Carnoustie's iconic snack hut put up for sale on eBay

AN ICONIC tea hut that has served many of the word's top golfers has been put up for sale on eBay - with a starting price of one penny.

• Bill Wharton has run the hut for the past 17 years at Carnoustie

The small wooden building has stood behind the tenth hole at Carnoustie Golf Course for more than 60 years and has provided refreshment for Hollywood actor Samuel L Jackson and star golfers Ernie Els, Gary Player and Sam Torrance.

Bill Wharton, who has run the hut for the past 17 years, said yesterday: "The Americans love this place; so do the golfers. We've got a guest book here that is filled with top names from golf, including the last winner here, Padraig Harrington, as well as Els, Gary Player and Torrance.

"Samuel L Jackson comes here every time he plays the Dunhill, and he re-signs his signature on the wall to freshen it up."

The green-painted pinewood hut has been decorated over the years with hundreds of bag tags used by golfers and celebrities from around the world, but it is now being replaced with a more modern building.

Whoever buys the piece of golfing heritage, seen by millions on television coverage of Open Championships, will have to remove it from the famous course.

Mr Wharton wrote on the eBay auction website that he was sad Carnoustie Golf Links Management Committee had voted to replace the building.

He wrote: "Situated behind the tenth green of the championship course is a modest wooden building which has made its own mark over the years - through the door of which countless golfing greats, sporting icons, and celebrities, have passed.

"A little bit of character, and quirkiness, will be lost to Carnoustie for all time; a detail that does not escape the notice of many local, and visiting, golfers. However, the course's loss can be your gain as the opportunity exists here to bid for this unique piece of golfing history and heritage."

The listing on the site adds that the green tea hut has a metal roof and "manages to keep the worst Carnoustie weather at bay".

It measures just 16 feet by eight feet, with its walls set on a concrete plinth. Its pine horizontal boards are supported at each corner with metal angle-iron posts.

The winning bidder must be able to collect the hut by Friday 22 October.

Earlier this year, golf's governing body, the Royal & Ancient (R&A), labelled current provision at Carnoustie "inadequate" and warned it could lose its right to host the Open Championship unless it improves its facilities.

Mr Wharton added: "The hut is an institution in the golfing fraternity everyone knows about it. It will be sad to see it go, but I just hope it goes to a good home."