Group seeks yes vote over proposed £14.50 fee

The group behind a new proposal for a fee paid by around 170,000 golf club members in Scotland has urged stakeholders to vote “yes” at an extraordinary general meeting of Scottish Golf in Stirling tonight.

Seven months after a bid to increase the fee from £11.25 to £15 was rejected, a figure of £14.50 is now on the table, having been driven by “The Requisionists”, made up of seven of the Area and County associations around the country.

The group believes Scottish Golf, under the leadership of new CEO Andrew Mckinlay, deserves a second chance over the proposed increase to the affiliation fee.

“We are still seeing questions about what the ordinary club member gets from SGL apart from a handicap, but I am afraid this is a poor reflection on all of us as experienced golf administrators in that we do not seem to have got the message across yet about all the other benefits of having a national golfing body,” said Allan Shaw, secretary to The Requisionists.

“Personally I do not think that £14.50 – approximately £1.25/month – is very much to pay to support amateur golf at national level. I think it is important to have national golf tournaments and to have teams representing Scotland in international events.

“It gives players something to aim for and provides a pathway to the top through club and Area/ County levels. Yes, that is for the top players, but we need a few heroes/idols to spur everyone on and attract more people to the game.

“More importantly, with an increasing range of club services, it provides support to our clubs and therefore their members. The Requisitionists still feel very strongly that this is the time for everyone to get behind Scottish Golf and give them a little bit extra now to start work on a selection of initiatives that will reap benefits for everyone in the future.”

After the initial vote, it was predicted that job losses at the governing body were likely as cuts of up to £450,000 were implemented.