It was the matchplay golf contest which was billed as the round of the century.
Bernard Gallacher and Ronnie Shade switched from cars to helicopters as they raced round 18 golf courses in Tayside and Fife.
Mist and darkness
They played one hole on each course during the marathon 12-hour round which included a journey of 100 miles, five helicopter trips and several soakings.
Ryder Cup hero Gallacher rolled in a two-foot putt on the 18th green at Downfield in gathering mist and darkness to win the match by four shots and win the golf marathon to end them all.
It gave Gallacher a personal score of 72, which was one over the par of the charity event which had been billed as the round of the century.
It also earned each of the players £250 from a £500 prize fund which was guaranteed by Dundee Corporation.
Arrival by helicopter
The marathon round started at 8.30am on May 12 1975 when the players were landed by Royal Marine helicopter just 100 yards from the first tee at Camperdown.
When traditional transport proved inadequate they switched back to the helicopter which also landed them at Arbroath and Barry, and then ferried them across the Tay from Carnoustie to St Andrews and from Scotscraig to Caird Park and finally in gathering mist and darkness to Downfield.
For the early holes Shade had the better of the contest, which was the first time they had played each other in a professional tie-up.
But a great birdie four at the ninth at Monifieth in the worst of the weather put Gallacher two in front.
That birdie saw Gallacher cover the first nine holes in 36 – one over par – to 38 from Shade.
The Ryder Cup man was never out of the lead after that, firing three birdies in the second nine holes.
Champagne finish
As they sipped celebration champagne after being presented with the cheques by new Angus Ladies champion Joan Smith and runner-up Beverly Huke, after the longest day in professional golf, Gallacher and Shade still managed a smile.
“It was good fun and I enjoyed it,” said Gallacher.
“I think the organisers were really quite lenient.
“They did not include too many tough holes.”
Ronnie Shade said: “It was most enjoyable in spite of the weather.
“I enjoyed myself.
“I would do it again – but not every day.”
The event was organised to publicise the number of top-class courses in the Tayside and Fife regions, particularly those within an 18-mile radius of Dundee.
It was also staged for charity with Gallacher representing the Saints and Sinners Club and Shade playing for SPARKS (Sportsmen Pledged to Aid Research into Crippling).
The organiser, Mr Fleming Baird, said he hoped the charities would benefit to the tune of £2,000.
The life and times of a Ryder Cup hero and arguably Scotland’s greatest amateur golfer
Bernard Gallacher started playing golf at the age of 11.
He won the 1967 Scottish Amateur Open Stroke Play Championship before going on to become one of the leading figures on the European Tour during the 1970s and 1980s.
Altogether, he won 13 times in Europe and eight times elsewhere.
In 1969 he represented Great Britain and Ireland for the first time in The Ryder Cup.
Belfry celebrations
He was involved in every Ryder Cup team between 1969 and 1995 — either as a player, assistant or captain.
One of the most highly-respected of all Scottish golfers, he was Tony Jacklin’s assistant from 1985 to 1989, toasting a first-ever European victory over the Americans at The Belfry in 1985 and on US soil for the first time two years later.
Gallacher was appointed team captain at Kiawah Island in 1991 and then at the Belfry two years later, before victory duly came at Oak Hill in 1995.
“I enjoyed my playing career, as an amateur and a professional, but it’s probably my contribution to the Ryder Cup that I’m best remembered for,” he said.
“It was a privilege to captain three teams and winning in America at Oak Hill was really the icing on the cake for me.”
Lifetime accolade
Gallacher was honoured with a Lifetime Achievement accolade at the 2014 Scottish Golf Awards.
Meanwhile, Ronnie Shade was one of the UK’s best amateur golfers of all-time and probably Scotland’s very best.
Indeed for a while in the mid-1960’s he was considered the best amateur in the world.
Born in Edinburgh, Shade grew up playing golf at Duddingston Golf Club in the city.
He enjoyed unrivalled success as an amateur player in the 1960s, winning five consecutive Scottish Amateur Championships from 1963 to 1967.
In 1966, he also finished as leading individual player at the Eisenhower Trophy, as leading amateur in The Open and reached the final of the British Amateur Championship, losing to Bobby Cole.
He represented Britain and Ireland in the Walker Cup on four occasions and was three times winner of the English Amateur Open Strokeplay Championship (the Brabazon Trophy).
Shade was awarded the MBE as an amateur, and decided to turn professional at the age of 30.
Shade did not enjoy as many victories as a professional although he represented Scotland at the World Cup in 1970, 1971 and 1972.
He died in 1986 in Edinburgh after a long illness.
The route played in the Round of the Century
1. Camperdown
2. Rosemount
3. Alyth
4. Kirriemuir
5. Forfar
6. Arbroath
7. Barry
8. Monifieth (Ashludie)
9. Monifieth (Medal)
10. Carnoustie (Burnside)
11. Carnoustie (Medal)
12. St Andrews (Old Course)
13. St Andrews (Eden)
14. St Andrews (Jubilee)
15. St Andrews (New)
16. Scotscraig
17. Caird Park
18. Downfield
