Machrihanish Golf Club should open its clubhouse this year

At the end of 2018, Machrihanish Golf Club suffered a fire that destroyed its historic clubhouse. Today, the club is set to build a new clubhouse with improved facilities.

Just before Christmas 2018, Machrihanish Golf Club on the Mull of Kintyre, which regularly features in the top 20 in golf courses in Scotland lists and was designed by Old Tom Morris in 1879, suffered a devastating fire.

The blaze, which broke out on December 19, 2018, completely destroyed Machrihanish’s historic clubhouse.

Iain McAlister (left), distillery manager, Glen Scotia, and Willie Ross, captain of Machrihanish Gold Club

However, it is said that every heartache carries with it the seed of an equal or greater benefit, and that may be the case at Machrihanish.

The club lies five miles west of Campbeltown, formerly known as the whisky capital of the world, and Glen Scotia Distillery, one of just three surviving distilleries in the town, donated a single cask in aid of the golf club’s campaign to rebuild. The bottlings have now sold out, raising over £10,000 for the fundraising drive.

Machrihanish Golf Club is now building a new clubhouse which should open this year, with improved facilities, including a swing room, which can be used by professionals and members of the club for training purposes. The money raised by Glen Scotia’s donated cask will go towards equipment that will be used in the new room, including a simulator.

From the donated cask, 196 bottles of single malt whisky were produced, which were sold at the distillery’s visitor centre. The distillery commissioned a special bottle, which included the golf club’s logo, along with the cask number.

Glen Scotia also donated two special bottles that were signed by Darren Clarke, 2011 Open champion, to the club. The club intends to keep a bottle to display on the new bar, with the other to be included at an upcoming raffle.

The company’s Iain McAlister said: “Like everyone else in the local community, we were absolutely heartbroken by the fire at Machrihanish Golf Club. It is central to life here on the remote Kintyre peninsula, bringing visitors to the area and providing a much-loved social destination for locals.

“It is highly rewarding to be able to support the campaign to rescue the club and I am looking to enjoying a dram of our single cask bottling at the clubhouse when it eventually reopens.”