£25m cash injection for popular Scottish course

Dundonald Links has unveiled plans for an ambitious £25m investment to transform it into a luxury golf resort from next summer.

Those plans include the planned opening of a new clubhouse and overnight accommodation facilities for individual and group guests.

From July 2021, 18 luxury lodges – which feature two, four or six bedrooms – will be available to the public. Each has been custom-designed with golfers in mind, with bag storage and drying areas, en-suite bathrooms, large living spaces and fully-equipped kitchen and dining facilities. 

The brains behind the Dundonald Links course, Kyle Phillips, will add to the lodges by creating a series of private putting greens on their doorstep. 

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Phillips is also overseeing £1m of investment in the course itself, with a focus on improving the playing environment and experience, as well as the addition of a new halfway house.

The plans have been revealed just over 18 months after the Ayrshire facility was bought from Loch Lomond Golf Club by leisure operator Darwin Escapes in a deal reported to be worth £4.5m.

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The combination of the course improvements, new clubhouse and overnight offering will play an important role in operator Darwin Escape’s aspirations to create one of the best venues in the UK to stay and play golf.

“We wanted to give the golf course the outstanding facilities that it deserves and give golfers everything they could possibly want from a golf break – and this investment programme will do just that,” explained club manager Ian Ferguson.

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“We are really excited about the new clubhouse and accommodation and can’t wait to welcome our first overnight guests in summer 2021. The Ayrshire coast is home to some of Scotland’s finest links courses and Dundonald Links will make the ideal base for golfers to explore all that it has to offer.”

The construction of a new permanent clubhouse is a particularly symbolic step in the history of the course, originally acquired in 2003 by Loch Lomond Golf Club

The new two-storey building will have a striking contemporary design, with large balconies overlooking the course towards the Isle of Arran. Facilities within the clubhouse will include a pro shop, restaurant, bar, whisky tasting room, outdoor dining terrace, as well as a gym, sauna, steam room and extensive changing facilities.

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Created from natural materials, it will be finished with local whinstone and a grass roof to blend seamlessly with the rugged landscape and surroundings and coincide with Dundonald’s long-term commitment to sustainability, conservation and nature.

In addition, Dundonald Links will cut the ribbon on 22 hotel rooms later next year, these situated beside the clubhouse for ease of access to the restaurant and club facilities.