By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman
Tables and chairs, curtains, shoe cleaner and even pots and pans were taken as souvenirs
Royal Dornoch general manager Neil Hampton welcomes members at the soon-to-be-demolished old clubhouse at the Sutherland club | Royal Dornoch
The old clubhouse at Royal Dornoch will be demolished next month after a
new £13.9 million replacement at the world-renowned Sutherland opened
its doors last month.
Before
it disappears, though, members were offered the chance to see if there
was anything they wanted to get their hands on from the old clubhouse,
which dates back to 1909.
“It
was especially busy for the first couple of hours as members snapped up
everything from tables and chairs to curtains, shoe cleaners and pots
and pans, in addition to pictures, signage and locker doors for
souvenirs,” said secretary Neil Hampton.
Money raised is being donated to charity
“We
have raised well over £3500 already in donations to the Captain’s
Charity, which is supporting Mikey’s Line and the East Sutherland Rescue
Association, and the club’s Heritage and Junior Foundations.
“By
the time the dust settles, I suspect we might even double that figure
because we have had an offer for all the kitchen equipment and clubs in
the region will have the opportunity to snap up anything that they can
make use of.”
The demolition process will begin on 2 February and Hampton added: “We
have appointed Nairn specialists G.F. Job for the project, and it will
take around eight to 10 weeks to level the site.
The impressive new clubhouse at Royal Dornoch opened last month | Matthew Harris / Golf Picture Agency
“It’s
not about bringing in a wrecking ball and bulldozers nowadays. The
internal work takes place first, with different materials going into
separate skips for recycling.
“The
future use of the site has yet to be decided but, in the short term, it
will be landscaped and in good shape for the start of the golf season.”
The
three-storey new clubhouse has been completed two years after the
project was given the green light and will be used by visitors from all
around the world.
“I’m delighted to say our new clubhouse is being warmly embraced by
local members and townsfolk and we look forward to welcoming golfers
from around the world to see it for themselves in the spring,” added
Hampton.
