Coronavirus: Edinburgh club offering free golf to visitors

A decision by an Edinburgh golf club to offer free tee times to visitors has coincided with a Scottish Government medical expert giving the green light for people to keep playing the sport during the coronavirus outbreak.

Prestonfield, which brands itself as a golf club at the heart of the community, is offering free golf to visitors until the end of the month. Picture: JPIMedia

"If you are outside playing golf, walking and getting exercise, and you are keeping separate, I think golf is fine," Jason Leitch, national clinical director for the Scottish Government, told STV's Scotland Tonight.

"But no 19th hole," he added in a warning to stay out of clubhouses, with a number of clubs in Scotland, including Muirfield, Gullane, Bruntsfield Links, Mortonhall, Baberton and Ratho Park taking the decision over the past few days to close clubhouses for the time being.

Meanwhile, the offer of free golf to visitors is being offered by Prestonfield until the end of the month in a bid to encourage people to keep playing golf, with the opportunity having been made available at a time when all of the Edinburgh Leisure courses have all been closed due to the pandemic.

In a statement to bunkered.co.uk, the capital club's director of golf, Scott Clark said: "Many people are looking for ways to keep exercising at the same time as following Government guidelines regarding the coronavirus outbreak.

"As a golf club at the heart of our community, we would like to offer visitors and members' guests to Prestonfield Golf Club the opportunity to play our great course free of charge up until 31st March 2020.

"We have taken an innovative approach of raising the hole cups above ground, so you don’t have to retrieve your ball out of the hole or touch the flag stick. If the ball strikes the cup it counts as if you have holed the put. This provides an added measure for your safety.

"Hopefully, this will add to your physical and mental wellbeing at this difficult time."

Elsewhere, the green fee at Mortonhall has been reduced to £20 while other Capital clubs are also believed to be looking at introducing heavily-reduced rates.