Stephen Gallacher and Robert MacIntyre call for grassroots golf support

Leading tour pros Stephen Gallacher and Robert MacIntyre have urged sport authorities in Scotland to provide greater support for grassroots golf.

The R&A is in the process of building Golf It! in Glasgow, while Paul Lawrie’s Aberdeen facility has proved hugely successful.

In recent days, Gallacher cut the ribbon on the Stephen Gallacher Foundation Centre of Excellence in Linlithgow.

However, all three projects have been largely self-funded, either through golf or as a result of individual benefactors.

Three years after Scotland hosted the Solheim Cup and eight years after the Ryder Cup’s most recent visit, leading figures in the game are questioning the legacy of those events.

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“This is all pretty much funded personally and privately,” said Gallacher, who played in Europe’s victory at Gleneagles in 2014. “It started by being one of the official charities for the Scottish Open.

“If we could get more government or Sportscotland funding – we’ve had little bits in the past – that would be great.

“It all goes out to coaching, to put on events, go to more schools. Everything that comes in goes back into golf.”

MacIntyre is currently Scotland’s top-ranked male golfer – but in order to safeguard the future of the sport in its homeland, he sees the need for more facilities like Gallacher’s.

And rather than isolated venues set up through golfers who have enjoyed success in the pro ranks, he wants there to be a concerted effort at national level to contribute.

“There needs to be more contributions from elsewhere, not just the guys who have done it their own way,” MacIntyre said as he revealed he plans to set up a charitable foundation in his home town of Oban.

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“We need more places, plotted round the country, to give us more of a chance in the winter time. I’ve never seen anything indoor like that [the centre of excellence]. It needs to happen more often.

“To develop golf around Scotland, we need about 20 or 30 of these facilities. It’s a work in progress. If it works well here, then we have to do it more widely.”

A spokesman for Sportscotland told bunkered.co.uk: “We are committed to working with local and national partners to improve sport facilities across the country through our capital investment programmes. 

“We will continue to support projects that provide inclusive opportunities for people to participate in sport and physical activity in their communities and that meet demand and locally determined investment priorities.”