Colin Montgomerie opens community course in Glasgow

September 2009

Colin Montgomerie OBE has opened Ruchill Community Golf Facility, a course which he helped design.

The course, which is reopening after a £2.5million refurbishment, will be available for golfers on a full time basis from April 2010 and will cater for golfers of all ages and abilities. A key feature of the course is the design of the tees and greens to full USGA specification, which will not only provide exceptionally high quality playing surfaces but will contribute to making the course available for play through future winters.
There has been a course on this site for more than 100 years, but a decision was made to close it in 1997 as a result of vandalism and spiralling costs. However, almost as soon as it closed, Ruchill Community Council initiated a campaign for it to be reopened, galvanising interest in the golf course.

As a result, a steering committee was formed and some of the original members have displayed a remarkable resolve by staying with the project through its various forms to the present day and who will be in attendance at the reopening.

One of those who formed the original steering committee was Alec Hunter, an accountant, who devoted considerable amounts of time and energy to the project in its early days. Tragically, Mr Hunter died in 2002. However, his son Steven, who is a professional golfer in Hampshire, will make the trip north to attend the opening event with his wife and see for themselves Mr Hunter’s vision become a reality. It is intended that Mrs Hunter will be presented with a bouquet of flowers to mark the occasion by Colin Montgomerie.

Funding for the project has been provided by Glasgow City Council, sportscotland, Scottish Enterprise and the Land Fill Tax Credit Scheme, in addition to being supported by golf development funding from The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews.

The original layout included a combination of railway tunnels and cuttings, the principle of which was ‘The Miley’ (so-called for its size). These were in filled in a complex earthmoving process which created a safer and more user-friendly golfing landscape. The course was then redesigned by European Golf Design in conjunction with Colin Montgomerie, to create a new layout maintaining the feel of the original but with a contemporary twist which will make it more usable for the modern golfer.

Another feature of the course which will be fully operation by Spring 2010 is a clubhouse / community facility, which will not only provide an operational base for the running of the golf course, providing facilities for golfers but will be available for community groups to rent to allow them to run various activities.

The facility will be operated by Culture and Sport Glasgow on behalf of Glasgow City Council, and will act as a template for development of some of their other golf amenities throughout the city.

Councillor Jim Mackechnie said: “The refurbishment of this tremendous golf facility is one the local community has waited a long time for, and many of them have played a key part in its reopening. It is fantastic that a golfer of global stature such as Colin Montgomerie has taken time to be involved, and I thank and congratulate him and everyone else involved in this marvellous project for all they have done. This facility will not only offer a great day out on the golf course, but plans are in place to provide a wide range of coaching for young people. In the home of golf, we now see the rebirth of a course that dates back to the 19th century.”

Stewart Harris, Chief Executive of sportscotland, said: “sportscotland is delighted to have supported the development of the community golf course at Ruchill with an award of £389,206. sportscotland is committed to providing more and better opportunities for participation in sport. This is why we have worked closely with Glasgow City Council to create facilities that really meet the needs of the local community. The course has an important part to play in the delivery of Scotland’s national junior golf strategy, clubgolf, in the Glasgow area and I am sure many young golfers will benefit from the fantastic facilities on offer.”

Derek Helmore, a Partner at Hardies Property and Construction Consultants*, said: “Hardies are delighted to have been involved with the redevelopment of Ruchill Golf Course. A tremendous amount of work has been put into the project by all concerned, and I am sure that the new facility will be a great asset to Glasgow and the local community. "