Comment: Public meeeting in Edinburgh has to be about Scottish Golf listening

A six-figure package for a new chief executive and hiring out the Edinburgh International Conference Centre for next month's national conference. Scottish Golf is certainly sparing no expense in its bid to 'shape the future' of the sport in its birthplace.

Scottish Golf's national conference is being held at the EICC on 2 December. Picture: Greg Macvean

Interviews for Blane Dodds’ successor are scheduled to start next week and it is difficult, in truth, to judge from the job description who might fit the bill. On the one hand, it’s a “proven business leader” and, on the other, the ideal candidate will have a “genuine passion for the game of golf at grass-roots level”. Good luck in finding someone who ticks both those boxes.

As for that national conference, the governing body should certainly be applauded for providing a fitting stage for an event that, if conducted properly, can really be constructive.

It can’t afford to be a shambolic affair, which is why Scottish Golf has taken the step of arranging “presentations from keynote speakers” and also setting up “interactive workshops”.

People deserve to know who those keynote speakers will be in advance, though, and please let’s don’t forget that the most important people at the EICC on 2 December will be the club representatives and the rank-and-file club members. They’ve never had a platform like this to be heard and, more than anything, it should be a day when Scottish Golf listens rather than trying to do most of the talking.