Exclusive:The prestigious Scottish golf clubs where green fees have soared up to 153% while others go bust

Such is the duality of the golf business in Scotland in 2025. On the one hand, a coterie of renowned clubs ride the wave of the post-pandemic recovery; on the other, less exalted courses are feeling the pinch of declining membership rolls and rising costs.

The impact of this is a major disruption in the sport’s business model. A rapid spike in green fees - the charges levied for visitors wishing to play a round - is becoming an increasingly important revenue stream.

Indeed, Scorecard: The Business of Golf, The Scotsman’s week-long series scrutinising the finances underpinning the sport in Scotland, can reveal that across 30 of the nation’s best known courses, green fees have increased by an average of 67 per cent over the past five years.

But there are growing concerns about the prevalence of such a business model, and its impact on domestic golfers in Scotland.

David Jones, better known as UK Golf Guy, has gained online prominence thanks to his reviews of courses around the world, and organises golf trips in Scotland and further afield. He said that while the Asian market had yet to fully recover after the pandemic, with the “top end” courses deemed too expensive for many European visitors, tourists from stateside cannot get enough.

“If you’re an inbound American golfer, there’s probably around a dozen to 15 courses you have on your radar,” he said. “These keep lifting up their green fees, partly to meet rising costs, but also because the demand is constantly outstripping supply, especially at private members’ clubs.

“If you look at the likes of Muirfield, Royal Troon, Royal Aberdeen and North Berwick, there’s been a shift between the proportion of revenue that comes from members, and the proportion from green fees.”

For years, Mr Jones has documented the spike in fees across some of the nation’s most popular courses. Drawing on the data he has compiled between 2020 and 2024, and the most recent green fees for 2025 published on club websites, The Scotsman’s series can detail some notable examples.

The single biggest increase by far has come at Donald’s Trump’s Turnberry resort, where peak green fees at its famous Ailsa course shot up from £395 in 2020 to £1,000 this summer for non-residents, an increase of 153 per cent.

At Gleneagles, the peak summer cost of a round on the Kings course has gone from £140 to £330 over the past five years - a rise of 135 per cent - while the peak period fees at the Duke’s course at St Andrews have risen from £100 to £220, a 120 per cent jump.

After Turnberry, the most expensive courses for peak green fees are: Trump International in Aberdeenshire (£495 this summer, up from £295 in 2020); Kingsbarns (£448, up from £312); Muirfield (up from £270 to £365); Royal Troon (also £365, having stood at £260 five years ago); and the Old Course at St Andrews (where the price has risen from £195 to £340).

Some in the sector, such as Chris Spencer, secretary of the Club Management Association of Europe Scotland, claim the rising green fees have wrongly become a barometer of a course’s quality. “A lot of the proprietary and championship courses are in a different stratosphere, and they can charge £300, because that’s what the North American market expects - if it’s less than that, they’ll think the course in question is poor, which is absolutely shocking,” he said.

Although the ongoing demand means that such fees are being paid, Mr Jones said some Scottish clubs were “nervous” about such increases. “There’s one club where around 80 per cent of its revenue is coming through green fees, but if there’s a change in the value of the pound against the dollar, suddenly those trips will be viewed as expensive,” he said.

“It’s worked for them in the short term. They’ve generated really strong revenues, their members aren’t having large increases in subs and some secretaries think it’s great. But others are worried that if things change, the whole model could become unsustainable.”

Already, Mr Jones said, the shift is impacting local golfers. He said this winter, only eight or so of the top 25 courses in the UK allowed visitor play - traditionally a cheaper way for people to enjoy well-known courses - compared to 23 prior to the pandemic. “Some top-end clubs have so much money coming in via green fees that they are deciding to close during winter,” he said. “Some of them are also reducing the number of hours visitors can play in the summer.”

At the other end of the market, less well-known clubs are struggling. In the past six months, Hirsel in Coldstream and Torrance Park in Motherwell have closed. Earlier this month, West Dunbartonshire Council announced Dalmuir golf course could face a similar fate amid funding problems.

According to Mr Spencer, ongoing cost pressures mean it is likely that other clubs will also shut up shop in coming months. “I can see further municipal courses closing, because councils will be looking to save money, which is a great shame, and I think there will be other private members’ clubs that will close because they’re not able to cover their costs and generate income,” he explained.

“There is still a lot of volatility in the market, and it would not surprise if by the end of this year, we have another half a dozen clubs who close because they can’t afford it.”