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durness golf club

Can you help Durness survive the pandemic?

The stunning coastline wows golfers but, with visitor revenue expected to tumble because of coronavirus, Durness Golf Club have launched a membership appeal
 

If you’ve ever stood on the 9th at Durness Golf Club, with the rocks and waves below you and that carry over the Atlantic Ocean, you’ll know it’s one of golf’s most exhilarating tee shots.

A round at Britain’s most north westerly course, a remote cliff-top links found at the tip of Scotland, rewards the commitment of visitors who’ve driven hundreds of miles to experience this assault on the senses.

Tourists account for around half of the club’s income and the coronavirus pandemic has the potential to hit the club very hard.

So in order to survive, and to plug that gap of fewer visitors travelling to the 9-hole links, the club are appealing for members.

Durness Golf Club launched their recruitment drive on social media on Monday and have already been stunned by messages from players all over the world, who are contacting them to get more details.

“We well understand in these unprecedented times that your pennies are being stretched,” states a membership leaflet Durness sending out to those who get in touch.

“That said, in order for us to survive and make provision for the gap that no visitors is leaving us; we are looking to add much needed new members.”

Head greenkeeper Alistair Morrison said the club had been contacted by people who had played the course and wanted to help and others who had never set foot on the links but wanted to make sure they’d still have the chance.

“I put the post on twitter and within a couple of minutes someone messaged me from India,” he explained. “He had played last April and fell in love with the place and wanted to come and visit again. You wouldn’t imagine it would get around the world so quickly.

“Some (of those who responded) had been here and some hadn’t. Some of their friends had been and they had seen the photos. Anything would be a huge help at the moment.”

Full membership, which offers unlimited golf when the course is open and reciprocals at the likes of Tain, Brora and Golspie, is £185 for 12 months starting from May 1.

Anyone interested in taking a membership should email secretary Lucy Mackay at [email protected]

Have you played at Durness Golf Club? Let me know what you thought of the course in the comments, or tweet me.

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Steve Carroll

Steve Carroll

A journalist for 25 years, Steve has been immersed in club golf for almost as long. A former club captain, he has passed the Level 3 Rules of Golf exam with distinction having attended the R&A's prestigious Tournament Administrators and Referees Seminar.

Steve has officiated at a host of high-profile tournaments, including Open Regional Qualifying, PGA Fourball Championship, English Men's Senior Amateur, and the North of England Amateur Championship. In 2023, he made his international debut as part of the team that refereed England vs Switzerland U16 girls.

A part of NCG's Top 100s panel, Steve has a particular love of links golf and is frantically trying to restore his single-figure handicap. He currently floats at around 11.

Steve plays at Close House, in Newcastle, and York GC, where he is a member of the club's matches and competitions committee and referees the annual 36-hole scratch York Rose Bowl.

Having studied history at Newcastle University, he became a journalist having passed his NTCJ exams at Darlington College of Technology.

What's in Steve's bag: TaylorMade Stealth 2 driver, 3-wood, and hybrids; TaylorMade Stealth 2 irons; TaylorMade Hi-Toe, Ping ChipR, Sik Putter.

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