If Simon Cowell and his sombre band of X-Factor judges fancy a weekend off, then Dean Robertson, Andrew Coltart, Stephen Docherty and Steve Paulding could always fill the void.

They are pretty good at delivering withering assessments, after all.

Another season has passed in the amateur game and it is time to take stock. This time last year, those aforementioned men involved with the Scottish Golf Union's performance set up unveiled plans for a more no-nonsense approach towards the country's under achievers. Almost 12 months on, it seems the hard-line message is still not being understood by all and sundry.

Yesterday in Edinburgh, the SGU's three tiers of support for the new campaign were unveiled. Of the 29 players chosen for this tailored backing, just six are over the age of 21. The focus is very much on the young, with the emergence of Ewen Ferguson, the new British Boys' champion, Bradley Neil and Robert MacIntyre providing the chinks of light during a largely bleak campaign that reached its nadir when the GB&I team for the defence of the Walker Cup was a Scot-free zone for the first time since 1949.

As Robertson, Coltart, Docherty and Paulding mulled over events, the one phrase that often cropped up in an open discussion was "dedication", or, it seems, the lack of it. Those who monitor amateur golf closely are well aware that the game has changed enormously over the years and the opportunities and support available at the top level has never been greater. The doors are open and if you want to be successful, there can't be much holding you back surely?

"Scots in particular have an excuse culture round them," said Coltart, the former European Tour player who was drafted in a couple of years ago to offer guidance, experience and pearls of golfing wisdom to those willing to listen. "They blame the pins, the weather, the beds they are staying in. They are the ones who are taking the heads off the driver and hitting it into the traps.

"In the two years I have been involved with the SGU squads I could count on the one hand how many players have phoned me to pick my brain. That to me suggests they know it all and that concerns me. There's an incredible amount of free knowledge and opportunities that weren't out there when the likes of Dean, Stephen and myself were going through the system and for some reason these kids are failing to take them up."

If it is dedication you want then Paulding, the SGU's performance director who puts in place the systems devised by those on the committee, has the ideal role model. "In the three years that I've worked with Catriona Matthew, I've seen her more dedicated in her fitness programme than any of the men or girls that I support," he said. "She is a player in her 40s, who is already at the top of her game, but she knows what she has to do to remain competitive. I don't see that mentality in hardly anyone I spend time with.

"Our culture, particularly with our young children coming through, tends to be too woolly and fluffy. You can't say 'no' and you can't say 'that's bad'. We're too scared to tell them how it is. Look at other sports, cycling, rowing, athletics. There are straight talkers at the top; brutal and tough and it's cut throat. We've been too fluffy, too long in golf."

Docherty, the SGU's non-executive performance director, conceded that certain players had been "given too much" and that they had to step up to the plate and grasp the myriad opportunities that are available.

There will be a more stripped-back expenses system next season, and players will earn a performance-related bonus. If they are not delivering results, the money will dry up and, with so many eyeing a career in the professional game, this should act as a little dose of financial reality. "We shouldn't have to create desire, it should come from within," added Docherty. The challenge, it seems, is drumming this work ethic into the players.

Paulding is encouraged by the posse of talented teenagers emerging and believes the discipline, attitude and willingness to adopt a professional approach is more prevalent in this younger age bracket. In the four years he has been involved with the SGU, he has seen a raft of players come and go. The sheer volume of lower-level professional tours available these days encourages the kind of reckless leaps of faith usually reserved for a pack of lemmings and not many have departed with a glowing report card.

"One player told me, 'I'm really bored with the amateur circuit now so I'll just turn pro'," he said. "Out of 50 or 60 players I have worked with, how many would I write a reference for or put my hand in my pocket for? Maybe only four or five."