Exclusive:Prestigious Scottish golf club votes for £100 emergency levy to deal with 'cash flow issue'

As revealed by The Scotsman earlier this week, the East Lothian club, which has staged both Regional and Final Qualifiers for the world’s oldest major, had called an EGM on the back of a recent “strategy meeting”.

Held on Wednesday night, it saw members vote on two options, rejecting one that would have resulted in no action and “risk closure” but approving a much-needed cash injection through a levy.

The emergency meeting was attended by more than 100 members, with Scottish Golf lending its support to the Monktonhall venue by having two representatives from its Club Services team present.

“It is great news that all our members have agreed to chip in £100 because all we have at the moment is a short-term cash flow issue and that is down mainly to carrying out works to the clubhouse building,” club captain John McCusker told The Scotsman.

“The building is owned by East Lothian Council, but we have a full repairing lease and we have had to re-wire it and then do a subsequent re-decoration, which hadn’t been budgeted for.

“Apart from the short-term cash flow issue, the club is not in trouble. We have a good finance committee, which is working on a budget for next year which will be finished next week.

“After our initial meeting on 23 September, members had asked for a couple of options and that’s why one of the options was do nothing and risk closure.

“The club has never been in debt, nor will it be. We haven’t operated with an overdraft or anything like that, so it is all positive.”

The club, which staged a Final Qualifier for The Open when it was last held at Muirfield in 2013, has roughly 550 full and five-day members plus about 230 members in other categories.

“The numbers are encouraging and we’ve probably got room for 20-30 full members,” added McCusker. “It’s about looking forward. The future is bright for Musselburgh Golf Club and I personally hope we are all still playing golf here on a cracking course in 20 years’ time.”

On the back of the vote, Musselburgh members received an email from the club manager on Thursday morning with details about how the levy should be paid. “Your prompt attention to this matter is greatly appreciated,” it read.

One member who asked not to be named reckons the EGM has helped create a bit of much-needed positivity around the club, which is unusual in that it leases the land where the James Braid-designed course sits from the Wemyss Estate but its clubhouse is owned by the local council. 

“Everything until now had been a bit vague, but they explained themselves a bit better,” he said. “It all sounded good and, hopefully, we are now moving in the right direction.”

A spokesperson for Scottish Golf added: “We were really pleased to see a positive outcome from an engaged membership. Our Club Services team will now support the club going forward with any services they need, through our new Regional Development Manager in the East. 

“We are also really looking forward to hosting our Open Series qualifier at Musselburgh Golf Club in May 2025.”

The Hirsel in Coldstream closed overnight last month before Torrance Park in Motherwell also shut its doors. Earlier this week, Scotscraig members unanimously supported a proposal for the Fife club to open talks with prospective funding partners.

According to Mccusker, clubs affiliated to Scottish Golf should be using the services provided by the governing body.

“Scottish Golf is there to support all the golf clubs,” he said. “We are all members of Scottish Golf and they can provide support, which is great. They have been very helpful with us and going forward I am sure they will be as well.”