A Millport golfer is keeping it in the family after being named the island course’s captain – more than four decades after his dad held the same coveted position.

Ruaridh McIntyre, who is well-known on Cumbrae as a charity champion and Ironman runner, put himself forward for the role after being a member of the club since he was eight.

The 50-year-old says it is a big honour to carry on his father’s legacy all these years later.

Ruaridh said: “I’ve been a member of the club for as long as I can remember.

“I put myself forward and so did another member, which was the first time in the club’s 135 year history this has happened.

“I was delighted when I found out I had won the election, which generated six times more interest than normal from members.

“It’s a huge honour and privilege to hold the same role that my dad Dougal carried out between 1979 and 1981.

“Our names will be opposite each other on the board of captains, which is a really nice piece of history as we are the first father and son duo to have held the role.”

Ruaridh says has big plans for the club as captain, with a new emphasis on food and drink offerings all year round.

He explained: “We need to have the bar open more often and increase our catering to grow our income.

“The main criticism we’ve had in the past is that we’ve been inconsistent with the bar opening hours, so we want to rectify that too.

“As long as I’m captain the bar will be open wind, rain or shine, with nice food available to go alongside a drink."

Ruaridh has plans to bring the course closer to the island community.

He added: “Our plan is to run a marketing campaign to get more interest in the club and our major competitions.

“I think we have about 90 per cent of the golfers on the island as members, so we need to start looking off the island to attract new players.

“I want to improve is our links with local businesses and the community in general, which has been harmed over the years by the pandemic and our location.

“I have to say a special thank you to the committee who took us through Covid because they did a fantastic job to keep the place ticking in tough circumstances.

“At the moment we have just over 1,000 full members, but if our plans are successful we can hopefully grow that in the coming months.”