Scottish Golf affiliation fee increase approved at AGM - what will the money be used for?

Representing a first increase since 2019 after a proposal for it to go up to £15.75 last year was eventually shelved, the new fee of £17.50 was among 14 resolutions that were approved by stakeholders at the governing body’s AGM in Stirling on Sunday.

The additional money from the affiliation fee will allow Scottish Golf to appoint regional development managers around the country, as well two posts dedicated to a plan that aims to increase female playing membership in the home of golf to 30,000, which would represent a 15 per cent rise on last year’s figure, by 2027.

“Delighted,” Clyde, who took up the reins of the Rosyth-based organisation last September, told The Scotsman. “Everything went through and the really important one was the affiliation fee, which allows us to move forward and I guess it’s a great endorsement and show of support from our members and that’s the most important thing.”

On the back of what Clyde had described as Scottish Golf showing “accountability” and “transparency” through a series of regional forums earlier in the year, Lothians Golf Association and Lanarkshire Golf Association both made it known to clubs in those areas that they felt the proposals merited support.

“To allow them to progress the game as we would expect it, they should be afforded the ability to do so, with the influx of some financial assistance,” said Lothians secretary David Doig in a letter to clubs in Edinburgh and the Lothians.

Commenting on the work that had been put in to mend some bridges in the build up to the annual meeting, Clyde said: “It’s been important as we needed to do that. Scottish Golf has needed to rebuild trust and relationships with our membership and if we’re to get from our membership to take on and move forward with the plans that we have, we needed to be able to take that to them and give them all the information they needed so that they could make an important decision about how our affiliation fee is spent going forward and today was a really positive endorsement for that.”

It had been announced beforehand that Martin Gilbert was stepping down as chair of Scottish Golf at the conclusion of his three-year term, with Fraser Thornton, the board’s current longest-serving member, taking up that role on an interim basis after also serving as interim chief executive before Clyde took up the post.

“From the minute people walked in the door, you could sense it (the positivity),” said Clyde in reply to being asked to offer a flavour of what the mood of members had been. “The people that attend these AGMs are there because they are passionate about golf and they want to express their views, be listened to and be heard.

“But what I heard, what the Scottish Golf team heard and what our board heard was just really consistently positive support. They feel they have been listened to and are going to be listened to in the future and Scottish Golf is going to what we all want in terms of driving forward the sport.

“It means that our teams can go out knowing they have the support of our members for the work and plans we have. They’ll have a spring in their step and I genuinely mean that. A lot of the last nine months for me has been getting the know the organisation, understanding our members, building relationships and getting to this point but actually the real work starts tomorrow.”

Vivien Currie MBE, who was the first female to sit on the Scottish Football League Management Committee in its lengthy existence, was appointed as new non-executive board member along with chartered account Sara Bishop, long-standing board member of UK charity Women in Sport and former Scotland and Great Britain hockey player Vishal Marwaha.

“They bring a real broad experience and a new enthusiasm as well,” said Clyde of those nominations being approved. “Susan, in particular, as she has been on the board of Women in Sport UK and one of our big plans is to address that challenge in terms of participation numbers for women and girls.”