Well, that was a blow.

He may have enjoyed a golfing career that sparkled like one of Liberace's freshly polished candelabras, but in the eyes of the nation's couch-ridden critics poor Tony Jacklin is just another flat-footed flop whose rigid attempts at shoogling, birling and twirling on Strictly Come Dancing seemed to possess all the grace and energy of an old polythene bag hanked on a jaggy bush.

Limp, lame and lacklustre, hissed the judges. It sounded just like the regular, downbeat assessments of this correspondent's swing.

These are harsh times, where criticism flies with the swirling abandon of confetti at a wedding and put downs and kicks in the teeth are as common as a landslip on the Rest and Be Thankful.

Last week in Edinburgh, the main movers and shakers on the Scottish Golf Union's performance committee were sticking the boot into the nation's amateur golfers as the search to find our next golfing gem hammers on.

But how do you unearth such a diamond in the rough? And is there a formula, a kind of e=mc² theory, for a production line of talent? Of course there's not.

In this individual pursuit, it's up to the individual to make the most of their talent but there is a growing army behind the scenes trying to shimmy the process along. Andrew Coltart, brought on board to offer experience and guidance, took a swipe at the perceived "know-it-all" attitude of the some of the emerging amateurs while Steve Paulding, the SGU's performance manager, unveiled a series of tougher measures aimed at ridding the set-up of a "woolly and fluffy" environment.

For many a season, this observer has maintained that too much has been given too soon to those at the top level of the amateur game. The red carpet gets rolled out far too early, every whim is pandered to and an inflated sense of importance can set in, particularly in the relatively shallow waters of the Scottish scene. Throw in some decent media coverage - national papers down south, sadly, ignore the amateur game nowadays - and the odd PR exercise whereby a player is billed as the shiny new face of golf north of the border and it all adds to the growing feeling of self worth. Meanwhile, the likes of Martin Laird and Russell Knox both developed away from it all and under the radar in the USA and look at them now?

To this, I would argue, you toss social media into the bubbling pot; that 24/7 vehicle for promotion and rampant narcissism that is the hi-tech equivalent of standing in a crowded square with a megaphone shrieking "look at me, I'm brilliant".

Blogs, tweets, you name it. These instant ego massaging tools can all be used for publicising mediocrity and celebrating minor achievements. Then, of course, you have the lure of the professional scene and a quite frightening proliferation of mini-tours that are falling over themselves to entice a wet-behind-the-ears rookie into parting with a fortune on a weekly basis in an attempt to gain some form of foothold. For a vast number, the pro dream ends in crushing despair, mounting credit card bills and the painful realisation that they are simply not as good as they thought they were.

The top brass on the SGU's performance set-up have conceded that, in fact, too much has been given down the years. They are now reducing the goodie bag as it were for the new season while they have stated their intentions to try and discourage young players from taking the professional plunge too soon. That is akin to breaking wind against thunder in an era when the turnover from amateur-to-pro has never been greater.

There are no guarantees in this fiercely competitive game and you just have to look at the fortunes of the trio who set the bar for Scottish amateur golf on the global stage just five years ago to illustrate the perils and pitfalls. In 2008, the Scottish team of Callum Macaulay, Wallace Booth and Gavin Dear conquered the world and won the Eisenhower Trophy by a whopping nine shots from an American side that included Rickie Fowler, Billy Horschel and Jamie Lovemark.

Macaulay is now in something of a no-man's land and has made just six cuts in 23 European Tour and Challenge Tour events this year while Booth, after an injury-plagued start to his pro career, is languishing down in 93rd on the Challenge Tour rankings. Dear, meanwhile, has tossed in the professional towel to focus on a new business venture aimed at helping golfers gain scholarships to colleges in the US.

As long as there are youngsters coming into the game - a focus on the grassroots and bolstering participation at the bottom has to be a vital cog in the machine - there is always cause for optimism. Ensuring that potential is fulfilled remains a challenge, though.