FOR the devastated members of one of Scotland’s treasured golf courses, its sudden closure feels like they have lost more than just a clubhouse and a place to play.
“It sounds ridiculous but it wasn’t just a club – it was so much more than that,” said Ali Melvin, who has played at the Hirsel in the Scottish Borders since she was 13 years old, and held her wedding there last year.
“It’s absolutely heartbreaking that it has come to this, as it was one of best clubs in the Borders. The views are fantastic and it really was a hidden gem.”
The shock news of the club’s bankruptcy has not only left the members reeling but the entire community of Coldstream, where it is feared there will be a knock-on effect on local businesses.
Four members of staff also lost their jobs after the decision was taken at a meeting of members on Wednesday night to file for bankruptcy.
“It is a big loss to the town as the course brought in a lot of visitors,” said Melvin. “I feel really sorry for ones who lost their jobs. We have lost our club but they have lost their employment so it is just horrific.”
Sadly, some predict that the fate of the Hirsel, described as the “Augusta of the Scottish Borders”, may be shared by other clubs as the economic downturn bites and members grow older.
Chris Spencer of the Scottish Golf and Club Managers Association said he would not be surprised if there were more closures.
“The boom in membership during lockdown has now subsided as economic pressures take their toll and with the rising energy prices, minimum wages going up and other costs such as insurance rising, it would not surprise me if other clubs are debating whether they can continue as a viable business,” he said.
“Golf in Scotland has always been for everybody and therefore [membership] has been at quite a competitive rate but the Hirsel closure isn’t the first and unfortunately there could be others unless either more people join or members potentially have to pay a lot more to sustain their golf club.”
There is also controversy over Scottish Golf’s Open Play policy which lets golfers keep their handicap and allows access to courses for just an annual £50 with no club membership required.
“That’s killing clubs and we also have an ageing membership with not a huge amount of juniors coming through,” said Melvin.
Founded 76 years ago in 1948, the Hirsel course is said to be one of the finest examples of traditional parkland golf in Scotland. Originally a nine-hole course, it was extended in 1994 to a full 18-hole layout, stretching to 6024 yards. A new clubhouse was built in the mid-90s at a cost of around £400,000.
The course covers part of the Hirsel Estate, the ancestral home of the Douglas-Homes. The current owner, Lord Michael Douglas-Home, who inherited the estate in 2022 following the death of his father, Lord David Douglas-Home, is the grandson of former prime minister Sir Alec Douglas-Home.
The golf club paid £15,000 a year to lease the land from Douglas & Angus Estates, which owns the Hirsel.
Like other clubs, the Hirsel has also had to deal with rocketing fertiliser and energy costs. This year membership dropped by 70, leaving the total just short of 200 members.
“It was a lot to lose at once and possibly was a result of the economic crisis with people wanting to cut their costs,” said Melvin.
Even so, the announcement on Wednesday that the club was facing bankruptcy left members reeling.
“The raw emotion in that room was unbelievable – I don’t think there was a dry eye in the house,” said Melvin.
It is understood a local business offered to take over the lease to keep the golf course open but this was turned down by the estate.
“The management committee tried absolutely everything,” said Melvin who has been a member for 26 years, club champion 14 times, captain in 2014 and chair of the committee for almost seven years. Her late father, Richard, was both captain and president and passed on to his daughter his love of golf and the club.
“I felt closest to my dad there so I feel like I am just grieving him again,” she said. “Like many others, I have so many happy memories there and now it is just gone. The sad reality is that I don’t know if we will be the only ones.”
LORD Home told the Sunday National it was too early to say what would happen to either the course or clubhouse as yet.
“Unfortunately, the golf club has failed, despite the financial support it has received from the estate over the last 10 years or so, due to a significant reduction in the numbers of members and the increased costs of running the club, which has made the running of it financially unviable,” he said.
“We have no plans for an alternative use for the course and/or clubhouse. We have already started conversations with representatives from the club and the wider local community. These discussions will continue over the coming weeks but the Douglas-Home family and the estate’s wish is that there will continue to be an asset for the use of the community in the long term.”
Lord Home added that he did not want to comment much on the offer from a local business to take on the golf course lease.
“However, the offer was to reduce the course from 18 to 14 holes and create a residential ‘lodge development’ on the western side of the main drive to the Hirsel, which is not something we would wish to see in that location,” he said.
Scottish Golf was approached for comment.
