Loch Lomond buys links course
MIKE AITKEN
THE possibility of the Scottish Open being staged on a links in the not too distant future increased yesterday when the owners of Loch Lomond golf club bought Southern Gailes in Ayrshire for an undisclosed sum.
Lyle Anderson, the president of Loch Lomond, plans to re-name the links designed by Kyle Phillips, the man behind Kingsbarns, and will bring to the course the same attention to detail which transformed Tom Weiskopf’s masterpiece into one of the best inland golf courses in the world.
It’s also on the cards that the links club attached to Loch Lomond will be available for tournament use when the course matures. The connection between the bonnie banks and the Barclays Scottish Open also raises the possibility that the prestigious tournament which precedes the Open, may return one day to a links for the first time since the championship was contested at Carnoustie in the mid-Nineties.
There would be optimism of attracting Tiger Woods to play in those circumstances, since the world No1 has previously indicated he would only include the £2.2million Scottish Open on his schedule if it was played on a links. In recent years, Woods has spent the week before the Open practising links golf in Ireland.
Keith Williams, the club’s vice-president, explained Loch Lomond had purchased the seaside course from the Castle 2000 Property Development Company Ltd in order to enhance the facilities available to their members, particularly those who live overseas and in America.
"We wanted our members to be able to experience a true links when they visit Scotland, and our decision to acquire Southern Gailes will keep us ahead of the market and maintain our position as one of golf’s premier international clubs," he said. "We would hope to open the course for play in July this year."
Interestingly, public access to Southern Gailes under Loch Lomond’s ownership will not be as restricted as it is for the Weiskopf course. Although primarily a course for members and their guests, the expectation is that some tee times will be available to everyone. "It’s fair to say the course will be more accessible to the general public," added Williams.
Still not fully complete after three years in the pipeline - the course is 99 per cent finished, but the club house only half built - the links will also give Loch Lomond members who live in Scotland the opportunity to play all year round since the inland course is closed in the winter. There is no existing membership at Southern Gailes, hence Loch Lomond’s expectation to have the course open for play so soon.
Lyle Anderson said: "We are truly excited about the acquisition of Southern Gailes. There is not one hole on the entire course that isn’t superbly designed. I really believe it has the potential to become recognised as one of the great links courses anywhere."
The acquisition was funded with the assistance of the Bank of Scotland, Loch Lomond’s bankers.
The addition of the links doesn’t mean, mark you, that Loch Lomond’s plans to build a new course designed by Jack Nicklaus have been scrapped. The club have outline planning permission for the venture and expect to proceed in due course.