National golf centre hits rough

A group of young golfers receive tuition at the centre

The Scottish National Golf Centre, which has lost about £1m over the past five years, has gone into receivership.

The centre, at Drumoig, Fife, opened in 1999 to provide training facilities for amateur golf teams and coaching squads and members of the public.

Discussions are being held about the future of the 15 staff employed there.

The centre received more than £4m in start-up money. Its chairman Alistair Low said the scale of the losses had become "clearly unsustainable".

"We have made no secret of the fact that the project has been experiencing financial difficulties for some time," Mr Low said.

"We estimate that had we not taken this decision, the cash shortfall for the year ahead would have been in excess of £310,000."

A major restructuring operation has taken place over the past 15 months but the Scottish Golf Union felt it had been left with "no alternative" to receivership.

'Inescapable reality'

Mr Low said: "We believe we have taken all possible steps to try and make the centre viable but the inescapable reality is that the scale of the facility and its location have combined to critically undermine its viability.

"We are in detailed discussion with the St Andrews Links Trust to ensure we have appropriate coaching and practice facilities available at all times.

"These would be facilities at the Links Trust's site in St Andrews and we are confident there will be minimal impact on the work the SGU carries out in coaching our various age group training squads from under 14-year-olds up to our senior team as well as junior groups from schools and clubs."

The SGU's national coach, Ian Rae, said the centre had been "ahead of its time" when it opened.

"Since then, however, a number of similar facilities have been established, making quality coaching facilities available nationwide," he went on.

"I'm confident that the arrangements put in place by the SGU will enable a seamless transition for our developing golfers of all ages to ensure they continue to progress."