Kenny's farewell I would like to thank you all for a fantastic three years at Linlithgow Golf Club. It will be almost exactly three years to the day when I finish my post early January which is a bit scary when I look back. LGC has been a fantastic career and family move for me, having returned from Dubai early 2015 in the hope of settling again with my family, whilst progressing my career as a Club Professional. I have had many great times here at the club and enjoyed watching the progression of the course, the facilities and of course the pro shop team. Mark and Scott will of course be following me over to Stirling Golf Club which I am extremely proud about. They are both a huge asset to me and my business and I'm glad the team can move together! I hope that you have all enjoyed our time here and seen it as a positive one, there will be a new professional in place for the start of the golf season 2018 and between myself and the club we will look to provide a service where possible until that position is filled (Watch this space). Some highlights for me over the last few years are as follows:
- Upgrading the indoor studio facilities, bringing the latest ball flight technology and the addition of the SAM PuttLab which is a first for LGC. Becoming a recognised club fitter with a variety of different club manufacturers that are endorsing my services is something I am proud of.
- The introduction of our Young Masters Golf structured junior programme was also a first here, we now have 50 children (approx) attending structured lessons with on-course exposure for 24 weeks of the year. We also ran a variety of different camps that helped create a pathway for kids as young as five years old. With the backing of the club council we have lowered the joining age for membership and we are starting to see the benefits with junior participation on the rise again. We had some fantastic sponsors in this area (in particular Linlithgow Rotary) who donated some additional funding to help our juniors out, they have loved every minute and some have progressed into great golfers already. We will be running this program at Stirling from next March after the huge success at LGC.
- 2017 reciprocal agreement, through various contacts I have managed to set up a successful partnership with three surrounding clubs offering all full members FREE golf 12 months of the year at three other facilites, not many clubs have this benefit and I would encourage you all to use it, this is a huge benefit for all full members.
- 2016/17 raising almost £9,000 in on-course sponsorship through the new tee sign campaign. Our old signs have all been replaced and improved on-course, thanks to all the local businesses that replied to my MANY emails, I hope you all see value in our adversing opportunities and our members are using your services. These funds are crucial for the club and will help massively with the club improvements over the years.
- Attracting and hosting a wide variety of new club visitors and visiting parties, like myself before coming to LGC I didn't actually know where the club was (I was brought up in Airdrie only 40 minutes away) through improved Social Media content, and some marketing we have brought a variety of different groups to the club over the years, I am sure you as the members will continue to welcome these groups to ensure green fee revenue is growing, we have a beautiful product to offer and one that you should be proud of, keep spreading the good word and I'm sure green fee revenue will continue to grow for the good of the club.
- My professional development is a big goal of mine, keeping my AA status within the PGA is of high importance to me as well as keeping up with any new trends within the trade. I have also completed the first stage of my Club Manager's Qualification earlier this year and I hope to complete this degree in the next few years. Thanks again to LGC council for the support!
One of the best parts of my job is that I get to see many different people every single day and most of them in a happy mood as they are playing golf! For this reason I am sure I made the correct move back to Scotland to focus as a Club Professional within the PGA. I hope the members of Stirling Golf Club are as welcoming as you all were and I look forwarding to welcoming you all if you are ever passing. Thank you.
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