The Dear Green Place hasn’t been so dear to the sport in recent years but at least one former club has found a new lease of life as an oasis between three housing estates
Fernbrae Meadows is a great place to explore nature(Image: Clareleethompson/Wiki Commons)
Glasgow is known as the Dear Green Place, and for good reason. The city boasts almost 100 parks and gardens spread out amidst communities.
They range from the vast Pollok Country Park to smaller, private gardens in some of the most affluent areas of the city. One of the newest might well boast the best views.
Located on the southwest edge of the city is Fernbrae Meadows, where wildflowers bloom and deer are regular visitors. The park only opened officially in 2019 and it proved to be a haven during the Covid pandemic when attendance numbers skyrocketed.
Just five years prior to that, the land had been one of the many golf courses that once thrived in the and around the city. Technically outwith the city boundary in the town of Rutherglen, Blairbeth Golf Club was sandwiched between three housing estates – Castlemilk in Glasgow, and Fernhill and Cathkin in South Lanarkshire – as well as Cathkin Braes which overlooks Glasgow to the south of the city.
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A short but tricky, and incredibly tight, 18 holes, Blairbeth developed a reputation over the years as a working class course, with a more laid back atmosphere than some of its stuffier neighbours. But after years of falling membership numbers, the course was forced to close in 2015 with debts of £135,000.
The site was left derelict until new plans were set out in 2018 for its return to public use. There is little trace of its previous life left but those who knew the course will still recognise the general shape.
Fernbrae Meadows has been transformed into an Urban Park(Image: Alec MacKinnon/Wiki Commons)
Nowhere is that more evident that from what was the old fourth tee, one of the highest point on the course. Even today, visitors are treated to a spectacular view over Glasgow and beyond, all the way to the likes of Ben Lomond on the other side of the Highland fault line. In fact, the views across the western Central Belt from all over the park are among the best you will find.
The park boasts a wildflower meadow, woodland wetlands and marshy grassland and is a great place to explore nature without leaving the city sprawl. It was designated a local nature reserve in 2022 and is a haven for wildlife and plant life. With over 1.5 miles of path network, Fernbrae is an ideal place for a summer afternoon stroll.
A view down what was the 18th hole of Blairbeth Golf Club with views over the mountains of the Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park(Image: Rutherglen Reformer)
Glasgow’s other lost golf courses
Scotland might be the home of golf, but the game has faced something of a crisis in recent years with courses closing despite record participation numbers. Just two miles from Fernbrae in the Croftfoot area sits Croft Park, another community space that was once a golf course.
King’s Park was a nine-hole track run by the council that was the starting point for many a golfer. With no holes over 300 yards, green fees were just a few pounds, opening the game up to a whole new audience, although the course condition was patchy at best.
Less than mile from King’s Park is the remains of Linn Park Golf Course, which shut during the Covid lockdown and was never reopened by the council. Located in Simshill, the layout of the 18-hole course still exists with community attempts taking place to return it to a playable conditions.
Another public course that was a victim of the pandemic was nine hole Alexandra Park in Dennistoun, less than two miles from the city centre, which dated back to the 1890s. It is now just another part of Alexandra Park.
Ruchill Golf Course in Maryhill, also nine holes, was re-modelled by Colin Montgomerie in 2009 but 10 years later it was closed due to lack of use.