Golf's fun when it's up to Scratch...

His whiskered face might not be instantly recognisable yet to golf fans who will be glued to coverage of the US Masters from Augusta next week, but if his creators have their way the Scottish cartoon character will soon be as well known as Sandy Lyle or Paul Lawrie.

He is more than 10 years in the making, for much of that time the seed of an idea in the head of Stephen Tennent, a former Clyde player and sports mentor.

It was only when he started working with comedy writer Phil Differ, film director Norman Stone and illustrator Alex Leonard that Scratch finally came to life.

Now they are on their way to building a character that could have his own book, film or syndicated cartoon strips worldwide. In the meantime, you can read his adventures at www.scratchmactee.com.

We are meeting at Norman's home, which he shares wife his wife, broadcaster Sally Magnusson, and their five children.

Norman's Bafta for Shadowlands sits on the mantlepiece and Phil and Alex are apeing about and posing with it, while Stephen takes their picture. "How sad, you'd think you'd never seen a Bafta before," quips Phil.

When we sit down, with Norman's sheepdog for company, Stephen explains how the idea of Scratch was born.

"I worked in the golf business and was at a PGA merchandising show in Orlando. It was the first time in six years that I decided to walk the show, trying to be on the outside looking in. The one thing I saw was an industry that took itself really seriously," he says.

"Yes there was new technology and clothing and styles but the one thing that barked out at me was that there was very little humour."

After getting to know Phil, Stephen emailed, explaining that he was looking for a writer for a new project.

"There were a lot of emails going back and forward with top secret documents to sign and, 'If I tell you this, you've got to promise not to tell anyone' and what have you," laughs Phil. "Then he said, 'This is the character Scratch MacTee'.

WHEN you hear the name you think you've heard it before because it feels familiar.

"As soon as I read it I knew it's a comedy thing, it's a golf character and everything fitted in."

Stephen's first rough drawings were quickly finessed by Norman and then they found Alex, recommended by fellow Orcadian, Judge Dredd artist Cam Kennedy, who is now suffering from advanced glaucoma.

"Cam was my hero growing up," admits Alex, "so I was taken aback when he phoned me, which in itself was rare and flattering. When I was growing up I was always into comic books."

THE fifth business partner is financier Alan McFarlane, who has provided the money to develop the project.

Though neither Phil, Alex or Norman play golf, that hasn't got in the way of developing Scratch's character. In fact it has helped, they say.

"I went up to St Andrews with my notepad one day and just sat at the first tee and watched people and observed the way they behaved, the things they did and the way they reacted," says Phil.

"There's a tremendous reverence to the golf club in St Andrews. If you just look at it from a slightly different angle it's actually really funny.

"So I just thought, there's a hell of a lot in this whole reverential thing and here's this character who is not outside laughing at golf, he's inside laughing with it.

"He's a stickler for the rules, he'll bend some rules and will say things that will surprise you. You would probably say he was politically incorrect but he doesn't see that.

"It suddenly opened up this whole other way of approaching this without just laughing at checked trousers."

Scratch's character was rounded out with the question of whether women should be allowed to be members of the Royal & Ancient golf club at St Andrews, a decision that was only finally agreed last week after more than 250 years of the game.

"I said yes, and the humour is in why he thinks that, exploring it," adds Phil. "Scratch surprises you and catches you unawares. He's the true spirit of golf, without being too heavy about it, he's a throwback."

Norman believes the success of the cartoon strip is down to the strong characters, from Scratch to his fellow players and his loyal caddy Tam.

"He self deflates without meaning to at times," laughs Norman. "You can't have him as a high heid yin up there who never puts a foot wrong; he's quite the reverse. He's exasperated a lot of the time and has this caddy Tam who is never exasperated.

"The Dad's Army structure goes right back to medieval humours, that's what they deliberately built the series round, and it lasts forever because there is something essential there, you can't just paint a character for the top of a series or drama, you've got to go deeper. And this guy's got it."

Referencing the expert work of acclaimed cartoonist Bill Watterson with Calvin and Hobbes, Norman explains why comedy writing is so difficult. "Sometimes there are no words at all, and we needed someone who was good at that."

The hardest part of the work for Phil was just that, he says; condensing storylines and jokes into just a few words.

With that task accomplished Scratch MacTee is a golf character never likely to get stuck in a bunker.

angela.mcmanus@eveningtimes.co.uk