Sportscotland announced the closure of the site at the Sportscotland National Centre this week.
The centre was made famous by the late Bob Torrance, who provided coaching to many of his pupils – including his son Sam, Ian Woosnam, Lee Westwood, Paul McGinley, Paul Broadhurst and three-time major champion Padraig Harrington.
The news of the forthcoming closure was shared with users of the facility through a message sent out by Inverclyde Sports Centre.
Busy scene at golfing school (Image: Anthony O’donnell)
The message stated: “We are writing to let you know that regrettably, the centre has made the difficult decision to close the golf training facility permanently, with the last day of operation on March 31, 2026.
“The core aim of the national centre is to provide a venue for residential sports training, however, there has been no usage by golf for this purpose. Given the substantial operating costs, it is not financially viable for the centre to continue offering a membership-only programme.”
The golf training centre is a short game practice facility with five target greens, which can be played from three varied tee positions. In addition, there are two performance greens for putting and chipping practice. On average, around 15 users visited the facility each day.
Anthony O’Donnell, a PGA professional based at the sportscotland National Training Centre, expressed his disappointment over the closure.
He said: “This is a real hammer blow to the sport in Largs, and the golfing community of Largs is shocked at this news.”
Anthony O’Donnell Golf at sportscotland facility in Largs (Image: Anthony O’donnell Golf)
He said: “I run Easter, summer and October week camps for juniors and they are really well attended, there is a real desire to play golf, and I have all the emails and messages which underline this.”
Mr O’Donnell noted that the centre has not had sufficient investment, saying: “I feel that sportscotland have not embraced us in the sense of what could have been done here – it hasn’t been well promoted, and the facilities could have done with updating, including floodlights.
“I am not the only pro who uses the golfing facility but I feel that sportscotland have not embraced us in the sense of what could have been done here – the coaching bays themselves have not had any investment since the Bob Torrance School of Golf opened over 15 years ago.
“The goal of the centre is to make sport more accessible to all walks of life in Scotland, so I can’t see how removing such a valuable golfing facility meets this remit.”
The news has not only affected golfers but also sparked reactions from local families.
A Largs mother contacted the News and shared her concerns about the closure.
She said: “We’re absolutely gutted at the news.
“It feels like yet another sign of relevant powers that be having little interest in supporting the community.”
She added that the closure represents the loss of more than just a golfing venue, and said: “Losing this club isn’t just about a place to play golf, it’s losing a part of our local community and heritage. Our kids regularly go there for lessons with Anthony and they practice there most weekends.”
Barry Fleeting, the head of centre at the National Sports Centre Inverclyde, confirmed the closure.
He said: “I can confirm that the golf training centre will close, with the last day of operation on March 31, 2026.
“The core aim of the national centre is to provide a venue for residential sports training, however, despite efforts to identify suitable golf groups, there has been no usage for this purpose. Given the substantial operating costs, it is not financially viable for the centre to continue offering a membership-only programme.
“We are currently reviewing our options for the site to support our commitment to sustainability and continuous improvement of the centre.”
The golfing facility has been part of the town’s sporting hub going back decades, and was rebranded into the Bob Torrance School of Golf in 2009.
Going further back to when Inverclyde Sports Centre was opened in 1958, the centre, concerned at the ongoing housing development leading up to Alexander Avenue in the 1960s, made sure that the land was purchased ‘to prevent any further loss of land to housing in order to retain the ground for future sporting use’.