Martin Dempster: Clubgolf’s stock is on the rise

WHILE some of us still remain a tad sceptical about clubgolf and probably need to see a tangible sign of more youngsters actually becoming club members on the back of it for that to change, there’s no doubt it is earning admirers all around the world.

Having already heard Joe Steranka, the chief executive of the PGA of America, praising the initiative during a visit here for the PGA Cup three years ago, Europe’s Ryder Cup director Richard Hills did likewise when I bumped into him before the excellent Scottish Golf Dinner in Glasgow on Friday night.

“It’s a very impressive programme,” he declared. “Another thing about clubgolf is that it’s a lot more joined-up than some of the initiatives in bigger countries.”

Praise indeed and, if everyone involved in the initiative shares the same enthusiasm for the project as Edinburgh man Iain Holt, who has just been named as clubgolf’s volunteer of the year, then the bid to produce those much-needed new crop of members certainly lies in good hands.