A descendant of the legendary Old Tom Morris has attacked a proposal to close Perth’s North Inch golf course as “a crime”.
Melvyn Hunter Morrow, the great-great-grandson of the Open Championship winner who designed the course on the banks of the Tay, has called on councillors to save the historic course.
Golf has been played on the North Inch since the 1400s and on Thursday councillors will decide whether to shut the course in a bid to save £100,000 a year.
The axing of what many believe is the oldest golf course in the world caused a furious backlash and Mr Morrow has appealed to councillors for it to be saved.
“North Inch is an important part of Scotland’s golfing heritage,” said Mr Morrow, 65, who lives in Suffolk.
“It’s there right at the rebirth of the Royal and Ancient game of golf in the early 19th century.
“The course was designed at that time by Old Tom Morris, the father of the modern game of golf.
“This course cannot be lost. It would be a crime against the Scottish game that has spread all around the world.
“North Inch was designed re-designed if you wish by the man who headed the modern approach to golf course design, that of actual designing instead of just playing over fields.
“To close this course would, I believe, be a first-class betrayal of everything that is from the bottom upwards Scottish.
“Only a few years ago we had the fight to stop a small bridge that looked like it was going to create the closure and re-design of a green on the course, now you wish to close one of the most Scottish of Scottish golf courses.
“What is the point of being a nation called Scotland if its officials refuse to honour its own traditions or preserve its history? And North Inch course is part of the foundations of the modern game of golf developed in Scotland by a group of proud Scots. It is one of a few and should be saved.
“I hope common sense prevails and North Inch course is not just saved but again promoted and improved for the people of Scotland, and others, by a progressive and forward-thinking council.
“In the end the people will remember and hopefully thank you for the service you do for their grandchildren.
“North Inch must not be allowed to close.”
The closure option for the course is one of a raft of proposals which will be placed before Perth and Kinross councillors as they attempt to cut £5 million from spending next year.