are ridiculous. I have been in squads and represented Scotland over the past few years and the setup is brilliant. Not many will know the names of guys coming through but trust me there are some right good players who have just turned pro and who remain amatuer.

We are the current World and European Amatuer champions, and have a lot of incredibly talented golfers. If you want to see how good these guys are you should head along to one of the many Order of Merit events we have throughout the season. Or, you could talk nonsense on an Internet Forum having never seen one of them swing a golf club.