Scottish Clubs at Odds with SGU

In this article by Jack Crawford, he brings to our attention the problems being experienced by the SGU, which are not dissimilar to those currently being experienced by the EGU.

The Scottish Golf Union has run into opposition to its plans to implement a system of centralised handicapping.

A consortium of companies has been prepared to invest up to £6 million into the scheme. This would allow for the provision of the software required for Clubs to participate and the further provision, free of charge, of a computer where a Club does not have one installed. The advantage viewed by the SGU is the up-dating of every golfer’s handicap immediately following each competition - whether a home Club competition or at an away course. This is to be achieved by the supply of a smart card to every Club golfer in Scotland.

Golf Clubs have failed to see the advantages that would accrue to their members. Club administration would certainly be relieved of the current requirement by the SGU, that a record of the returns of all scratch or plus handicaps be made, but this probably affects less than 1% of golfers. They view this move by the Union as involving their members in the commercial activities of the companies of the consortium, and the scheme as being primarily a source of revenue to the Union itself. They further resent the statement by the SGU that the centralised handicapping system will be compulsory and there is growing resentment regarding the degree of autocracy being exhibited by the Union.

Clearly, all that would be required to implement such a scheme would be provision by Clubs of a member’s name, number and handicap. This does not meet the needs of the sponsoring companies, however, and the SGU has asked all affiliated Clubs to agree to the release of their full membership database, including members’ addresses. The SGU state that the Union will own and be fully responsible for the upkeep and maintenance of the centralised database.

This is a step too far for many Clubs who will not, under any circumstances, allow this commercial approach to their members and who, in any case, have grave reservations about how they stand in relation to the Data Protection Act. The SGU in their memo to Clubs on the proposed handicapping scheme, informed Clubs that ‘a range of member benefits will be offered, but only where individual members explicitly request information to be sent’. The memo further advised that the ‘legal opinion is that Clubs are not in breach of any legal obligations to members through the passing of this data to the SGU’.

This view is doubted by many Clubs and the issue may well have to be tested by the Courts. However, Clubs have heard enough and rebellion is afoot. A decision taken by the Perthshire Golf Clubs means that they will not comply with the demands of the Union. Unrest amongst Clubs in other areas has not yet surfaced in this united front, but it undoubtedly will. The Perthshire decision came at bad time for the SGU, immediately prior to their AGM and despite the executive having a built in majority, the Union must face up to a mass exodus of Clubs from its membership.

At its AGM on the 21st January, the SGU revealed that it is £1 million in debt due to additional costs incurred in expanding the Scottish National Golf Centre, (SNGC) at Drumoig. In a statement the SGU said “the debt is being managed in relation to exciting developments from a year-long review as part of the Scottish Golf Development initiative.” Hamish Grey further stated, “we have taken a conscious decision to build a world-class training facility and there are no regrets. Everything has been delivered on budget.”

It is the very nature of the ‘commercial activities’ that concerns Clubs who never really envisaged themselves as having to be a party to commercial considerations. It is no surprise to Member Clubs to find that this world-class training facility is not paying its way, furthermore it is their view that the Centre is way over the top and badly located out of the way on the Fife coast.

The centralised handicapping scheme is seen as opening the door to the commercial activities of the sponsoring companies, and certainly by the SGU as a tactic in reversing the depressing financial report presented at the AGM. The fact that the SNGC is a company limited by guarantee, whose directors appear to be self-appointed, but nevertheless having guarantees provided by the SGU is, to say the least, disquieting.

Association of Golf Club Secretaries' Views

The introduction of this handicapping system has been further commented on by the Hon. Secretary of the AGCS, Scottish Region, in a memo to its members. This states that :

Scottish Golf Union’s Response

The centralised handicapping scheme (CHS) is a huge project and as such it is understandable that some of our member Clubs have questions about how it will affect them and we are very keen to answer these questions fully. We will be offering Clubs the opportunity to meet with us in the near future.

It has to be stressed, however, that the centralised handicapping scheme is just that - a centralised handicapping database. The benefits of the scheme for golf from a handicap viewpoint are well documented. Suffice to say, it will improve the integrity of the handicapping system and the time taken to administrate handicaps. Under law all our advice is that we have the right to gather details for handicapping purposes. Further, the last thing the SGU would want to do is to ask its member Clubs to break the law - and we are not doing so.

Additional benefits will be available on the handicap card itself but any information on these commercial activities can only be sent out with the explicit consent of the individual cardholders themselves. Without this explicit permission, golfers will use the card purely as a handicap card. Each individual has complete personal choice and they are under no obligation to participate in any of the commercial offerings. Again, the SGU has been at pains to ensure this is the case.

The centralised handicapping scheme offers a range of benefits for the individual golfer and Club administrators as well as for the Areas and the Scottish Golf Union, but it must be realised that in order to create a truly national handicapping scheme it ultimately requires all Clubs to participate. We do appreciate though that some Clubs will take longer to come on board than others for a variety of reasons.

Any suggestions, however, that we are facing a mass exodus of Clubs from our membership over the CHS is totally unfounded. No Club has resigned or threatened to resign from the SGU over this. It should be noted that the CHS has been planned and developed for four years now, and well prior to the current debt situation. Therefore, to endeavour to link the two issues is opportunistic and misleading, to say the least.

With regard to out financial situation, the £1m debt arose following a decision to improve upon the original plans for the Scottish National Golf Centre (SNGC) at Drumoig, resulting in an increase in capital costs. The result of this is, whereas the capital costs for the facility were originally to be paid off over a five year period culminating in 2000, they will now be covered over a longer term. This makes sense when one considers that the original increase in levy to pay the capital costs of the SNGC was set in 1994 and fixed through to the year 2000, based upon the original capital costs. It is no surprise that in a project of such magnitude the original design and concept evolved to the quality of the facility we enjoy today.

It is important to stress that this debt is being managed and, following a year long review as part of the Scottish Golf Development Initiative, a number of exciting proposals have been put forward to not only redress the financial situation but to ensure the future of the game in Scotland as a whole. It is our view that these plans, when finalised, will generate increased income for the game through sponsorship, grants and commercial activities.

These initial plans were endorsed at our recent AGM in January and having received this mandate, further detailed planning is being undertaken and will continue over the coming months.

The Scottish National Golf Centre is a world class facility. It has become the focal point for golf in Scotland, introducing over five thousand juniors to the game in the last eighteen months and the outstanding performances of our amateur teams last year was undoubtedly down to one key element - the SNGC. We are determined to build on this development. The consensus of opinion regarding the SNGC facilities is that they are superb. I would invite anyone to come and judge for themselves.

HAMISH GREY, Secretary, SGU