Kyle of Lochalsh (Kyle) Golf Club, Plock of Kyle, Highland. (1926 - 1990s)

First appeared in 1926.

Report on the opening of the newly constructed Kyle golf course on the Plock of Kyle in September 1926.

 

 

From the 1928 - 1937; Golfer's Handbook; Kyle Golf Club; Membership 110; Secretary was J Middleton, 6 Kyle Terrace, Kyle, Ross-shire.;9-holes laid out on the Plock of Kyle; Visitors’ fees were 1/- a day, 2/6d a week and 5/- a month; Sunday play not allowed; Railway station at Kyle of Lochalsh ¼ mile; Local hotels the Kyle and Station.

 

 

Golfer's Handbook 1940 and 1947; Membership 55; Secretary - D D MacKenzie, 11 Railway Terrace, Kyle; Greenkeeper F Kennedy. The 9-hole course had a SSS of 40, par of 37; Visitors, 1/- a day, 2s/6d a week, 5s a month.

There were no further entries in the Golfer's Handbook which ceased publication in 2015.

The Kyle course was taken over for the war effort in the 1940s and it did not fully recover.

It was re-opened in the 1960s and continued on and off for a few years albeit on a reduced course.

 

 

A more permanent attempt was made to get the course back on its feet in 1985 by local man, Kenny MacLeod.

 

 

Oban Times and Argyllshire Advertiser Thursday 16 June 1988 - "The annual general meeting of the Kyle Golf Club was held in Kyle Hall recently, there was a good turn-out and the finances are healthy. The following were elected ; Chairman, Ken MacLeod; Vice-chairman, Gerald Palmer; Secretary, Graeme Chalmers; Treasurer, Robert Ramsay. The nine-hole course is now in good condition but the club would like to get a green-keeper for about eight hours a week. Senior subscription is now £25; Junior and under 17, £10; Under 13, £5."

In May 1993 fifty-four golfers, some from as far afield as Nairn, took part in an open competition organised by the Kyle Golf Club. In the scratch competition the winner of the Plock Cup was Hugh Macquarrie, jun., from Plockton with Robert Sheldon, Balmacara, coming second, and Austin Fisher, Kyle, third. The handicap section was won by the club secretary, Kenny MacLeod, with Murdo MacKenzie and Roddie MacDonald, both from Lochcarron, finishing second and third respectively.

We received the following information in May 2014 - "About 5 or 6 years ago I was on Skye and travelled to Kyle of Lochalsh to play the course. There was a sign on a wall from the main Street pointing up a road which I followed to what I suppose would have been the Clubhouse - a wooden hut?  It was immediately apparent that the course had not been maintained for some time - the grass on what would have been the fairways was up to my knees and I did find a gang mower underneath the grass on what I think may have been the second hole.

The ground the golf course once occupied has now been taken over by a local community organisation and is currently under development, very sad as it was a great wee course in a stunning setting."

So, unfortunately, Mr MacLeod's attempts to re-instate the course in the 1980s proved to be in vain, mainly due to lack of enthusiasm or interest from any other parties.

One of the contributors to our website on Scottish courses, Douglas Mill, recently visited the site of the former Kyle of Lochalsh course. During his visit he had a chance meeting with the former secretary who provided a potted history of the club. He went on to explain that, interestingly, it was once an 18-hole course but was eventually reduced to 9-holes. Optimistic as he his there is little chance of the club re-opening. This is the familiar story of the main characters moving on and the new generation having little interest.