It’s Pancake Day so I take it you’re all finalising your Lenten sacrifices and going through a kind of eeny, meeny, miny, moe decision-making process about which pleasures, luxuries, indulgences, extravagancies, absurdities or fetishes to bin for 40 days and nights.
It’s also National Grammar Day which encourages us all to craft sentences with precision, master the art of clear communication and ensure that words flow seamlessly to create a confident and impactful message.
“Presumably, you’ve already given up writing this column for Lent, then?”, grumbled the sports editor as he mulled over these opening paragraphs with the sombre, resigned countenance of a man proofreading his own eviction notice.
There’s been a similarly gloomy air surrounding Dalmuir municipal golf course in Clydebank, with West Dunbartonshire Council meeting tomorrow to mull over its fate.
This latest fight for survival has been well-documented across a variety of news outlets and media platforms while a petition urging the council to keep it open has generated the kind of passionate call to arms that could’ve been accompanied by a Lord Kitchener recruitment poster.
A year ago, Dalmuir staved off the cooncil chop but, barely 12 months on, the threat to its very existence hangs over it again like the 5-iron of Damocles.
Proposals up for discussion include an increase in the membership fees, a reduction in the number of holes from 18 to 12 or, the worst-case scenario, closure.
The council state they pay more than £100,000 a year to subsidise running costs while the loyal members, who hold this valued, come-all-ye, entry-level facility dear, claim the same council is not making efforts to make money with advertising, incentives or initiatives.
In an age when we constantly hear that golf must evolve and think outside the box, standing still just ain’t an option. Sorry, that phrase shouldn’t be used on National Grammar Day.
Anyway, in the wake of various doom-laden tales about municipal courses being shut down – Caird Park in Dundee was the most recent one at the end of last year – I had a chinwag just before Christmas with Niall McGill, the PGA pro who took over the running of North Inch in Perth back in 2014.
A decade ago, one of the world’s oldest courses was on the brink of closure too but some vision, joined-up thinking between golfers and the council, a bit of investment, innovation and no shortage of enthusiasm turned around its fortunes.
When McGill took up the post, North Inch was toiling away with just 175 season ticket holders. Last year, it was bustling with almost 700.
A junior membership, for just £20 a year, was implemented for under-18s and has been a rip-roaring success while McGill brought in nine-hole and six-hole green fees.
In this hectic, crash, bang, wallop modern world, where leisure time seems to be as squeezed as a warehouse full of accordions, that type of flexibility for golfers can be hugely appealing.
All of this has helped to create a demographic that spans the spectrum, from young ‘uns at just six to more, shall we say, seasoned campaigners in their 90s. Flourishing North Inch proves that where there’s a will, there’s a way.
There’s certainly a will to keep Dalmuir going. Whether there’s a way, though? Well, we should find out this week.
While those of a Dalmuir persuasion nibble their nails as D-Day looms, the good golfing folk at Hollandbush in South Lanarkshire, who were also faced with the prospect of the council closing their course last year, are looking to a brighter future after a community asset transfer went through last week. Dalmuir could do something similar.
“We have reached out to West Dunbartonshire Council and would welcome the opportunity to engage with them to look at what solutions might be available for Dalmuir,” said Robbie Clyde, the chief executive of Scottish Golf, in an article that was published on the Bunkered magazine website yesterday.
In some ways, Clyde’s sentiments echo the words of the former R&A chief executive, Martin Slumbers, when he was asked about the perilous state of municipal courses in the country that gave golf to the world. “I think (the message to councils) is work with us a little bit more,” he said.
The apparent disconnect, then, between local authorities and golf’s custodians appears quite clear.
Saying that, though, Scottish Golf has helped both Hollandbush and Winterfield in Dunbar negotiate community asset transfers and that at least demonstrates that when there is engagement and constructive communication in times of crisis, there can be some kind of positive outcome. It’s good to talk, eh?
Clyde, who has certainly been proactive in his efforts to capture hearts and minds among member clubs, will host Scottish Golf’s AGM next week.
The annual statement, which is available on the governing body’s website, highlights a drop in overall club memberships and says, “income from affiliation fees experienced a slight decrease compared to the prior year, reflecting the ongoing challenges faced by member clubs and the broader golf community.”
These challenges, meanwhile, require “adaptability and collaboration.” After the mighty spurt in memberships during golf’s profitable period as the pastime of the covid pandemic, there are many clubs back on a familiar slippery slope as increasingly itinerant golfers move away from traditional subscription models and operational costs rise.
In a changing landscape in these taxing times, it’s not just the municipals facing a fight for survival.
