Funding blow for Scottish Golf

sportscotland announces 35% reduction in its support of golf’s national governing body

By Martin Inglis

SCOTTISH GOLF has had its funding from sportscotland slashed by over a third.

A sportscotland spokesperson revealed  that the organisation has reduced its investment in Scottish Golf to £665,000 for 2017/18. That’s down by just over 35% on the £1,025,000 it contributed in 2016/17.

Our source told us: “sportscotland is facing a challenging financial settlement with a reduction of £13m over a two-year period in our combined National Lottery and Scottish Government investment and this obviously impacts on how much we, in turn, can invest in our partners.

“We continue to have constructive dialogue with Scottish Golf and are confident that, if we receive a strategy and plan from the governing body this autumn which is tangible and aligned to our outcomes, a further six-figure investment could be added to our investment levels.”

Reacting to the news, a Scottish Golf spokesperson said: “Scottish Golf is working through the implications of this reduction and has been in regular communication with sportscotland. We are developing a new four-year strategy that will be focused not only on growing the game, but also developing increased revenue to invest in golf in Scotland to support new growth.

“The plan will be finalised following the current consultation period we are going through with our Areas, Counties, clubs and partners, and a longer term strategy implemented thereafter in partnership with sportscotland.

Allocation

“The Scottish Government also allocated an extra £2m investment in April to all sports governing bodies in response to the reductions and Scottish Golf will benefit from this allocation.”

Meanwhile, in England, from April 2013 to March 2017, a total of £13m - £3.25m per year - was given to England Golf from government-backed Sport England, with £3.3m of that devoted to producing junior and amateur champions.

And in February this year, the England Golf Partnership - which brings together England Golf and the PGA in its plan to increase participation from grassroots to elite level - was awarded a grant of £8.48m. However, when taking population figures into consideration - Scotland 5.4m and England 54.8m - Scottish Golf is backed at more than twice the rate of England per capita.

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