Highland swing – roving pros are growing the game in Scotland

A Scottish Golf initiative has the potential to not only help more than 200 clubs in the country recruit and retain more members but also boost the finances of PGA Professionals and broaden their coaching skills.

The initiative, the Roving Pro Fund, is designed to support clubs that do not have access to a PGA pro by providing the finance for them to engage one to deliver junior and adult beginner coaching programmes.

Approximately half of Scotland’s 580 golf clubs do not have access to a resident PGA pro, which makes them eligible to apply for the maximum grant of £600 that can be used to deliver up to 20 hours of professional coaching.

In addition, funding is available for clubs in remote areas of the country to cover a pro’s travel and accommodation costs.

The scheme is a legacy of Scotland staging the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles and was initially funded by the Ryder Cup Development Trust.

It has been financed by Scottish Golf for the past couple of years, however, and runs annually from April to the end of September.

“This year’s scheme was launched six weeks ago and to date 30 clubs have made successful applications,” said Gavin Forrester, Scottish Golf participation manager and safeguarding lead.

“It gives them access to professional coaching and the feedback we’re getting from them is that helps with member retention.

“The big thing for us as well is that we have a lot of volunteer coaches, which is a legacy from our Club Golf programme.

“They see this as a great opportunity to watch the pro and get some routines to do before his or her next visit. It helps improve the volunteers’ skills and is another of the scheme’s plus points.”

Forrester says that, historically, more than 40 clubs have made successful applications annually and he’s expecting a few more to sign up this year.

That number almost coincides with the number of pros involved and he added: “We have an approved Roving Pro list – there are about 45 pros on it at present but it’s growing every week.

“They offer the coaching as part of the scheme but can build on that with one-to-one lessons, club-fitting and club repairs. It is a business opportunity for them and a service for a club’s members.”

Some pros are attached to a club and use the scheme to supplement their income and broaden their knowledge and coaching skills; others who are not attached to a club have become full time roving pros.

Daniel Wood, for example, is the head PGA Professional at The Hirsel Golf Club, Coldstream, but visits several clubs as a roving pro.

“We’re very rural here so not a lot of clubs have professionals and see the day-to-day coaching activity that goes on at some clubs,” he said.

“As well as my role at the Hirsel, I currently work at Kelso Golf Club, St Boswells Golf Club, and Duns Golf Club and have been with them for four years.

“Roving pros coming in can bring something different and fresh ideas and help push on a club’s junior section.

“They can also work with and alongside a club’s volunteers to create a better programme and structure – so it helps them as well as the kids.

“The support we get is fantastic. We initially have meetings with the golf club and Scottish Golf and create a plan as to what’s best for the club and myself.

“There are also online resources we can tap into to help make not only my sessions are better but also for the kids and clubs involved.  

“For me, the biggest success story year-on-year is membership retention and growth in juniors.”

Meanwhile, Craig Lee (above), a member of the 2019 Great Britain and Ireland PGA Cup team, has started a business that embraces the scheme.

“It’s called Pros on the Road,” he explained. “It involves travelling round Scotland looking after clubs that don’t have PGA Professionals. On the back of that they get to claim ‘Roving Pro Funding’ through Scottish Golf.

“It works in tandem with the Roving Pro Fund and as well as fulfilling the coaching element of that, which the clubs can claim for, I’m offering individual and group lessons, shop sales and club repairs.”

Lee’s business name is particularly apposite as he is travelling long distances to coach at clubs in remote areas.

“I’ve been to Wick Golf Club, right up in the north of Scotland, Skye Golf Club, and Isle of Seil Golf Club (on Scotland’s west coast),” added Lee, who is based in Stirling, which lies almost equidistant between Glasgow and Edinburgh.

“They’re all places that are out of the way and that’s the idea of it. The business I’ve started includes a mobile golf studio I carry round with me in my van.

“And I’m converting the van so I can sleep in it after I’ve been at one club and then move on to the next one. Apart from the work, I’m getting to visit stunning parts of Scotland I wouldn’t normally get to see.”

Reflecting on the ongoing success and growth of the Roving Pro Fund, Forrester added: “It has proved a hugely successful project and made significant impact in not only engaging more participants but also in retaining more beginner adults and juniors in the game, through quality coaching delivery.

“Clubs and PGA Professionals have been successfully linked together and put in place sustainable business models to support the ongoing delivery of the programme.”

CLICK HERE for more information on the Roving Pro Fund

CLICK HERE for PGA pro Daniel Wood's thoughts on the scheme

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• The PGA
• Scotland