Children can save our golf courses
Innovative ways to halt the decline
Of all the problems I could reasonably predict that would plague my beloved South Ayrshire – filling our local fairways with golfers was never one of them.
Slumps in golfing numbers happened to other places – like urban courses hit by vandalism or village nine- hole tracks where the membership, quite literally, just died away.
But here in Ayrshire – home to regal Royal Troon, majestic Trump Turnberry and the birthplace of The Open at Prestwick? No chance – our golfing commerce is as solid as Rory McIroy’s driver, mate! Well . . . not any more. The numbers don’t lie and the figures revealed in last week’s ‘ Post’ – showing a steady ten year decline in tee- offs – made a sorry looking scorecard.
I didn’t realise we had a golf problem at all – never mind such a big one – but then again, my golf head is probably stuck in a 1960s time warp.
My first golf season ticket cost 2/ 6 – yes, that’s twelve and half pence in real money . . . and we don’t even have the half pence anymore!
Most summer mornings were spent walking from Belmont to Seafield – via a shortcut through the fence at Monument Road. The moment we hit Seafield’s 14th green – someone would run ahead to get a ball in the “chute” at the first tee.
On a good day, there might be three balls in front of yours – on a bad day, maybe thirteen.
And that was at eight in the morning.
I don’t even think Belleisle had bookable tee times in those days. You just gave the starter your name and waited for it to be called over the Tannoy.
But both courses seemed to be jam packed – all day and every day.
I would have been ten years old back then. How naive of me to think that nothing would change in the next half century!
Had this downward trend been for Belleisle and Seafield alone – it would have been understandable.
I can imagine scores of visitors arriving at the abandoned hotel amid piles of rubble and thinking “If these are the facilities – what kind of nick is the course in?”
But the drop in players is across every course – yet visitor numbers are apparently up by 11%.
It leaves only one conclusion – fewer and fewer South Ayrshire residents are supporting South Ayrshire’s golf courses.
And unless things change – who could blame South Ayrshire Council for deciding that fewer golfers need fewer courses!
Their sights are already trained on Dalmilling – and these figures are all the ammunition they’ll need to pull the trigger.
But there is no easy, short- term fix for this problem.
In these austere times, fewer men and women have the disposable income to support a pastime like golf where a few lost balls can add £ 20 to your day out.
And that eventually means fewer parents introducing their children to the noble game. It’s a vicious circle.
Council leisure boss Jill Cronin says she wants to look at “innovative ways” to grow and develop golf in South Ayrshire.
She could do worse than copy the highland town – Kingussie I think – who asked locals to donate spare or unwanted golf sets to schools. The response was overwhelming.
This was followed with a request to local clubs to provide volunteer coaches to hold after school or weekend golf clinics. They were inundated.
In return, they provided the clubs with free equipment that could be loaned for the day.
Whole families could turn up – be loaned clubs, bags and balls – and get a free introduction to this wonderful sport.
It’s a small start . . . but it’s still a start.
We’ve got to get kids swinging golf clubs . . . before our Council start swinging the axe!