6 public golf courses in Glasgow in consultation and face closure.

[Mephistopheles]

https://www.eveningtimes.co.uk/news...rses-could-be-axed-as-consultation-under-way/
Can’t let this happen.
Complete the survey
https://smartsurvey.co.uk/s/GolfConsultation/

 

[Jacko_G]

Its a vicious circle. The council don't invest enough to keep the courses in an acceptable standard and their argument is that enough people don't use the facilities mainly due to the poor condition.

Also sadly kids are not interested in playing golf these days.

 

[Grant85]

I played Knightswood when I was taking up the game. In all honesty the place was a shambles that was barely fit for golf.

I also played Lethamhill a few times and thought it was a bit better. Long track for me at the time.

Problem is that the under investment means that basically very few people are inclined to play other than people who have basically no money to play even a reasonable members club.

The council would be better off selling or reallocating 3 or 4 of the sites to generate some capital and then run 2 courses as decent, well maintained facilities with potential for clubs to attach themselves to these courses.

 

[jim8flog]

Survey seems to need a local postcode to enable it to be completed, keeps rejecting mine

G36PE works

 

[stefanovic]

Is Alexandra Park one of those courses? Played there once and they let me on for a quid. Poor condition, though. After that I played Lethamhill and it was much better, but even then years ago seemed underused.
My local area the West Midlands still has a lot of council run or part council / privately run. Some do well, at least those that have diversified with gyms and restaurants.
I think the answer is to close some and keep the best ones open with other facilities. Young people in particular need something other than just golf.

PS. Also had difficulty with the survey.

 

[howbow88]

Its a vicious circle. The council don't invest enough to keep the courses in an acceptable standard and their argument is that enough people don't use the facilities mainly due to the poor condition.

Also sadly kids are not interested in playing golf these days.

Well golf authorities anf ourselves have to try to get them interested.

There are certainly more distractions now compared to back when some on here were younger in computer games/internet, but noticeably I would say there comparatively a distinct lack of golf on free TV. How much live golf is actually shown on BBC now?

Sky may have a better product for golf fans, but I do wonder how much their exclusivity damages young participation.

I agree with your first point by the way. You see sneaky tricks like that from councils up and down the land. Any leisure based thing they own that they want to close down and sell off, they make very unattractive by cutting funding, until it's so *** no one uses it, then there are very few arguments to keep it when proposals to sell it are released.

 

[Grant85]

Responded to the survey saying they should try to retain maybe 2 facilities as good quality courses that people would want to play regularly and possibly attach a club to it.

The remaining sites should be sold off at strategic intervals to deliver most value for the public, with all options considered as suitable be it commercial / retail / residential / social housing etc.

It's not often a council will get their hands on such big parcels of land to try and manage the liquidation of and the capacity they have to stuff it up is huge.

Ultimately running multiple sites as 'just barely playable' is a recipe for failure. Either invest in these so that people will play them every week, or shelf the whole thing as it will just end up as a financial liability.

 

[Robster59]

It's a shame as, like so many on here I would imagine, I cut my teeth on municipal courses as I couldn't afford membership of a members only course at the time. The availability of these courses allowed me to gain my enthusiasm for the game which otherwise I may not have realised.

 

[Grant85]

Sky may have a better product for golf fans, but I do wonder how much their exclusivity damages young participation.

.

Surely this is the same for all sports?

There is very little live sport on free to air tele now, save for MOTD, a bit of tennis and the Olympics every 2 / 4 years.

Ultimately consuming & participating in sport is becoming more niche and I would imagine that in the average school - where big groups of several dozen kids would play jumpers for goalposts football before, during and after school - this probably doesn't happen now to the same extent.

 

[stefanovic]

I guess municipal courses are just about finished now. Councils want the land for housing.
At Tamworth municipal you virtually had to fight to get on. Then green fees slumped to as low as £100 a year. Now it's housing.
I remember driving past one Glasgow municipal and they were queuing on the pavement outside.

Also in the 1980's people slept in their cars overnight at many of these courses to get in a queue half an hour before the pro shop opened to book a time for later that day.
I turned up one November weekday morning to be told no chance unless I waited nearly 3 hours. Went to another and it was just as bad, and gave up.
On the course you would be held up on just about every shot. After 3 hours you would be lucky to complete 12 holes.
Turn up now and likely you could go straight off and hardly ever be held up.

Many private courses have also been sold off. In another generation that number will be halved. Kids just aren't interested.

 

[DCB]

Used to play at Lethamhill and at Linn Park and at Little Hill when I worked through in the Glasgow area. A Friday afternoon round was always eventful no matter which course we played. These courses are a public asset and shouldn't be sold off, once they are gone it's too late. The municipal golf course still has a role to play in helping people play the game. Not everyone can join a club and pay the annual fees. A walk on round at £12 is hard to beat and needs to be kept available.

 

[Grant85]

I guess municipal courses are just about finished now. Councils want the land for housing.
At Tamworth municipal you virtually had to fight to get on. Then green fees slumped to as low as £100 a year. Now it's housing.
I remember driving past one Glasgow municipal and they were queuing on the pavement outside.

Also in the 1980's people slept in their cars overnight at many of these courses to get in a queue half an hour before the pro shop opened to book a time for later that day.
I turned up one November weekday morning to be told no chance unless I waited nearly 3 hours. Went to another and it was just as bad, and gave up.
On the course you would be held up on just about every shot. After 3 hours you would be lucky to complete 12 holes.
Turn up now and likely you could go straight off and hardly ever be held up.

Many private courses have also been sold off. In another generation that number will be halved. Kids just aren't interested.

Incredible to think that was the case.

I guess main problem now is that even if the council maintained a couple of decent courses that were a good standard - there are now loads of members or resort courses that will let people turn up and pay on for not much more than £20.

It would actually take a fairly well managed place to turn some kind of surplus for the council.

Other problem is that with shutting say 4 facilities and keeping 2 open - you are still abandoning some areas and the people who do use those places, even once a month, would be totally sickened.

 

[howbow88]

Surely this is the same for all sports?

There is very little live sport on free to air tele now, save for MOTD, a bit of tennis and the Olympics every 2 / 4 years.

Ultimately consuming & participating in sport is becoming more niche and I would imagine that in the average school - where big groups of several dozen kids would play jumpers for goalposts football before, during and after school - this probably doesn't happen now to the same extent.

I agree, though of course MOTD is on every single weekend of the season and that makes a huge difference.

If we concede that golf is simply 4 tournaments a year plus the Ryder Cup, there's probably only a few hours worth of golf on freeview each year and that's pretty poor.

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

It's a shame as, like so many on here I would imagine, I cut my teeth on municipal courses as I couldn't afford membership of a members only course at the time. The availability of these courses allowed me to gain my enthusiasm for the game which otherwise I may not have realised.

Deaconsbank was where I learned to play and where auld fellas who would have started playing in Edwardian times made sure I understood the most important aspects of golfing etiquette (HNSP anyone 🤪) As the flagsticks were rusty steel rods I paid attention and did what I was told.😀

Saturday mornings me and my mates would get to the first tee about 8am and often have a wait of hour to hour and half (we are talking early 1970s). I think it cost me 20p a round - and even then that was not very much.

I put my name down for Whitecraigs when I was 16, but as I didn’t know well any members I went onto the waiting list - which was 7 yrs at the time.

 

[craigstardis1976]

Deaconsbank was where I learned to play and where auld fellas who would have started playing in Edwardian times made sure I understood the most important aspects of golfing etiquette (HNSP anyone 🤪) As the flagsticks were rusty steel rods I paid attention and did what I was told.😀

Saturday mornings me and my mates would get to the first tee about 8am and often have a wait of hour to hour and half (we are talking early 1970s). I think it cost me 20p a round - and even then that was not very much.

I put my name down for Whitecraigs when I was 16, but as I didn’t know well any members I went onto the waiting list - which was 7 yrs at the time.

I will bite...what is HNSP?

 

[Doon frae Troon]

I will bite...what is HNSP?

Historical natural standing position.
I claim ownership of that saying.
It provided weeks of entertainment and in a few cases some busted blood vessels.
It was a hysterical thread on the safest position to stand whilst a player hits a shot.

Subsidised golf is not really a great selling point for modern councils.
The clever ones hived off their courses in the 1990's.
They were introduced mainly in the 1920's to enable trades, artisans and shopkeepers etc to play.
Private clubs were quite snooty in those days.

 

[craigstardis1976]

Historical natural standing position.
I claim ownership of that saying.
It provided weeks of entertainment and in a few cases some busted blood vessels.
It was a hysterical thread on the safest position to stand whilst a player hits a shot.

Subsidised golf is not really a great selling point for modern councils.
The clever ones hived off their courses in the 1990's.
They were introduced mainly in the 1920's to enable trades, artisans and shopkeepers etc to play.
Private clubs were quite snooty in those days.

Found the thread...Dear God...I have had more cheerful chemotherapy sessions that the lack of joy I get from reading that thread.

Not to go off topic, but from what I read here and in other threads is it safe to say, even ordinary private golf clubs were very much "members only" until the 1990's? How did those clubs survive?

 

[SwingsitlikeHogan]

Historical natural standing position.
I claim ownership of that saying.
It provided weeks of entertainment and in a few cases some busted blood vessels.
It was a hysterical thread on the safest position to stand whilst a player hits a shot.

Subsidised golf is not really a great selling point for modern councils.
The clever ones hived off their courses in the 1990's.
They were introduced mainly in the 1920's to enable trades, artisans and shopkeepers etc to play.
Private clubs were quite snooty in those days.

You can have ownership of it - I claim definition of what it is on behalf of the auld fellas down the muni.😀

 

[stefanovic]

It's not just golf courses that are under threat.
In my locality there are within a walking distance of under 5 minutes 4 football clubs (including the one I support) and a rugby club.
The council want them all for housing.

 

[Doon frae Troon]

You can have ownership of it - I claim definition of what it is on behalf of the auld fellas down the muni.😀

Hing oan…….I invented HNSP, your old gits may have the ancient definition but that is now time spent.
Any commercial use of my HNSP copyright and my lawyers will be in touch.

Re changing Council priorities one nearby village has altered one of it's football pitches to a rugby pitch.
My village has a football pitch maintained to a good standard by the council. I have lived there for 21 years and have never seen a game played on it.