A former pupil of Harris Academy, Dundee has landed one of the top jobs in sports business by being appointed head of golf at the Belfry, the frequent venue for the Ryder Cup and one of the biggest sporting complexes in Europe.
Gary Silcock, a qualified professional, who has worked in business administration in Portugal, Ireland and India, will have responsibility for the entire golfing operation at the massive site near Birmingham. Born in Dundee, Gary will take up his prestigious post later this month after a meteoric career that has seen him work all over the world, attaining the accolade a Fellow of the Professional Golfers Association (PGA).
Gary, who started out as an assistant professional at Panmure Golf Club, Barry in 1993 says that he appointment at the Belfry is the culmination of many years hard work across the world. Gary worked at Westerwood in Cumberland and at the Duke's Course in St Andrews before moving to the Parque de Floresta complex in the Algarve in Portugal, where he established the new club and golf academy there before returning to Scotland in 2001.
In India, Gary was in charge of setting up a floodlit course and golf academy in Mumbai as part of an $8 billion project and had intended to settle in India before he was invited by the Irish professional Christy O'Connor jnr to come to Ireland,
Involvement with the PGA in that project and also tutoring professionals in golf business at the Belfry on a regular basis meant the association was aware of Gary's abilities and they approached him to take over at the Belfry.
Extracted from article in "The Courier", August 3, 2006 Dundee man lands top post at the Belfry weeks