You could say they are both a cut above the rest. “You’ll know my brother called Taylor,” suggested Alan Ferguson. Now, there are probably far more neatly coiffured folk than this tousled correspondent who could have swiftly replied “oh aye, Taylor, that celebrated Glasgow hair stylist” but, given that my hum-drum barnet would have had Sweeney Todd taking his straight razor to his own throat in exasperation, I had to pass on this particular test of salon savviness. My idea of a classy clip, after all, is administering a short back and sides with a pair of lopping shears while hunched over the kitchen bin.
It’s not the industry of scissors and combs we’re talking to Alan about but the business of golf, although he can happily blether on about both. For many a year Ferguson too was involved in crimping, colouring and cajoling those protruding strands on the heid and he ran his own salon in Coatbridge. This casual conversation, therefore, seamlessly meandered from the Drumpellier Club Championship to the L’Oreal Colour Trophy.
At the sprightly age of 70, Ferguson is still cutting a dash on the course and his victory in his home club’s championship this season, 50 years after he won it for the first time, remains a great triumph for both competitive longevity and an unwavering love of the game. If the 40-year-old Tiger Woods could winkle out another 30 years, he’d be delighted.
Given that he remains as fit as a freshly buffed up fiddle, Ferguson is in no mood to rest on the laurels. “I told the rest of the members and the younger ones that I’ll be back next year to defend the title and keep them all on their toes,” he added with a chuckle.
Half-a-century ago, it was 1966 and all that. The Beatles released Revolver, the Star Trek series was launched and that lot over the wall managed a jammy win against West Germany in the World Cup. Amid these seminal moments, Ferguson was conquering in Coatbridge. His maiden win in the Drumpellier Club Championship would be the first of 15 in total but Ferguson wouldn’t have thought his name would still be getting chiselled into the silverware in 2016.
“That win in '66 was the first time I had a drink with my father,” reflected Ferguson. “It was him who got me into golf. I used to caddie for him. The very first ball I hit as a 10-year-old went 20 yards past his. He didn’t say much. At that point I was hooked. Did I think I’d win again 50 years on? Not really. My last win was in 1993 and you think you’re just there to make up the numbers. But I played some great stuff. Two rounds in one day is my absolute maximum these days but the adrenaline kept me going.”
Given that he was kept busy over the weekends with the hairdressing business during his golfing pomp, Ferguson’s appearances at the top-level of the amateur scene were limited although he did revel in the cut-and-thrust when he could. He reached the last eight of the Amateur Championship at Hillside in 1979 where he lost to Scott Hoch, the American who would later become remembered for missing a two-foot putt in a play-off against Nick Faldo that would have given him victory in the 1989 Masters.
“The hairdressing business was hopeless for golf,” said Ferguson. “In those days, Thursday, Friday and Saturdays were your busiest days.”
In a Scottish amateur scene bustling with redoubtable figures like Ronnie Shade, Charlie Green and Ian Hutcheon, Ferguson got to compete alongside the home grown heroes who he idolised growing up. “Ronnie Shade was always immaculately dressed on the course,” he said. “I won my first club championship in a play-off and before it, I went and bought a new outfit. I felt I was a couple up on the first tee because of that and that was something I picked up from Ronnie.”
Dedicated and disciplined, Ferguson continues to stick by the sturdy golfing values that have stood him in good stead. “Nobody can give you this magic swing,” he said. “They can give you the basics but you have to work at it. I was self-taught. I never had a lesson. Sometimes, you can get too much information. If you want to play good golf you often have to work it out yourself. I used to go two hours before I went to work and practice because I just loved the game. When you play something well, you want to keep getting better. Even at 70, I still want to keep improving. I keep striving for perfection but in this game, you’ll never quite find it.”
Ferguson can still cut it though.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules here