Willie MacKay has been handed a Lifetime Honour Award for 2026 by Scottish Golf for his outstanding contribution to golf in the Highlands and Islands stretching back over five decades and continuing to this day.
The inspirational 75-year-old was – for once – lost for words when he learned he was to be the latest recipient of the prize, sponsored by DotGolf, during a surprise reveal in front of family, friends and ex-colleagues at his home club, Royal Dornoch.
MacKay will formally receive his award at the Scottish Golf Awards at the Radisson Blu Hotel in Glasgow on Friday 27 March by which time he may just have recovered from the shock of being declared a winner!
The news, however, will come as no surprise to anyone in the world of Scottish golf who has encountered Willie ‘Hook’ MacKay – universally described as a ‘force of nature’ by admiring fellow volunteers and ex-work colleagues.
Although retired, MacKay continues to live and breathe the game, supporting junior golf in the region through his ongoing association with Royal Dornoch as a dedicated volunteer.
After hearing he was to receive the award, a humbled MacKay said:
“It feels totally surreal, and most unexpected.
“It is genuine, then? You’re not having me on?
“You wonder why when you think of all the volunteers who have given of their time and sacrificed family time.
“I’m lost for words and that’s saying something because I was vaccinated by a gramophone needle!
“I’m honoured and thankful for all the support I’ve received within Scottish golf.”
The former PE teacher has been a passionate advocate for golf, and especially junior golf, ever since he got into the game when gifted a set of clubs by his wife Maureen for his 30th birthday.
From encouraging his pupils at Dornoch and Golspie academies to take up the game, to driving participation in rural and island communities with innovative ideas when he found a second career in golf development, MacKay has been at the heart of grassroots golf for 45 years.
His energy for the game impressed the judges and marked him down as a special individual worthy of recognition for a lifetime serving the sport and his community.
He added: “I was 30 when my wife got me a membership and golf clubs, and I went out with two lovely gentlemen, Nelson Patterson and Ally Manson, on a Sunday after church.
“Some of the tips were not exactly what you’d find in a book. Facing the wind on the 9th Nelson would whisper to me, ‘Willie, don’t hit it harder, hit it better!’
“That stays with you!”
Having already volunteered in golf for two decades, MacKay took a secondment from teaching in his fifties to take up a short-term golf development role linked, initially, to the Junior Ryder Cup.
This career in golf development lasted 17 years.
During this time, MacKay’s impact on Highland communities, clubs, and fellow golfing enthusiasts from Shetland, to Stornoway, east towards Buckie and all points on the map in between was remarkable.
He added: “All along I’ve just tried to help people and people help me.
“When I look at what’s been done in places like Shetland or Orkney, improving facilities in Stornoway…… you look at little Lybster who are now media savvy and celebrating 100 years.
“My recognition is really for the other people that you energise and get on board.”
His role in setting up Golf Highland – a 30-strong cooperative movement – ensured clubs of all sizes benefitted from tourist traffic and has been a game-changer in the region.
MacKay was also crucial in developing the ‘HighNines’ programme which brought together nine-hole courses in the Highlands and Islands to work together and grow participation.
In recent years, MacKay helped organisers in Orkney plan and deliver golf as part of the 2025 Island Games.
Although a member and past captain at Royal Dornoch and heavily involved in overseeing the recent construction of a modern clubhouse at the world-renowned links venue, MacKay has also been a proud champion of the underdog.
This appreciation for golf in all its guises and sizes stemmed from his upbringing in Bonar Bridge where he recognised the importance of the local 9-hole club not only for sport, but as a hub of community life.
He added: “I look at the primary school at Bonar Bridge, the village where I was born.
“The primary school there may only have 55 pupils but recently we had 27 at golf lessons supported by the Royal Dornoch Foundation!
“That’s great to see for now and the future.
“How do you sum up a lifetime in golf? I’ve loved it.
“Maybe for me now it’s about Wednesdays with my geriatrics group.
“Am I slowing down (with work)? I’ll try.
“I looked on it as a 24/7 job….but the snoozes after lunch and tea now tend to get longer.
“When we create the same atmosphere in this amazing new Dornoch clubhouse as we had in the old, then I’ll die quite happily knowing that Dornoch, the town and the golf club is safe for the future.”
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