Fight to save Dalmuir receives support from local councillors and John McGinn

Clydebank municipal course targeted for either closure or being reduced to 12 holes

Hot on the heels of Hollandbush in Lanarkshire being handed a reprieve after it had seemed doomed for closure, the future is also starting to look a bit brighter for a second municipal course in Scotland.

Dalmuir in Clydebank has been targeted as part of a cost-cutting exercise by West Dunbartonshire Council, with a proposal having been made to either reduce the course from 18 to 12 holes or closure.

A document shared with bunkered golf magazine outlines the proposal, which has been tabled on the back of dropping numbers in terms of usage. In 2022/23, the course attracted 218 annual members with an additional 4188 day visitors, which compares to 264 annual members and 5800 day visitors in 2021/22.

Dalmuir Golf Course in Clydebank has been targeted by West Dunbartonshire Council for either closure or being reduced from 18 to 12 holes.

The document also states, though, that the closure of the course would mean that there would be “no publicly accessible golf facilities within West Dunbartonshire”.

Craig Connelly, one of the game’s best-known caddies, cut his golfing teeth at Dalmuir and quickly threw his support behind bunkered assistant editor Michael McEwan as he single-handedly launched a campaign to ‘Save Dalmuir’.

A petition raised on behalf of Clydebank Overtoun Golf Club and all those who play golf at Dalmuir has raised more than 5000 signatures in the space of a few days, with Aston Villa and Scotland midfielder John McGinn posting on social media that he was “gutted” by a course he plays on being under threat.

The future of the course will be decided at a meeting on 6 March, but, over the past 24 hours, positive noises have been made by local councillors on the back of the strong social media support for it to be kept open.

Douglas McAllister, provost of West Dunbartonshire Council and leader of the majority Labour group, wrote on X: "Generations of Bankies have enjoyed our stunning municipal golf course at Dalmuir. I'm proud of the Scottish Labour councillors at WDC who will vote against the proposal to close the course. We are the last line of defence against SNP underfunding of local councils."

In a message to McEwan, he added: "We won’t reduce the size of the course. The Labour group are committed to this. Hope that helps to clarify matters and allay fears. 100% guarantee. I can’t state it any clearer than that. I hope many of our local residents will consider joining."

SNP West Dunbartonshire Councillors also sent out a message of support on social media. It read: "We won't be closing, shortening or harming (the) golf course.”

Connelly, who caddies for Martin Kaymer and is one of the most experienced loopers in the game, has urged as many people as possible to sign the petition.

He wrote: “This is my golf club and course. It's where I fell in love with the beautiful and wonderful game. If it wasn't for this place I don't know where I'd be today. We're seeing this happen time and time again with local authorities recently. We need to stop this. It's the lifeblood of the game.”

Earlier this week, South Lanarkshire Council handed Hollandbush Golf Club a reprieve after it had been earmarked for possible closure. An extra £800,000 has been put into a Community Fightback Fund, which will be used to keep the club and course running this year as the committee look to come up with a model to take over it going forward.