Members of Wick Golf Club aim to buy their course land for the benefit of all
Estimated Price
150000
1. Wick Golf Club (WGC) is seeking financial assistance to transition from our current land lease agreement to full community-held ownership. Founded in 1870, the club is a vital part of the Caithness sporting landscape. Securing the land will ensure the club's survival for the next century, protecting it from commercial development and allowing for long-term ecological and facilities investment. Ownership of the historic links will ensure that it remains a golf course rather than being sold for commercial development or falling into disrepair. The funding will be used specifically for the permanent purchase of the acreage currently comprising WGC. Our project will include finalising the purchase with the current owner at the agreed upon market price, legally protect the land for recreational and sporting use in perpetuity and formalising the land registry and titles to prevent future encroachment.
2. By owning the land WGC can maintain affordable golf for locals, Juniors and Seniors in the Wick area alongside boosting tourism by investing in course quality to attract golf tourists to the North Coast 500 route, benefitting the local hospitality sector. Golf is one of the few sports that provides lifelong physical activity (our current President has just celebrated his 90th birthday and still plays some holes several days a week). WGC offers a tiered membership structure that is highly accessible with Junior memberships as low as £30 to £50 per annum with free equipment loans and weekly coaching sessions, providing a safe outdoor hobby for local children. Our Senior section serves as a primary social and physical outlet for the Octogenarian and Senior members helping to combat social isolation in the elderly population of Caithness. We try to encourage more women and girls to take up golf and again provide free coaching and equipment loans.
The acquisition of Reiss links land by WGC directly supports the Caithness Area Place Plan (2024-2027). By securing this asset, we are delivering directly on the strategic priorities of Place (through community-led land stewardship), People (by providing lifelong health opportunities and youth engagement)and Prosperity (by anchoring a key tourism asset that supports the local NC500 economy).
Place:- By acquiring the land, the club moves from a vunerable leasehold to community asset ownership. This secures the 'green lung' of the Reiss links against future degradation or non-recreational development. The Plan highlights the importance of the Caithness coastline. Ownership would allow the club to act as long-term guardians of the dunes, aligning with the Council's climate resilience and biodiversity goals.
People:- WGC provides affordable sport for all ages. Specifically, our Junior section, run under the guidelines of Scottish Golf and with accredited coaches and SafeGolf checked helpers, has very low entry costs and directly supports the plan's goals of providing high-quality recreation for young people to encourage them to remain in the region. We are meeting with the Active Schools Co-ordinator on the 6th March, to set up our visits to some local primary schools as we have done in previous years. Last year we had 75 juniors listed in our membership with most of them making use of the coaching and competition events run over the summer months. They ranged in age from 5 to 18 years old. The Area Plan also aims to tackle isolation especially amongst the elderly. The club serves as a critical social hub for Wick's senior population. They have 'Turn up and Play' competitions every Tuesday and Thursday mornings year round. All members aged 55 and over are welcome and our Seniors often act as Ambassadors for the club, and Caithness as a whole, when they welcome visitors of any age to join them. After play they make use of the clubhouse to interact socially. They are also integral to the general upkeep of the course and clubhouse i.e., maintaining pathways and bridges, divot filling and rabbit diggings repairs, painting around the clubhouse etc. and they appreciate being needed and their opinions listened to.
Prosperity:- As an historic links course on the NC500, the club is a destination that brings outside wealth into the local economy. We had over 400 visiting golfers last year and that number grows annually. Ownership will allow the club to make the long-term capital improvements necessary to continue to develop and thrive. Transitioning the land to club ownership ensures that revenue stays within the Caithness economy.
3. The acquisition of Reiss links land is a proactive step towards Community Wealth Building in Wick. Currently a portion of the club's annual turnover is diverted to external lease payments, representing a leakage of capital out of the local sporting ecosystem. Transitioning to full land ownership, WGC achieves the following CWB pillars:
a).Shifting a major local asset from private or restricted leasehold into the hands of a community-run, non-profit organisation.
b).100% of the revenue generated from golf tourism and membership fees will be retained within the club. This retains a circular economy where the surplus finds are immediately reinvested into local greenkeeping jobs, Caithness- based contractors and suppliers.
c).Ownership allows the club to guarantee that the land is used for the maximum benefit for the people of Wick and surrounds, prioritising public health and environmental stewardship over private commercial interests.
4.After formal establishment of the club in 1870 the members relocated from the 4 hole course located at the now Bignold Park in Wick, to the land at Reiss links. In 1873 permission to play golf there was granted by Sir George Duff Dunbar and a 9 hole course was laid out. In 1907/08 the course was transitioned to 18 holes under the guidance of the legendary Secretary of Royal Dornoch, John Sutherland. After WW2 there were 2000 landmines cleared from Reiss beach and the course damage was repaired with the help of local volunteers and labour.
In the 1990's the contruction of the current clubhouse and modern maintenance facilities was completed. 2002 saw a major course redesign for player safety and dune optimisation, guided by pro golfer Ronan Rafferty. In the period from 2019 to 2021 the club secured significant environmental grants (from Beatrice Wind Farm and Caithness & North Sutherland Fund) to invest in sustainable hybrid greenkeeping technology and new building to garage the machinery. This has reduced the club's carbon footprint and chemical usage and we hope to make further improvements in this area as our machinery ages and needs to be replaced.
In Spring 2025, after discussion with the Board of Trustees of Hempriggs Estate (our landlord), we engaged Bidwells, RICS-certified surveyors, to provide an independent market valuation of the Reiss Links land. We received this report in June 2025 and after discussion with the land agent for Hempriggs Estate, an agreement in principle for WGC to purchase the course land for the valuation price was reached. We have also been in consultation with a local solicitor for guidance.
We had to take the proposal to the members of WGC as per our Constitution and at our AGM held in December 2025 a motion to pursue the purchase of the course was accepted. We have since started filling in formal applications for grant funding with Caithness & North Sutherland Fund, SportScotland and the Community Regeneration Fund. We have received letters of support from various local bodies including Caithness Voluntary Group, Wick Development Trust, Wick Community Council and Wick High School.
We would hope to finalise the sale this summer. We are working on writing up a business plan along with a course development programme to include implementing a dune stabilisation policy. Although WGC owns the clubhouse and the acre of land that it sits on, we have been cautious in upgrading the clubhouse area, especially in energy efficiency, as our current lease would expire in November 2030 and there was no guarantee that the course land would still be available to us.
By looking back over the previous 150+ years, it is clear that Wick Golf Club has been preparing for this moment. We have the history, the modern equipment, and the community support. The only missing piece is the security of land ownership.
.png)
