A unique Scottish golf course devastated by a massive flood has been rescued – thanks to a £75,000 repair job and a “Herculean” effort by its members.
King James VI Golf Club – designed by legendary course architect Old Tom Morris – is located on Moncrieffe Island in Perth, just a few minutes walk from the city centre and believed to be the world’s only self-contained inland island golf course.
But the historic course – opened in 1897 – was inundated in October 2023 after Storm Babet ripped a 120 foot wide hole in the island’s flood defences.
The bulk of the island was left under three feet of water – with only the flags visible on some holes.
Even after the water receded only nine holes were left playable for more than six months – with two in particular buried under tons of silt washed on shore from the River Tay.
Staff feared that if the flood banks couldn’t be properly repaired it could close the club completely or made reinstatement of the original Old Tom Morris layout impossible.
And the difficulty of the rebuilding work was exacerbated by the island course’s unique position – with equipment only able to cross over to the course via a causeway at low tide, which is only possible between April and September.
Now after 18 months of rebuilding, investment and hard work by club staff and members alike, the course has now fully reopened – with the club able to welcome back visitors to their full layout for the first time since 2023.
Club captain Scott Fenton said that with so many Scottish golf courses such as the Hirsel and Caird Park having closed recently and others including Dalmuir under threat, the club knew how important it was to make sure they remained open with their full 18 holes intact.
He said: “The initial breach to the flood banks was about 15 feet wide – but it eventually expanded to 120 feet.
“The ninth and tenth hole were completely wrecked – we were down to nine holes for more than six months then managed to reopen those two holes but as short par threes until we were able to get them repaired and reopened to their full length now.
“Before this happened we had managed to more than double our visitor numbers – we had lots of people who wanted to come and play such a unique and historic golf course and as a club we were really on the up.
“Obviously with the issues we had visitor income dropped right off and it made it really difficult for the club.
“But our members stuck with us and the work they put in was Herculean – they were out clearing the holes by hand, even when they kept getting flooded over and over until the flood defences could be rebuilt.
“Every time we asked they would come and clear debris and then a high tide would come in and we’d be back to square one. It was nothing short of soul destroying but they stuck to the task and for that we are eternally grateful.
“We had to completely rebuild the flood defences that had been swept away – all in all it cost about £75,000, a lot of money for a golf club.”
Scott added: “Visitors who come here are always impressed with the course – it has a great backdrop with the river surrounding us and the hills towering over us to the east.
“It is a great course to visit and we definitely want to get the word out there that we are back to the full 18 and in great condition for the summer season ahead.”
