From the Editor, Colin Farquharson


Reference an earlier message on the website from Garry Campbell with regard to the West of Scotland Golf Association. Scroll down a few pages to find out his complete text.

I’ve been speaking to Gordon McInnes, the president of the Scottish Golf Union, who was very involved in the West of Scotland scene.

Gordon tells me:

1 The West of Scotland Golf Association was disbanded mainly due to lack of support from the clubs in the area. In 1975, when the Scottish Golf Union decided on 16 areas for Scotland, it really meant the end of the old district system which had been made up of the Western District, the North and North-east District, Lothians & Borders, and the South.

2 It had been getting increasingly difficult to find a course each year for the staging of the men’s West of Scotland Open. Clubs were not keen to give over their courses – to the exclusion of their members – for a Saturday-Sunday 72-hole tournament. Cawder Golf Club, with two courses, were able to get round this problem by hosting the event on one course while their members were still able to have a game on the other.
Cawder Golf Club, therefore, has become the permanent home of the men's West of Scotland Open championship.

3 The West of Scotland closed championship and the West of Scotland club/team championship died in 2000 because of lack of entries. Any club that felt like resurrecting them would have to find a way to rekindle some degree of enthusiasm among the clubs for the competitions.

4 The West of Scotland boys’ match-play and stroke-play tournaments have survived and are going the rounds, as it were. Lanarkshire hosted them in 2005, Glasgow this year. It will be a different host next year and so on.

So, there you are, Garry. Straight from the horse’s mouth!

Any comments to make on the above? If so, E-mail me at colin@scottishgolfview.com