Peter Whiteford helping tee up big year for Leven

He has been taking stick for being an “enemy” in the camp. But, just because Peter Whiteford is a self-confessed “Lundie” man, that isn’t stopping him from putting his heart and soul into a new job on the other side of a wall separating the two courses at neighbouring Leven. Far from it, in fact.

Peter Whiteford is Leven’s business development officer.

In his role as the club’s business development officer, the former European Tour player is enjoying getting his teeth into trying to raise the Fife course’s profile in an exciting year. For starters, Leven Golfing Society, the 11th oldest club in the world, is celebrating its bi-centenary.

On top of that, the 150th staging of the Standard Life Amateur Gold Medal, the oldest amateur championship in the world, takes place in August, while this year is also set to mark the 50th anniversary of another big event on the amateur calendar which has its home there, the Scottish Champion of Champions.

Add in the course hosting a professional tournament on the PGA EuroPro Tour, the Shot Scope Championship, in September and there’s certainly going to be a fair bit of added focus on Leven over the next six months or so.

“Leven have never really promoted themselves,” said Whiteford. “To such an extent, in fact, that when we were up at the Scottish Golf Tourism Week towards the end of last year, quite a lot of the foreign visitors there hadn’t even heard of us.

“That’s why we are bringing it up to date and pushing it a bit harder. It’s got bundles of history. We are the 11th oldest club. It’s the first course in the world to have 18 tees and 18 greens. It is a proper golf course. It’s just a case of getting out there into the public eye and promoting it better. It’s just not had the awareness, really.”

Whiteford is a well-kent face locally. He was born in Kirkcaldy, still lives there with his wife Gabby and their two young kids and played his amateur golf at Lundin Golf Club along with his older brother Stewart, who owns Wellsgreen Golf Centre between Kirkcaldy and Leven.

“I’m a member at Lundie, so a few people have said to me, ‘You are working for the enemy’,” revealed Whiteford, laughing. “That is understandable as I played all my golf at Lundie, but I have a bunch of mates who still play at Leven.

“My brother, Stewart, has also taken over the pro shop at Leven while the head greenkeeper, David Gray, came here from Ladybank a year and a half ago. There’s new people left, right and centre.

“For lack of a better phrase, we are all outsiders looking in, so it’s easy not to be blinded. We can all see where the faults are, which is very easy in golf clubs these days. It’s a case of fresh eyes and seeing how we can progress things. It’s a massive year for Leven and hopefully it goes well.”

Whiteford won three times on the Challenge Tour before holding a full European Tour card for six seasons. He twice finished second on the main circuit, including a play-off defeat to Australian Brett Rumford in the 2013 Ballantine’s Championship in Korea.

The 39-year-old qualified for the Aberdeen Standard Investments Scottish Open at Gullane in 2018, but his playing days are now over.

“That was a last hurrah for me,” he said of a sole European Tour appearance in recent years. “My hips are too sore now. I could probably practice hard for a month and get back to a decent level, as I did a couple of years ago. But, after a month, it starts to get too sore to properly do it.

“I knew I was never the best in the world and had to work very hard to get the best out of my game. It is now just too much on my body. I went in to see about an operation and I will probably end up needing two new hips, but I don’t know whether to do it as I’ve got other things going on in my life.

“I would give my left arm to still be playing. I will not lie about that. But golf, for me, is a hobby now. I’ve taken to coaching quite well, as in I enjoy it, especially the short game. I am pretty clued up on that and I enjoy seeing guys getting better. I still get a little buzz from that.

“There’s a lot more to golf than just hitting balls on the range. It is how to take it on the golf course. Sometimes when you are not the best player in the world - and this is in other sports, too - you sometimes see the flaws quicker.

“I’m not saying I’m the best coach in the world. Not at all. But I think I can empathise with people a bit more about what goes on in the brain.”