Great offers still available. Please feel free to get in touch with us at Bellshill Golf Club

Life memberships available now. Easy commuting distance from Dundee, south Aberdeenshire and Angus.

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More Scottish Golf Courses to close

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Kingsnowe Golf Club - Membership Offer

Our Early Bird Season Tickets are proving very popular! Have you got yours yet?!

“We can’t go on with glamourous golf because it’s unaffordable”. Tour and TV legend Ken Brown says golfers need to realise the sport doesn’t always have to be “just right” to be great.

The renowned Ryder Cup player and commentator was considering the future of golf course maintenance.

“The interesting thing for me is where is golf heading? As you know, there’s a cost in all of it,” he said. “Every year my wife and I go somewhere in Scotland and generally there’s a little golf course where there’s usually one greenkeeper, if there’s even one. You can see where golf has come from and where it’s heading. 

By Michael McEwan - Bunkered

The St Andrews Links Trust has come in for criticism from locals over a perceived reduction in access to the town’s golf courses.

A group calling itself the St Andrews Resident Golfer Association has revealed the results of a survey it has carried out of golfers in the sport’s hometown, uncovering what it says are “several key issues” that have “negatively impacted on their golf experience on the links”.

More than 80% of the 100-plus respondents said that their experience has got worse or much worse in recent years, with access to the seven courses operated by the Trust of particular concern.

Around 90% of respondents feel that availability of tee times has got worse or much worse, whilst 80% of respondents expressed concern about the pace of play.

Over 90%, meanwhile, agree or strongly agree that the increased number of visitors has negatively impacted on the Links ticket-holder golf experience.

Comments received as part of the survey suggest that too much priority is given to visitors, particularly block advance bookings which “reduce tee time availability and clog up the courses”.

The findings have been shared with bunkered.co.uk on the eve of the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, which takes place on the Old Course this week.

It is the second high-profile event to be staged on the historic links in six weeks, following the AIG Women’s Open at the end fo August.

A spokesperson for the St Andrews Resident Golfer Association said: “The survey has delivered a clear message about how the residents of the town feel about how their golfing experience has deteriorated over recent years.

“Many of the underlying problems stem from increasing visitor rounds which since 2009 have gone up by more than 50% to 151,000.

“The town owns the links and the governing act which set up the trust recognised this mentioning residents as one of only three groups whose interests should be protected.

“The association hopes that the trust improve transparency and engage more with the local golfing community to identity solutions which will restore parity for residents of the town.“

Approached for comment by bunkered.co.uk, a spokesperson for St Andrews Links Trust said: “St Andrews Links is a global golf tourism destination and significant economic driver in St Andrews, Fife and across Scotland offering access to various groups in accordance with the Links Act and the Trust’s charitable mission to promote public participation in sport,” said the Links Trust spokesperson.

“In the last five years, both before and after the pandemic, we have seen a significant increase and unprecedented demand for our golf courses from both ticket holders and visitors, in line with global trends.

“The number of rounds played has risen at a similar rate for both ticket holders and visitors and there has been no decrease in the number of times available to ticket holders during this time.

“Earlier this year, we conducted an independent survey of our ticket holders, with more than 1,200 responses focusing on areas such as access to the golf courses. Nearly nine in 10 of those surveyed said their links ticket represented good value for money with the majority of courses receiving positive feedback for availability of access.”

The spokesperson did confirm that course access has been highlighted as an area of concern, with more dedicated ticket-holder times cited as the best way to deliver improvements.

However, they added that plans are already afoot to address that.

“In the past two years, we have created a Golf Access Group, dedicated to reviewing access methods and forecasting future demand at St Andrews Links. As part of those ongoing efforts, in April this year we were pleased to announce additional tee times for ticket holders, including an increase in 2024 and a substantial adjustment of more than 10,000 exclusive ticket holder tee times to improve access across our courses for the 2025 season.

“Ensuring fair access to the golf courses has always been and remains a top priority for the Trust. We will continue to monitor these changes and update ticket holders on their impact in due course.”

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.

Deputy Editor

Alloa Golf Club - Membership

By Martin Dempster - The Scotsman

The R&A reports increase of three million adults playing the sport around outside US and Mexico

By Michael McEwan - Bunkered Magazine

Just a matter of days after Hirsel Golf Club in the Borders announced its shock closure, Torrance Park in Motherwell has confirmed that it, too, is set to close.

A statement on the club’s website confirmed the news.

“For a significant period of time the Torrance Park Golf Club has been experiencing challenges to being able to run as a profitable business,” it stated. “Unfortunately, it has been loss-making for a number of years and has reached a point where this cannot continue.

“We have therefore undertaken a review in relation to the sustainability of the club, to look at whether or not it is viable to continue operating into the future.

“As a result of this review, in which we looked at all possible options, we have identified that there is no alternative other than the closure of the club and as such the golf club and clubhouse will close with effect from 1st October 2024.

The statement concluded: “We would like to take this opportunity to thank all our customers and former members for their support over the years.”

Opened in 2009, the course – which had links to former Rangers FC owner Sir David Murray – was originally designed by Dave Thomas, joining Spey Valley and Cardrona as the Scottish venues crafted by the renowned golf course architect.

It was reduced to nine holes in 2023 which led to several members resigning. bunkered.co.uk understands that the club pivoted from a membership model earlier this year to become a pay-and-play facility, forcing remaining members to find new clubs.

Last week, the Hirsel Golf Club was forced into bankruptcy due to increasing costs and declining membership.

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September Golf Alloa Golf Club Alloa Pro Shop

Looking for a new club, join us now at Peterculter with these great offers.

Windyhill Golf Club

Kilsyth Lennox Golf Club

An opportunity to join us on 24th August marking 60 years of golf at the Sconser venue on Isle of Skye Prize fund and event sponsored by #macleodandmaccallum

It wasn’t exactly cheap in the first place. But if you want to tee it up at Turnberry next summer you could end up shelling out four figures.

The Ayrshire resort, owned by former US president Donald Trump, have hiked the green fees they’re charging non-residents to play the world-renowned Ailsa course. To call them eye-watering is an understatement.

From June 1, the price for those who don’t stay in the Turnberry hotel is a wallet-shredding £1,000 per person before 1pm.

It drops to £545 for those prepared to wait for a later afternoon spot, while hotel residents pay £425 all day.

 It’s believed the move is aimed at protecting tee times for members and residents as well as trying to drive more hotel occupancy.

Depending on when golfers want to play, that shock headline rack rate price can also drop further. A weekend time in May next year weighs in at £320.

It currently costs between £425 and £595 to book the Ailsa in high season.

Turnberry’s four figure green fee was highlighted on X by David Jones, also known as UK Golf Guy, who has written extensively about the increasing costs of playing the best courses in Great Britain and Ireland.

He said in 2013, before the Trump Organization bought the property and the Ailsa was redesigned by Martin Ebert, it was £176.

But while that price surely makes the Ailsa the most expensive course to play in GB&I for those who just rock up and put their money down, it also catapults Turnberry up the world ladder as well.

A spot at TPC Sawgrass starts at $700 and is currently $840 for a September time. A precious berth at Pebble Beach is $675, and it’s $595 in peak season to walk round recent US Open venue Pinehurst No. 2.

Shadow Creek, which hosted the infamous match between Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson in 2018, is reported to charge $1,250 to those looking for a game.

Last month, Turnberry – which hasn’t hosted The Open since 2009 – appealed for the championship to return, with club chiefs arguing it would be a fitting location for the 2027 event.

Nic Oldham, Trump Turnberry general manager, said: “There is no doubt the Ailsa remains one of the world’s most iconic layouts, and it remains a rite of passage for many golfers who want to tread in the footsteps of those who have graced our four Open Championships – which have been some of the most thrilling in the tournament’s history.

“We continue to invest in the course and Martin Ebert’s redesign raised the bar even higher. There has never been a better time to play the Ailsa and it would be great if The R&A would consider returning the Open to Turnberry, perhaps to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the famous ‘Duel in the Sun’ in 2027.”

The R&A’s position since 2021 has been that The Open will not go back “until we are convinced that the focus will be on the championship, the players and the course.”

With the ex-president currently running to return to the White House, that might be unlikely anytime soon. 

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The course at Broomieknowe Golf Club is in brilliant condition- greens are super quick and consistent from 1st to 18th.

Just a small snippet of the auction tomorrow night at the clubhouse 7.30/8.00.. The opportunity to own an 18th green flag from the Canadian open signed by both Bob McIntyre and the best caddy in the world Dougie ( am only a grass cutter) McIntyre, bidding at the moment is £200 , if you want to bid let me know , we are expecting some big hits for this , first item signed by both ..

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