“Augusta of Scotland” threatened with closure

Another week, another Scottish golf club appears to be on the brink of closure.

The Courier is reporting that Letham Grange, on the outskirts of Arbroath, could be next to go to the sword.

The committee of the Angus club – nicknamed “The Augusta of Scotland” – is believed to have recommended to its almost 300 members that they vote to pull down the shutters once and for all.

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Letham Grange was opened in 1987 by Sir Henry Cotton but has been beset by convoluted legal wrangling for much of that time. Indeed, the many cases and appeals over the ownership of the two courses and its adjoining hotel are reckoned to be among the longest running and complex in Scottish legal history.

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Those issues were finally settled last year when a settlement was reached between the liquidator of Letham Grange Development Company, which collapsed in 2002, the company’s former Taiwanese owner Peter Liu, and its then owners PI Ltd. The resolution saw Mr Liu regain control over the development’s assets through another of his companies.

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However, it now appears as though the club could be wound up by the members themselves at an EGM later this month.

Club secretary Barrie Currie told The Courier: “We have considered it and will put a rigid case to members when they meet on September 24. Full information will be given at the meeting.”

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Currie didn’t reveal the reasons for the expected recommendation to close but said it had nothing to do with the club’s popularity.

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“Membership has held up well over the last couple of years. We have provided nine summers of golf with no financial support apart from the membership.”

This news comes just weeks after councillors in Dundee voted to close the popular Camperdown Golf Course at the end of next year.

Mount Ellen Golf Club also closed recently, with a decision on the future of six closure-threatened municipal courses operated by Glasgow City Council, meanwhile, is expected in November.