Given the recent timing of a major investment by the Scottish Government to promote Scotland as the premier golf destination (read the article here), it seems that the renewable energy lobby are equally determined to make Scotland the leading windmill in Europe, having just received the green light to build a wind-farm of 6 turbines just 3 miles south of St Andrews.
At least the Trump Organization is defending golf tourism’s interests in Aberdeen, and let’s also hope St Andrews is supported by an equally determined group. It’s simply difficult to understand the underlying logic and apparent inability for renewables and tourism to find sensible solutions that respect the needs of each other.
From a tourism perspective, must these turbines be developed in precisely this location? Golf tourism is one of Scotland‘s largest sources of revenue. Should this project be carried forward, these 6 turbines would be standing 328ft tall, visible from the Old Course at St Andrews.
As you play the inward seven holes on the Old Course, the outline of St Andrews with church steeples and other notable aiming targets for golfers have been there for centuries. Never once has a caddie directed a golfer to….”the windmill in the distance”…until. It seems only reasonable that a compromise should be made before moving any farther forward with this project, one in which the wind-farm is to be located elsewhere.
Read the original article here.
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Here’s the effect wind turbines have on golf courses, this being located beside Royal Aberdeen Golf Club.
For clarity, I am not suggesting the Old Course or Gleneagles turbines would be this proximity to either
course but it is illustrative of the scale of these structures.
About the Author: Gordon Dalgleish is the Co-Founding Director of PerryGolf, the leading provider of international golf vacations. You can find him on Google+
