This week the Scottish Government published its verdict on Coul Links after 10 years and millions of pounds in legal battles. The planners deemed the environmental impact on the linksland site which is protected by an international designation, outweighed the regional socio-economic benefits.
I had a closer connection to this project than most. From a Kevin Markham Golf Digest article in December, 2015 which was shared again with me this week following the verdict…
“I spent the afternoon on the second course (the Struie) playing with young Ru Macdonald, of Scottish Golf Podcast fame. He headed off after half a dozen holes to visit the site of the proposed new course up the road in Embo. While exploring the dunes he bumped into Mike Keiser, the developer. The next day he “broke” the story, and the local papers and international golf media were all over it. With Bill Coore and Ben Crenshaw at the helm.”
They say you make your own luck and that was certainly the case when I had the fortune to break the story* after literally walking into Mike Keiser on Coul Links alongside his then partner Todd Warnock, owner of the luxurious boutique hotel Links House in Dornoch. It was there he would invite me back for an hour and hear first hand from both on their plans for the site. For me at the time - a student blogger with a podcast trying to make my way in the golf media and tourism industry, this was the story of my dreams. I vividly remember driving home that sunny evening beaming, only to have the story “pinched” without credit on Golf Channel’s Morning Drive show the next morning. The story was out in the world.
*I regrettably lapsed on my domain registration and have since lost all old podcasts and blogs. You’ll have to take my word on it…
I am sad for everyone involved but especially Bill Coore who won’t get to build a links golf course in Scotland - a place he adores and where much of his golf course design inspiration came from.
An interview I did with Todd Warnock in summer of 2024. A links golf enthusiast, philanthropist and owner of Links House, next door to Royal Dornoch. The Chicago entrepreneur shares how he fell in love with links golf at Dornoch, his love of Scottish history and his vision for Coul Links.
8 Golf Place, St Andrews
Morgan & Loren French, Cooper and myself. Photo courtesy of The Old Ghosts
As I announced on the last newsletter, 8 Golf Place opened its doors in St Andrews this month and the feedback from the town, golf industry, media and our customers has been amazing.
Michael Williams from The Old Ghosts newsletter wrote our first shop review,
“8 Golf Place is a realisation that all of the recent evolution in golf "lifestyle" has finally broken through in a way that feels both true to the roots of the game and representative of where we are collectively going.
Oh, and they're open past 6pm, so even if you squeeze every last hole out of your golf day, they'll still be there when you're done. 8 Golf Place was a big undertaking for its founders. In a town that's had centuries to decide what's worth stopping for, it's already earned a spot on the list.”
With lots to still work through, I remain indebted to Loren & Morgan my partners who brought the vision to life. For any of the industry attending Elevate, a tourism conference in St Andrews this week, be sure to pop in and see us.
Reads, Listens and Links
Royal County Down and Mountains of Mourne
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Cheers, Ru Macdonald