Golfers in talks to reopen closed Scottish golf course

A group of golfers are considering launching a bid to reopen a popular Scottish golf course.

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

It was home to an 18-hole course, as well as a nine-hole layout, which was once one of the busiest golf courses in Europe.

But now, the course could be saved and run as a not-for-profit set-up, if proposals go through and are financially viable.

The group exploring the idea of taking the facilities over from the council is called Friends of Cairdy and the Golf Course. It consists of players and campaigners who want to see the courses reopened.

• ‘Man up’ – Colin Montgomerie sends message to US Open stars

• Shane Lowry fumes in early US Open outburst

Paul Johnson, a member of the campaign group, told The Courier that he is ‘confident’ the plan can work.

“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.”

The group hopes to have Caird Park back up and running by April 2026.

For it to be a success, however, the group insists it needs a breakdown of the finances associated with running the courses.

They are also considering whether to apply for grants or funding that would progress the takeover.

• US Open: Robert MacIntyre makes bold claim after strong start

• Bryson DeChambeau saved in bizarre US Open rules incident

“We put a Freedom of Information request into the council at least six months ago asking for the figures, but we’ve been told they can’t give the information and they’re holding us up,” Johnson said.

“We need the council to give us that information.

“We just want it to be affordable because it’s disgusting how they’ve treated working-class people.

“Closing the course has caused so much grief. I don’t want it to become another Camperdown fiasco. It should remain a green belt for playing golf on.”

It comes after the paper revealed in December that an unnamed golf management firm was working on an ambitious proposal to keep the venue open.

Six months later, though, and that interest seems to have waned.

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.