Meet the Team
We are first and foremost, golf enthusiasts. We have played golf collectively for almost 200 years and have witnessed the highs and lows of the game, often personally, and seen the vast changes in the Golf market generally. We recognise, through our lifetime of experience, and from our various skill sets, that many golfers, and golf clubs, would benefit from candid and straightforward advice. Primarily that is our goal - to give you the golfer, and you the golf club, courtesy advice. We have the experience to justify this and should you require more, we have that experience as well. Please find below some short bios introducing the team.
From L to R: Steve MacDiarmid, Peter Craigon, Iain Simpson, Dougie Cleeton
Dougie Cleeton
Dougie retired from 16 years in Golf Club Management during which time he held positions from Club Secretary at Turnhouse GC, Managing Secretary at Blairgowrie GC and CEO at Bruntsfield Links Golfing Society. During his time in Golf Club management Dougie has worked with the European Tour, Ryder Cup Europe, PGA and Golfs Governing Bodies. Dougie has also served on the executive of Perth & Kinross County Golf Association, setup and Chaired Golf Perthshire, and was Chair to Edinburgh Golf Club secretaries. He has visited or played many of Scotland's golf courses and has a passion for clubs to be the best they can be.
Peter Craigon
Peter and his wife bought Morton Golf Holidays in 2004. They developed the business very successfully for 16 years, bringing golfers from all over the world to the UK. During his time in golf tourism Peter served as Chairman of SIGTOA for several years. One of the key areas which set MGH apart from other tour operators was Peter’s drive to include many hidden gems in clients’ itineraries rather than just the ‘trophy’ courses. He has played over 400 golf courses most of which are in Scotland. This gives him a great perspective to contribute to Golf Insights with the objective to offer guidance and help to golf clubs across the country.
Iain Simpson
Iain taught English and PE in two prep schools between 1981 and 2014. His roles involved encouraging young minds to enjoy and appreciate literature and language and develop his pupils’ skills in rugby, athletics, skiing and golf. He spent six years, from 2008, as County Secretary of Perth & Kinross County Golf Union, and in that time, was the county representative on The SGU Council. This gave Iain excellent experience of various issues and opportunities of golf in Scotland in club, county and national level. After retiring from teaching, Iain became Managing Secretary of Crieff Golf Club. He has played over 300 golf courses, mostly in Scotland.
Steven MacDiarmid
Steve quite literally grew up in a golf club, which was managed by his parents, and golf has always been a fundamental part of his life. His career has taken him all over the world, he's led teams of over 4,000 people, was responsible for Sky's customer loyalty and retention strategy and most recently he was Chief Commercial Officer for the leading premium entertainment content company in Middle East and North Africa, responsible for sales and customer experience in more than 20 countries. Steve is passionate about helping golfers and golf clubs in Scotland, by bringing what he's learned in business to the Golf Insights team.
We are delighted to have been partnered by Donald Ford Photography who has assisted by providing the best images we have on our website. Copies of these images and photograph books can be sought directly at Donald Ford Images.
All other images are the property of Golf Insights.
