Organising a military tattoo with pipers and drummers from around the globe and looking after the world’s most famous golf course might seem like two very different jobs.
But for the new boss of St Andrews Links Trust, there are not a million miles between his old role as chief executive and producer of the Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo and the one he stepped into a month ago.
As new chief executive of the trust, Euan Loudon has gone from being in charge of a musical extravaganza which attracts an audience of over 200,000 each year to taking responsibility for St Andrews’ seven links courses, including the Old Course which is considered a Mecca for golf fans.
He told The Courier, “There are a lot of parallels. You need to put on a good show and you need to sell lots of tickets and, in a funny way, there is a parallel between something that is pure entertainment in one of the most famous locations in Edinburgh and something that is not about entertainment per se but about delivering a sporting experience at another of the most famous places in Scotland.”
Mr Loudon, who lives near Gateside, comes from a military background. He joined the army in 1974 and quickly rose through the ranks. In his final appointment, as major general, he was general officer commanding 2nd Division and governor of Edinburgh Castle.
He was awarded the OBE for operational service in the Gulf as the chief of staff of the Desert Rats and the CBE for operational service in Northern Ireland.
Mr Loudon also has golf running through his veins, having begun playing at the age of seven, learning with hickory shafts, and working as an assistant professional before enlisting.
His first experience of the Old Course was as a 16-year-old in the early 1970s.
“I played two rounds. In my first round I came back with a pretty respectable number and avoided the bunkers. In the afternoon, when I knew where those bunkers were, I came in with a dreadful score and had been in about 20 bunkers. But it was a great day.
“If you had asked that 16-year-old who was struggling with bunkers whether he would be back in an executive role, he would have said you were off your head.”
With the glory of the 150th anniversary Open Championship just months behind it, the links trust, under Mr Loudon’s leadership, is anticipating a bumper year ahead.
What Mr Loudon described as the “magnetism” of St Andrews, coupled with its quality, heritage and unique place in the story of golf, will always pull golfers from around the world.
“What we want is for people, whether they are a local golfer or a visiting golfer, to walk home, drive home or fly home and say ‘wow, that was great.'”
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But he said, “We can never sit back on our laurels. We have to keep pushing the edge of the envelope. People are always discovering and inventing new ways of doing things and we need to be at the cutting edge if we want to retain our unique spot at the top of the game.
“There are lots of places around the world that are competing for people’s attention.”
One of those competitors could soon be the golf course Donald Trump is seeking to create in Aberdeenshire. But it is no threat to the historic links, according to Mr Loudon, and indeed is likely to draw more golfers to Scotland who will inevitably want to play at the home of the game.
He said, “There have been many, many wonderful golf developments in Scotland but I don’t think you can ever supplant the place where it all began and the authenticity of what St Andrews has to offer. You can’t build history.”
Meanwhile, the trust, which enefits from the sale of golf-related goods and services bearing the St Andrews Links name and Swilcan Bridge image around the world, is developing other avenues of revenue.
It recently acquired the Tom Morris Golf Shop in St Andrews, founded by the father of the modern game in 1848, and its associated trademarks. During refurbishment, it also discovered Old Tom Morris’s locker, workbench and the fireplace he would have sat at to warm himself after coming off the course invaluable pieces of history it intends to share with the public.
But the job isn’t all about golf for Mr Loudon. One of his first tasks has been to meet people and groups in the community.
The trust has launched the St Andrews Community Trust in partnership with the community council. The intention is that good causes will benefit, although how is yet unclear.
“There is a virtuous loop. If the trust goes on being successful and delivering the courses as we do and goes on being commercially successful some benefit of a different sort flows into the town of St Andrews.
“I think this will strengthen the goodwill that already exists between the town and the trust.”