The owner of a remote resort in Argyll, Scotland, has revealed that expansion plans to bring more golfers to “the end of the Earth” will cost upwards of £100 million ($131 million) over the course of the project.
Tommy Southworth, who took over his family’s golf development company five years ago from his father, said the addition of a second links course plus expanded accommodation and training facilities will turn Machrihanish Dunes into a destination akin to Bandon Dunes in the U.S. state of Oregon, the rather unlikely home of some of the world’s best golf courses.
Boston-based Southworth announced last week that it has been granted planning permission for the expansion, with work on the new course expected to begin next year. The company is currently in discussions with potential partners to provide capital and hospitality expertise, and hopes to make an announcement on this by March.
Southworth has owned and operated Machrihanish Dunes since the course first opened in 2009 on a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI). Designed by David McLay Kidd – the man responsible for the legendary courses at Bandon – Machrihanish Dunes has been dubbed “one of the most natural golf courses in the world” and was the first GEO-certified golf course in the UK.
Southworth told The Herald that he remains convinced the site in Kintyre on Scotland’s west coast is “incredibly unique” and will appeal to future generations of golfers both in the UK and abroad.
“But one of the downsides of Machrihanish is it’s hard to get to,” he said. “It’s sort of at the end of the Earth, and that’s its greatest blessing and its greatest curse.
“It’s a blessing in that that’s what creates this special experience, and so for years we’ve been talking about expanding and making Machrihanish a longer-term draw. We’ve seen this model work across a lot of golfing developments over the course of the last 10 years or so across the world.”
He added: “I think Bandon was the first to really popularize it, where if you could create this incredible golfing destination at the end of the Earth that had enough golf courses and an incredible, authentic golf experience, you could get people to go to the end of the Earth and stay there for three nights or five nights or seven nights.
“So that’s sort of been our thesis, is that with enough critical mass in the area we can draw visitors from across the world and all of the sudden the journey that it takes to get you there is absolutely worth it.”
The current par 72 course at Machrihanish Dunes, which measures at just over 7,000 yards from the back tees, is accompanied by two historic hotels, five restaurants and pubs, and eight seaside golf cottages. The expansion plans call for the addition of a third luxury hotel, a new 35,000-square foot clubhouse, 50 new golf cottages, and what will be one of the largest golf teaching facilities in the UK.
“Predominantly it’s an amenity for visitors,” Southworth said of the training resources. “We’ve seen that model work in the U.S. quite a lot, where incredible teaching facilities are the draw in and of themselves. Folks will come in to work on their golf game, as opposed to just using it as a warmup facility.”
At 5,000 rounds annually, the existing course is “nowhere near” capacity and Southworth expects the expansion to significantly boost that number. He also hinted at potentially bigger things to come further down the line.
“We’ve designed everything to potentially host large events and make sure we have facilities to cater to the world’s best golfers,” he said. “That is certainly something that is on our roadmap, and it is early days, but we want to make sure we have the facilities that we could host a proper golf event.”
The Village at Machrihanish Dunes currently employs 77 people year-round and a further 30 seasonal staff during peak periods. Those numbers are expected to rise to 90 and 50 respectively once the entire expansion project is complete.
