This Scottish entrepreneur is working to get you into golf after falling in love with it during lockdown

Barrie Clarke (left) with a group known as the Yorkshire Golfers. Picture: contributed.

An entrepreneur is aiming to help attract 10,000 new golfers to the sport with a new venture backed by the British Business Bank (BBB).

Barrie Clarke is hoping to share his newfound passion for golf with other novices in an “accessible, beginner-friendly” format with the teeing-off of Big Golf Tours, which will provide classes and even visits to renowned courses.

It comes after Clarke started playing golf during the pandemic, with YouTube videos helping him to pick up the basics, and he has since moved to Montrose, and fallen love with Scotland’s east coast including St Andrews.

Initially based at Montrose Links and Kintore golf courses, the two-day beginners academy is now open for bookings, following a boost of £20,000 from BizBritain (which matches firms with funders) and the BBB’s Start Up Loans programme.

Participants will be coached by Jason Boyd, who is credited with having more than 25 years’ experience as a golf professional, and currently chairs the Scottish Regions Professional Golfers Association.

Big Golf Tours aims to later this year start offering longer holiday experiences of five days to two weeks where guests can visit bucket-list courses including St Andrews Links and Carnoustie Golf Links. The ambition is to partner with up to 100 courses to help attract 10,000 new golfers to the sport.

Clarke said: “Amazingly, a hobby I picked up during lockdown has turned into my full-time career... a lot of [golf] instructors tend to use language that absolute beginners may not understand. My aim is to make the learning experience more suitable for people who are brand new to the sport. By 2025, the golf industry is predicted to grow to over £30 billion, so there could be huge opportunities for a small business like Big Golf Tours.”

He also thanked BizBritain and the BBB (whose Start Up Loans programme has delivered more than £1 million in loans to new business owners in Angus since it began in 2012) for their support. Barry McCulloch of the BBB, which last year launched a £150m fund to turbocharge growing Scottish firms, said: “It is great to see how Barrie’s enthusiasm for golf has allowed him to turn his hobby into a viable business idea.”