Two leading golf clubs devastated by fire shortly after reopening

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir June 9, 2020 10:17

Two golf clubs, one 117 years old and the other opened by a US president, have both seen their clubhouses devastated by fires just days after their golf courses reopened following the lockdown.

According to the Daily Record, the clubhouse at Charleton Golf Club in Fife, which was opened by US President George Bush, has been destroyed.

The venue had only reopened just over a week earlier and was one of the few facilities in the area that was allowing visitors and not just members to turn up to play.

‘Despite three fire appliances hosing down the massive flames, the building has been completely destroyed leaving club officials devastated,’ states the paper.

Club manager Andrew Paterson said: “I got a phone call at 2am from one of our members and he said I had better get up there because the place was ablaze.

“So I came up and the place is gone. All our history is gone. We were opened in 1994 by President George Bush Senior.

“We’re quite a small club with a quiet parkland course.

“But we’ve been very busy recently because we’re one of the only clubs in Fife or Scotland that are taking visitors since the lockdown was eased.

“The last seven or eight days has been really busy but now this has happened which is just a disaster.

“There’s nothing we can do, we’ve just got to try and get on with it. We’re going to try to keep operating.

“I’ve been in touch with Scottish Golf to see if they can supply us with a portacabin because they’re not running any events just now so hopefully they can help us out with one of them.

Charleton’s clubhouse before the fire. Image from Facebook

“The golf course itself is intact. We’ve got players on it just now believe it or not. We’ve got CID here and fire investigators so we’ll just have to wait and see what the outcome is.”

A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 1.48am on Monday, June 8 to reports of a building fire in Colinsburgh, Fife.

“Operations Control mobilised three appliances to the town’s Charleton Golf Club, where firefighters worked through the night to extinguish the fire.

“There are no casualties.”

Police Scotland confirmed a joint probe is underway to determine the cause of the fire.

This comes just a week after 117-year-old Kenmare Golf Club in Ireland experienced a similar fire.

‘It took several hours to bring the fire under control and by Sunday evening it was clear the building had been gutted in the blaze, with much of the roof, internal walls and furnishings destroyed,’ reports the Irish Times.

 

The clubhouse was originally a cricket pavilion in India and was not installed in Kenmare until the 1930s.

The course itself had reopened for play following the lockdown less than two weeks earlier.

The club said it was shocked by the fire and an investigation is also ongoing regarding how it started. A fundraiser to rebuild the clubhouse hopes to raise 100,000 euros.

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir June 9, 2020 10:17
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2 Comments

  1. Jumbo July 7, 22:43

    xxxxxxxxx job, especially with the new course across the road opening!!!

    Reply to this comment
  2. Peter June 9, 17:56

    So sad !!! Those old buildings tend to burn faster and hotter, less of a chance for survival ! Will be interesting, to find causes !! Often, in times of crisis, standards, procedures and routines ( maintenance) are relaxed or forgotten !

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