Bid to save golf for the people

A CAMPAIGN to save the 51 public golf courses left in Scotland after a raft of closures has been launched.

- By Douglas Dickie

Councils have axed courses as they look to balance the books.

Just one in 10 courses is now owned by local authorities, with the risk that potential stars of the future will be priced out of the sport.

Casualties have included Caird Park and Camperdown in Dundee and Ruchill, Alexandra Park and Linn Park in Glasgow.

Only 18 local authorities still have public golf facilities.

Golf magazine Bunkered has now launched a Public Golf Counts campaign, claiming that golf courses are often first on the chopping block for councils despite the physical and mental health benefits of the sport and risking “deepening inequality in who gets to play the sport”.