Two named storms in the space of a week have left golf courses in Scotland and England flooded, buried in sand and closed by fallen trees.
The worst hit appears to be Dumbarton Golf Club, whose 18-hole parkland course was completely submerged after an embankment collapsed during Storm Boelo on Saturday, October 24. Founded in 1888, it is one of the oldest clubs in the west of Scotland. The course sits on the banks of the River Leven, and vice-captain Paul Savage said the club is in a “precarious situation”, with water seeping back onto the course at high tide because the embankment has collapsed.
The club is trying to drain the course and may need to hire extra pumps at its own expense. Once the water recedes, it expects extensive repairs, including re-sanding bunkers, rebuilding bridges, removing debris and dealing with damaged trees. It has also reduced its opening hours to cut costs, a decision it called “heartbreaking” given its recent efforts to improve the clubhouse.
West Dunbartonshire Council has closed the nearby towpath for safety and will review the embankment with engineers, but has given no timescale. The club said the water coming in “will not be a quick fix”. Helensburgh, Cardross and Clydebank and District golf clubs have offered help, including tee times for Dumbarton members.
In Aberdeen, Sport Aberdeen has closed both of Hazlehead’s 18-hole courses, the Pines and the Alister MacKenzie-designed MacKenzie course, after a number of trees fell in heavy rain and strong winds. It hopes to reopen the Pines by the end of the week, but the MacKenzie will remain shut for a further week while its forestry team clears the fallen trees, making two weeks in all.
At Nairn Dunbar Golf Club, a tree split in two during the storm, and holes nine to 11 are closed until the debris is tidied up. The rest of the course remains open.
Further south, Storm Austen hit Cornwall on Friday, October 23, with the Met Office issuing an amber wind warning. At Newquay Golf Club, gale-force winds and dry conditions blew sand from the dunes across the eighth fairway, and the par-five has been shortened to a 147-yard par-three while the club plans its recovery. Truro Golf Club was forced to close after a number of trees fell, according to a report. The club was badly hit earlier this year, when Storm Goretti uprooted or snapped more than 100 trees in January.