Locals could be denied play on scenic island golf course

● Millionaire owner’s dream close to completion

Australian millionaire Greg Coffey’s golf course on the isle of Jura has almost been completed – but locals have still not been told if they will be allowed to play on the noexpenses spared attraction.

Willie Macdonald, manager of Mr Coffey’s Ardfin Estate, confirmed the golfer’s paradise on the Scottish isle was on the brink of being finished.

But more than three years after the start of the ambitious project, Mr Macdonald said nothing had yet been decided on an opening date for the course and whether it would be private or open to the public.

“It’s not been decided,” he said. “There are different options. He might leave it until it is all finished.”

Mr Macdonald said work to transform the estate’s old farm buildings into hotel-style accommodation was ongoing and unlikely to be completed for some months.

Asked if Mr Coffey had tested out the course, Mr Macdonald said: “He plays about on it, but it hasn’t been utilised properly, not at all.

“He is just concentrating on getting the other work finished. We have still got a full workforce there. We are not at the operational stage. That will be 2018.”

Mr Coffey, 46, a retired financial whizz kid who earned the nickname “Wizard of Oz” in City trading circles, has made regular trips with his family to check on the progress of his dream to turn Ardfin’s rough estate land into pristine greens. He was said to be worth £450 million when he retired.

A total of 85 workers were drafted in for the project – almost half the island’s 190-strong population.

Mr Coffey is rumoured to be investing £50m into the 12,000-acre estate. The course alone will employ at least seven workers.

Alex Dunachie, from Jura, said: “They are just doing the trimmings now, putting little bridges over the streams, but it’s perfectly playable. You would never believe that rough fields could be made into lovely carpeted areas.”

The 18-hole course has been built amid outstanding coastline scenery and has been designed by Australian Bob Harrison.

Mr Dunachie said: “I suspect it will be a very exclusive thing, but I don’t think it will take business away from the island. It’s a niche market.”

Chris Lamb, who runs Jura Community Store, said: “We have the plans in the shop. It’s still listed as being a private dwelling.”