Our starting point
We work with historic golf clubs because they matter to their members, their communities and the wider game.
Our purpose is to provide the investment, continuity and long-term stability needed to protect each Club’s character, traditions and place in the community.
Why clubs engage with Ancient Links
Clubs engage with Ancient Links for different reasons. Some are planning ahead from a position of strength, while others have more immediate investment priorities. In each case, the objective is the same: to protect the Club and strengthen it for the long term.
Running a modern golf venue requires sustained investment and expertise across the course, clubhouse, staffing, compliance, visitor development and wider operations. Climate change, water security and the rising cost of machinery and infrastructure also require planning over many years.
Club committees play an essential role in representing members and protecting the character and traditions of their Club. Ancient Links adds a permanent team, long-term investment and continuity, allowing agreed plans to progress consistently as committee membership changes.
The Club continues to protect its members, identity and agreed priorities. Ancient Links takes responsibility for investment, day-to-day operations and the long-term performance of the venue.
How the structure works
The Club remains in place, with its name, history, membership and community role intact.
Ancient Links works in partnership with each Club, tailoring the structure to its individual needs and taking responsibility for the investment, operation and continued development of the venue.
The principle is straightforward:
- The Club remains the Club, both in name and ownership
- Members continue to belong to their Club
- Ancient Links takes responsibility for investment, staffing and day-to-day operations
- Members’ key rights are protected through a lease and a Golf Access Rights Agreement.
This model is already in place at Scotscraig and Forfar. It is built around genuine community member clubs and the qualities that make each one distinctive.
Protecting members for the full term of the lease
The Golf Access Rights Agreement, or GARA, allows the Club and its members to define from the outset the key principles and protections that Ancient Links must operate within.
This includes agreed controls around members’ access and fees, key Club competitions, the Club’s identity and defined material changes to the course. Existing members become Founder Members, with these rights protected for the agreed term.
These controls form part of the legally binding agreements between Ancient Links and the Club. They cannot simply be changed by Ancient Links and continue to apply regardless of any future change in our ownership or leadership.
This gives members lasting control over the matters that define their Club, while giving Ancient Links the freedom and responsibility to invest in, operate and develop the venue successfully.
Ancient Links has the authority needed to operate and improve the venue. The Club retains legal protection over the matters that define it as a members’ club.
Long-term by design
The agreements are long term because meaningful course improvement, water security, clubhouse investment, stronger staffing and a sustainable visitor business take time.
Our success depends on the Club, its membership and the venue remaining stable and strong for generations.
What Ancient Links brings
Each Club also benefits from being part of a wider collection of historic member clubs. This brings access to shared expertise, stronger purchasing power, wider sales and marketing reach, and the opportunity to learn from what is working across other venues, while allowing each Club to retain its own identity and character.
Being part of the collection does not mean becoming the same. Each Club’s traditions, competitions and social life are part of what makes it distinctive, and Ancient Links supports and encourages them. An active and engaged membership is central to the Club and an important part of the experience visitors value when they play a historic member club.
Partners in excellence
Ancient Links also works with leading specialists across golf course architecture, irrigation, machinery, agronomy, hospitality and commercial development. These relationships give each venue access to expertise and support that can be difficult to secure independently.
Depending on the Club, this may include:
- Course, irrigation and greenkeeping investment
- Clubhouse, hospitality and staff facilities
- Finance, HR, compliance and operating systems
- Sales, visitor development and long-term capital planning
- Access to specialist advisers and established industry partners
Each programme is developed following careful assessment and discussion with the Club. No two venues are the same. Our approach begins with understanding the course, the membership, the traditions and what makes the Club distinctive.