In his playing pomp on the Tartan Tour, Colin Gillies, who has died at the age of just 58, was a formidable campaigner.
With an unquenchable drooth for the competitive cut-and-thrust, the dominant Falkirk man just about held the domestic circuit in a half nelson.
“It felt like he was winning something every week,” said his brother, John.
If Gillies wasn’t winning, then he was always there or thereabouts.
In more prosperous times for the Tartan Tour, with 72-holers here, 36-holers there and 18-hole Pro-Ams everywhere, the playing schedules of some of the home-based professionals were as choc-a-bloc as the diaries of the great socialites.
"We were actually moaning about being tired because of the amount of golf we were playing,” Gillies once reflected of this land of milk and honey.
Between 1987 and 2010, Gillies racked up 125 wins in a mighty haul that included two Scottish PGA Championship titles and eventually led to him becoming the first player to break through the £500,000 mark in career earnings on the Tartan Tour.
The final count was £513,747, a figure that is unlikely to be topped in these very different financial times for The PGA in Scotland’s circuit.
“I don't know if that means I was the best or was just out there too long,” said a self-deprecating Gillies of his admirable longevity.
As a young ‘un, Gillies served his professional apprenticeship under the shrewd tutelage of Bernard Gallacher at Wentworth. “He was one of my best assistants,” said Gallacher, the former European Ryder Cup captain.
“He was an excellent player, and all the members liked him. In fact, one member wanted to sponsor him on the tour, but he declined because he missed home too much and went back to Scotland.”
Upon his return north of the border, Gillies took up a post at Dunblane New and would go on to have more attachments than a Dyson vacuum.
“Some would last 10 minutes,” he once joked of these various posts. In total, he had 27 PGA affiliations.
After retiring from playing with a variety of aches and pains, Gillies had a stint as a tournament controller with The PGA in Scotland.
“The poacher turned gamekeeper was a phrase that got thrown around,” he said of the good-natured ribbing he received from his old sparring partners when he took on the role.
“Colin brought a new approach and a different way of thinking to the role, and was a much-valued member of staff,” added PGA in Scotland tournament controller, Roy Murray, of the benefits of having a former player involved in the running of events.
Gillies had considerable golfing talent, but he was also a realist. The Scot had made a number of outings on the main European – now DP World - Tour but with the Tartan Tour in fine fettle financially, he opted to focus his energies on competing and prospering in his own backyard.
“I realised I was not quite good enough,” said Gillies in an interview with The Herald many years ago as he mulled over those eye-opening examinations on the main European stage.
“I was never going to be a superstar. I knew then I would concentrate on playing at home, where I liked to be anyway.”
Content with his lot and unfettered by envy of those at the top of the tree in his business, Gillies made a purposeful assault on the Tartan Tour as he revelled in those home comforts.
He could still cut it among the big boys too. In 2001, for instance, Gillies was handily placed in 18th position at the halfway stage of the star-studded and highly lucrative Scottish Open at Loch Lomond.
“I just about had the car and the house paid off at that point,” he said as thoughts of a life-changing reward surged through his mind.
In the end, Gillies, who would also qualify for three Open Championships, had to settle for a share of 47th but his cheque for well-over £15,000 was still the biggest single prize of his long, distinguished career.
This career has been rightly celebrated amid the many tributes that have been made in the wake of his untimely passing.
“Colin was an outstanding player, but it was his kind personality and character that made the biggest impression on me personally,” said David Longmuir, the manager of The PGA in Scotland.
“He made such an impact on the Tartan Tour but even more of an impact on the people he played and worked with.”
