Links Golf Cup at Castle Stuart, Nairn Golf Club and Nairn Dunbar Golf Club will help rejuvenate economy in Highlands
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Castle Stuart Golf Club, Nairn Golf Club and Nairn Dunbar Golf Club will be hosting a major 54-hole amateur golf championship this summer.
The Links Cup Pairs will take place at the three golf courses between Monday, August 16 and Wednesday, August 18, with golfers from across the UK expected to sign up.
The 54-hole pairs betterball stableford competition is one of a number of amateur events to be staged by the Links Golf Cup.
Castle Stuart’s director of golf Jeremy Matte is looking forward to working with Nairn and Nairn Dunbar to show off what the Highlands has to offer.
“We’re looking forward to the season ahead in general,” he insisted.
“Certainly, when you have events like this that are put on by folks like Hybrid Golf it’s definitely a date for the diary for all three venues.
“The big thing is that when you’re trying to attract folks to come north from England, they’re not only coming for one golf course.
“They’re not only coming for us, or for Nairn or Nairn Dunbar, it’s about pairing us together.
“When you do it together it makes a big difference. They’re not travelling all this distance just to play one game of golf.”
By the time the competition takes place in August, it is hoped that a significant proportion of the population will have been vaccinated against Covid-19, and the country will be recovering from the pandemic.
An influx of golfers from across the country would prove to be a much-needed boost to the local economy as far as both the golf and hospitality industries are concerned.
“There’s no doubt that the hospitality industry here has been suffering over the last 12 months, probably as much as any industry,” Matte explained.
“This event will hopefully be just the start of folks coming back into the area and helping to rejuvenate hospitality and golf in this area.
“It has been recognised over the last 12 months as a very safe activity to do, so from that standpoint I think the uptake in the tournament will be good – they wouldn’t come unless they were confident it was safe.
“They know golfing is safe, and even if there are still some social distancing restrictions in terms of clubhouse access or restaurants, people are just really desperate to get out and start doing things again.”
