Montrose Golf Links, home of the ninth oldest golf club in the world, was left unplayable after being hit by Storm Deirdre.

Pictures show the greens and fairways covered in tonnes of sand which was blown on to the course from the neighbouring beach and have had to be removed by hand.

The club’s head greenkeeper said ‘it’s like concrete.’

But despite the temporary blip, it is hoped that courses such as that at Montrose will be able to flourish and make the most of tourism from North America and Asia, with tourism worth £286m this year.

The Herald:

Now golf tourism is set to break the £300million barrier after exceeding predictions following a strong year for visitors.

Scotland’s national golf tourism strategy, Driving Forward Together, has revised its targets for 2020 and now hopes the industry will be worth £325 million.

Allan Minto, project manager with Golf Perthshire, was part of the team reviewing the strategy and said: “Scotland is known around the world as the Home of Golf and factors such as increased accessibility via air routes, exchange rates, international media profile from major events and the continued development of Scotland’s world-class golf tourism product are all expected to see the industry maintain this excellent growth and hit a renewed target of £325m by 2020.

“These figures outline the importance of the golf tourism industry to Scotland’s economy and with £5 spent elsewhere for every £1 a golf visitor spends playing golf, the ripple effect is felt far and wide across the visitor economy in shops, hotels, restaurants and other tourist attractions.”

The Herald:

Scottish Golf said this indicated a “bright future for golf clubs across Scotland” as the revised strategy stressed the importance of attracting more women and young people to the sport.

The plans will also focus on using the 2019 Solheim Cup at Gleneagles, to market Scotland as a golf destination open to all.

Malcolm Roughead, chief executive at VisitScotland said: “These figures show that golf tourism in Scotland has continued to experience terrific growth in recent years despite increased competition from rival destinations and reinforces Scotland’s global reputation as the Home of Golf.

“Scotland is home to almost 600 golf courses, with more courses per head of population than any other established golf destination, it’s something no other country is able to match in terms of our history or heritage in the game and to get here is more accessible than ever with enhanced air routes coming from North America among others”.