As he prepares for being the Captain of the PGA, Bernard looks forward
It was an unlikely year for a renaissance, but that’s exactly what 2020 was for golf.
And Bernard Gallacher is certain it will be more of the same in this New Year.
For periods over the past 12 months, golf courses were forced to close as the country battled Covid-19.
But it was very much a case of absence making the heart grow fonder. When their doors were opened again, the fairways were filled, tee times were all booked up and driving ranges were packed.
Memberships – for years in decline – rocketed upwards, as players returned to the game or took it up for the first time.
The start of 2021 is set to be equally challenging, but Gallacher is confident that golf at grassroots level will maintain that bounce.
“I don’t think people will drift away from the sport again,” he told The Sunday Post.
“I’m sure once we come through all this, people will be looking forward to getting back to golf.
“I’m very optimistic that golf courses will come out stronger than ever. And I would be very surprised if we get to Easter and we don’t have an explosion of golf.
“There’s the hope of the new vaccine, and then, in April, The Masters will be on television and that always gets people out on the course.
“The first lockdown last year showed how much people missed the game. Before, they maybe took it for granted.
“But when they were stuck indoors, they would have loved to have been out on the course with their friends.
“There was even the situation where you could walk across golf courses if they had a public footpath on them – but you couldn’t play on them.
“Imagine how much longing for the game that would have stirred up.
“In a warped way, it helped golf as people were just dying to hit the ball again. While many of the club pros I spoke to did badly in the spring, things had caught up by the end of the year because they were so busy.”
The three- time captain of E u r o p e’s Ry d e r Cu p team, Gallacher is going back to his roots in 2021 when he becomes captain of the Professional Golfers’ Association in April, taking ove r f rom No r t h e r n Ireland’s Peter Hanna.
For 27 years, Gallacher was the club pro at Wentworth.
At the same time as competing as a tournament professional and taking on the Americans in golf’s biggest events, the Scot was busy giving lessons to members and working in the club shop.
So he’s now looking forward to representing more than 8,000 PGA members across Great Britain and Ireland in this ambassadorial role, as well as following in the footsteps of some of the biggest influences in his career, such as fellow Scot and Ryder Cup captain, Eric Brown.
And the big message he wants to promote is the importance of golf for everybody and especially for physical and mental health as you get older.
“Lee Westwood winning the European Tour’s Race to Dubai at 47 was great,” said Bernard.
“That shows, even at the top, golf is a sport for all ages.
“You can play golf well into old age. You get exercise, you’re outdoors and then afterwards you can have a drink with your pals.
“That ticks so many boxes for your wellbeing. It naturally promotes good mental health and social interaction.
“So many other sports force you to stop when you’re younger.”
While golf is the ideal sport for maintaining social distancing in the current climate, everyone
hopes that can become a thing of the past as this year goes on.
People missed getting together socially with family and friends, and cannot wait to get back to old habits.
And Gallacher recognises the role a golf club can play in reuniting people at milestone events.
“A golf club can be the heart of the community, especially in Scotland,” he stated.
“That’s very much how it was for me when I was growing up in Bathgate.
“Ho p e f u l l y when social gatherings are allowed again, golfers will automatically think of their local club when they want to have an event – a 21st birthday party, a wedding reception, a christening.
“Clubhouses are ideal for all those types of things, and they’ll need to be busy in 2021 after a difficult year.”