Tragic loss of Shillinglaw at 47 rocks Capital golf scene

EDINBURGH’S golfing community has been stunned after the death of Neil Shillinglaw at the age of 47 following a heart attack during a family holiday in Spain, writes MARTIN DEMPSTER.

The Glencorse member was a well-known figure, not just on the Capital scene but further afield, too, in his role as a sales representative for golf 
merchandising giant Acushnet.

Shillinglaw was a five-time Glencorse club champion 
between 1993 and 2002 and also lifted the title three years running at Dalmahoy. In 1994, he reached the quarter-finals of the Scottish Amateur Championship at Renfrew, losing to Barclay Howard. His best effort in the Lothians Championship came in 2002, when he lost on the last green to host club player Brian Smith at Duddingston.

“Everyone here is stunned,” said Cliffe Jones, the long-serving Glencorse professional. “He was the heart and soul of the Glencorse team and our club is certainly 
going to be poorer without him.”

Social networking sites have been flooded with tributes to Shillinglaw, who was known to his friends as ‘Carlos’. “That came about during a trip to America,” added Jones. “We were in a golf club and someone asked Neil was part of Puerto Rico he came from!”

Shillinglaw is survived by his wife Michelle and two teenage sons, Greg and Lewis.