PLANNERS GIVE GO-AHEAD TO PALMER
TRIBUTE COURSE AT CASTLE STUART
TRIBUTE COURSE AT CASTLE STUART
The ninth green at Castle Stuart on the Moray Firth coastline
NEWS RELEASE
Planners have today given their unanimous support for a second championship golf course to be built at the renowned Castle Stuart Golf Links in partnership with the Arnold Palmer Group.
Detailed
plans to develop the Palmer Tribute course adjacent to the existing
links, which hosts next week’s Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open,
were lodged with Highland Council in October.
The
council’s South Planning Applications Committee approved the proposal,
with committee chairman Jimmy Gray saying it was an extremely welcome
development.
Stuart
McColm, general manager at Castle Stuart Golf Links, said: “We are
extremely pleased that the committee has approved plans for a second
world class course at Castle Stuart Golf Links.
“This decision will allow preparations to continue towards construction getting under way later this year.
“The
new course will provide a huge economic boost for Inverness, the
Highlands and Scotland. It will strengthen the Highlands’ position as a
leading golfing destination and, along with new transport links, help
visitors regard it as a gateway for visitors to the Home of Golf.”
“Together
with the Arnold Palmer Group, we are acutely aware it has to be
developed in the correct way, with community backing and with the
support of local and national statutory bodies to protect a sensitive
environment.
“As
a report to the committee pointed out, our work on the existing course
has demonstrated we can create something with worldwide appeal to bring
benefit to the area while working within the regulatory framework.”
In
2014 Castle Stuart was awarded the GEO Certified ecolabel, an
international symbol of ‘great golf environments’, which recognises golf
clubs that have met high standards for performance in nature
conservation, water and energy efficiency, ethical and environmental
supply chain, pollution control and community engagement, one of only a
handful to be awarded in the UK.
The Palmer Tribute course will be golf legend Arnold Palmer’s first course in Scotland.
The
Arnold Palmer Group (APG) is investing in the current partnership at
Castle Stuart and senior architects from the Arnold Palmer Design
Company (APDC) are lined up to join the on-site team to design and build
the new course.
Arnold Palmer, who visited Castle Stuart last year, said the team’s aim is to “create something truly special”.
It
is predicted that about 30 jobs will be created during the initial
14-month construction period, with ten posts retained for a further
year. An additional 20 jobs will be created on site, including
greenkeepers, clubhouse staff and a marketing, sales and admin team.
Routing
of the new course will ensure that at least seven holes will have the
iconic 17th century Castle Stuart in sight, with ten holes having sea
views and five having a local burn featured as both a strategic and an
aesthetic element
Castle
Stuart Golf Links opened in 2009 and has achieved global acclaim in its
first seven years. It staged the Scottish Open for three
successive years from 2011-2013, with the 2013 championship, won by Phil
Mickelson, reaching a worldwide television audience of more than 500
million.
The
championship, sponsored by Aberdeen Asset Management and the Scottish
Government, returns to Castle Stuart from 7-10 July 2016.
Labels: GOLF NEWS
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