A golf course reputed to be one of the oldest in existence is under threat as the gaze of the golfing world prepares to fall upon its home county.
The sport has been a feature of the North Inch in Perth for almost 500 years, with King James IV said to have played on the parklands in the 1500s.
Now, however, its 18 holes are deteriorating and the once popular course is facing potential financial oblivion unless a saviour can be identified.
Its owner, Perth and Kinross Council, has been considering options for its future for more than two and a half years. With the course running at a significant loss and user numbers dropping, it is keen to secure a new operator.
But while Live Active Leisure (LAL) stepped forward as a potential knight in shining armour more than a year ago, there has been silence from the local authority ever since.
The registered charity is linked to the council and runs many of the leisure facilities across Perth and Kinross but, with pressures mounting, golfers fear that the lack of a decision is putting the course at risk.
Local businessman and longtime captain of Perth Merchants Golf Club, Robin Valentine, has been highly critical of what he believes is the council’s inaction.
He and fellow members of the North Inch Users Group made up of a number of golf clubs fear the course will fail if urgent action is not taken.
And he believes that, by delaying action so long, the facility may already have missed out on the opportunity to benefit from the legacy of the Ryder Cup, which comes to Gleneagles in 2014.
Parts of the course were turned into a flood plain in 2013 as part of an effort to protect the city’s North Muirton area during bad weather.
That has seen some holes repeatedly flooded and with no pumping system in place and allegations that gullies and ditches have been allowed to become choked with undergrowth they often remain under water for weeks at a time.
The damage that causes has taken its toll on the course and on user numbers.
Mr Valentine said: The course is stagnating. There has been little or no investment made by the council in the course for more than 10 years. It is in reasonable playing condition for amateur golfers but it is simply not up to the standard of other courses in the area.
“I think that something approaching half of all potential starting tee times are now empty during the season because visitors simply don’t come to play the North Inch.
“If Live Active Leisure was to take it over we might finally start to see it going forwards again. Unfortunately this has now dragged on for more than two years and the golfers are still in the dark.”
Perth and Kinross Council said that, like other local authorities, it has faced significant pressures on its budgets.
“Because of these financial pressures the council has had to examine the provision of all of its services, to see whether they can be provided in a different way,” a
spokesman said.
“In February 2011 it was agreed to look at the North Inch Golf Course to see where savings could be made on the running of the facility.
“A review of options is currently under way. The golf course user group have been involved and kept fully informed.
“We recognise the value of the course as a community asset and are keen to find a way that the course can be run in a way that generates revenue, thereby securing the long-term future of the facility.”