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• Incredible development sees ‘shut’ course saved
• Plans afoot for new clubhouse and other improvements
• News revealed in a statement on the club’s website

CASTLE PARK

The Castle Park Golf Club saga has taken yet another twist, with a statement on the club’s website announcing that the East Lothian facility will now, in fact, be staying open.

Club captain Stuart Elms has used the site to confirm that the club was purchased at the end of last month by local business owners Pamela Wilson and Craig McLachlan, who intend to keep it open as a golf club.

The news comes only weeks after the previous owners, Jim and Lorna Wilson, announced that it was to ‘close for good’.

“The reasons for this are two fold,” they wrote in a statement published on the club’s website on January 28. “Since we announced our impending retirement in early December we have had an unprecedented loss of members and as a result the golf course business will not be viable for 2015.

“Pamela and Craig .. would like to invite all members to return to Castle Park this year and enjoy playing social golf” – Stuart Elms

“We have had offers for the land to revert to farmland and none at all to purchase a golf course. This is not how we intended our ownership of the course to end, but have accepted one of the offers.”

The club shut its doors at the close of business on January 31, with many of its members taking up new memberships at nearby Haddington. Indeed, 48 of the 120 new members Haddington has reported since September last year have come from Castle Park.

The statement from Elms confirms that the new owners’ intention is to have the course available to play, but ‘as a social golf course’ in 2015, whilst work on a new clubhouse, as well as improvements to the course and driving range, take place.

Membership this year will be priced at £100 and is expected to climb to roughly £400 next season.

Elms added: “Pamela and Craig understand that the majority of members have joined other courses but would like to invite all members to return to Castle Park this year and enjoy playing social golf with their friends where they will be able to see first hand the improvements and development of Castle Park.”

The Castle Park saga :: Your thoughts

What do you make of the latest developments surrounding Castle Park? Leave your thoughts in the ‘Comments’ section below.

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Michael McEwan is the Deputy Editor of bunkered and has been part of the team since 2004. In that time, he has interviewed almost every major figure within the sport, from Jack Nicklaus, to Rory McIlroy, to Donald Trump. The host of the multi award-winning bunkered Podcast and a member of Balfron Golfing Society, Michael is the author of three books and is the 2023 PPA Scotland 'Writer of the Year' and 'Columnist of the Year'. Dislikes white belts, yellow balls and iron headcovers. Likes being drawn out of the media ballot to play Augusta National.

Deputy Editor

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