There has been disturbing news recently about golf club closures.

Mount Ellen in Gartcosh shut down two weeks ago and Eastwood has also closed its doors in recent months.

It’s a worrying trend with golf club memberships falling everywhere and both private and public courses affected. It has special significance for this area as Dalmuir Golf Course has been in the firing line from budget cuts for many years now.

Glasgow are currently considering their future provision of municipal courses with three nine-holers and another three 18-hole courses being assessed for future provision.

The Gartcosh club was particularly surprising when you realise that they invested in a custom built clubhouse just ten years ago. They say their membership had dropped to an unsustainable level and were shocked by the speed of the downturn in the club’s financial viability.

Dundee City Council have also voted to close Camperdown Golf Club next year and divert funds to new facilities at its other nine-hole course at Caird Park.

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The threat is real and it would seem that the only answer is to increase participation. Once it’s gone it’s gone. I think the local golfing fraternity need to get their thinking caps on now and prepare plans to attract more members.

The budget season has already kicked off and local politicians just love people to choose the financial cuts for them with their public consultations pitting one group against another. Being prepared with the usual arguments is important but having an alternative proactive plan is the only way to persuade our local councillors to vote your way. Having those local representatives in the process is crucial because council managers would make the hard clinical decisions logically and without any emotional attachment.

Unfortunately there is a national downward trend in golf participation. The main reasons appear to be a drop in female golfers, the lower drink drive limit and the modern lifestyle where people cannot commit to disappearing for five hours at a time.

Add to that the unpredictable weather and the heinous crime of non-payers skipping onto the course for free and the lack of staff to check players’ tickets and it all adds to the downward spiral. Young people are also not taking up the sport in sufficient numbers to raise any real prospects for the future.

It’s a great shame because it is a very sociable game as well as having the physical benefits of walking or carrying your clubs for several miles. Golf has been a major part of our society for generations and I hope we can halt the decline here in Clydebank as we have a course to be proud of right here on our doorstep.