24/04/2025
A casual conversation between Mike Braidwood, the chief executive officer at Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society, and David Longmuir, the manager of The PGA in Scotland, during a festive get-together in 2023 provided the catalyst for this new initiative.
A trial run last year, which included a 36-holer running in conjunction with the Scottish PGA Championship at Dalmahoy, was eagerly embraced by the Tartan Tour’s golden oldies.
Here in 2025, a five-event schedule, highlighted by another senior’s shoot-out within the national championship at Scotscraig and including 18-hole contests at Haggs Castle, Montrose Links, Bruntsfield Links and Dumbarnie Links, will provide the circuit’s over-50s with a valuable senior service.
“Since a large percentage of the Scottish region members were over 50, I suggested it would be good to organise some informal competitions for them to play in,” reflected Braidwood, a PGA Master Professional.
“The idea was to have a social, stableford format to encourage those who may not have played competitively for some time to get comfortable playing with a card in their hand again.
“Competitive golf is important, but more important is the camaraderie gained from meeting up with old friends who we may have competed with many years before.”
The Tartan Tour veterans will have the chance to roll back the years in this generation game of great longevity.
“We have a core of 80 to 100 who play regularly in our events but if you’ve got 750 members, that’s only a small portion of the membership,” added Mark McPherson, The PGA in Scotland’s tournament director.
“A lot of our members are working full time, and they can’t practice. Going up against players who are competing a lot can be off putting for them. “But this senior series is more laid back and they feel more comfortable among kindred spirits.
“We have a lot of good players who are over 50 and we just want to give them more opportunities.
“Many pros will tell you that you can easily lose touch with people if you’re not playing as much. Some were saying they haven’t seen certain folk for four or five years so this is a nice way for them to reconnect with their fellow PGA Pros.”
Last season, the indefatigable Andy Oldcorn underlined his enduring competitive zeal by finishing sixth in the Scottish PGA Championship and winning the seniors event that was running concurrently with the Tartan Tour’s flagship tournament.
“Last year we had five or six guys who entered the Scottish PGA again as there was this additional senior aspect to the championship,” noted McPherson of this renewed enthusiasm.
“It worked well and perhaps, in the future, there is scope for a standalone seniors championship.
“We are looking for as many over-50s as we can get, and I’d encourage Members to enter. They would be adding to the overall tournament. There’s not really a limit as long as they suit the normal entry criteria for the Scottish PGA Championship
“Last year our field was 110 and we can extend that to 150 or so if needed. At Scotscraig this year, we could adopt a two-tee start if we had big numbers.
“The addition of a senior element to the national championship provides a nice little side story while the new series as a whole gives our older players some fresh incentives.”
To secure your spot in the new series of stableford events, click here.
