In their own words: Scottish Golf CEO Blane Dodds

The chief executive for Scottish Golf writes exclusively for The Golf Business on the opportunities for the industry in Scotland

Since starting my role as the new chief executive for Scottish Golf in August 2016, I have been hugely encouraged by the opportunities that exist for the game in Scotland.

Being asked to lead the governing body of amateur golf is a great honour and I’ve enjoyed meeting with our board of non-executive directors, stakeholders, partners and dedicated staff to plan a positive future – helping build stronger clubs, grow the number of players enjoying the game and develop future champions. Yes, the game has challenges but there are also opportunities.

For example, we can all be proud to play our part in a game that has 587 clubs affiliated to Scottish Golf, more than 211,000 members and over 50,000 people playing competitive golf on a weekly basis throughout the season.

Blane Dodds / Kenny Smith Photography

I thus want to ensure this great game continues to be at the heart of communities across Scotland and will work hard to build the partnerships needed to achieve that, putting down strong foundations for future generations of golfers.

Notably, it’s important that Scottish Golf adapts to the modern world around us to succeed. I was therefore delighted with our recent announcement, which sees Stephen McAllister, a two-time European Tour winner and successful businessman, join Scottish Golf on a consultancy basis to help open up new markets and explore wider commercial opportunities.

Stephen, 55, is to assist us on a commercial level through his business contacts around the world and help exploit the value of Scotland’s position as ‘The Home of Golf’, working closely with myself.

A key objective for me is increasing income from a wider number of sources to invest it back into the game and support affiliated clubs, performance and participation programmes.

Haggs Golf Club – Glasgow. Blane Dodds, CEO Scottish Golf and Stephen McAlister, former European Tour winner / © Craig Watson

Stephen, who won the Atlantic Open and the KLM Dutch Open on the European Tour in 1990, combines playing Senior Tour golf with his business interests. He will now seek to utilise his extensive business network in the domestic market to grow commercial partnerships for Scottish Golf, while aiming to attract new overseas investment from the likes of North America, the UAE and China, tapping into the affinity for Scotland.

For me, it’s about bringing his qualities together with ourselves to be of mutual benefit. Stephen has an excellent record and experience of dealing with corporate clients at the highest level and he’s going to be introducing more people to us for events and commercial opportunities.

We need to open our horizons to other income streams and I believe what we have in Scotland is of high value. Growing income will allow us to invest back into the game and provide more support to clubs, attract new audiences to golf and harness the potential of our talented players.

There is no doubt we all need to take a fresh look at our priorities and deliver solutions that will grow the game in a sustainable way and I look forward to the journey ahead.

To find out more on how Scottish Golf can support your club, visit scottishgolf.org/club-services