Key advice given on course use as Scottish clubs battle to stay open

A guide outlining the best ways to use restricted areas of land for golf course development has been published by the St Andrews-based governing body.

Produced with the support and assistance of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects, the Golf for Smaller Spaces guide looks at how smaller space courses operate and sets out practical requirements and commercial considerations for establishing such courses.

Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A said: “We have seen that shorter formats of golf are key to introducing new participants to the sport but are also popular with traditional golfers. 

“The Golf for Smaller Spaces guide has been written, by experts in course architecture, as a blue print as to how courses can be developed and succeed in a non-traditional size and environment.  

“We hope it will serve as a useful reference point for the industry as it responds to the way people want to play the sport and in locations, such as cities and urban areas, that are convenient to them. 

“We want to give more golfers of all ages, genders and ethnicities pathways into the sport so that they can go on to become the golf club members of the future.”

Shorter forms of the sport, including mini golf, pitch & putt, intermediate golf courses and three, six or nine hole layouts, can be accommodated on smaller areas of land.

Participation data indicates that 19.6 million adults outside of the US play golf exclusively on non-traditional nine and 18-hole facilities.

In Great Britain and Ireland golfers who exclusively play alternative formats of golf are more likely to be women than men, while more than half of those participants are under 35 years of age.

In recent weeks, two Scottish golf clubs - The Hirsel in Coldstream and Torrance Park in Motherwell - were closed, with one industry expert having warned that others are likely to suffer the same fate.