Kingsbarns chief executive returning to amateur ranks after 35 years as a pro

Alan Hogg, the Kingsbarns Golf Links chief executive, still meets up with his school friends from Edinburgh for regular games of golf....and is also a regular at Tynecastle.

Hogg, a former Lothians Boys' champion, has been a PGA professional for more than 30 years, having started his career at Deer Park then moving to Haggs Castle and Alloa before spending more than 20 years in Germany.

The 54-year-old moved back to Scotland just under nine years ago to become chief executive at Kingsbarns Golf Links and is looking forward to the popular Fife venue celebrating its 20th birthday once the current COVID-19 closure is lifted.

That will be his main focus, but Hogg, who played on the Challenge Tour for three years and teed up in a few European Tour events as well, is also excited about his impending return to the amateur ranks.

"I'd been a PGA pro for about 35 years and then I made a decision after failing to qualify for the Seniors Open at St Andrews a couple of years ago to cancel my PGA membership and apply for my amateur status," he said.

"The R&A gave me a two-year grace period that ends in July. By the time this all said and done, I will hopefully have my amateur status back and I am looking forward to playing some senior golf. I'm still as mad keen as I was as a boy.

"I'm a member at the St Andrews Club and I have been playing in the medals the last couple of years without being able to win anything. You can get a handicap and I am down to one as an unofficial handicap. I'm looking forward to being semi-competitive again in the amateur game."

Hogg, who cut his golfing teeth at the now defunct Torphin Hill, was just 23 when he moved to Germany, having been lured to a club south of Munich after being told that Prince Maximilian of Bavaria was looking for a golf teacher.

As was the case during his time there, Hogg is thoroughly enjoying his current role at Kingsbarns, one of the busiest venues in Scotland with visitors from around the world.

"I spent 23 years across in Germany plying my trade there," he said of a spell that included him being named Coach of the Year by the German PGA in 2002. "I had one of the best jobs in Germany and it was going to take something special to bring us back, which turned out to be the lure of St Andrews and Kingsbarns.

"I'll be 55 in October and, though you can never say you've got your feet under the table anywhere, I can't see myself going away from here. I'm a golfer through and through and love the St Andrews vibe. Where else would you rather be in our industry?

"The relationship I have with our owner, Art Dunkley is just fantastic. There's no committee or board of directors. It's a special relationship with one guy and we understand each other really well.

"I think it almost re-confirms that the way we are being guided by Art, when we get back to Kingbarns as a team, we will be going 200 per cent going forward, having been 100 per cent before."

Around 2,000 visitors had been due to visit one of the courses used for the Dunhill Links Championship this month, rising to between 3,000-4,000 every month until the end of October.

"My wife works at Kingsbarns as well. She looks after the reservations," said Hogg. "We are both working from home just now and you just can't believe the scenarios that are coming up on a day-to-day basis. Can I do this? Can I change this? Can I cancel this?

"You are thinking to yourself, 'we've been in the game for 40 years now and you think you've got experience' and you are saying, 'no-one has any experience of this' and the volume of it all is just crazy."

While he may have one of the top golf jobs in the UK, Hogg has never forgotten his golfing roots by staying in touch with the likes of Colin Brooks, who is based at Braid Hills Golf Centre, and Eric Grandison, who is at Craigielaw.

"I still play golf with some of my old school buddies," he said. "I also still go to the football with some of them on a Saturday - at Tynecastle for our sins! My friends are all golfers and all Hearts supporters generally."