A golf course designed by Old Tom Morris saved after a ‘Herculean' effort by its members
A golf course designed by Old Tom Morris saved after a 'Herculean' effort by its members
The unique King James VI Golf Club was designed by the famous course architect and is located on Moncrieffe Island in Perth, Scotland. It is believed to be the only self-contained inland island golf course in the world and is not far from the city centre.
The historic course suffered serious damages during Storm Babet in October 2023 when winds ripped a 120 foot wide hole in the island's flood defences.
Only the flags of some of the holes remained visible with the bulk of the island under three feet of water, and when the floods eventually receded only nine holes were left playable.
Staff feared the club would close completely if the flood banks could not be repaired properly with silt washed on shore from the River Tay leaving a lot of the course buried.
It seemed unlikely the original Old Tom Morris layout was going to be recovered but a repair job costing £75,000 (nearly $100,000) and a lot of effort from hard working club staff and members means the course is set to reopen fully.
Even the rebuild took an extra effort with the position of the course meaning equipment could only cross to the island during low tide between April and September.
Club captain Scott Fenton admits the importance of the golf course was not lost on members given how many others are under threat or have closed such as Hirsel and Caird Park.
How bad was the damage and what did membership do to help?
He said: "The initial breach to the flood banks was about 15 feet wide, but it eventually expanded to 120 feet.
"The ninth and tenth hole were completely wrecked - we were down to nine holes for more than six months then managed to reopen those two holes but as short par threes until we were able to get them repaired and reopened to their full length now.
"Before this happened we had managed to more than double our visitor numbers - we had lots of people who wanted to come and play such a unique and historic golf course and as a club we were really on the up.
"Obviously with the issues we had visitor income dropped right off and it made it really difficult for the club.
"But our members stuck with us and the work they put in was Herculean. They were out clearing the holes by hand, even when they kept getting flooded over and over until the flood defenses could be rebuilt.
"Every time we asked they would come and clear debris and then a high tide would come in and we'd be back to square one. It was nothing short of soul destroying but they stuck to the task and for that we are eternally grateful.
"We had to completely rebuild the flood defenses that had been swept away, all in all it cost about £75,000, a lot of money for a golf club.
"Visitors who come here are always impressed with the course. It has a great backdrop with the river surrounding us and the hills towering over us to the east.
"It is a great course to visit and we definitely want to get the word out there that we are back to the full 18 and in great condition for the summer season ahead."
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A golf course designed by Old Tom Morris saved after a ‘Herculean' effort by its members
A golf course designed by Old Tom Morris saved after a 'Herculean' effort by its members The unique King James VI Golf Club was designed by the famous course architect and is located on Moncrieffe Island in Perth, Scotland. It is believed to be the only self-contained inland island golf course in the world and is not far from the city centre. The historic course suffered serious damages during Storm Babet in October 2023 when winds ripped a 120 foot wide hole in the island's flood defences. Only the flags of some of the holes remained visible with the bulk of the island under three feet of water, and when the floods eventually receded only nine holes were left playable. Staff feared the club would close completely if the flood banks could not be repaired properly with silt washed on shore from the River Tay leaving a lot of the course buried. It seemed unlikely the original Old Tom Morris layout was going to be recovered but a repair job costing £75,000 (nearly $100,000) and a lot of effort from hard working club staff and members means the course is set to reopen fully. Even the rebuild took an extra effort with the position of the course meaning equipment could only cross to the island during low tide between April and September. Club captain Scott Fenton admits the importance of the golf course was not lost on members given how many others are under threat or have closed such as Hirsel and Caird Park. How bad was the damage and what did membership do to help? He said: "The initial breach to the flood banks was about 15 feet wide, but it eventually expanded to 120 feet. "The ninth and tenth hole were completely wrecked - we were down to nine holes for more than six months then managed to reopen those two holes but as short par threes until we were able to get them repaired and reopened to their full length now. "Before this happened we had managed to more than double our visitor numbers - we had lots of people who wanted to come and play such a unique and historic golf course and as a club we were really on the up. "Obviously with the issues we had visitor income dropped right off and it made it really difficult for the club. "But our members stuck with us and the work they put in was Herculean. They were out clearing the holes by hand, even when they kept getting flooded over and over until the flood defenses could be rebuilt. "Every time we asked they would come and clear debris and then a high tide would come in and we'd be back to square one. It was nothing short of soul destroying but they stuck to the task and for that we are eternally grateful. "We had to completely rebuild the flood defenses that had been swept away, all in all it cost about £75,000, a lot of money for a golf club. "Visitors who come here are always impressed with the course. It has a great backdrop with the river surrounding us and the hills towering over us to the east. "It is a great course to visit and we definitely want to get the word out there that we are back to the full 18 and in great condition for the summer season ahead."
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