DESPITE the toffs at St Andrews who live in the past century by continuing to ban women from their clubhouse Scottish golf is still the people's game.

When choosing partners for my STV chat show on the sport, Whelan Around, it wasn't difficult to find famous Scots who played golf.

In England - unless you're rich - it's more difficult to join a club than get a hole in one. And there aren't many publicly owned courses either. All my guests told me how they first started playing when they were kids. Seeing youngsters on the course down south is a rare sight.

When I was told gay comic Rhona Cameron was a keen golfer I didn't believe it. But why shouldn't she be?

Her dad taught her on the links at North Berwick and it was there we did the programme.

Rhona may have been one of the few opponents I could beat but that was because she hasn't been practicising enough as she has difficulty finding a place to play in London.

Hollywood star Dougray Scott told me he had had the same problem though you wouldn't have guessed it if you had seen him taming Gleneagles, home of the 2012 Ryder Cup.

Dougray, who also learned as a lad in Glenrothes, obviously plays a lot.

The match he really wants is against Sean Connery, if only to show the former 007 his brilliant impersonation of him.

However, Scott also hankers after taking over from current James Bond Pierce Brosnan and reckons he could pick up a few tips from old master Connery who famously beat Goldfinger by out- cheating the tubby baddie.

We all know how much footballers love golf, mainly because they have so much time on their hands.

Former Scotland boss Craig Brown is no exception. His home course is Belleisle in the heart of Burns country and when we played he was keener to talk about the Bard than the fortunes of his then team - unsurprising as the Scots had failed to qualify for the World Cup and I was crowing about England.

Politicians north of the border play the game, too, unlike PM Tony Blair. The only time he tried it was with Bill Clinton. The US leader was so embarrassed when Blair couldn't hit the ball that he went and played on his own.

In Scotland, Labour First Minister Jack McConnell teams up with Tory leader David McLetchie when they take on the press and I can see why.

It was only because I put McLetchie off by giving him a ball with Blair's head embossed on it that I beat him on the superb Boat of Garten course.

Former Blue Peter presenter John Leslie beat me by insisting I play with a putter he had made from cardboard toilet rolls.

But the best golfer I came up against was snooker superstar Stephen Hendry, despite the fact he often had to leave his clubs in the garden shed to spend six hours a day practising on a different sort of green.

Still, the former world champion didn't get as good as he is at golf by playing snooker. Hand- eye co-ordination is obviously important for both games which also involve hitting a stationary ball.

But practice is vital and that's what Hendry must have been doing. It may be that his love of golf is why he no longer rules his old domain!

Like hundreds of brilliant sportsmen before him the Scot must have been tempted to become a golf pro, although most who try fail.

The latest star to have a go is former Chelsea footballer Roy Wegerle. At 37 he will never make a good living at golf and history is littered with low handicappers who thought they could join the pro circuit.

You only have to see a pro in action to know they play a different game to the rest of us. We may all call it golf but it's not the same.

During my rounds with the Scots celebs Westerwood pro Alan Tait, who shares the record round at Carnoustie with Colin Montgomerie. gave us a few tips. Not only did Tait hit the ball miles further than I have ever seen, he hit it straight too.

But the handicap system still gives us a chance to beat the pro, something I nearly did only to miss a short putt on the 18th and share with Alan.

Copyright 2002 Scottish Daily Record & Sunday Mail Ltd.