By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman
There was good reason why uncle and nephew were afforded total silence during Glasgow get-together
Stephen and Bernard Gallacher show off the Ryder Cup during their
appearance as guests of honour at the annual PGA in Scotland Lunch in
the Hilton Hotel in Glasgow | Kenny Smith/The PGA
It’s one of the most famous-names in Scottish golf, hence why you could
have heard a pin drop in a room filled with around 700 people as Bernard
Gallacher and his nephew, Stephen, talked golf in general and the Ryder
Cup in particular as guests of honour at the PGA in Scotland Annual
Lunch in the Glasgow Hilton.
According to one of the organisers, it had been a sell-out well in
advance and guests were treated to some fantastic tales during a
captivating chat with Ian Carter, the BBC’s golf correspondent, in his
role on the day as Master of Ceremonies.
Beforehand, the duo sat down separately with this correspondent and one
other Scottish golf writer for a pre-lunch blether and, having known
both of them for a long time, it was a pleasure to hear them talk openly
about a number of topics, including how it had all started for them at
their beloved Bathgate Golf Club in West Lothian.
“Playing
golf at Bathgate I wasn’t bothered about school,” smiled Bernard, now
76 but, 12 or so years after suffering a cardiac arrest at a golf dinner
in Aberdeen and having his life saved by CPR and a defibrillator at the
hotel, looking a picture of health. “My heart was set on golf. When
your classroom is right across the road from the course and you’re
gazing out on it, you just want to be playing.”
As
Stephen duly discovered. “What was school?” he joked before admitting
it had been pretty similar for him at a young age. “My uncle went to the
catholic school and his school did look directly on to the golf course,
whereas I went to the protestant school, but they were 800 yards apart
in Bathgate.
“When
I was at the golf course in the afternoons, the truant officer at the
time was my gran’s cousin, so it would have been Bernard’s uncle. But,
as long as they knew where was, they didn’t seem to mind. And my PE
teacher was the captain of the club. By hook or by crook, they kind of
knew where I was going, eh? I’d made my choice and my intentions clear -
I was never not going to become a golfer.
“Believe it or not, I didn’t finish school early. I actually stayed on. I
used to copy off the girls in front - I think one of them is now my
pal’s wife. I also knew the adjudicator at the time as his son played
on the golf team with me. I was in foundation Maths but higher Physics
and the teacher would ask me ‘how are you in my class, mate?’ I just
said to him ‘I’ve taken you every afternoon and I’ve taken PE every
afternoon and I won’t be coming’ and he went ‘no bother’.
“I always remember Steven Rosie (now the PGA Professional at Glenbervie
Golf Club), who is at the lunch today, getting expelled for playing
golf. Bathgate had a healthy junior section and you had to put the
practice in (smiling).”
Bernard Gallacher enjoyed his finest hour when leading Europe to victory in the 1995 Ryder Cup at Oak Hill Country Club | AFP via Getty Images
Though
certainly not advocating that anyone should be doing it nowadays,
skipping school didn’t do either of the Gallachers any harm. Bernard won
ten times on the European Tour, played on eight Ryder Cup teams and was
captain three times, including a win at Oak Hill in 1995. After
following in his footsteps by turning professional, Stephen claimed four
DP World Tour triumphs, played on a winning Ryder Cup team at
Gleneagles in 2014 and captain Europe in the Junior Ryder Cup on two
occasions, including a thumping win in Rome in 2013 that stopped a rot
after six successive defeats.
“It
is nice,” admitted Stephen of sharing the spotlight at the Glasgow
event with his uncle, who was the long-standing club professional at
Wentworth before retiring in 1996. He still lives in the area and
remains a popular figure, as witnessed by this correspondent on more
than one occasion during chats in the tennis and health club at the
exclusive Surrey venue in BMW PGA Championship week. “It’s just a pity
my dad wasn’t here as it’s one of those events he’d have liked. I
wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for my uncle playing golf. That’s the big
thing I try to do with the foundation because I had golf in my family
the whole way whereas some people don’t have that.
“When
I was ten minutes old, I was a member of Bathgate Golf Club. It was a
prize-giving night and when my dad found out I was born, he put my
application in there and then. That was my introduction to golf and,
even when I was a nipper, Bernard was playing in the Ryder Cup before
then going on to be a Ryder Cup captain.
“I
obviously knew all about Eric Brown (who started Bathgate’s Ryder Cup
legacy by both playing and being a captain in the biennial event) but
never met him. It is nice for me and my uncle as he has helped me along
the way. He gave me a goal to try and get into the Ryder Cup and helped
me turn professional. It’s sort of been a team effort, I suppose.”
Stephen Gallacher, pictured playing in Barbados in April, had a promising first season in the senior ranks | Marianna Massey/Getty Images
As
a young truant back in the day, did Stephen ever envisage he’d still be
going strong at 51, having just finished an encouraging first season in
the senior ranks? “No, I didn’t,” he admitted with a smile. “I was just
thinking this the other day.
“When
I played in the Senior US Open this year, they put a Walker Cup badge
on your locker and I was talking about it with Peter Baker, someone I
now play with quite a bit, as there’s not been many people - I think
it’s only about 30 - who have played in both the Walker Cup and the
Ryder Cup and I was lucky to play on two winning teams.
“And
there’s only been 170 guys who’ve played for Europe in the Ryder Cup.
When you think about that when you were dogging school, it’s pretty
incredible.”
