Appeal funds set up by two Borders golf clubs proving hugely successful

Peebles Golf Club has received strong support from the local community. picture: Ross Duncan

Two golf clubs in the Borders have received a positive response from local communities to appeal funds set up to try to protect their future after the crippling effect of the coronavirus closure.

Peebles, the first club in the area to come up with the crowdfunding idea, has raised more than £6,500 in less than a week while Torwoodlee in Galashiels brought in close to £3,500 in under 48 hours.

Donations have mainly been made by members who have found themselves with some extra money in their pocket during the COVID-19 lockdown, and both clubs have been pleasantly surprised by the success so far of the respective rallying calls.

“Most golf clubs will struggle in these difficult times,” Les Biscomb, who is on the sub-committee that came up with the idea for the Peebles appeal fund, told The Scotsman. “Some – the likes of North Berwick, Gullane and Muirfield – will weather it and continue as normal.

“But most golf clubs will be in a very different world when we come out of this and, sadly, not all of them will survive, I’m afraid. Like all clubs, it’s troubled times for us at Peebles and we could be close to going into the winter period when we come out of lockdown.

“We initially set a target of £2,000 when we decided to launch the monthy members’ appeal fund, but the figure stands now at £6,590 and donations are still coming in. That is unbelievable and it has taken us aback, to be honest. We will close the gates at the end of April, put that sum into the golf club ‘locker’, then reset back to £2,000 for May.”

Robin Brydon, chairman of Torwoodlee, which is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year, said the club is effectively asking members to donate what they would be spending if the course was open.

“It is amazing and even ex-members are starting to contribute,” he said. “We are like all Borders clubs and a lot of Scottish clubs in that we are struggling. We just don’t know how we are going to come out of this. We already had exisitng debt from back in 1995, when the club went to 18 holes. We have been paying that back and making headway. But member numbers have been reducing and visitor numbers as well over the years.

“We increased our membership fees in October and we have been fortunate that we’ve got 75 per cent of that money in already. A lot of people at clubs where the financial year is different to us are looking at not re-joining because they don’t know how long the 2020 season is going to be.”

In a gesture of support, the Borders Golfers’ Association has taken steps to try to help its 22 member clubs, which stretch from Eyemouth in the east to Langholm in the west.

“I’m also on the BGA committee and, from a county point of view, we have refunded all the affiliation fees, even though we are only talking about £2.50 per person,” added Brydon. “We are encouraging Scottish Golf to do the same thing, though they will have their own views on that as they have their own  business to run.

“The BGA is also offering a £500 interest-free loan to all our member clubs. For a lot of the smaller clubs, that might just make the difference in these difficult times.”

Staff have been furloughed at both Peebles and Torwoodlee, with only one greenkeeper currently working at each club on essential maintainance. “Golf is second fiddle at the moment as people try to save lives,” said Brydon. “But we now realise what it would be like to be without a club to go to for exercise.”

Does he fear some of the clubs in his beloved Borders might not survive being temporarily out of business? “I think so, yes,” he said. “A few of them were teetering anyway. In the next two or three years, at least some of them are probably going to have to shut. There was talk already of some going back to nine holes.It is all down to membership numbers and cashflow. Also, how supportive are the banks going to be in this?”