THE six foot four frame is as instantly recognisable as the ‘Girvan Lighthouse’ nickname to a generation of Scottish football fans.

For American golfers, Peter McCloy is a friendly face at Turnberry rather than a European champion, a Treble winner and a Rangers great, though.

Those exploits were more than four decades ago but they ensure McCloy’s name will forever be enshrined in Ibrox folklore. Rangers gave McCloy some of the best days of his life, now two other of his great loves – his golf and his grandchildren – occupy his time.

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“I don’t do it during the winter months, so I usually go in about April or May and do three or four days,” McCloy says of his starter duties at Trump Turnberry. “I do enjoy it. I do the morning stint and you meet a lot of interesting people of all nationalities.

“The Scots will recognise you although the Americans don’t really. There are one or two that know who I am right enough and that surprised me.”

McCloy may be an unknown to many of those that he wishes well before they tee it up and set off but there is one visitor from across the Atlantic that needs no introduction.

To some, he is Mr. President, to others he is ‘The Donald’. To those at the five-star resort that now has his name above the door, he is their boss.

Donald Trump may leave most of the running of his hotel and golf courses to his son, Eric, but the most powerful man on the planet retains an interest in the links that overlook the Ailsa Craig.

“I have had a couple of conversations with him,” McCloy said. “He did say to me ‘I bet you wish you were playing football today with the money that they earn’.

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“He is just an ordinary guy when you speak to him. Even though he is in his position, he had taken the time to find out what I did in the past before he spoke to me.

“He goes out and speaks to the staff and the staff all like him. Obviously the guy in front of the cameras is different but when he speaks to you he is very pleasant.

“His son and daughter are nice people as well. His son takes more to do with it than he does and he is a really nice guy.”

The passing of time and a hip replacement five years ago have curtailed McCloy’s golf somewhat but a handicap of seven is testament to his natural ability with a club in his hand.

The keeper who regularly launched the ball through the air towards the head of a team-mate is still capable of knocking a dimpled one around with the same accuracy.

“I am a fair-weather player,” McCloy said. “I play a bit when I go to Portugal on holiday.

“I have been playing about once a fortnight, but I am trying to play once a week to get myself back into it again.

“Flat courses I can walk fine but hilly courses I feel it. Sometimes I get invited to things and I need to pass unfortunately.”

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During a visit to Ayrshire in June, Trump Jr said his family had ‘made Turnberry great again’ after a multi-million-pound refurbishment of the hotel and the opening of the King Robert the Bruce course.

For once, the bombast and the bravado may be well founded. The bottom line is significant, but the personal touch is appreciated.

“I think that is the key to good management in any walk of life,” McCloy said. “You take the time to know who is working for you and what they do.

“I worked there full time a number of years ago before he took over. The changes he has made and the money he has put in, everyone at Turnberry likes him.

“There has been no stone left unturned and the money that has been spent has been well spent. It is first class.

“I always thought Turnberry was the best links course in Scotland. Now, without doubt, it is the best links course in Britain.”

When it comes to management, McCloy saw some of the best at work, at close hand and afar, during his 16 years at Ibrox, a tenure between the sticks that earns him the accolade of Rangers’ longest-serving goalkeeper.

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It is a stint that is unlikely to be beaten. The game has changed, and in many ways it has not been for the better.

“Back in my day, five or six of the guys I played with played hundreds of games for Rangers, so we were together for a long time,” McCloy said.

“If you were to think back two years, you would find it difficult to name the team. That is modern football, I guess. But I always say that once you pull on the blue jersey that is you a Ranger for life.”

McCloy would do just that on 535 occasions as he played alongside some of the greats of the game and under the guidance of Ibrox legends. He had established himself during his six-years at Motherwell but it was the move to Rangers that was the launchpad for his career.

“Willie Waddell signed me,” McCloy said. “I was his first signing and he always reminded me of that.

“When we played Bayern Munich in the semi-final, he said to me ‘I did you the biggest favour of your life bringing you here so you repay me tonight’. No pressure there.

“He said if we get a shutout we are in the final, and we did. When I went and asked him for a wage rise, he didn’t remember the conversation.”

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The success of the Barcelona Bears has never been forgotten by Rangers fans and the players from that famous night in May 1972 remain idolised by those that witnessed history being made and those that have had the tales passed through the generations.

There is a pride in that for McCloy, but also a disappointment that the achievement has never been matched or surpassed by those that have followed in the Bears’ footsteps.

“The 72 side still get invited to a lot of functions together and after 45 years it is amazing how much the fans still appreciate that team,” he said.

“You always thought that, along the line, Rangers would win another European trophy. But here we are 45 years later and it is a remote chance whether that would happen again unfortunately.”

Many of the legends of that era – including Nou Camp scorers Colin Stein and Willie Johnston - are still regular faces around Ibrox these days. As supporters watch the present and ponder the future, the stories of yesteryear are cherished as much as ever.

Much has changed at Ibrox since McCloy put away his gloves but being back in familiar territory and seeing old faces brings the memories flooding back.

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“I probably go to about six games a year,” he said. “It is always nice to go back.

“Some of my former team-mates still work there on a match day so it is nice to catch up.

“That is the thing you miss when you leave football, that banter and camaraderie around the dressing room. That is the big thing that you miss more than anything.

“I still get that buzz going back to Ibrox and I still support the club. I am like every other fan when we are not doing so well. Hopefully that will come.”

The triumphs of the past are the levels by which Rangers are judged today and the burden of history weighs heavily on those charged with returning the Light Blues to their former glory.

McCloy had his own barren years at Ibrox before, and after, he celebrated league, cup and European victories. Rangers will do so again, and he believes it will be a fitting reward for the one ever present.

“It has been a long, hard road for Rangers coming back up through the leagues,” he said.

“The first year back up was about steadying the ship and maybe this year we were looking for a bit of a challenge. We didn’t get the best of starts and the home form hasn’t been good enough.

“The support has been very loyal through this period and we are still getting big crowds. The fans always stick with Rangers.”

* Peter McCloy is pictured promoting the Rangers Youth Development Company and their Rangers Bricks product.

The former Light Blues goalkeeper, who won every major domestic honour plus the 1972 Cup Winners’ Cup with Rangers, is the latest club legend to have a brick panel named in his honour.

With Christmas fast approaching, Stadium Bricks are ideal presents for supporters.

The deadline has passed to ensure bricks are in place for Xmas, but they are on sale and brick certificates will be sent in plenty of time for the big day if ordered by December 20 - with brick placement to follow in the New Year.

To order and for more info visit www.rydc.co.uk, call the office on 0141 427 4914 or visit the RYDC office in Broomloan House at Ibrox.