Golf boom: How Scotland’s munis are thriving

“I would dispute that completely,” adds Fiona, who was keen to stress her pleasant surprise at the condition of the courses. “We’ve played a couple of courses recently – one in West Lothian and one in Fife – and I’d say these match up to them.”

Move west to Glasgow and the opinion remains the same.

“I wouldn’t say it’s snobbery but people tend to have a negative view of what a municipal course is like,” said Gerard McGovern (above), starter at Knightswood Golf Course. “But I’ve had guys come here who are members of private clubs and they say that the condition at Knightswood can be better than what it’s like at their club.

“It’s pretty flat here but at the 18-hole courses like Littlehill and Lethamhill, where I’ve also worked, I think people are surprised by how tricky they are.”

For 48-year-old Bobby Martin, who works on a cruise ship off Australia for eight months of the year, Lethamhill is the perfect retreat and where he spends a large chunk of his time when he’s home and while his wife is at work.

“I’ve got absolutely no interest in paying for membership at a private club because it costs far too much money and I can’t justify it when I’m only here for a limited time,” he said. “So that means I play here at Lethamhill and I’ve got to say, it’s fantastic.

“To me, it has everything you could ask for. It’s got its challenges, its long holes and it’s in a nice environment. It’s not noisy, not overcrowded and it’s well maintained.

“Improvements are always being made, too, and you can’t ask for much more than that.”

GET INTO GOLF

That’s a view shared at Lethamhill by friends Liam Doherty, Ryan Houston and Grant Wilson (above), all of whom are 17. Currently, thanks to owning a Glasgow Young Scot Card (eligible for 12-18-year-olds), they can all play golf for free at any of the city’s six municipal courses.

The card encouraged both Ryan and Grant to take up the game just a few months ago and, without it, they doubt they would have been keen to play in the first place.

“At a lot of clubs, you’re looking at annual fees of around £500 when you turn 18 and you just can’t afford it,” says Grant. “Unless you can play every Saturday, I’d say it’s not worth it.

“That’s why you might as well play here, while it’s free, get better and maybe at some point in the future we’ll enjoy golf enough and be able to afford to join a private club where it’s going to be worth the money.”