During the three golf seasons since it was launched in 2003, the Brighouse Bay Golf Academy has been one of the most successful golfing initiatives in Scotland this century.
Sponsored by Gillespie Leisure Limited, and administered by Brighouse Bay Golf Club and the South of Scotland Golfers' Association, the South of Scotland Golf Academy has produced a number of exceptional young golfers. Some have been included in Scotland squads, some have won not only Junior, but Senior Club Championships at some of the region's leading golf clubs, many have performed to the highest standards in both Junior and Senior SGU Order of Merit events, and in so doing these talented young golfers have brought a great deal of credit to both their mentors and their sponsors.
Tom Gillespie, principal of Gillespie Leisure Limited and owner of Brighouse Bay Golf Club, pictured above at the launch of the Golf Academy with the then Deputy Minister for Tourism, Culture and Sport, Dr Elaine Murray, is delighted that the success of the Academy has justified his commitment to the initiative.
To Dr Murray's left in the photograph above is Tom Bartlett, then Coaching Convener for the South of Scotland Region, now President of the South of Scotland Golfers' Association, and the man who together with Tom Gillespie turned the Golf Academy concept into a reality. On Tom Bartlett's left is Brian Gemmell, the SGU South Region Coach, whose input and commitment have also been instrumental to the ongoing success of the now well established South of Scotland Golf Academy.
