Heartlands course plans reach next stage

Two new golf courses under construction in Scotland in honour of one of its most famous designers, Donald Ross, will open within three years close to a new privately funded junction of the M8 motorway, which has just been given the go ahead.

Developers Ecosse Regeneration are creating Heartlands on the site of the former Polkemmet Colliery midway between Glasgow and Edinburgh. As well as two golf courses, 2,000 homes will be built alongside a business park.

Design of the courses - East and West - is being undertaken by PGA Design Consulting and the complex will include a driving range and state of the art clubhouse.

PGADC worked closely with the Donald Ross Society to design courses which capture Donald’s architectural style. They intend for them to be a fitting memorial to him and to complement the landscape.

The East Course has been designed to be a wooded parkland, like a Scottish Pinehurst (Ross designed the World famous Pinehurst No2) while the West Course will be the more difficult designed like a traditional Scottish heathland challenge.

Some holes are already in an advanced stage while others are still being shaped and seeded.

Overall construction of the golf courses is expected to take three years, with a further year for the grass to bed in. As yet no decision has been made regarding access, fees or membership but a 350-bed hotel is also planned on the site.

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