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Big turnaround at Elgin Golf Club, back from the brink to plot a course for a brighter future under new club manager John Duguid


By Craig Christie

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A BRIGHT and sunny future has emerged across the stunning views of Elgin Golf Club, banishing the dark clouds of financial despair into the history books.

The first hit since lockdown. Elgin Golf Club professional Michael McAllan, club captain Marian Evans and club manager John Duguid celebrate the reopening after more than two months of shutdown. Picture: Daniel Forsyth..
The first hit since lockdown. Elgin Golf Club professional Michael McAllan, club captain Marian Evans and club manager John Duguid celebrate the reopening after more than two months of shutdown. Picture: Daniel Forsyth..

Play returned to the pristine fairways of the Hardhillock course last Friday, with a mad rush to snap up tee times from a membership starved of golfing action by the Covid-19 lockdown.

But while many clubs across the country struggled to make ends meet through the worst of the pandemic, Elgin had already come through the worst of its troubles and safeguarded its long-term future.

It was only last November that the Northern Scot broke the news that the club was being investigated by police over “many irregularities” in their finances, caused by unexplained losses in 2018.

The club was in a grim position at that time, but helped by a rallying effort from members and the appointment of new club manager John Duguid, their fortunes have been transformed.

“The future is looking really good now,” he said.

“Covid-19 posed a very big problem to all golf clubs, wiping out all of our society bookings and visitor bookings and all the revenue that was potentially coming off of that.

“It was a big headache, but we rallied round and very quickly went into a fundraising strategy. The response has been just fantastic from our members and people in the Elgin and wider Moray community.

"Other than the furlough scheme which we introduced at the club with all but very few individuals being put on (it), we've not been able to get any of the government aid. With the business rates one, we just missed out on our rateable value being too high.

First day of action back at Elgin Golf Club. Picture: Daniel Forsyth..
First day of action back at Elgin Golf Club. Picture: Daniel Forsyth..

"We've really had to look at alternative ways in which we can try and move the organisation forward - but the membership has been fantastic.

"Ultimately the golf club is owned by the members. They are not backed by local authorities and that's why it's a private members' club.

"They are all owned and run by the members so to have that continued trust and confidence for the club speaks volumes for the general feel about the golf club just now.

"Although it's a very difficult time, what has been very evident is the demonstration from the members in supporting their club during this time, as well as getting them out, has been fantastic.

"Where we see a lot of golf clubs struggling with their memberships and looking to say, 'if we've not been playing why are we paying', but our club was the opposite.

New club manager John Duguid has overseen a rallying effort to transform fortunes at once-troubled Elgin Golf Club.Picture: Daniel Forsyth
New club manager John Duguid has overseen a rallying effort to transform fortunes at once-troubled Elgin Golf Club.Picture: Daniel Forsyth
"Almost every single member from an offer of volunteering time through to purchasing advanced memberships. The entire membership has been absolutely fantastic."

Between a Justgiving page being set up, and golfers paying up memberships two years in advance, the sum of £70,000 was raised.

That effectively saved the club, steering it through the uncertain period of the sporting shutdown towards a prosperous horizon.

Duguid (33) arrived with the reputation for turning sporting ventures around. In the past, he has revitalised Aberdeen University’s sports development programme and was the man who managed Moray Leisure Centre and introduced their Fit Life scheme and gym refurbishment which created heavy footfall in the Elgin facility.

Elgin Golf Club appointed him in March in an effort to boost their ailing finances, and he has leant heavily on the efforts of the voluntary golf club council and the loyalty of a 1000-strong membership to take things back from the brink.

Last week’s Scottish Government announcement that golf could return to the sporting calendar under strict safety guidelines was music to the ears of everyone associated with the 114-year-old Hardhillock club.

Duguid and his colleagues had already set up advanced booking of tee times in anticipation of last Friday’s return, and it prompted a golfing stampede.

Michael McAllan, Elgin's club professional in full swing..Picture: Daniel Forsyth..
Michael McAllan, Elgin's club professional in full swing..Picture: Daniel Forsyth..

“We reopened the tee bookings and within 10 minutes we had all 240 (Friday and Saturday) times booked,” Duguid said.

“We then opened the tee bookings for the Sunday through to Thursday, 600 more bookings which went out inside 15 minutes.”

The club has also reserved a percentage of phone bookings for members who don’t have online access, and have contacted all members to find out who has been unable to book an opportunity to return to the course.

"The way we are asked to do our tee bookings is online so that minimises interaction, but it also excluded a good proportion of our membership.

"So we reserved some of our tee times for phone bookings only in an effort to engage more of our members who don't get the opportunity to do things online.

"We are very cautious that we are trying to get as many of our membership out as possible and hopefully within the next couple of weeks when more industries start to get back to work it will die down a bit."

Plenty work is going on behind the scenes in an effort to revitalise operations at the club in time for their next annual general meeting.

"We are actively working on a new business plan to go to the membership in their AGM in December," Duguid added.

"It will look at our membership structures, our development of IT and digital infrastructure, our course investment, all the kind of things that need to happen within a modern game in a modern world.

"By all means we won't be disappearing from the very strong traditions of golf but at the same time these need to be integrated with modern society and that's what we are looking to do."

And the club manager is keen to forge even stronger links between the golf course and its local community.

"Elgin is a private membership but it is open for the entire community.

Elgin Golf Club is looking towards a brighter future. Picture: Daniel Forsyth..
Elgin Golf Club is looking towards a brighter future. Picture: Daniel Forsyth..

"I think there is that interpretation about golf clubs being private clubs and it's only the select few, but that is absolutely not the case.

"The clubhouse isn't open just now but it accommodates lots of different community events and it's very much a community hub. Once the restrictions are lifted its very much going to be my approach to make sure that the entire community know about.

"There's some fantastic facilities within the club and some fantastic views, and it's the ambition of the club to share that with the rest of Elgin and Moray as well."

Police Scotland continue to look into the allegations of missing money from two years ago, which stunned members and placed a threat on the club's future.

But the club is only looking forward, not back, as Duguid and his team focus on driving more cash into a club, ready to create an exciting new chapter in its history.

"It's one of the best inland courses in the north of the country. It's renowned everywhere as being a fantastic course and we are one of Scottish Golf's championship venues," Duguid said.

"We've got about 800 playing members and in the region of 200-300 non-playing members."

he said a safe golfing environment will be offered to all golfers at Elgin, and hopes are high that competitions could be resumed later in the summer to allow members to work on getting their handicaps reduced.

it's one of the best inland courses in the north of the country. It's renowned everywhere as being a fantastic course and we are one of Scottish Golf's championship venues.

As part of the ability for golf clubs to reopen the R&A allow for certain things to be put in place so that some competitions could take place.

The entire return to golf strategy was all about just returning to golf and social golf in June, and about getting members back on the course and understanding the new golf.

"We produced a detailed document which we shared with members about all the dos and don'ts on the course.

Elgin Golf Course reopened following a two month enforced closure due to the coronavirus outbreak. ..Picture: Daniel Forsyth..
Elgin Golf Course reopened following a two month enforced closure due to the coronavirus outbreak. ..Picture: Daniel Forsyth..

"That's very much the first phase of it. What we are then looking at is the competition calendar and how we can maintain some of the club competitions, albeit under the strict guidelines and safe practices that we need to keep.

"One of the club championships would normally have been held in June but we are looking at different formats for that.

"The Elgin (five day) Open is supposed to be done in July. Although an Open is available to anybody anywhere, obviously that is not going to be available this year due to the travel restrictions in place.

"But we are still hopeful that we are going to be able to produce some kind of five-day festival of golf that would happen on or around the same dates.

"So competitive golf can happen and its all about finalising the format in which that would be practical."


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