A very special kind of golf club is coming to Carnoustie to help golfers hang on to their precious memories of the sport.
The Memories Golf Club will bring together players and admirers of the game to help illuminate past glories of the tees, greens and fairways among those who suffer from dementia.
It’s a joint venture driven by Alzheimer Scotland as part of their reminiscence networks programme and has received the full support of Carnoustie Golf Links and the Rotary Club of Carnoustie.
The golfing groups will gather at the Carnoustie Golf Centre to share stories and past experiences, as well as looking back at old photos and memorabilia.
Recall of tournaments, players and incidents can be vivid and details of tournaments, putts and misses can be triggered by the images of players and courses.
A wealth of players and supporters has helped to create memory books for the pilot project, illustrating their own careers and experiences. There is also a starter pack of 100 golf cards to help stimulate discussion.
Head professional at Carnoustie Colin Sinclair said: “On behalf of Carnoustie Golf Links we are delighted to be part of Golf Memories.
“We are very much looking forward to assisting in any way we can to enhance the programme. Carnoustie Golf Links has a wonderful heritage and it is key for us to be involved in sharing stories and memories of golf at Carnoustie for people with dementia to hopefully improve their lives in any small way we can.”
In addition to images of top professionals and cherished courses, photographer Donald Ford has provided an array of the golfing vistas he has captured on camera, which will help bring back memories.
Local volunteers will help to run the group and the first meeting is set to take place this month.
Michael White, national organiser with Alzheimer Scotland said the group were “absolutely delighted” that Carnoustie was on board with the initiative.
He said: “We are all looking forward to working with Carnoustie Golf Links and Carnoustie Rotary Club to bring back all those wonderful memories.”
President of the Rotary Club of Carnoustie Archie Leiper added: “We are privileged to be involved at the outset of the programme as promoted by Alzheimer Scotland.
“We are fortunate to have an extensive local golfing heritage to call on, which will allow the group members to reminisce and share an abundance of famous golfing events which have taken place in Carnoustie over the last century. We look forward to supporting this most worthwhile project in the years to come.”
A successful Football Memories project has already been running for more than two years.
It helps people with dementia by reviving memories of players, matches, goals and incidents from past matches.
Operating as a joint project between Alzheimer Scotland and the Scottish Football Museum at Hampden Park, the initiative has attracted unprecedented levels of interest and involvement from fans and players alike. The website www.footballmemories.org.uk has seen contributions of stories from footballers, rock stars, film actors, journalists, politicians and ordinary supporters all across the country.