Stuart Wilson hoping Duddingston will be his final destination as pro

It has just been announced that Wilson has been appointed as the Capital club’s new professional, taking over as from Alastair McLean, who is leaving after being in the coveted post for 30 years.

Kirkcaldy-born Wilson is moving to Edinburgh after being at Eastwood in Glasgow and, more recently, Portlethen on the outskirts of Aberdeen.

“I’ve been pulled around the country in my career,” he said, laughing. “In fact, it looks as though I am ticking off all the major cities in Scotland!”

New Deer Park professional Iain Stoddart

Wilson served his PGA training at Kirkcaldy before spending six years at Ladybank, where he served as the senior teaching pro under Martin Gray.

He then became head of instruction during a four-year spell at Gleneagles before taking up the head pro’s post at Eastwood in 2007. During his time there, he was voted “Professional Of The Year” by the Foremost Group and twice won their award for “Marketing Professional Of The Year”.

Wilson then succeeded Muriel Thomson after she retired following 25 years as the head pro at Portlethen and now he’s equally excited about taking over at Duddingston from another long-serving  professional.

“It’s certainly something that whetted my appetite when I saw that Alistair was retiring,” said Wilson of a post that he will take up on February 4. “It’s a club that I’ve known for a while, just through it’s reputation in the industry and within golf in general.

“The fact Alistair has been there so long and the history of their pros staying a long time tells you a lot about the club. It was an attractive one straight away and became even more attractive when I went and spoke to Alistair about the job.

“I just felt it was a good opportunity and one that has come at the right time for me to look for a fresh challenge. It was quite an easy decision once I was offered the job and I am hoping that Duddingston, with its history of long-serving pros, can be my final home.”

Also taking up a new post in the new year is Iain Stoddart, who has been appointed as the new PGA pro at Deer Park Golf and Country Club in Livingston.

Stoddart was at Greenburn before taking up the role of golf sales manager at Deer Park in July 2017 and is now looking forward to a new challenge starting on January 1.

“The work that has been carried out by everyone at the club over the last few years has put us in a strong position from a membership and golf course stand point,” he said.

“It has also brought us a lot of visiting parties as word of mouth has spread about how good a golf course Deer Park really is, so it’s an exciting time to be taking on this position.”

Deer Park’s general manager, Iain Watson, said of Stoddart: “His good rapport with our membership is a real positive when taking on this role and we’re all excited for what the future holds.”