Heart Of The Community: The Challenge Of Running A Small Nine-Hole Golf Club In The UK&I's Outer Reaches

The inspiration for this feature was threefold. First, a Q&A I did a few years ago now with the secretary of Beccles Golf Club in Suffolk, which offers a golf experience far removed from that which most of us get to enjoy. Then, in 2023 there was a visit to the community nine-holer at Helmsdale, 16 miles above Brora in north-east Scotland.

Finally, last year I headed up to Lybster (the ‘y' is long), half an hour north of Helmsdale, a golf club which not only celebrates its centenary this year, but also boasts, probably uniquely within these shores, a former railway station for a clubhouse. I then enlisted the help of expert Irish contributor Kevin Markham to talk about two more such clubs over in Ireland.

First, Beccles, a course I'm yet to actually play. The secretary told me that it operated on a different basis to virtually any UK&I golf club, with a membership of just 37 when we spoke and no staff. Unviable? In theory, yes, and yet it survives on common land, where all they're allowed to tend are greens and tees.

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Two members undertake that role. If a particular need arises, they may be able to raise a working party, but with 37 people paying £275 a year plus a very modest green fee income (£10 all day), the club isn't exactly flush with funds.

He admitted they were always thinking about ways to survive, and dreaded big one-off repair bills, such as for leaks in an irrigation system that does at least mean their greens are sometimes the envy of certain other clubs, kept in surprisingly good condition given such modest means.

As for Helmsdale, where I was the only one on the course for the entire duration of my round, I recalled something heartwarming that my colleague, Fergus Bisset, had written about the course in 2013, ten years before my visit.

The club had been struggling with the greens on its 100-year-old-plus James Braid layout and had just 60 members, one voluntary, part-time greenkeeper and no heavy machinery. Fortunately, it secured some funding to acquire new turf, with nine greenkeepers from nearby Royal Dornoch, Skibo Castle and Brora Golf Clubs providing the necessary manpower and machinery to lay it at no cost.

Despite this you must sometimes (not always) temper expectations over conditioning at courses in this genre and very much accept them for what they are and the very worthwhile role they serve. Don't expect carpet-like perfection every time!

I particularly remember the fine long par-3 9th that plays down to a good-sized green by the clubhouse. Across Golf Road from here there's a row of houses, and it struck me that having this facility right on your doorstep must be a real blessing in this remote location.

Centenary celebrations

Clubs such as this are often run on a shoestring, relying on volunteer labour and goodwill so village communities can retain a golfing facility often within walking distance of home. Many such clubs have fallen by the wayside over the years, so it's all the more important that everything possible is done to keep the survivors alive for current and future generations to enjoy.

Chatting to Magnus Ryrie, secretary at Lybster (population circa 600) in the club's centenary year, it's clear this is a tough task, but there is evident pride that Lybster has successfully done just that for 100 years. “It's entirely run by volunteers and everything goes back into the club,” he tells me.

“We try to keep our prices at a minimum to encourage local people to play golf, so our annual membership is £160. And green fees we also keep low at £30 for an all-day pass.”

He tells me they had 101 members going into their centenary year, up from 70 the year before, and that they also set up a junior section in 2025 and closed the year with an encouraging 20 youngsters. They pay just £10 if under ten and £30 from ten to 16 years of age, and that includes free use of clubs. Despite these modest fees, the club breaks even and even has a year's contingency fund.

The railway closed in 1944 and the clubhouse moved to the station in 1979 from a shed at the end of the course nearest the sea. The club boasts a devilishly tricky run of par 3s from the 4th to the 6th – known as the triangle – close to the old railway cutting, where three pars is a genuine mark of achievement.

Ryrie tells me that last year some 50 Americans visited. “Part of it is when they're doing the North Coast 500 and they're planning their trip and say, ‘Oh, there's a golf course here,'” he tells me. “They come along, get some clubs from us, have some fun and continue on their trip.

“There was an American guy who came in November. He said, ‘I've got a 5-handicap.' And I said, ‘How do you think you'll do?' He said, ‘I imagine about 32.' I said, ‘It'll be 46.' And he left a lovely note pinned on the noticeboard saying, ‘You were right! It was 46, but what fun I had.'”

Lybster's main centenary event is a two-day competition in June 2026, open to all, with a special hickory event the week before. Ryrie hopes over 100 will play in the big two-day event to celebrate with the club.

Across the Irish Sea

It's now time for Kevin to take up the story at Mulranny in Co. Mayo (green fees €25-€30) and Blacklion (€25 per day) in Co. Cavan…

The snatches of wool on the barbed wire fences hint at the history of Mulranny. It's one of Ireland's last courses to play over commonage, sharing its terrain with sheep, cattle and even one or two alpacas. It ties the course to a distant past that most have never experienced, when golfers played next to the sea on pure turf that was of little agricultural use.

Located on the west coast, on the edge of Clew Bay, Mulranny is one of Ireland's premier nine-hole clubs and one of only 250 or so links courses on the planet. That adds perspective, especially when you arrive in the small car park and sheep wander past your vehicle, or you encounter the pristine greens in their barbed-wire enclosures.

The club was founded by the local hotel in 1896. In the 1970s, the great Eddie Hackett designed an 18-hole championship links, but it never progressed and the club, with its 164 members, no longer sees the need to expand.

The current layout dates from 1985 and is routed over crumpled, open land where nature was, and still is, the most influential designer. No fuss, no frills, just intrigue and delight. A high dune ridge separates the clubhouse from the coastline and most holes, and you must wait till the 3rd to venture out into that exposed lunar-like landscape, with its striking views.

When powerful storms swatted aside the rock armour and flooded the course in 2014, a major ‘Save Mulranny' campaign began. With only 300 residents in the nearby village, word needed to spread far and wide. Mulranny reached out to clubs around Ireland, asking them to host a dedicated competition, with all proceeds going to its coastal defence fund.

This nationwide effort spread further still, with no less a luminary than Tom Doak stepping up to urge golfers to contribute. Evidence, should it ever be needed, that golf and ‘community' are inextricably linked, both at a local level and on the world stage.

In late 2025, it was confirmed that a new single-storey clubhouse will be built, replacing Portakabins that have been in use since 1996. A golf academy is already being built – attracting a new generation of golfers, perhaps – with the clubhouse to follow later this year.

Right on the border

As for Blacklion, in the not-too-distant future a new bench will be placed on the hilltop overlooking the 3rd green, with Lough MacNean basking beyond and the Dough Tur Mountains on the skyline. It will be dedicated to Sergeant Michael O'Dwyer, a founding member of the club in 1962.

His daughter, now living in America, will donate the bench, for this spot was a favourite of her father's. The course's beauty and peacefulness are on full display. The children and grandchildren of the founders still play here, while members with up to 40 years of service behind them demonstrate the loyalty felt towards the club and the enjoyment of the course itself.

It roots this nine-holer firmly in the community. Blacklion may be located between some big-name neighbours – such as Lough Erne and Slieve Russell – but those loyal members and a strong network of volunteers ensure it continues to thrive. You'll often find them mowing the grass at 6am, although the recent arrival of some robot mowers has helped their efforts.

The course is neatly routed along the edge of Lough MacNean. The opening four holes all sing with the presence of the lake, and the par-3 2nd is the signature hole, hitting across the lake's waters. At 6,200 yards (for 18 holes), Blacklion plays over heaving terrain that is full of surprises, none of which are visible from the clubhouse. Holes demand careful placement off the tee but, at a mere €25 for the day, visitors have plenty of opportunity to learn from their mistakes next time round.

That lake also has a unique feature: the border between Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland runs through the middle. When the Troubles began in the late 1960s, there were some difficulties for the young club, but today the greatest challenge seems to be dealing with green fees paid in both euros and sterling.

The future of the club looks bright, with course designer David Jones visiting in 2025. The club will act on his recommendations as and when finances allow, but it is reassuring that the membership of 100 that the club had before Covid, has now blossomed to a healthy 260, helping to make such future ambitions possible.