Fee hike a solid foundation from which to build

Iwish Scottish Golf well in its bid to raise more money by increasing the national affiliation fee next month.

Proposals to increase the current amount of £11.25 to £24 were scrapped last year with a revised figure of £15 also defeated by 35 votes earlier this year.

The body will try again in a couple of weeks with a new figure of £14.50 being put forward.

The new figure, an increase of little more than £3, seems reasonable to me and I hope it is voted through on October 4 at the general meeting in Sitrling.

I know confidence in Scottish Golf is not very high at the moment but I hope chief executive officer Andrew McKinlay is given a fair crack at implementing his vision.

Since succeeding Blane Dodds he has been effectively scraping around trying to maintain the status quo and that is not easy

I’m not quite sure how but golf commentator Ken Brown decided to bring my name into the conversation about golf technology on social media this week.

Ken drew attention to the fact I was averaging 300 yards off the tee this year and highlighted that there were 96 people ahead of me in statistics.

Personally, I’m delighted as I’m five yards longer than I was last year.

Ken asked the question ‘what are the guardians of the game going to do?’

I take that to mean he believes technology has either made the game easier or turned all the professionals into superhumans but I’d say that’s too simplistic a way of viewing things.

Technology has advanced the clubs and the balls but players are fitter today than they have ever been and it has been a really dry summer. Those factors are just a few which explain some of the stats on display.

I can’t speak for my colleagues but I know as the chance to compete on the Senior Tour draws ever closer, I’m looking to have my game as good as I can for the new challenges which lie ahead. when the money available is decreasing. I hope Scottish Golf can convince the stakeholders why the increase is required and what it will be used for.

I know Paul Lawrie and I will be hoping our respective foundations for youngsters can benefit from the increase if it’s approved.

TOUR DE FORCE: Liam Johnston is pitching for a European Tour place