Closed Scottish golf courses in fresh takeover talks

The former golf courses at Caird Park in Dundee could be set for a takeover after the site was placed ‘under offer’.

According to The Courier, Dundee City Council has confirmed the body is considering an expression of interest from a third party in using the land.

It’s unclear who is behind the potential takeover or what the golf course land might be used for. A worker in the council’s property department said: “The golf course is currently under offer subject to due diligence.”

Any change of use would require councillors’ approval, while it is understood the site would remain under public ownership.

The land is designated open space and part of the city’s Green Network, meaning housing it’s believed housing is not an option.

The email was initially sent to Friends of Cairdy and the Golf Course, a group of local golfers bidding to save the former municipal tracks.

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Paul Johnson has been leading the campaign group, which contacted the local authority about the potential of reopening the courses under a community ownership model.

Earlier this month, he told The Courier that the group would like to have Caird Park back up and running by April 2026.

“We are confident we can sustain it because there were at least 1,000 season ticket holders when the courses closed,” he said.

“We would have at least 20 volunteers, and we would employ greenkeepers who were made unemployed. I believe there is still machinery there which can be used.

“Season ticket holders will sustain it, and once we get people playing golf on it again, it will generate money.”

Now, Johnson has expressed scepticism towards the latest move and insisted an asset transfer is still a possibility.

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“We have taken this email at face value and on the surface, it appears to be transparent,” he added. “However, there is a large element of doubt here.

“As a result, we are continuing to push ahead with our bid for the asset transfer of the courses. We remain very optimistic that this could still be possible.

“We want to save the courses for the people of Dundee and Caird Park golfers who desperately want their golf course back.

“As far as we are concerned, the bid continues with further steps planned by us in the near future.

“In the meantime, it seems ridiculous that our children are about to come off on the long school holiday, and they could have been having fun on the courses at Caird Park.”

Leisure and Culture Dundee (LCD) shut the venue in April as part of cost cuts to plug a £500,000 gap in the city’s finances.

Home to an 18-hole course, as well as a nine-hole layout, Caird Park was once one of the busiest golf courses in Europe.

John Turnbull A graduate of the University of Stirling, John joined the bunkered team in 2023 as a Content Producer, with a responsibility for covering all breaking news, tour news, grassroots content and much more besides. A keen golfer, he plays the majority of his golf at Falkirk Tryst Golf Club. Top of his 'bucket list' is a round of Pebble Beach... ideally in the company of Gareth Bale.