SGU SECURES BEST EVER
SPONSORSHIP DEAL WITH
BELHAVEN BREWERY

The Scottish Golf Union has announced the biggest ever sponsorship deal in the organisation’s history with an investment worth £250,000 over the next three years with the Belhaven Brewery Company.
The agreement comes on the back of a fantastic 12 months for Scottish amateur golf, with the SGU’s national teams picking up three Home Internationals titles, whilst Richie Ramsay won the US Amateur Championship taking him to the top of the world amateur rankings.
Belhaven are already one of the SGU’s longest serving partners and the new sponsorship deal will see the partnership extended to a total of ten years. The Dunbar-based drinks brand will become the exclusive long drinks partner of the SGU, whilst expanding its sponsorship of the Scottish Club Handicap Championship and the Scottish Captains & Secretaries Championship. Belhaven Best will also extend their support of golf clubs in Scotland via the SGU through sponsorship of fixture booklets, competition materials and other activities.
SUCCESS STORY
Stuart Ross, Group Managing Director for Belhaven, was delighted to extend his company’s commitment to the Scottish Golf Union:
“Amateur golf in Scotland has been at the heart of Belhaven Best’s success story over the past 15 years and has helped us become Scotland’s No 1 ale brand. We have built up a fantastic relationship with the SGU during this time, along with more than 300 golf clubs where our products are served.”
“The new Captains & Secretaries Championship which we launched last year was a hugely successful event for us, and with the Scottish Club Handicap Championship, we have built up the largest participation golf event in Scotland.”
HEAVY INVESTMENT
“We are investing heavily in the Belhaven Best brand portfolio and these are exciting times for us. There is a strong affinity with the grass roots golfer in Scotland and hopefully our new sponsorship will drive that relationship even more,” added Ross.
The new sponsorship deal will provide the SGU with valuable funding to extend its support for golf clubs across Scotland and the agreement was welcomed by Chief Executive Hamish Grey:
“Belhaven have been a wonderful partner for the SGU and the three-fold increase in the value of the sponsorship since Belhaven first came on board says a lot about how we have developed as an organisation and how successful our partnership has been.”
“The new investment will allow us to increase our support to golfers and golf clubs, which is a key part of our strategy, along with growing the game and developing talent. Its important that we can attract more high profile Scottish brands to keep our recent momentum going.”
BIGGEST SCOTTISH EVENT
The Belhaven Best Scottish Club Handicap Championship is Scotland’s biggest golf event, with 24,000 expected to play in this year’s competition across more than 300 clubs with the final being held at the Macdonald Cardrona Golf Hotel & Country Club on Friday 14th September.
The inaugural Belhaven Best Captains & Secretaries Championship took place last year and proved hugely popular among Scotland’s club officials with 192 clubs taking part. The 2007 championship final will be held at Blairgowrie’s Rosemount course, one of the country’s finest inland venues.
Belhaven Best is Scotland’s No.1 ale brand and an established favourite among golfers in Scotland, with golf clubs accounting for an estimated one million pints consumed each year.
The schedules for the 2007 Belhaven Best SGU events are detailed below:

Belhaven Best Scottish Club Handicap Championship
Regional Finals
Forrester Park, Friday 10th August
Cawder, Friday 17th August
Dumfries & County, Friday 24th August
Murcar Links, Friday 31st August
National Final
Macdonald Cardrona Golf Hotel & Country Club, Friday 14th September

Belhaven Best Captains' & Secretaries' Championship
Regional Finals
Ballater, Tuesday 29th May
Eastwood, Wednesday 27th June
Lanark, Tuesday 17th July
Duddingston, Tuesday 21st August
National Final
Blairgowrie, Tuesday 12th September