Brechin Golf Club has launched a £50,000 crowdfunder to secure the grass roots future of its proud history.
Golf has been played at Trinity Muir since a nine-holer was established in 1893.
In that time it’s evolved with new clubhouses and course extensions.
But – in common with many other clubs – Brechin is seeing player numbers drop away.
And it’s especially evident in the lack of young players joining.
Covid-19 crash in Brechin Golf Club juniors
From a thriving junior section in the 1990s and 2000s it came out of the pandemic with no young members in 2021.
It’s slowly clawing back the junior membership.
Through the concerted efforts of junior convener Iain Shand and a group of helpers the number has grown to around 40.
And the club now hopes to invest in the future after launching a £50,000 crowdfunder for a modern commercial golf simulator.
It’ll be for wider use, but hopefully a major draw for youngsters.
Simulator will be available to others
Club captain Ross Allison said: “We have a disused squash court which will make space for an excellent, modern golf simulator.
“It can be used by our members, the local community and hopefully golfers from other nearby towns.
“We want to work with local schools, other sports clubs, support groups and suchlike and offer them the use of the simulator.”
The club’s under 12s regularly play in the Angus Junior Golf Sixes events. A team of older juniors compete in the Angus Golf League and are regularly coached by club pro Stephen Rennie.
Stephen said: “It is fantastic to now see so many junior golfers every Monday but our practice space is limited.
“It’s important for us to grow and coach our juniors further, developing the next generation. That is why we are planning a golf simulator”
“The weather is not always kind to us and over the winter coaching is limited to once a month travelling to the Forfar driving range.
“We want to develop our own facility that can be used all year round.
“We came across a similar-sized club in England which successfully crowdfunded a simulator and decided to try for ourselves.”
A range of incentives are being offered through the crowdfunder.
Those include golf deals at courses including Royal Dornoch, Murcar Links and Worsley Park in Manchester, and even lifetime Brechin memberships.
The initiative is now live at www.crowdfunder.co.uk/p/brechingolfclubsim
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