Borders golf course brought to book as part of celebration of sport

It was at the 18-hole seaside course, though it was only half that size at the time, that Borderer Martin Dempster, golfing correspondent for our sister paper the Scotsman, first took up the sport that he’s since made a career out of covering and has now written a book about.

Called The Art of Scottish Golf, it’s the 60-year-old’s first book and it’s out now, via Edinburgh’s Black and White Publishing, priced at £16.99.

Its 288 pages, split into ten chapters, recount the invention and evolution of golf in Scotland and offer an overview of notable courses among the 550-plus on offer here, as well as throwing in a few anecdotes from past and current players and caddies.

Writing for publication between hardcovers rather than for newspapers, magazines or websites is a new experience for Dempster but one he enjoyed, he says.

“This is my first book,” he told us. “The publishers approached me earlier this year with an idea.

“They’d done this other book, The Art of Coorie, by Gabriella Bennett, and they wanted to do something similar about Scottish golf. They spoke to some people in the industry and they suggested me and they then asked me what I felt should be included and to come up with a chapter plan.

“Probably the hardest part was keeping it down to a reasonable number of chapters because obviously there’s so much goes on in the Scottish game and there have been so many successes over the years, so many great golf courses and lots of great initiatives.

“It was just a case of coming up with a plan and then sitting down and hammering it out. I started writing it in February and it was finished by the end of June, though it was as good as done in the main a lot earlier than that.

“After I’d contacted people in the golf industry – players, people who run courses and hotels – to tell them what I was doing and ask for help and if I could send them questions, the response was incredible and that made it quite easy for me.

“I’ve covered golf for nearly 40 years now, so it came a little bit more easily than I maybe thought it would once I got started.

“For most of the chapters I knew what I needed to do and who I needed to speak to and then it was just a case of going from there.

“It was thoroughly enjoyable and I didn’t feel too stressed at any point, and I had lots of people supporting me, which was great as well.

“Working full-time in journalism, I did wonder if I’d have time to do the book but I thought this could be a one and only chance and the subject was spot on for me, so I’m certainly glad I did it.

“Since we’ve announced it was coming out, I’ve been absolutely blown away by the response from people all over the world saying how pleased they are and how excited they are about the prospect of reading it.

“I’m really delighted about that.”

Dempster, brought up in Coldingham but now living in Dalgety Bay in Fife, started the journalism career that led to his now-published labour of love as a junior reporter for the old Alnwick Advertiser in Northumberland in the early 1980s, later moving on to the Berwickshire News before leaving the Borders in 1985 for the Wrexham Evening Leader in Wales, a sports agency in Glasgow, Scotland on Sunday, the magazine Bunkered and his current employer.

Recalling how he first took up the sport he’s been making a living out of covering for four decades, Dempster, a former amateur footballer with St Abbs Thistle, said: “I played my golf as a boy at Eyemouth and also Dunbar.

“Eyemouth was where it all started in golf for me. It was a nine-hole golf course back then and I loved it. I spent my summer holidays on the golf course just about every day.

“I used to play at all the eastern Borders’ courses, Duns and the Hirsel at Coldstream as well as Eyemouth.

“Probably the first golfer I wrote about after starting working as a reporter was one from Eyemouth called Craig Maltman.

“Craig was one of Scotland’s top professionals at the time and I remember writing a few stories about him and that’s probably what got me started on the journey to where I am now.”

After moving to Fife, the first course he was a member at was Burntisland Golf House Club but he switched to Aberdour Golf Club just over 20 years ago.

Relocating to Fife has also put him within easier reach of the home of golf, St Andrews, and that’s something he counts his blessings about, he says.

“My wife Carol was born in St Andrews and there’s nowhere better in the world to visit, not just for golf,” he said.

“It’s just under an hour away from where we live and nothing gives me a bigger buzz in terms of covering golf events than going to St Andrews.

“I’ve played most of the Fife courses over the years. I love Kingsbarns and Dumbarnie and some of the lesser-known courses too.

“It’s a great place to live and the fact that St Andrews is here makes it even better from a golf perspective.”