Why look under bonnet in Scottish golf is worrying for aspiring tour pros

It’s being led, of course, by MacIntyre, who, it must be said, is doing a splendid job trying to fill the shoes vacated by Andy Murray following the tennis star’s retirement in 2024. Along with the likes of Scott McTominay in football and Finn Russell in rugby, the Oban man is getting Scottish sports fans off their seat and giving them something to shout about.

Having come close to landing a maiden major win this year, when he was pipped by J.J. Spaun’s brilliant birdie-birdie finish in the US Open at Oakmont, MacIntyre will be licking his lips about the game’s biggest events going forward and his appetite for the Ryder Cup, of course, has been well and truly whetted by playing on back-to-back winning European teams in Rome and New York.

In addition to MacIntyre, Calum Hill, Connor Syme and Grant Forrest all recorded DP World Tour title triumphs this year, which also produced Scottish successes for David Law (twice) and Daniel Young on the HotelPlanner Tour before they were joined by Euan Walker in earning a step up from the feeder circuit to the main tour. Ewen Ferguson, Richie Ramsay and Scott Jamieson retained their cards through the Race to Dubai while Cameron Adam is a DP World Tour ticket holder as well for the 2026 campaign after he won the Global Amateur Pathway.

With Marc Warren, Calum Fyfe, Ryan Lumsden, Gregor Graham, Rory Franssen and Liam Johnston set to form the Caledonian contingent on the HotelPlanner Tour next year, it all seems tickety boo at the moment. However, take a look under the bonnet and it is evident that the players who are being inspired by MacIntyre, in particular, but the others, too, could well struggle in their bid to reach the same dizzy heights.

‘We were part of no expense spared era’

Due to funding constraints and money being channeled elsewhere, Scottish Golf, the governing body, isn’t currently providing the same opportunities for the country’s top amateurs than was the case, for example, when Law was underlining his potential when winning the Scottish Boys’ Championship in 2009 and the Scottish Amateur Championship in both 2009 and 2011. “I think we were the start of the no expense spared era,” recalled the Aberdonian of a time when a top-class programme provided up-and-coming Scottish talent with a combination of coaching and playing opportunities that were on par with most other European countries. “We were well aware of the support we received and how fortunate we were to have the programme back then.”

In 2017, Sportscotland significantly cut funding for Scottish Golf, reducing its budget by over a third from approximately £1.025 million to £665,000. That led to substantial cuts to development programmes and investment in the sport in its birthplace. In 2023, the governing body spent £678,000 on performance - a similar figure afforded to digital expenditure and around half what was spent on the operational side.

“Yeah, I was lucky,” admitted Forrest of coming through the ranks around the same time as Law, succeeding him as Scottish Boys’ champion in 2010 then doing likewise as Scottish Amateur champion in 2012. “It was just timing, really, as I probably came through at the best time in terms of support and funding and structure. I probably didn’t reap the benefits as much as some guys as I was out in the States at college on that system. But I was still fortunate and particularly so in my last year as an amateur when I decided to retain that stay status for a year after finishing at college. I had all the winter trips that year and support.”

Ferguson, the only player to hold the Scottish Boys’ Match-Play and Stroke-Play titles simultaneously, achieving that feat in 2014 after winning the Boys’ Amateur Championship the previous year, is equally appreciative of the backing he received from Scottish Golf coming through the ranks. “Honestly, I don’t think myself or a few others would be out here on the DP World Tour if it wasn’t for it,” he said. “I remember when I was 13 or 14 and feeling homesick going to Edinburgh for a tournament from Glasgow. Then, all of a sudden, Scottish Golf got me into a mindset of travelling around the world to play in tournaments.

Ten to 12 guys used to be on UAE trip

“I still have a soft spot for (former national men’s coach) Ian Rae and all the other coaches who were there at the time and helped me prep for tournaments. I didn’t have a clue how to play a tournament without a Bushnell until I was 19 or 20. I remember Ian saying to me ‘look mate, you’ve got to get rid of the Bushnell and learn how to play with a yardage book’.”

Through trips that were provided by Scottish Golf, Young won the South African Amateur Championship in 2015, Syme landed the the Australian Amateur Championship the following year and Walker was crowned as the African Amateur champion in 2019. “We’d go to the Middle East pre-Christmas and then be in South Africa for a couple of months,” recalled Young. “I think we’d have ten to 12 guys on those trips and maybe four or five support staff but, out of that group, you could be talking six players who are going to be on the DP World Tour in 2026. So it is hard to argue that it wasn’t worth it because it has gotten a lot of us where we are today.”

Concurring, Syme said of his support: “It was amazing. Getting to go on those trips to the UAE and Australia as an amateur but training like a pro and being away for a long period of time was invaluable in terms of learning for being out here now. It teaches you so much. It’s all very well being able to play golf, but you have to travel and also have to like it. There’s a lot of stuff you have to get used to and I learned a lot of that through Scottish Golf.”

Reflecting on his time in the amateur ranks, which was capped by a Walker Cup appearance at Royal Liverpool in 2019, Walker admitted: “I think I was quite lucky actually as I was one of the very last of a generation of players who received quite a lot of support and certainly since I left the amateur game everything has fallen off the edge of a cliff.”

As, indeed, some of the younger players who have managed to make a bit of headway in recent years have brought up in conversations with their peers. “This is something a lot of the guys have talked about this year,” added Young. “You speak to the likes of Gregor Graham and they’ve talked about how it’s been in recent years. I guess that’s made us look back on our time as amateurs and think ‘bloody hell, we were pretty fortunate in a lot of ways’.”

‘You have to cast the net a bit’

Thanks to ongoing support from the Alfred Dunhill Links Foundation, a squad still heads to South Africa at the start of every year, with Graham having followed in the footsteps of Young, Michael Stewart, Brian Soutar and Craig Ross when he won the South African Amateur Championship through being part of that valuable training trip in 2024. However, the UAE get-together mentioned by both Young and Syme has fallen by the wayside while other opportunities that were afforded to the majority of players now flying the Saltire on the DP World Tour are no longer available, either.

“It’s a shame that it has not continued on that path and the way it has gone as it is making it tougher for guys to get out here,” observed Forrest. “Yes, it takes a lot of backing and funding and not everyone is going to end up on tour. But you have to cast the net a bit and the more guys you can give the best chance, there’s a higher chance of more guys ending up out here. I think Denmark is the prime example. It just seems like every year now they have got brilliant young guys coming through.”

It’s not by accident that is happening, as Law discovered when he was out in Abu Dhabi earlier this year and came across 40 Danes taking part in a training camp along with coaches and various specialists. “If you look at the other governing bodies that have amazing programmes, there’s a few that have invested a lot of money,” he noted. “Look, I understand that it is money and it looks as though we don’t have the money any more.

Investment in talent in ‘so important’

“We don’t have the same numbers in terms of players to start with as England, so the likes of England and France can go without having an amazing programme because they have so many players that they probably don’t need to be nurtured in the same way and are still going to have world-class players. But we are in a country that is quite small, similar to say a Denmark, and, therefore, we really need to nurture and we need to look after the players we’ve got and make them as good as they can be.”

Rae, who was the national men’s coach when Scotland won the World Amateur Team Championship in Australia in 2008 and has been Ramsay’s coach since he was crowned as US Amateur champion in 2006, didn’t have his contract renewed by Scottish Golf in 2021. A similar decision was made by the Rosyth-based organisation earlier this year with his successor, Spencer Henderson. Scott Wilson, an Irishman who is based in Fife, has now been appointed in that role but, with a budget no longer what it was in what Spencer described as the “good, old days”, his work could be cut out in terms of delivering Scottish success in events like the European Team Championship and Home Internationals. But is that really what matters?

“It is so important to have investment in the development of juniors and elite amateurs while the amateur to pro transition is important as well,” insisted Forrest, who benefitted in terms of the latter through a scheme - it was set up by Edinburgh-based Bounce Sport with Scottish Golf as one of the partners - that, unfortunately, is no longer in place. “Whether it is Grant Forrest, Bob MacIntyre or whoever, it should be a case of looking at what is going to be best for that person in five or ten years’ time. Obviously it is tough as there is politics and funding comes from certain places, but I think taking more of a longer-term view for the guys who are serious about making a career out of it is more important than winning an amateur team event.”

More players these days are heading to college in the US and get support through choosing that pathway, with both the Scott brothers - Sandy and Calum - now in the professional ranks after spells at Texas Tech, where Connor Graham, Gregor’s younger brother, is currently producing some eye-catching performances. The California-based Scot, Niall Shiels Donegan, also looks destined for a bright future, but how much help can Scottish Golf provide in playing a part in helping players like them become the next Bob MacIntyre?

Around 18 months ago following Robbie Clyde taking over as the CEO, the governing body received the green light from stakeholders to raise the levy paid by club members by £3 to £17.50 but, a time when the focus has become more about supporting clubs than players, the additional money raised from the affiliation fee went to appointing regional development managers around the country as well as posts dedicated to a push to increase female playing membership in Scotland.

Mentality of club golfers ‘has to change’

The levy for Scottish club golfers is still low in comparison to most other European countries and Walker, one of the most intelligent individuals you will ever come across, would like to see the players bidding to follow in his footsteps given a bit more of a helping hand. “I think the mentality of Scottish club golfers has got to change,” he opined. “When Scottish Golf tried to increase the levy paid by members, it didn’t go down well initially, yet these are the same people who like to watch Scottish guys on the DP World Tour on a Sunday afternoon. Compared to what other countries in Europe generate, it’s a very small amount and, as a country, I don’t think we take that much pride in the development of sporting talent.”

The warm support offered to MacIntyre over the past couple of years might suggest that is not necessarily the case, of course, and it’s worth noting that the left-hander has climbed all the way up the ladder despite feeling that he wasn’t offered the same level of support as others as he was coming through the ranks at Glencruitten.

He should be inspiring Scottish youngsters to embark on a similar journey while the likes of Forrest, Hill, Syme, Ferguson, Law, Young and Walker are also doing their bit to try and ensure that a pipeline of talent is at least coming through and, as they bid to scale the ladder as well, that opportunities like the South African winter training trip continue to be provided.

“Success is good for the game and good for the country,” said Law. “I think kids are inspired by seeing stories like Bob MacIntyre. Stories like Andy Murray. Stories like Andy Robertson and John McGinn. Kids look up to people like that. We’ve probably all got a responsibility to try and grow the sports and I think that’s where love for sports comes from; it comes from being inspired by great sportsmen and sportswomen.

Amount of Scottish successes has been ‘amazing’

“We’ve been very lucky in the last six or seven years. We’ve had a lot of wins on tour. We’ve had Bob doing amazingly well and we seem to have a really good group of players who are churning out results on the tour. The amount of wins we’ve had this year on both tours has been amazing. Yeah, I feel the players right now are probably the result of what we had growing up.”

Yes, times change and, of course, it is difficult when money that was once there is taken away. Hearing what the players currently delivering Scottish success at the top level have to say, though, should be food for thought for Robbie Clyde and the members of the Scottish Golf board.