Seven years ago Elgin Golf Club was on the brink after an employee plundered the much-loved institution’s bank accounts of tens of thousands of pounds to fund their own lifestyle.
Their overdraft was at the limit, the business-side of the club needed to modernise and members were hurting badly after the theft.
Years later, Elgin Golf Club is still continuing that recovery process with a focus on improving the quality and popularity of their offering to keep the cost of vital memberships down.
It’s not an easy process to balance the needs of keeping their 18-hole course pristine while using the clubhouse to generate all the additional income they can.
Club captain Stevie Milne took the reins of the committee late last year after 45 years as a member.
The Press and Journal stopped by the clubhouse to talk to Stevie about how Elgin Golf Club is adapting to the changing needs of the business and expectations from members, including;
- How the club reacted immediately following the embezzlement to ensure its survival.
- Why local members are critical to the future of the institution that was formed in 1906.
- The changes made to the clubhouse to broaden its appeal.
- And whether the club can really claim legendary 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus among their members.
How golf club has recovered from devastating theft
Elgin Golf Club was left with a huge hole in its back accounts after then-manager Barbara-Anne Rumbles transferred funds into her own accounts between November 2016 and October 2019.
She was originally charged with plundering £142,209 and later pleaded guilty to taking a reduced amount of £45,840 – a final figure the club disputed when the case called in court in 2023.
Because she was a first offender, she was spared prison and instead sentenced to 225 hours of unpaid work with a six-month curfew alongside a commitment to repay the cash she admitted taking.
Elgin Golf Club has been left to pick up the pieces though with the committee still dealing with the fallout several years later.
Stevie, who previously ran family firm Alan Milne car sales in Elgin, joined the committee shortly after the missing money was discovered in 2018.
He said: “We reformed. Rather than looking at just who was available, we looked at what was required and targeted the people with the right skills we needed.
“Rather than saying ‘Here’s a group of people, hopefully we can muddle through,’ it had to change. Unfortunately those people were taken advantage of.”
He added: “We were in a precarious position. Our overdraft was on the limit, we had to get a team in to start the trend we’re going in just now.
“Golf has been good to me over the years. I wanted to be a footballer when I was younger but when I realised that couldn’t happen I turned to golf and it’s given me a lifetime of enjoyment.
“I stepped in as captain because I want to take the baton here to the next person. I want to keep the progress going from when we were on a shoogly peg to ensure it’s in a financially good position.
“There’s no sugar daddies here, although we have had some benefactors.”
Why Elgin Golf Club is completely dependent on local members
While Elgin Golf Club has a long history stretching back nearly 120 years, it’s not as storied as others across Scotland.
They also can’t rest on the prestige of a famous designer attracting American tourists, like Moray Golf Club in Lossiemouth and Nairn Golf Club can with the legacy of Old Tom Morris.
It means Elgin has to be laser-focused on local members, which means doing everything they can to attract and retain the golfers on their doorstep.
Stevie said: “Some clubs can get that income from visitors to a high level, they don’t have to be 100% on member engagement.
“Our club is a member’s club. We have to make sure we run it as a business, but we also have to listen to what our members want too.
“There’s no owner here. All our members pay in as stakeholders, they all have a stake and investment in it.
“It’s not like going into a hotel or shopping centre. Members aren’t just customers, they’re owners too. It’s for their benefit and they can make a difference.
“What we’re trying to do now is promote the ‘Elgin experience’, which is for members, one-day visitors, off the course, everything.
“You get nomadic golfers, they go round wherever the best deal is, but what we’re trying to do is embrace them into a family.
“The product is obviously the course, the greenkeepers have really transcended the quality of the course. The team now is exceptional, as was the previous team.
“We want to create the product on and off the course though.”
Making clubhouse pay its way
Key to Elgin Golf Club becoming more financially sustainable has been overhauling the clubhouse facilities.
Underused lockers were removed last year and replaced with a state-of-the-art virtual studio for the club’s professionals to help golfers work on their swing.
Meanwhile, the bar and restaurant in the clubhouse now has its own identity, The Hardhillock, to attract customers who may not be members.
It’s a delicate balance branching out to new people while also keeping the established members happy too.
Stevie said: “You hear comments like ‘It used to be a members club, now it’s a cafeteria,’ or that kind of thing.
“My mantra over the next couple of years is that whatever we do here is to either increase quality or reduce costs for paying members.
“Doesn’t matter what it is, it has to increase quality or reduce cost.
“So if we have an entertainment event in the club it’s income that goes towards reinvestment in facilities, keep the costs at bay or whatever.
“It’s such a difficult thing though. We’re really desperately trying to keep that feeling of a club, but the pressure is always on us to have a budget at AGM and actually survive.
“We want to keep costs low to play golf. We want to improve, but how do we improve without asking for more money?
“Everything we do is trying to keep those costs down but it’s so difficult.”
Is Jack Nicklaus really a member of Elgin Golf Club?
It might sound far-fetched, but Elgin Golf Club claim golf’s all-time record major winner Jack Nicklaus as one of their members.
During his career The Golden Bear swept all before him with 18 major wins from the 1960s to 1980s, a total that even Tiger Woods was unable to match.
But is he actually a member of Elgin Golf Club?
The claim includes the nearby Linkwood Distillery, which was aiming to crack the US market in the 1960s.
Keen to tap into the Americans’ love of golf, the distillers teamed up with Elgin Golf Club for a special bottling called Chequer’s.
With the expensive and exclusive spirit came honorary membership to the club.
When then club secretary Gordon Wilken was reviewing the list of non-resident members which were sent periodically by the distillers he was astounded to see Jack Nicklaus’ name included.
Attempts were made to entice him north to Elgin while in the UK to play at The Open on various occasions but his schedule never allowed it.
Regardless, photos of Elgin Golf Club’s most famous member adorn the walls alongside other major winners inside the clubhouse.
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