Silverknowes Golf Club hit out at Edinburgh Leisure price hike post pandemic

Members of Silverknowes Golf Club have questioned Edinburgh Leisure’s decision to hike their prices post pandemic.

The club, which has more than 200 members, uses Silverknowes Golf Club, a council run course, to host their medal competitions.

They have hit out at the fact that Edinburgh Leisure are looking to increase Summer golf memberships by four percent to £56.25 a month on April 1 without adequately maintaining the golf course - Winter memberships will also be raised to £26.50.

A spokesperson for the club said that there were issues across the course with the newly installed drainage system between holes nine and 13 being a problem.

They also pointed out that several bunkers have been left unplayable due to poor drainage and that long talked about improvements to the course have not yet been implemented.

They said: “It is disgraceful for Edinburgh Leisure to hike up the prices after loyal club members continued to pay for their memberships to the company even when they were unable to play golf - including during the period of tight restrictions.

“If they are to raise the prices for playing on the course then surely they should be doing their utmost to maintain it and make it playable for all members.

“The pandemic has been a difficult time for all and players should not be punished with hiked prices.”

Silverknowes Golf Course

But on pricing an Edinburgh Leisure spokesperson said: “Edinburgh Leisure, whilst a charity, like any business reviews it’s charges on a regular basis. Our membership options are both competitive and flexible and we’re pleased at the uptake of our £10 per month junior membership which includes access to gyms, fitness classes, swimming and golf.

“Our charges reflect our objective of providing quality support and our ability to deliver a great, value for money service.”

Members of the Silverknowes club also spoke of fears that their traditional booking slots on weekend mornings were set to be removed which could have led to a mass exodus of players from Silverknowes golf course.

Traditionally club members would be offered two hour slots on a Saturday or Sunday morning between 7-10am to hold competitions and other events.

But Edinburgh Leisure said that this was just a misunderstanding and that they were in the process of liaising with council linked Edinburgh clubs at the moment.

The spokesperson added: “Edinburgh Leisure are delighted that since we reopened June last year there continues to be a huge interest and demand for playing golf.

“We have introduced a number of changes such as pre-booking online as well as introducing physical distance measures to keep customers safe and adhere to government and Scottish Golf guidance.

“We continue to look at ways to improve how we effectively manage bookings from clubs and groups, to ensure we safely maximise the opportunity for tee times.

“To help us gauge the interest and demand we have contacted all affiliated clubs directly and asked them to complete and return information which details their playing club members and their club booking requests. The deadline for submissions was the 8th March and we will be back in contact directly regarding the requests.”

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