GOLF is often an easy target when we are looking to highlight gender inequality but after spending a night at the Scottish Golf Awards, I have to say that is was one of the most gender balanced dinners that I have attended.

Organised by Scottish Golf, the awards recognised the achievements of the game’s leading tour professionals and top amateurs, as well as all the hard work that is carried out by PGA coaches and grassroots heroes.

With just under 600 people in attendance, it is not an easy ask to have everything run smoothly, however unlike another big awards ceremony last week just across the pond, there were no hitches, either on or off stage.

The presenters on the night were Dougie Vipond and Alison Walker and they ensured that all winners had their 15 minutes of fame when called up to the stage. The nice thing about it was that on most occasions, the awards categories had both a male and a female winner, and they were invited onto the stage at the same time to receive their awards.

My table was populated by members of the PGA committee and all of them keen to tell me their tales of success with their women and girls programme, their plans were for the future and how they hope to attract more women and girls to the sport. I look forward to getting a few guest blogs for the SWiS website on this subject from them.

The highlight of the night for me was the presentation to Belle Robertson OBE whose list of achievements are far too numerous to mention along with legendary sports journalist, Jock MacVicar. Surprisingly they both hail from the same small spot in Campbeltown and have both in their own ways, been major players in Scottish Golf for many years.

All in all it was a great night, a celebration of one of Scotland’s oldest sports and an opportunity to raise funds for not just golf but also their chosen charity partner for 2017, The Beatson Cancer Charity.

Many people credit Scotland as being the home of golf and we are more than happy to accept that accolade and live up to the expectation it brings.

There is one little fly in the ointment and that is the reluctance in some quarters to embrace diversity and move into the 21st century. We await with baited breath the outcome of this month’s vote from Muirfield Golf Club and hope that nothing stands in the way of a ‘yes’ vote this time.

Golf is many things to different people, a pastime, a passion, a career, a fund-raising opportunity or a chance to network and make some strong business connections. The last benefit there has for some time now and has generally been the sole domain of men, however as more and more women take up the sport, they are also using their time on the course to forge business links.

SWiS are dipping their toe in the water where golf is concerned and in September this year, we will be hosting our first pro-celeb golf day at Buchanan Castle Golf Club, Drymen on September 7 to raise funds for our organisation. We are currently putting together our list of celebs for the day and will soon be actively recruiting teams to join us.

If you’re interested in booking a slot for your company and making some new contacts, give me a shout!