GOLF chiefs have hand-picked an Inverclyde club to trial a new electronic system that looks set to revolutionise the game across the country.

Gourock Golf Club has been trialling software for more than a year on behalf of national governing body, Scottish Golf.

Their selection is thanks to committee member Gordon Crae, who also works for the organisation.

The system will help ease the financial burden on struggling community clubs throughout the country and bring them into the 21st century.

The technology will allow members to book tee times, pay fees and check scores at the touch of a button on their smartphones or tablet devices.

It will also help staff and officials to better manage and organise tournaments, events and payments.

Crucially, it is a centralised system for clubs to access as opposed to each paying for third party providers, which is costly, and links in with the rollout of a new universal handicap model being introduced by golf authorities.

Gordon said: "There were six handicap systems all over the world and now there will be one.

"It will allow everybody to get a handicap to play against each other in a fair and equal basis. "The company that was developing the new handicap system run major tournaments around the world and had dabbled with club software so all these things came together.

"Clubs spend a fortune on third party software to run clubs and asked Scottish Golf to come up with a cheaper option, which they did.

"We'll now release it to clubs that want it. "Ultimately it's about including everybody in the game as much as possible.

"Gourock was a good club to trial the new software because it's a very friendly place and people are working hard there to improve things for members and the area."

The trial at the Cowal View course has been on the go for more than a year and the system also links into the bar and restaurant to aid with ordering and monitoring stock.

Allan Warwick, general manager of Gourock GC, said: "It's a feather in a local golf club's cap that we were selected to lead the charge with this. "This is part of the huge advances the club has made over the last 12-24 months and will continue to make.

"Clubs will hopefully save money out of it and drive better management of clubs."

The rollout of the new system is the latest in a line of recent developments and upgrades at Gourock, included an extension of the car park and opening of an indoor development studio.

Plans are also in place for a major £230,000 refurbishment of the clubhouse.