Another two Scottish golf courses facing closure

Just days after it was revealed that Hollandbush could be closed as a result of local authority budget cuts, it has emerged that another two Scottish municipal golf courses could also soon shut their doors.

The Courier is reporting that both the 18-hole and nine-hole tracks at Caird Park in Dundee is facing the axe, having been recommended for closure by the board of Leisure and Culture Dundee.

The decision has still to be ratified by the city council but, with the local authority trying to find more than £800,000 in savings, it is understood that closing the popular course could contribute almost half of that shortfall.

Caird Park is one of a number of Dundee landmarks ear-marked for closure.

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Council leader John Alexander told The Courier: “The fact that council officers are providing all of the political parties on Dundee City Council with such depressing options shows the scale of the challenge facing the council, with £24m needing to be found.

“No political party will find this budget easy or without pain. That is, sadly, the nature of austerity.

“Dundonians will, rightly, be concerned by the things on this list but it’s important to say that they will not all come to pass.”

Caird Park’s 18-hole course was renowned for being the busiest public course in Europe in the mid-1980s. Opened in 1923, it is located in heart of the city and offers tremendous views north to the Sidlaw Hills.

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Walter Lyle, the uncle of two-time major champion Sandy Lyle, was the club’s first professional when he was appointed in the ear;y-1950s.

The nine-hole course, meantime, is regarded as being an ideal beginners’ course.

The anticipated loss of the two tracks will come as a further blow to golfers in Dundee following the controversial closure of Camperdown Golf Course in April 2020, eight months after city councillors voted 14-13 in favour of shutting it.

Whilst there have been suggestions it could re-open, nothing has materialisedto date.

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