First lady captain aims to grow Dundas Parks club

The appointment of the first female captain in the club's history has coincided with Dundas Parks leading the way in trying to link Scottish Golf's junior initiative to growing membership.

Fiona Macgregor is the Dundas Parks first female captain

Fiona Macgregor, who lives close to the club in South Queensferry, is the first woman to be appointed as captain, insisting she “felt at ease slipping into the role”.

One of her early tasks has been to get the “right people” in to carry out a refurbishment of a 50-year-old clubhouse for the nine-hole course in the grounds of Dundas Castle Estate.

“Trying to partner with them for future support of the club was the aim and we believe we are achieving this,” she said.

The club has a 50-strong junior section with Richard Brown as its convenor as well as 60 kids in its Clubgolf section, with coaching being provided by two outside PGA pros, Ian Muir and Ross Dixon.

Until recently the ClubGolf section had been run by Jim Cowper but Damien Gilmore has now taken the helm and has introduced a number of initiatives to help link it to the junior section and support its growth.

“Our mini-juniors (under 12) are entitled to free membership if one or both of their parents is a member of the club,” said Gilmore.

“We hope this will not only drive junior membership from the current base of members but also attract new adult members from the Kirkliston and South Queensferry catchment who are keen to golf with their children.

“Getting adults into golf is every bit as important as getting the kids started. Being nine holes, the course here is not too intimidating for beginners and juniors alike, while at the same time being able to provide a good challenge for more experienced golfer from the medal tees.”