Golf membership surges as clubs enjoy a renaissance

80 new members at Craigmillar, while others report a boost

Craigmillar Park not only offers a great golf test but also a wonderful slice of nature in the city

An Edinburgh golf club is enjoying one of the biggest membership boosts in Scotland since courses reopened last Friday after being closed for nine weeks due to the coronavirus crisis.

The Evening News understands that Craigmillar Park has already attracted 80 new members, with more in the pipeline, raising hopes that certain categories could be capped for the first time in more than 20 years.

The course was popular with walkers out for daily exercise during its closure, with radio broadcaster and pantomime star Grant Stott among those to appreciate its setting.

“One of the big positives of lockdown has been the ability to walk daily across this stunning city greenscape,” he posted along with a photograph of Craigmillar Park on Twitter.

“As a non-golfer, I’ve never had the chance to explore it before. I’ll be back – if only to visit the 19th hole!”

It has also emerged that a couple using the course for the same purpose donated £100 towards its upkeep, a small but nonetheless kind gesture.

Now, the decision to welcome the local community during the lockdown period is paying off as the club enjoys an unprecedented demand, certainly in recent years, for membership.

Elsewhere, plenty of other clubs are seeing smaller but equally important increases in membership numbers.

“We’ve had lots of membership enquiries, around 70, with more than 20 new members signed up across a number of categories,” reported treasurer Bill Mackintosh of the story at Uphall.

“We’ve had very few losses in terms of exisiting members, with still some we expect to renew once the Government’s lockdown restrictions are eased further.”

Courses throughout Scotland have been going non-stop from early morning until late evening since they reopened last Friday, falling into line with venues elsewhere in the UK and Ireland.

“It’s a busy golf course at Uphall,” added Mackintosh. “We’ve got a few spaces at off-peak times, but the usage is much higher than the norm.”

It remains to be seen when clubhouses will be allowed to reopen and, for the time being, most clubs are only allowing members to play.

“We are feeling the loss of visitor income and bar contributions,” said Mackintosh of the additional revenue clubs are missing out on at the moment.

Secretary Robert Dobbie said Ratho Park had received “some membership applications on the back of lockdown” while, over in Fife, Aberdour with its picturesque setting, has received close to 70 applications from people looking to join.

At Stirling, meanwhile, a surge in new members has led to the return of a waiting list.