WHY DO TALENTED SCOTS FAIL TO MAKE TOP GRADE AS TOUR PROS?

 E-MAIL from D NEAL STEWART

 

I note the various comments in Kirkwoodgolf regarding the debate about the development of Scottish Ladies Golf and in particular the question of whether we should be doing better.

I do not agree with Iain Taylor (scroll down to October 11) about the current state of Scottish men's golf and despite his comments re Jack McDonald we should beware of the old cliche about 1 swallow not making a summer.

The evidence of improving player development on the men's side does not stack up.  As an example in The Amateur Championship since 2004 we have had 1 winner and 3 runners up and yet in the shorter period 1992 - 1997 we had 3 wins and 2 runners up.  

While we won the Home Internationals this year for the first time for a few years our results at the Eisenhower Trophy, where we finished behind Guatemala and the Russian Federation, show where we lie in World Golf terms.

A few years ago Billy Lockie penned a newspaper article in which he lamented the lack of progress of many Scottish golfers who had appeared to have the talent to make a go of it in the Professional ranks but never made it.  

Since that article we have had to add more names to the list and we do not seem to be getting any better at this player development. 

It is good to see Paul Lawrie mentoring the likes of David Law and Philip McLean as well as providing a programme for youngsters at his Paul Lawrie Foundation and also the institution of Stephen Gallacher's Foundation for similar purposes but these efforts will take time to make headway.  

(Going off at a tangent I believe that Paul Lawrie should receive a knighthood for all his efforts in relation to the foundation's work). 

We also need more of the same.

Look at the 3 members of the Scottish Team that won the Eisenhower Trophy in 2008 to see what happens in Scottish Golf - we take the players some of the way to the plateau but then they fall off the edge.  None of them is at the top table of the European Tour and that is a concern for all of Scottish Golf.

The success of the various players Ian Taylor mentions is very gratifying, limited as it is, but as is well documented Paul Lawrie never came through the SGU ranks while Richie Ramsay spent some time at Texas and then at Stirling University.  

The success of the Stirling University programme with the input from Dean Robertson has in the view of many commentators been part of the reason why Jack McDonald has blossomed.  Again this should be encouraged and the SGU hopefully will be partnering the University in developing our Scottish talent whether in playing or in coaching.

Martin Laird is again another successful Scottish player who also went elsewhere to be developed and that has obviously worked in his case.

I do fervently hope that the SGU's Director of Player Development and the team which has been put in place are able to quickly turn round these matters because I for one do not consider that a rosy picture can currently be portrayed of our player development.  

If the SGU Team are able to do this then hopefully this will also lead to better progress from the Amateur to the Professional ranks for those players who make the jump.

 

D Neal Stewart