SCOTTISH Golf has become the first of the four Home Nations to completely cancel its entire domestic season as a result of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.
Eleanor Cannon, who chairs Scottish Golf, announced her board had decided to postpone all remaining events in its championship calendar as the number of deaths from COVID-19 continues to climb – and with no sign of the Government lockdown being lifted as it nears the end of its third week.
A number of Scottish Golf’s early season events in April were called off last month. But the complete suspension of all activities means there will be no Scottish Amateur Championship for either men or women in 2020.
The Scottish Amateur Championship was due to be held at Murcar at the end of July, while the Scottish Women’s Amateur was heading to Ladybank in early June.
Also scrubbed from the calendar is the Scottish Men’s Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship, which Muirfield was set to host from May 29-31.
The strokeplay event – won in 2019 by Wiltshire’s Jake Bolton – was moving to an earliier date in the season, the week before England’s Brabazon Trophy, which attracts a strong international field, and was being played at Sherwood Forest GC, before it was also cancelled last month.
The Scottish Girls Amateur was set to be played at Strathhaven at the same time as July’s Open Championship, while the Scottish Boys was to be played at Haggs Castle, from July 15-19.
Tough decisions are being taken by your management teams so that your clubs can re-open their doors in as strong a position as is possible.
Eleanor Cannon Scottish Golf
Eleanor Cannon said: “This is the most difficult time we have all had to face in a generation, both personally and professionally.
“All of us have been affected by COVID-19 either directly or indirectly.
“Scottish Golf, like its member clubs, is having to make some tough decisions in light of a significant delay in our member income, so that we can continue to support our clubs as we come through these difficult times.
“To this end, we have furloughed the majority of our employees and made the necessary decisions as regards our season’s calendar of events.
“We have taken the decision to cancel all our events and our performance programmes for the remainder of the 2020 season.
“I recognise that, for each of our 575 affiliated clubs, our committees, employees and members, it is a time of uncertainty and stress.
“Tough decisions are being taken by your management teams so that your clubs can re-open their doors in as strong a position as is possible.
“Clubs need their members more than ever to support them financially so that they can survive the lockdown in an already tough market – and so that we each have our club to come back to.”
Work on VMS and WHS continues
SCOTTISH Golf stressed important work is still being carried out during the lockdown to ensure it was in a “positive position” when clubs and courses reopen.
The Hive eLearning platform is being developed further. which will allow clubs to access self-learning tools to manage various aspects of the club, including assistance with educating members on the WHS handicapping system, which had been set to be rolled out in 2020.
Work is also being finalised on the controversial Venue Management System project, which will control all future centralised handicapping under the new WHS system, as well as offering clubs a different way to manage their tee booking systems.
Some unhappy clubs have spoken out over statements that the current CONGU system, which is licensed for individual software companies that service golf clubs across the UK, will only be used north of the border in conjunction with the VMS system and app developed by Scottish Golf.
Scottish Golf’s chairwoman Eleanor Cannon said: “Work continues on the development and testing of VMS.
“We know that many clubs are using the current down time to learn the new system and we have retained team members to support (clubs) in this.
“We continue to liaise with Sport Scotland and the Government and we will ensure we communicate with you as and when decisions about the game are made.
“As a community we represent so much more than golf. Together, locally, we represent camaraderie, friendship, and support.
“We are all pulling together in the golf clubs that we love, reaching out to each other – making sure our golfing friends who are on their own and vulnerable are being looked after and feel supported by their club, and their fellow members.
“In time we will all get back out there onto our courses. For now, we must look after each other and the communities our clubs serve.
“Once we can start playing the game we love again, we will all work together to re-establish golf as the life blood of our communities.
“Thank you for the commitment you have shown us. We look forward to working with you all both now and in the future.”
Bolton fast out of the blocks in 2020
JAKE Bolton joined an illustrious list when he became just the seventh Englishman to win the Scottish Open Amateur Strokeplay Championship at The Duke’s St Andrew’s last summer.
The Wiltshire England A squad member capped off a fine season in which he led qualifying at the English Amateur at Hankley Common and North Hants GC at the end of July.
The Ogbourne Downs member had lost a play-off in the Selborne Salver, in April 2019, taking second place in the Hampshire Salver for the aggregate at Blackmoor GC and 24 hours later in the Hampshire Hog at North Hants GC.
The 21-year-old finished with back to back birdies to claim the Scottish Strokeplay – the biggest win of his career so far – to complete a wire-to-wire win at St Andrews.
Jake finished one shot ahead of Yorkshire’s Sam Bairstow – ironically it was the left-hander from Sheffield’s Hallowes club, who denied him the Hampshire Salver on countback.
Bolton said after his win: “This is a really nice way to end my season and to win in such an iconic place as St Andrews is special.
“Knowing my name is going to be beside some of these great players in this trophy is brilliant and a reward for the way I played.”
Former winners of the Scottish Strokeplay include Tommy Fleetwood, Paul McGinley, Stephen Gallacher, Andy Sullivan and Richie Ramsay, who have all gone on to win on the European Tour.
Bolton has committed to staying amateur for at least 18 months more to push for a place in the 2021 Walker Cup, which is due to be played in May, as Florida’s legendary Seminole GC is the planned host, meaning August’s traditional date would be too hot, and September – the normal date in the UK – would be in the hurricane season.
Bolton, who helped Wiltshire win the English Boys County Finals in 2015 and 2016, made a good start to the 2020 season in South Africa.
But he was beaten by James Wilson, from Balmore GC, who went on to lose 7&6 to South Africa’s Casey Jarvis, in the final.
That was in the last week of February before the coronavirus pandemic took hold, cancelling the rest of the early amateur events of the new season and cancelling nearly all international travel within a month.
