A scheme offering sets of golf clubs for hire is “really taking off” around Scotland as clubs bid to build on juniors being the only growth area in the game. In his role as junior convenor at Strathmore Golf Centre, Iain Butchart introduced the scheme at the Perthshire club more than a decade ago after feeling the cut-down clubs being used by youngsters when they came along to coaching sessions were “inappropriate”. He reckoned they were either “too heavy or too short” and decided to do something about it while, at the same time, trying to “make golf affordable for everyone”. Butchart raised a total of £1800, the bulk of which came from a grant from the SSE Drumderg Community Fund, and the results from setting up a club hire scheme speak for themselves. “Over the last 12 years, we have hired out 455 sets and helped hundreds of youngsters try golf, with some of them now on their fourth sets” said Butchart. “We have generated fees of £11,860, which has been reinvested in new stock and last year we completed our upgrade to full sets. We have proved beyond doubt the sustainability.” After approaching Butchart for advice, Scottish Golf rolled out a Club Hire Fund, which offers a matching figure of up to £750 per club, while English Golf is also believed to be interested in the scheme. “Scottish Golf announced at their AGM this year that adult membership was down - gents by 1.01 per cent and ladies by 1.4 per cent - and the only growth area was juniors, with boys up 15 per cent and girls up 1.27 per cent,” added Butchart. “During the growing years, children might have to upgrade clubs up to six times and, with sets costing hundreds of pounds, this expense can be prohibitive. At £25 per annum to hire a set, it’s a no brainier. “We have enhanced the scheme by adding golf trolleys and range finders. Last year, we had 49 sets of clubs, 35 trolleys and six range finders hired out, raising around £1,400. In total, we have taken in over £13,000 in hire fees and have a current balance of just over £2,000.” Following an upgrade to full sets last year, the original half sets became surplus to requirements and they’re now being offered to clubs who have signed up for the Scottish Golf Club Hire Scheme to purchase at just £20 per set. Dullatur and Cowal have already taken up the offer while Hollandbush, Kingennie, King James VI, Stirling and Cardross are also set to join the list of clubs benefiting from the scheme. “Growing junior golf starts by making it accessible and, more importantly, affordable,” observed Butchart. “That’s what my Club Hire Scheme has done and, with the backing of Scottish Golf, makes it achievable for every club to get involved and grow membership.” Liam O’Loughlin, the junior convenor at Cowal, said the provision of hire sets has resulted in a “massive boost” in terms of juniors participating in golf at the Dunoon club. “What Iain has done is nothing short of fantastic and we are trying to copy as many of the key points as we can,” he said. “Every club in the country should be aiming to copy this in some way or another. Golf should be a sport for everyone and this is certainly a scheme that helps that.”