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Hot on the heels of news that Beith GC is to shut its doors before Christmas, another TWO Ayrshire golf courses are said to be on the brink of closure.

The nine-hole course in Maybole – just a 15-minute drive from Turnberry – is rumoured to be facing the axe, as is Dalmilling in Ayr, above.

Both courses are operated by South Ayrshire Council, which has to save a reported £17m in its upcoming budget.

The Ayrshire Post is reporting that this has put Maybole, pictured below, firmly in the firing line, with more than £34 being spent by the council for each round played there.

Dalmilling, meanwhile, is a target for social housing developers. Plans to scrap the course were submitted earlier this month – the second attempted closure of the course in eight years.

Maybole

Responding to the reports, Alisdair Malcolm, secretary of the Ayrshire Golf Association, told the Ayrshire Post: “The threatened closure of two of South Ayrshire’s eight municipal courses would be a huge blow to golf in the area.

“It would affect many of the member clubs of the association attached to the two courses, and indeed those clubs attached to the other six courses who would no doubt suffer a knock on affect from an increased number of players chasing tee times at peak periods.”

In addition to Maybole and Dalmilling, South Ayrshire Council also operates the Belleisle and Seafield courses in Ayr, the trio of municipals at Troon Links – Darley, Lochgreen and Fullarton – and Girvan Golf Course, just a short drive south of Turnberry.

Earlier this month, it was announced that members of Beith Golf Club had voted to have the club wound up, after suffering severe losses linked to a decline in membership in recent years.


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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.

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