SPENCER HENDERSON LEAVING SGU POST TO BE

NATIONAL  COACH

OF TURKEY

By COLIN FARQUHARSON

Spencer Henderson, the Scottish Golf Union’s popular junior national coach, has accepted an offer he could not refuse from the Turkish Golf Federation to become its first national golf coach.

It’s a sheer coincidence that the 36-year-old Falkirk-born former Duff House Royal Golf Club assistant professional is going to Turkey next week. The European boys’ team championship is being hosted by Klassis Golf Club near Istanbul and Spencer will be in charge of the Scotland Under-18s’ squad.

“The Turkish Federation wanted me to take up the post as soon as possible but I said I really would like to stay with the SGU until after the boys’ home internationals (at Southerness GC, August 3 to 5). They agreed to that so I will head off to Turkey in the second week or so of August,” said Spencer.

“I’ve been given a three-year contract but I really think it will be 10 years before the things I will put in place in Turkey, the infrastructure that we take for granted, say in Scotland, bear fruit.
“It’s the most exciting challenge of my life (he will be responsible for the development of all amateur golf in Turkey: boys, girls, men and women) and I’m really looking forward to it but, at the same time, I have been really happy in my six years as SGU national junior coach and there's a touch of sadness about leaving.
“One of the things that really attracted apart from the fact that it is such a wonderful, really undeveloped golfing country – although it has something like 15 championship courses and a terrific golfing region, Antalya, on its southern coastline – is that the men’s and women’s world amateur team championships for the Eisenhower Trophy and the Espirito Santo Trophy are going to be played in Turkey, at Belek, in 2012.”
Henderson went with his parents to South Africa as a six-year-old and the family did not return to Scotland until 1990 when Spencer was 18 and his dad had a job in the North Sea offshore oil industry.

Spencer was PGA-trained by Bob Strachan at Duff House Royal Golf Club before getting his first job with the Scottish Golf Union at its ill-fated National Golf Centre at Drumoig, near Leuchars.

Spencer was originally an assistant to SGU national coach Ian Rae. He was promoted to his present national junior coach post in 2004.

“From my experience here in Scotland, I know the kind of things I want to put in place in Turkey to promote the game, to get boys and girls started, to help improve the adults who are already playing and all that sort of thing,” said Spencer.

“The beauty of being able to start with a blank piece of paper is that I can discard the things that, in my opinion, do not work, and I am going to concentrate on the things that have proved successful.

“One of my first tasks, of course, is to learn to speak Turkish. That is an essential. I learned to speak Afrikaans when living in South Africa so I should have no problems picking up the local lingo. No use having ideas and plans if I can't communicate in their language.”

wo of Henderson’s star “pupils” on the female side of the game are Scottish champion Kelsey MacDonald (Nairn Dunbar), narrowly beaten in the final of the British women’s championship last week, and Louise Kenney (Pitreavie), beaten finalist in the Scottish championship for the past two years.

Does Spencer’s move to Turkey mean they are looking for new coaches? Not a bit of it.

“The winter flight schedule from Scotland to Turkey leaves a lot to be desired which is a great pity because the weather over there in the winter is just right for golf but, despite that, Kelsey and Louise will both come out there at regular intervals, not only for me to check their games, but also to practise because the Antalya region of southern Turkey really is superb for warm-weather training.

“I think once Scottish golfers in general get the message that Turkey has a lot more to offer than Spain and the Algarve for winter golf and is a lot cheaper, then I think the demand for a much better schedule of flights from Edinburgh and Glasgow to Turkey will force the airlines to do something about it.”

At the moment the airlines don’t have a regular schedule of flights to Turkey until May, far too late to take advantage of the great golfing weather over there from October to April.

Henderson’s impending move to Turkey might well prompt the Scottish Golf Union hierarchy to move their winter training camps there from the Algarve.

Having the national golf coach of Turkey “on your side,” capable of pulling a few strings could make such a move an attractive proposition for the SGU.