£6m new golf course work set to tee off

Work to create a £6million golf course in one of Glasgow's most deprived areas is to start after a 12-year fight.

Ruchhill's derelict nine-hole course will be transformed into a professional standard facility, thanks to the last piece of funding being put in place.

Residents and top Scots player Colin Montgomerie have battled to get council-run Ruchill Golf Course reopened since it shut in 1997.

Glasgow City Council, which was behind the plan, hopes the pay-as-you-go facility will spark an interest in the sport among young people and help cut anti-social behaviour in the area.

Work to restore the disused course is expected to start in the New Year after a grant of £300,000 was received from Sports Scotland.

The project has been plagued by delays because of funding shortages.

Most of the cash to finance it was generated through landfill taxes.

Ruchhill Community Golf Trust raised more than £600,000 and £1.7million came from Scottish Enterprise.

The professionally-designed course will be suitable for beginners and experienced players.

It's hoped the new course will double as a coaching centre, providing instruction in greenkeeping, stewarding and club management.

The golf course had been in use since the 1920s but was closed after vandals and spending cuts left it in a state of ruin.

It had two former train tunnels from the early 1930s running under some of the fairways, one named the "miley" by locals as it was around a mile long.

The course is the latest boost for the north of the city, which has benefited from a number of new sports facilities.

Work is under way to transform Maryhill Baths, which have been derelict for 20 years, into an £8m leisure centre.

The former baths will boast a 25m swimming pool, baby splash pool, health suite, sports hall, fitness suite and dance studio.

Last month a new £3m sports centre was launched at John Paul Academy in Summerston for community use.

John Paul Community Sports Centre boasts a conditioning gym, outdoor floodlit pitches and sports hall.

Glasgow North MP Ann McKechin said: "The golf course project has been a long time coming.

"We hope it will attract people who can't afford to join a private golf club.

"The course was previously a community-run facility but will now be run by Culture and Sport Glasgow."

Source:-Evening Times online