PGA Pro Culverwell enjoys access all areas pass to Genesis Scottish Open

13/05/2025

It’s just over a decade now since Zander Culverwell played in the Scottish Open.

Here in 2025, the PGA Professional continues to revel in the opportunity to experience the championship in a very different way.

As one of the assistants at the Renaissance Club, the host venue to July’s DP World Tour showpiece in East Lothian, Culverwell has an access all areas pass to one of golf’s biggest occasions.

Back in 2014, Culverwell was handed an invitation to the Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen as a reward for winning the Scottish Amateur Championship the previous season.

The cut-and-thrust of frontline competition was certainly something to savour but his behind the scenes experiences these days gives him just as much satisfaction.

“As a player you would just roll up with the rest of the circus and do what you do,” he said. “But the circus is in town a lot longer than you are, and you don’t appreciate all the work that goes into an event like this.

“I get involved with security meetings and all these areas that I was never really aware of. It’s a very eye-opening experience to be involved behind the scenes.”

As a multi-skilled, multi-tasking PGA Professional, Culverwell is often spinning an entire crockery set let alone the plates.

During the Genesis Scottish Open, a mighty event which last year had the fifth strongest field in golf including the four majors, Culverwell works alongside the chief marshal and helps co-ordinate the movement of the massed ranks of the championship’s volunteers across a variety of fronts.

“We have around 630 volunteers which I believe is the largest number on the DP World Tour,” he said. “The work started on the recruitment process back in February. We get more and more people applying each year and, unfortunately, we have to turn a few away.

“That’s due to the growing stature of the event. It’s gone from a big event on the schedule to a huge one. We have volunteers coming from Cambodia and Australia. There’s certainly no evidence of volunteer fatigue.

“My normal day-to-day routine here at the Renaissance is very varied. I deal with a lot of the golf admin. We take member bookings, we deal with handicapping, we do retail, coaching, event management.

"This year we have four major member events, in addition to the Scottish Open, with people coming from all over the world.

“That’s the thing I love about my role. There are a lot of different hats getting put on.”

One man who has donned a few hats down the years is the Renaissance Club’s chief operating officer, Billy Peterson.

“He’s a master PGA Professional and he’s been there and done everything,” added Culverwell of a vastly experienced figure who was the head pro at TPC Sawgrass and had several years with the PGA Tour’s Championship Division.

“He’s a great person to learn from as he’s experienced it all in terms of event staging and the roles he’s held.”

After a fine amateur career, Culverwell made the leap into the paid game and tried to establish a foothold as a touring golfer.

“I gave it a go for a couple of years but, ultimately, I had to pick between touring golf and life,” reflected the father of two. “I sat down with my family and decided to explore other golfing avenues.

“Russell Smith was the director of golf at the Renaissance for a while, and he offered me a start here.

“It was great because even though I’d called time on my touring ambitions I wasn’t going cold turkey with golf so to speak. The PGA kept me in the game. There were still events to play in at the same time as forging a very different career in a brilliant industry.

“As you go through your training, you realise how many opportunities The PGA provides.

“I’ve gone down more of the events and admin route, but I still love coaching and I’m lucky that my job allows me to do that.

“Last winter, for instance, was my first time as a Lothians Boys’ coach and it’s nice to give back to that side of the game. It was a full circle moment.

“I used to go to Braid Hills for boys’ coaching when I was 12. Now I’m doing the coaching myself and helping a new generation.”

Getting a backstage pass, meanwhile, to the Genesis Scottish Open is one of the perks of Culverwell’s multi-faceted day job.

“You always had dreams of playing in these events on a regular basis,” he said. “But working at it is probably the next best thing.”