Captain's Update - September

It’s now been just over three months since our ‘Return to Golf’ following lockdown so I thought this would be an opportune time to provide a quick update on some of the activities taking place at the Club in what has been a busy, eventful and successful summer period.

Given the challenging circumstances, it has been great that golf has given so many of us the chance to experience some level of normality and we are fortunate that we were one of the first sports to return in late May. The eagerness to get back to golf was evident, with more than 450 players out on the course over those first two days, and I’m delighted to report that the game’s popularity has continued throughout the last few months and that our tee-time bookings has been almost at full capacity ever since.

It is particularly pleasing to see so many new members joining Peebles Golf Club in 2020 and I would like to extend a warm welcome to those who are with us for the first time. I hope you have enjoyed the club experience, getting out on the course, meeting new friends and taking advantage of the good weather. It is also very encouraging to see so many young people joining and playing golf regularly, many of whom would normally be competing at football, rugby or other sports. From what I’ve seen, the majority have definitely caught ‘the golfing bug’ and we hope that you’ll stay with us for a long time, even when your other sports return! Indeed, the average age of a new adult member at Peebles this year is 32, which is significantly below the national average.

In total across our various categories, we have attracted 80 new members, which is a fantastic result. Although we have also lost a few members, this is a very encouraging statistic against the difficult backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis that we all faced back in March, and it’s been wonderful to witness the course being so well utilised by all of our members, young and old.

The recruitment and retention of members continues to be a key focus for the club and is an essential component in sustaining a long-term business model. As we approach our budgeting cycle for next season, we will carefully be reviewing both the trends and opportunities with respect to our membership base/profile, and that’s very much something which we’ll keep you updated on.

Competitive golf also made a welcome return at the start of July and participation numbers have seen a strong increase. We had 217 men and women playing in the first Saturday competition; 18 juniors competing the Junior Championship qualifying; a regular turnout of over 100 on our Wednesday competitions and nearing the 200 mark on most Saturdays. We’ve seen some incredible scoring, the highlight of which has been Darren Howie’s remarkable 11-under par 59, which set a new course record and the first player to break 60 in the history of the club. Darren also went onto win the Club Championship for the first time, beating Jamie Morris in a superb final, while Sheila Cuthbertson continued her record-breaking streak by lifting the Ladies Championship yet again. The Junior Championship was also hotly contested and eventually won by Frankie Masson, who has since won the Gents Holiday Tankard and got his handicap down to 5. My congratulations go to all the Championship winners and finalists and thanks to the staff and volunteers who worked so hard throughout the week to ensure we were able to stage our Flagship event.

We’ve also seen success on the professional stage with our very own Craig Howie now making his mark on the European Tour. Craig finished tied 4th in the Austrian Open, followed that up with a share of 21st place the recent ISPS Handa Wales Open at Celtic Manor then had us all on the edge of our seats by reaching the top of the leaderboard at The Belfry in last weekend’s UK Championship, going on to finish 5th with a superb final round 65. I am sure I speak on behalf of all members in saying that Peebles Golf Club is very proud of Craig’s continued achievements and we look forward to watching his progress at the highest level.

Craig has come through the ranks from our junior section and we were delighted to welcome back our ClubGolf junior members to coaching earlier last month, following a further easing of restrictions. We had a full house of juniors for both groups last weekend and encouragingly, more than 40% of participants were girls. It remains a big challenge retaining girls in the game, but we have a good group at present who have been part of the programme for a while so hopefully this will be the dawn of a new era.

On the coaching front, our professional Steve Johnston has been a busy man with lessons being booked up quickly and we’re delighted to welcome Bob Allan as the new Pro Shop assistant in helping Steve. Bob is a well-known face to many with years of golf industry experience and I know he’ll be a great addition to the staff.

On the volunteering front we have seen incredible support from many of our members. The B52’s have been busy filling in divots and helping keep the course well presented, whilst Rab Howie has continued collecting balls from the practice range. We also have our hard working gardeners, who’ve kept the flower displays around the clubhouse and practice putting green in beautiful condition.

Although we have a number of restrictions in place, the clubhouse has now been reopened for a few weeks with the bar and lounge being well used and our colleagues in the Harry’s View team are working hard to provide an excellent catering service. A number of events are being lined up including an Indian Night on Saturday 23 September and, following a successful promotion over the last few Wednesdays, the new ‘2 courses for £10’ deal has been extended to Thursday (lunchtime) and Friday (all day/evening). Please support the clubhouse if you can and bring your friends and family to enjoy our food and beverage service.

Finally, through the hard work of our Sponsorship Sub-Committee and generosity of a number of local businesses, we have made great progress in attracting increased sponsorship to the club, which is an important revenue stream for us. I would like to thank all the companies who have made a contribution to the club and we’ll continue to promote these businesses to our members – look out for more announcements on our social media channels, and you can find all our sponsors listed on the new sponsorship section of the club’s website.

Last but by no means least, thank you to all the members for your outstanding support throughout the season, helping to turn a very difficult year into an enjoyable one on the golf course.

Yours in golf

Gavin Carruthers - Captain, Peebles Golf Club