Golfers urge council to keep public courses

GOLFERS and East End residents are urging councillors to vote against scrapping Glasgow’s public golf courses when they set the city’s budget on Thursday.

Consultation held by Glasgow Life, the city council’s cultural and sporting arm, revealed people are opposed to no longer having the six courses, a position echoed at a public meeting in Dennistoun last night.

Options drawn up ahead of the budget include cutting five of the six courses to save an estimated £530,000. The council is required to make savings of around £50m.

Local councillors Elaine McDougall, Labour, and Allan Casey, SNP, were present, with golfers grilling them on how they would vote if courses are at risk.

Ms McDougall said: “I will be opposing the closure of any of the golf clubs.”

And Mr Casey said:

“I’m going to look at the consultation results and what that tells me.

“I cannot say absolutely no, I need to look at the evidence.”

“I think Glasgow has been dealt a bad hand in terms of this budget,” he said.

Attendees voiced their concerns about losing the course as well as discussing how they could get more children playing golf and what could be done to help people who can’t afford to pay to play.

Milnbank Housing Association offered to store and share out donated clubs to people who want to use the course but don’t have the equipment.

A representative from Glasgow Disc Golf Club suggested that sport could be rolled out at Alexandra Park.

One campaigner said: “We’re in the East End, one of the poorest areas in Britain and people want to take facilities off us.”