Footgolf club takes case to ombudsman

A Scottish footgolf club that was asked to move to a new venue because traditional golf is currently so popular is taking its case to Scotland’s Public Services Ombudsman.

According to the Daily Record, Ayr FootGolf Club was asked to leave Dalmilling in 2020 by South Ayrshire Council and was told to prove its worth at a different venue nine miles away.

Office bearers cited financial reasons — insisting they could make more money from traditional golf at the course, states the paper, while a spokesperson for the council says “all our golf courses have become considerably busier”.

It adds that, 18 months on, ‘answers are still being sought with council bosses’ and it might not be until December that a plan has been finalised to include footgolf in a council golf strategy.

David Craig, chair of Ayr FootGolf Club, said: “We’ve often felt the contempt of South Ayrshire Council officials for those who have grown up or live in poverty.

“I expected it to be a challenge to step into the world of golf and prove the case for access to a golf course that wasn’t based on purely revenue generation.

“Having said that, I didn’t expect the contempt for those wishing to access a local amenity, in the area they live in, to be quite so unguarded and blatant.”

But with members slowly dropping off as a result of being kicked from their home town, the club has now gone into reluctant hibernation.

David added: “We are being asked to prove our worth to Ayr North by operating in Maybole, which is baffling.

“A community group operating with links in a specific community would not be asked, in any other operational context, within any public service body, to prove their worth in an entirely different locality .

“If we are to prove footgolf’s operational value, we need access to facilities in the area they would operate in moving forward.

“We’ve always operated harmoniously beside the golfers at Dalmilling and there has never been a problem with us both using the facility.

“This purely comes down to the council wanting to make more money.

“We have had a huge amount of support from elected members, which has been greatly appreciated.

“But the lack of empathy, sympathy and even, at times, basic courtesy from officers has been nothing short of shocking.”

A South Ayrshire Council spokesperson said: “Footgolf was trialled for a limited period at Dalmilling Golf Course prior to the pandemic. Since the return to golf was permitted, all our golf courses have become considerably busier.

“The council agreed a ‘golf strategy’ in December and during the course of this year officers will be undertaking work to explore the use of each of our golf courses, including the opportunity to include other leisure pursuits such as footgolf or walking on some of our courses, with recommendations put forward to a council meeting by December.”