Less is more, so they say. Try telling that to Alan Tait, though. The 54-year-old tends to pack so much into the working day, he probably has to pay an excess baggage fee when he clocks off. If he ever clocks off, that is.
“There are never enough hours in the day,” said the multi-tasking Ayrshireman of his daily endeavours. “As ever, I’m always spinning plates.”
With jobs, roles, initiatives and activities birling here, there and everywhere, the well-kent and well-travelled Tait continues to generate the kind of surging energy that could fuse the National Grid.
The latest plate to get flung into the equation is the Scottish Women’s Amateur Tour (SWAT), a new circuit for female golfers from the unpaid ranks.
Tait, of course, is no stranger to setting up and running competitive tours. Ever since he first dabbled in the pay-and-play business almost 25 years ago, by launching his 2000+ Tour for pros and amateurs, the former European Tour campaigner has been tireless in his efforts to give golfers in the game’s cradle more playing opportunities.
The Scottish Women’s Amateur Tour is his latest addition to the domestic scene. Given that he also runs the Get Back To Golf Tour – a circuit which filled a vital gap during the barren Covid months and has kept going – and the Cack Handers’ Tour, for a more niche golfing market, Tait has plenty of bases covered.
“Maybe I could do a Hackers Tour for Nick Rodger and his colleagues?,” he chuckled to this correspondent. “There would be a lot of **** playing on that,” replied Nick Rodger. Tait agreed.
As for the formation of the women’s circuit? “It started off as a bit of light-hearted banter,” said Tait of the tour’s genesis. “I’d started these others tours and five or six of the girls would often say, ‘right Taity, when are you going to do something for us women?’.
“I kind of laughed it off at the start but then it got more serious. One came up and said they have the Helen Holm Scottish Women’s Open, the Scottish Women’s Amateur and some county stuff but that’s really it. Many said they used to play in lots of 36-holers on the order of merit but there wasn’t the opportunity now. I thought, ‘let’s try and pull something together’.”
Another Tait tour was born. With an entry fee of just £65, the SWAT will feature nine, 36-hole contests at some of Scotland’s finest venues.
The circuit gets underway in April at Royal Dornoch and will conclude with a grand final at Cabot Highlands Castle Stuart. “You’re getting Royal Dornoch for 65 quid and, if nothing else, you’re getting two rounds on courses than can usually cost £300 to £400,” he said of the terrific value for money.
Open to female golfers with a handicap of nine and better, Tait is eager to attract a broad church of competitors. This is a game, and a circuit, for all ages.
“I hope we get all sorts,” said the former Tartan Tour order of merit winner. “There will be players out there, perhaps some former internationalists in their 50s and 60s.
"They will still be competitive, but they might also look at this as a nice social opportunity too. And, of course, we want those younger ones who have aspirations of playing for Scotland.
"If somebody comes on to this tour and wins three or four times, then the selectors can’t ignore that. I think this tour can tick a lot of boxes for women golfers.”
There was a time when cherished events like the Riccarton Rosebowl, the Ness Open, the Mackie Bowl and the Munross Trophy were staples on the women’s amateur order of merit.
These are changed days, but Tait is hoping to revitalise some old favourites. “We have an event at Montrose, which held the Munross Trophy, and the pro there is really keen to put the trophy up for the new tour,” added Tait.
Membership of the SWAT will, initially, be limited to 130 players on a first come, first serve basis and Tait is hoping the good golfing ladies of country embrace the opportunity he has provided.
“We’ve got tremendous courses, the cost is decent so now we just need the bodies to support it to see if there is a real market for it,” he said.
The tireless Tait continues to do his bit for golf in Scotland.
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