Golf: Stars set to come out for Cliffe's silver anniversary

CLIFFE JONES has just clocked up 25 years as the club professional at Glencorse and is hoping some of Scotland's leading golfers, past and present, as well as a whole host of former football stars will be there to help him celebrate the milestone later in the year.

The Milton Bridge club have awarded Jones an anniversary pro-am and the 49-year-old says the event on Friday, 17 September should be a star-studded affair.

"I'm hoping Andy Oldcorn might be there along with some of the top guys from the Tartan Tour while the likes of (former Walker Cup captains] Charlie Green, George Macgregor and Colin Dalgleish might also play," said Jones.

"If Gary Orr is available, there's also a chance that he might play and I'm hoping to see a few former footballers as well, including John Robertson, John Colquhoun and David Bowman."

Originally from Alexandria, just outside Dumbarton, Jones qualified as an assistant professional at Cardross under Bob Josey before moving to Glenbervie, where he worked under George McKay.

He took over at Glencorse on 1 April 1985, succeeding Stewart Campbell, who had been in the job for five years after he replaced Alastair Thomson.

"It is unbelievable how time passes, it really is," said Jones as he reflected on reaching his 25th anniversary. "I've really enjoyed it but there's no doubt the role of the club professional has changed a lot over the years.

"When I started out, we were able to play a bit of golf ourselves but now the role is about servicing the club most of the time."

Due partly to equipment being on offer these days on the internet, these are tough times for the club pros but Jones believes there will always be jobs for people in his profession.

"I'd still like to think we'll have some part to play, though I'm not sure if that should entail the club pro doing the job of the club secretary and getting away from what I think they should be doing," he added.

"I think they should concentrate on teaching, club repairs etc and, though we are certainly going through a tough spell at the moment, there are still some people making a living out there."

While he was in for the Royal Burgess job after George Yuille retired, Jones is by no means bitter about losing out on that and feels privileged to have seen Glencorse churn out a string of top players over the years.

"George Macgregor, for one, has been a tremendous ambassador for this club and I went over to Portmarnock with a dozen or so members when he captained Great Britain & Ireland in the Walker Cup against an American team that included Phil Mickelson," he recalled.

"We then had Colin Brooks after that before David Inglis came on the scene and won the British Boys' Championship.

"When you add in the likes of Keith Young, Neil Shillinglaw, Sean McGarvey and, of course, Andrew Wight, there's certainly been a lot of good golfers kicking about here over the last 25 years."

For part of that time, Jones, who won events at Cardross, Kilspindie and Lanark when he played on the Tartan Tour, served on the committee of the PGA Scottish Region and served as captain in 2005-06. "That was an enjoyable time and I particularly enjoyed sitting on committees along with (former Duddingston professional] Jim Farmer," he recalled.

"I look to big Jim as being a leader of men. He was a good player, a good teacher and a good all-round professional. He's had a great career."

So, too, has Jones by the sounds of things and it's no surprise that he's looking forward to that pro-am later in the year.

DEER PARK HOPING INNOVATIVE 9-9-9 EVENT CAN ROUSE INTEREST

AT a time when golf clubs need to be coming up with new ideas, hats off to Deer Park for a forthcoming event at the Livingston course.

While a mixed tournament may not be new, a decision to play 27 holes is certainly ground-breaking with the club having nicknamed it the '9-9-9 event'.

"This is a completely new event for Deer Park," said Sandy Strachan, the head pro. "We are holding a number of new and special events throughout the year to celebrate 21 years of West Lothian's home of golf.

"We felt that there was a need and indeed a gap in the market for an event of this nature – something which men and women could enjoy together offering friendly competition on a superb course combined with lots of hospitality and time to socialise. We are confident the event will be very successful and could become a permanent fixture in our calendar."

The event, which is being held on June 12, is open to men and women – whether they are partners, father and daughter, mother and son, nephew and aunt or simply friends who want to play together.

The entry is 65 per couple and represents great value for money. The day will start with a warm welcome from the Deer Park golfing team with coffee, tea and biscuits on arrival.

Following the nine holes of foursomes, a full breakfast will be served in the Country Club followed by nine holes of greensomes, after which a jug of fruity Pimms between two is served to all players.

The format for the final nine will be a fourball better ball, with the day coming to an end with a meal and prize-giving.