McKay hopes to earn his wings

An amateur golfer from Dunblane who has played at the town’s golf club for more than 50 years is set to represent the venue in a national championship.

Club captain Hunter McKay, 64, will tee up alongside his Dunblane New Golf Club PGA Professional Paul Jamieson (pictured) for the Golfplan PGA Pro-Captain Challenge regional qualifier at Haggs Castle on August 29.

The prize for the victorious pair will be a trip to Antalya Golf Club in Turkey for the £25,000 final of the Canopius-supported tournament on November 26-27.

McKay, a publican before he retired eight years ago, began playing golf aged 15 when a friend took him down to Dunblane New Golf Club and insisted he tried the sport.

“I’d never really come into contact with golf before that point, as no-one in my family had ever really played it,” he explained.

“But I thought I might as well give it a go – I had nothing to lose!

“I ended up loving it, loving the club and have stayed there ever since.

“I now play on average around three times a week and try to get out on the course as much as I can.”

McKay had never played golf abroad before this year, that was until he joined a group of friends on a once-in-a-lifetime golfing trip to Florida.

And now he has had his taste of playing the sport he loves in warmer climes, he admits he has been bitten by the bug and would eagerly anticipate the offer of a sooner-than-expected second trip.

“It would be fantastic to get the chance to go over and play some golf in Turkey,” McKay, who plays off a handicap of 10, enthused.

“I’d never played abroad until a friend offered me and a few others the chance to stay with him over in his property in Florida.

“He did all the driving so we could put our feet up, and we had the opportunity to experience seven rounds of golf at different courses over 10 days.

“It was a great trip and if we can get to the final I would love the opportunity to sample playing golf somewhere else.

“But the main thing is I want to go to Haggs Castle and enjoy the opportunity to play in the qualifier alongside Paul – we’ll see what happens from there.”

Other pairings playing in the Haggs Castle regional qualifier include PGA Chairman David Murchie and Crieff club captain Graham Thom, Jacky Montgomery and George Freeland (Dunbar), Alastair Webster and Ron Caithness (Edzell), Steve Barnett and Douglas Attison (Hayston) and Neil Colquhoun and David Hughes (Merchants of Edinburgh).

Douglas Young, managing director of Golfplan, added: “We are delighted to once again to be supporting this event.  We have close associations with The PGA and in 2014 Golfplan celebrates 30 years of working together with PGA Professionals.

“During this time we have been privileged to developed close relationships with PGA pros from across the UK who have given us vital support in creating our specialist golf insurance product. 

“The PGA Pro-Captain Challenge has proved to be a popular event in the golfing calendar and we wish all the entrants the very best of luck.”