ONE of Scotland’s premier golf facilities has become East Renfrewshire’s first ever Five Star business following a grading from VisitScotland.
Mearns Castle Golf Academy received five stars from the national tourism organisation’s Quality Assurance (QA) Scheme in recognition of its exceptional standards.
The facilities at Mearns Castle, just south of Glasgow, offer golfers of all ages and abilities the opportunity to develop and improve their game through practice, tuition and play.
Visitors to the centre can enjoy a range of services including a nine-hole golf course, a 50-bay driving range and a PGA Coaching Academy, where they can learn from experienced coaches like Alastair Forsyth, who was twice a winner on the European Tour.
Russell Gary, operations manager at Mearns Castle Golf Academy, said: “Five years ago, we had a vision, to create Scotland’s premier golf facility.
“We wanted to provide a facility that went away from the traditions of golf and moved towards a family-based community hub. We ensure all customers get the best customer service possible by investing our time on staff training, and hiring experienced and qualified PGA professionals. We are thrilled and delighted that this work has been acknowledged with a Five Star VisitScotland award.”
In the last five years the business has taken steps to improve its visitor experience and in 2018 invested in a new gaming system called Toptracer for the driving range. This state-of-the-art technology offers a unique and modern approach to the range experience.
The team at Mearns Castle believe that golf should be accessible to all, and played in a fun, friendly and relaxed atmosphere. A family-friendly golf membership has been introduced, which has helped the centre become a community golf hub.
Gordon Smith, VisitScotland Regional Director, said: “Well done to the team at Mearns Castle Golf Academy. To achieve a Five Star grading is an exceptional achievement and a testament to the hard work put in by everyone here to offer a quality visitor experience. The award is particularly fitting as we celebrate a massive year for Scottish Golf with Gleneagles hosting the Solheim Cup.
“Our QA Scheme is world-leading and provides a trusted, independent and impartial source of information for visitors. It is about much more than just a star rating – it is about the entire visitor experience and investing in the business to make it as economically sustainable, and profitable, as it can be.”
Scotland is widely recognised as one of the premier golf destinations in the world, bringing in £286m to Scotland’s economy. 2019 is another big year for the sport in the country with Gleneagles hosting the Solheim Cup, one of the world’s biggest golf events, in September.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here