Karin Sharp remains chief operating officer of Scottish Golf

The chief operating officer (COO) of Scottish Golf is still in that position even though the organisation has appointed a new interim chief executive (CEO).

Karin Sharp took over the duties of CEO in April 2020 during the first pandemic lockdown, and has retained them ever since.

However, according to The Scotsman, Fraser Thornton, a board member, was installed as interim CEO last month and a recruitment drive to find a new CEO is underway.

“Fraser will formally step down from the board for the duration of his appointment,” said chairman Martin Gilbert in a communication sent to affiliated clubs.

This led to some confusion about Sharp’s position in the organisation, and a spokeswoman for Scottish Golf has confirmed to The Golf Business that Sharp is still in post as COO.

Gilbert said in his email: “As Scottish Golf embarks on a new five-year strategic cycle, the board believe the organisation would benefit from the appointment of a CEO to oversee and drive the execution of our growth plans in the coming years.

“The existing management has excelled in driving Scottish Golf forward in recent years, and to capitalise on this momentum the board have judged that a single point of leadership would be advantageous.

“Internal and external candidates will be considered for this varied and rewarding role.

“To lend operational support to the current management during the recruitment process, the board have asked Fraser Thornton to assume the role of interim CEO, with immediate effect.”

In addition, former Open champion Paul Lawrie has resigned from the board.

Scottish Golf is also currently planning to raise the affiliation fee all members of affiliated Scottish golf clubs pay.

In a statement, the organisation said that it plans to increase the fee by £1.25 per capita, which will generate incremental revenue of £225,000.

This would mean that Scottish Golf has 180,000 members. The spokeswoman has clarified that as of September 2022 its total membership is 210,000, with 188,000 of them adults.

“The 180,000 number quoted is a prudent budgeted forecast for 2023. This is based on the cost-of-living crisis and feedback from clubs,” she said.

Scottish Golf also said recently that its new venue management system (VMS) has achieved a 30 percent market share, a figure that was higher than some in the industry had thought it would be.

“Regarding the 30 percent market share figure for VMS – I can confirm that this number is correct. There are clubs who may use multiple providers, but [Scottish Golf’s] VMS is in just over 30 percent of the clubs,” she confirmed.