History Of Strathtay Golf Club - pt VII
Looking back over the past century, you can see a certain similarity between the history of the golf course and the history of Strathtay itself. For most of the twentieth century the village changed very little. The majority of its inhabitants had been born and bred there, or nearby; they found employment locally, on the land or exercising a trade. They knew each other because they had been to school together or were related. Houses were described not by their official name or postal address, but by the name of the family who lived in them. There was very little new building over the years, partly on the principle that the sole reason for another house would be as accommodation for someone who could offer a service to the area - and once a small village has all the goods and services it requires, it remains a small village. Another limiting factor in housebuilding was the water supply. Strathtay got its water from a spring up the hill behind the golf course, collected in a tank and piped to each house. It was a sometimes unreliable source, especially in a spell of dry weather; and the quality of the water did not meet public health requirements - although it tasted fine, particularly when added to whisky. In such circumstances even one new house could seem inadvisable. Things were slow to change; but change they did as the century ran its course. Car ownership increased, and became the norm, and the road network was improved: so Strathtay was far less isolated. No more than forty minutes from Perth, it soon became a desirable place to retire to, or to commute to work from, or (as the cult, or fashion of the holiday house grew) to have a 'second home' in. Any house that came up for sale was snapped up at a price far beyond the resources of most local people. And when, in the late 1990s, Strathtay was at last connected to the mains water supply, the only remaining barrier to a rash of new housebuilding was removed - unless Perth and Kinross planning authorities were prepared to show a degree of sympathy for the idea of an 'unspoilt' village and its surrounding environment.
The golf course, too, changed very little over the years, improvements did take place, as has been recorded; but they were gradual and undramatic. Basically, Strathtay Golf Course went on from year to year much as the village did, as if immune to forces that were bringing about major changes elsewhere, or as if time had at last found a way to stand still in one idyllic spot in Highland Perthshire. Coincidentally, the long overdue arrival of the mains water supply occurred just as the club was embarking on its big project of renewing and enlarging the teeing grounds, and installing a drainage system. But here a comparison between club and village begins to break down. There is only so much you can do to a golf course. Our centenary project of installing alternative tees is pretty much the limit of a committee's ingenuity. Whatever has been done with the course since 1909, its shape and appearance remain the same. Captain Steuart would recognise it at a glance, even if he were amazed by (or inclined to scoff at) the quality of tee, green and fairway that would strike him as making the course far easier to play. There is, unfortunately, far greater scope for those who have a mind to it to transform out of all recognition a traditional Highland village, by submerging its identity under a flood of housebuilding. Speculative builders are well aware of the extra profit to be made if they can acquire land in or about an 'unspoilt' area; and the price they will offer can make it a sore temptation for some to sell it to them. It is to be hoped that Strathtay does not become a victim of an all too familiar paradox: once enough new housing goes up in an unspoilt area, it is promptly spoilt for ever, and for everybody.
At least you can't spoil a golf course - as long as it remains a golf course. We certainly hope that Strathtay Golf Course enjoys another century of life, and goes on doing what golf courses do best - providing an endless and addictive source of pleasure, frustration, challenge and healthy exercise. Spion Kop alone can be relied upon for the perfect mixture of all of this. The present committee and membership are happy and grateful that our little course has survived since 1909, and wholly convinced that it deserves to flourish for as long as people think it's a good idea to hit a wee white ball with a variety of sticks back and forward over a patch of outstandingly beautiful ground. And in Scotland, that means for ever.