A decade-long venture came to a successful end yesterday following the opening of a £12 million golf course in the heart of Inverness.
King’s Golf Club, located on the north side of the A82 trunk road, was created as part of £12.35m investment to the Inverness West Link Project as a replacement for the former Torvean Golf Club.
The course, created by award winning global golf course architect, Stuart Rennie, boasts more than 600 members offering a contemporary club and course for avid golfers.
During an official opening at the club house yesterday, three times Ryder Cup Champion Bernard Gallagher OBE took to the green, which he hopes will inspire the future generation into the sport.
He said: “It’s great to have these golf clubs but we must try and get youngsters playing a lot more in the game.
“It’s about time we get more kids into playing golf because it gets them into discipline. It’s a game you can play on your own and a game you can play with family, friends and it’s a nice place to be. I am passionate about trying to introduce more boys and girls to the game and I think the facilities you have here will probably do that.”
Construction of the course by Coffey Construction LTD and EGS Golf Ltd Joint venture partnership began in August 2016, ahead of its completion just months ago.
Hamish Spence, president of the club, added: “The official opening of the King’s Golf Club Inverness marks the beginning of a new era of golfers, of all ages and abilities, in Inverness and the wider Highlands. This day sees the culmination of almost 10 years of hard work in the planning, design and construction.
“When I think back to when the project started ten years ago I really have to pinch myself. It’s been a long, long road, I described it in my speech as a rollercoaster ride and that is the way it has been.”
The West link project worth £315m, which is part of the Highland city-region deal, enhanced possibilities for new housing and commercial development across the Inverness landscape.
Provost Helen Carmichael said seeing the venture come to life was truly a “dream come true”.
She said: “Few people have had the benefit of seeing or experiencing this area and I am confident that it will prove to be a well-used, loved and popular area for people to gather and enjoy.
“To stand here looking over that green area is just a dream come true. I was on site when they just started to take the top soil off and then three years later to see all these greens here, immaculate greens; it’s what life is all about.”
