PGA man Rae lauds new Centre of Excellence for all walks of golfing life

In his 46 years as a proud PGA professional, Ian Rae has seen a few changes here, some developments there and plenty of advancements everywhere.

As he surveyed the bustling scene at the new, all-singing, all dancing Stephen Gallacher Foundation Centre of Excellence at Kingsfield in Linlithgow, the Scot couldn’t resist a look back to the more formative days of golf coaching technology.

Compared to the current, gee-whiz contraptions, the early gadgets and gizmos resembled something from an episode of Fred Dibnah’s Age of Steam. “It sometimes felt like that,” he laughed. Progress didn’t come cheaply, of course.

“I started with computers quite early and always tried to stay at the forefront,” he reflected. “I had one of the first systems in the UK, an A-star system, in the mid 1990s. That cost me £12,000 at the time. You could record the swing of players and put graphics on it to break it all down. It took a bit longer to get up to speed than the software we have now, mind you.”

Rae, who started his PGA training at Lanark back in 1976, has developed into one of the country’s most respected coaches. His shimmering cv includes all manner of successes, from world amateur team championship glory during his time as the Scotland national coach to a number of main tour triumphs. His working relationship with Richie Ramsay, a four-time winner on the DP World Tour, has endured for over 20 years.

“Lots of players can be more up to speed with the technology than the coaches,” added PGA Master professional Rae. “So we need to be even more up to speed. We’ve always tried to do that and I’ve tried to move with the advances as Richie developed from a junior, through to the men’s amateur game and ultimately on to the tour.

“Back in my day, it was a lot more about accuracy. Now I think the emphasis for the young ones coming through who want to make it is clubhead speed because the courses are so long now. If you are swinging it at 105 mph or something, it’s going nowhere. Courses are too long. I’ve had to change my mind set into more of a power game.”

In his various roles, Rae also passes on his pearls of wisdom to the players in the Stephen Gallacher Foundation. The new facility was officially opened by a host of current Scottish tour stars and boasts state-of-the-art  features and furnishings including a Huxley putting green, a PuttView and two Trackman bays.

From school children getting their first taste of golf at the grassroots to the Scottish professionals honing their game for the tour, it is a come all ye HQ which will help bolster the game in its homeland across a variety of fronts.

“It really is a fantastic facility and the kids we work with in the Foundation get so much out of it,” said Rae. “Everybody, from juniors starting off to players on the tour, can get a massive benefit from it. That can only be good for the game here.”

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