Historic Scottish golf club unveils exciting new plans

Crail Golfing Society, the seventh oldest golf club in the world, has unveiled plans to improve its practice facilities and is hoping it will help attract more juniors into the game.

The popular Fife club has approved projects to develop the existing facilities, having received planning permission for a fully-covered Practice and Performance Hub, which will comprise six bays, as well as a state-of-the-art Trackman swing studio.

“The recent incorporation has allowed the Society to reset its focus, and through the ongoing member-wide consultation, determine what sort of club we are and want to be, which in turn has translated into a set of strategic objectives that we can all work towards,” said Dr Jane Green, chair of the club’s board.

“The driving range project has been driven by the requests from members for better practice facilities, and we expect to see a significant increase in the current usage of more than 180,000 balls per year, particularly amongst junior golfers who are the future of our club.”

Crail has long been associated with the development of junior golf from when the first junior medal was held in 1880 to the modern day of offering subsidised lessons for an average of 35 under 15-year-olds for 15 weeks every summer for the past 17 years.

An artist’s imperession of the proposed new Practice and Performance Hub at Crail Golfing Society | Crail Golfing Society

The improved driving range will further enhance the club’s connection with juniors and wider local community through events like a ‘Junior Golf Skills’ challenge during the week of the Crail Festival in July and national initiatives like the Scottish Golf ‘Get Into Golf’ scheme.

Head professional David Snodgrass said: “We have designed the Practice and Performance Hub with the aim of delivering one of the best practice and tuition facilities at a members club in Scotland.

“This new facility will allow members to use their club more often especially when the weather is at its worst which would normally result in quieter days at the club.”

Crail, home of both the Balcomie Links and Craighead Links, currently has a four-year waiting list for membership and Green added: “The focus for the board has been on improving the overall experience, especially for our members with more tee time availability.

“We have strong reserves that can finance further development so we’re very proud to say that the future looks bright for our historic club.”