By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman
Welcome return of Scottish Golf Awards should inspire potential future winners
It
had been eight years since it had been held and, with England and
Ireland having continuously marked achievements in the game and a
resumption of Wales doing so in 2023, the return of the Scottish Golf
Awards was certainly a welcome development.
Yes,
of course, there are lots of people out there who have no interest
whatsoever in such events because, quite frankly, all they care about is
their own golf and there is nothing really wrong with that.
At the same time, though, there are lots of others who are fiercely
passionate about seeing Saltires on leaderboards around the world, so it
is only right that achievements by Scottish golfers should be
celebrated in the right and proper way.
It was unfortunate that all the winners of the four player awards were
unable to attend the glitzy Glasgow gathering on Friday night, but that
was merely down to playing schedules that meant Bob MacIntyre, Gemma
Dryburgh, Calum Scott and Hannah Darling were all in the US.
With
all due respect to Ewen Ferguson and Graeme Robertson, the two others
in contention for it, it was a no-brainer, of course, that MacIntyre won
the Male Professional of the Year Award on the back of his title
triumphs in the RBC Canadian Open and Genesis Scottish Open last year.
In
the case of Dryburgh, meanwhile, her Female Professional of the Year
Award was also well justified on what she had achieved in the time the
event hadn’t been held, with the same being the case for Darling, who
won Female Amateur of the Year.
It must have been a close call for the judging panel when it came to
that one, though, bearing in mind that Lorna McClymont had also helped
Great Britain & Ireland pull off a stunning Curtis Cup victory at
Sunningdale after winning the Scottish Women’s Championship and getting
to the final of The R&A Women’s Amateur Championship as well.
As
would have been the case as those judges gave the nod to 152nd Open
Silver Medal winner Calum Scott over Gregor Graham, who landed both the
South African Amateur Championship and Brabazon Trophy last year, for
the Male Amateur of the Year Award.
It
was a nice touch, though no real surprise really given that both
families are a credit to the game in this country, that Stuart Graham,
Gregor’s dad, was one of the first to congratulate Alex Scott, Calum’s
father, after he’d picked up the prize on his behalf.
Though
easier said than done, it would be good going forward if a player
presence could be possible because hearing what they have to say in
person as opposed to a video provides a much better perspective and,
let’s face it, there’s nothing that beats seeing joy in a room.
Given my personal connection to Fife, it was nice to see Dunnikier Park
in Kirkcaldy being recognised for some terrific work with local men,
women and children from a variety of social and economic backgrounds
through the Golf For All Community Award and, equally so, Fife Golf
Trust, which, in the words of golf courses manager David Gray, aims to
be “sustainable champions”, landing the Impact and Innovation Award.
For
me, though, the two main highlights on the night were delivered as
first Alan Hamilton and Fiona Kelly then June McEwan claimed the Spirit
of Golf Award and Lifetime Honour Award respectively.
It
had been revealed earlier in the day at the Scottish Golf AGM that the
membership of both boys and girls at Scottish clubs had grown last year
and it’s down to the likes of Hamilton and Kelly through their fabulous
efforts in the Forth Valley that has been made possible.
Golf
is nothing without the people who are prepared to give up their time to
help encourage others and, driven by Hamilton and Kelly, Forth Valley
Junior Golf is a great example of why those who constantly decry the
state of the game at grass-roots level in this country are well off the
mark.
As
for McEwan, it was no surprise that she not only received a standing
ovation but the odd tear was shed, too, because the East Lothian women
epitomises all that is good about golf and what a wonderful servant she
has been to the game in Scotland.
Having
volunteered in various roles over five decades, she’s witnessed lots of
comings and goings and, at times, has been left scratching her head
along with numerous others about this, that or the next thing.
Hats
off to Robbie Clyde, Scottish Golf’s CEO, for being the driving force
behind these awards being resurrected and to his team for delivering a
fitting celebration at voco Grand Central Glasgow in partnership with
Limitless and 21 CC Group.
There
was no hiding a real sense of pride and passion in the room and here’s
hoping that appetites have been whetted in the quest to keep delivering
Scottish success both on and off the golf course.
