Bradley Neil grew up with golf in the family and yesterday the European Tour pro backed a new programme in his home county that will give free golf to under-18s who bring their family along.
Taking a break from his tour schedule the 22-year-old former Amateur champion from Blairgowrie was at Crieff Golf Club in the heart of the big county to launch Golf Perthshire’s Family Golf Initiative.
The plan, to introduce family tickets at clubs throughout the county with free golf for Under-18s, has received £10,725 backing from the VisitScotland Growth Fund and Bradley joined with young pupils from Crieff and St Dominic’s Primary Schools to launch the plan.
The initiative comes as Perthshire’s main venue prepares to host two major international events, this year’s European Team Championships in August, and next year’s Solheim Cup.
Bradley started in the game earlier than any of the youngsters who joined him at Crieff yesterday, but it was a family thing from the start.
“My Dad took my brother Conor to Blairgowrie and got a club in is hands when he was three, and when I was three it was the same thing,” he said. “This is a great initiative which will hopefully help some people do the same thing.
“It’s funny even though played for so long it wasn’t until I was 14 and inot international teams that I got my own set of clubs, before then it was always a driver there, a putter there maybe, but basically hand-me-downs from Conor and they were usually second hand when he got them.
“It’s hysterical now because I’m the professional with a club contract and Conor gets the stuff that I’m finished with, the tables have turned!”
Bradley, who plays in Sicily and Belgium in the next few weeks as he starts to find his feet in his rookie season on the European Tour, believes that new initiatives are vital to make the most of the two big events coming up at Gleneagles.
“This is what perhaps should have been in place before the Ryder Cup, as it was huge but better late than never.
“It’s great that it is place now with the European Team Championships coming up at Gleneagles in August then, of course, the Solheim Cup there as well in 2019.
“Hopefully this will help build interest in both those events and once they have taken place this initiative will have been in place for a while and will be hopefully flourishing.”
Bradley had already taken part in a significant milestone for junior golf at his home club at the weekend, the Barrie Douglas Junior Masters event established in memory of the late Blairgowrie member and Scotland boys’ team captain.
“I managed to get home from China in time to support that and the feedback I got all day was this was already the best junior event in Scotland and it’s just the first year,” he said.
“I was speaking to the Blairgowrie general manager Steve Morgan and he said as long as he’s there that event will always be at Blairgowrie, and that’s going to be great not justg for Perthshire but for Scotland as they plan to turn it into a GB&I and Europe ranked event.”
Golf Perthshire is a collaboration of golf clubs and accommodation providers, which aims to enhance Perthshire’s reputation as a golf destination and increase golf tourism spend.
Alan Minto, Golf Perthshire’s project manager, said: “Our aim is for Perthshire to be known as one of the world’s most family friendly golf destinations, with great incentives to make the game more accessible and affordable to families holidaying in the area.
“Quality time spent together on the course, combined with exciting activities on our lochs, rivers and mountains will create unforgettable family experiences and lifelong memories together.”
The most recent Golf Visitor Survey commissioned by VisitScotland and Scottish Enterprise in 2016 demonstrated that Perthshire performed slightly better than the rest of the country attracting visiting female golfers with 20% against the national average of 12%.
