http://www.perthshireadvertiser.co.uk/perthshire-news/local-news-perthshire/perthshire/2011/08/05/big-plans-earmarked-for-pitlochry-golf-course-73103-29179459/
Big plans earmarked for Pitlochry Golf Course
Aug 5 2011 by Greg Christison, Perthshire Advertiser A BIG-MONEY overhaul is expected to secure Pitlochry Golf Course’s status as one of the sport’s best inland facilities in Scotland.
The £200,000 ‘centre of excellence’, which will create four new full-time jobs, will see the introduction of a new driving range, short game area and an academy course.
And there will also be further improvements to the existing course, with the introduction of two par five holes, new wildlife corridors and improved paths for local walkers.
Director Stephen Carruthers, who has been a member at the club for 38 years, said yesterday: “What we are developing here is a centre of excellence for golf.
“We will have practising and coaching facilities that will only be matched in this area by Gleneagles.
“There are a number of courses in the region but they don’t have practice facilities so we hope to be a centre for all golfers, even those who are not members here.
“The improvements will give us a facility where everyone will be welcome, whether they are playing for the first time or seeking top level coaching.”
At present, Gleneagles is the only facility in Perthshire to offer visitors a similar range of facilities to those being planned at Pitlochry.
The major development, which is one of the biggest projects in the club’s 102-year history, marks a milestone in the renaissance of a course which shaped the skills of Ryder Cup legend John Panton.
Serious doubts existed over its viability until businessmen Carruthers, Richard Drummond and Jon Erasmus secured the lease from Pitlochry Estates Trust in January last year.
Since then the trio have transformed the club, which currently accommodates 500 members, with Golf World Magazine recently listing it in its ‘14 Scottish hidden gems’ feature.
If granted permission by planning chiefs, the driving range will be operational by spring next year, the short game area in the summer and the academy course in spring 2013.
Perth and Kinross Council planning officials are expected to make a decision on the project within the next two months.