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Whitemoss Golf Club, Whitemoss Road, Dunning, Perth. (1994 - 2011)

Founded 1994.

Whitemoss Golf Club enjoyed the perfect location in the stunning countryside of Perthshire, gateway to the beauty and ruggedness of the Scottish Highlands. The 18-hole course measured just short of 6000 yards off the white tees with a par of 69. This Perthshire Golf Course had been owned and managed by the Westwood family since 1994 and the golf clubhouse was run on a friendly informal basis. Facilities included dining room/bar, TV, ample parking, gents and ladies changing rooms with good facilities. Visitors were assured of a friendly and informal welcome at the club.

Strathearn Herald Friday 17 September 1993. Image © Reach plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

Report on the new course in March 1994.

Dundee Courier Friday 18 March 1994. Image © D.C.Thomson & Co. Ltd. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

Opening of the course in July 1994.

Strathearn Herald Friday 29 July 1994. Image © Reach plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

Presentation In November 1995.

Perthshire Advertiser Tuesday 21 November 1995. Image © Reach plc. Image created courtesy of THE BRITISH LIBRARY BOARD.

Leading returns in the qualifier for the Club Championship in June 1997; A Gallagher, 78-12-66; S Christie, 80-13-67; J Lowson, 84-11-73.

From the 1998 Golfer's Handbook; Membership, 300; Secretary, V Westwood; 18-holes, 6,200 yards, Par and SSS 69; Visitors' fees, £15.

Golfer's Handbook 2009; Membership, 300; Secretary, A Nicolson.

Course scorecards below.

Views across the former Whitemoss course with the stunning backdrop of the Ochils. 

The club really was a family venture with Vic and Edith Westwood, the owners, working tirelessly to keep the place alive and running. Vic's family had owned the farm that the course was laid out on for over a hundred years and he had ventured in to golf when the farming industry was struggling in the early 1990s, about the same time as the golf boom. Vic, who was not a golfer, had a major input in the design of the course with help from greenkeeper’s from both Gleneagles and Murrayshall. The course struggled a bit in the early year’s due to lack of trees, plus the rough areas were never planted which resulted in many varieties of silage grass, which was heavy to play out of and very tall if not kept under control, so the place looked like a hilly field for a while. Trees were planted up around 2000, which gave some of the holes a little more definition. One of the main problems with Whitemoss had been conditioning, with little or no budget and only two fulltime ground staff for the 18 hole course it was a difficult place to keep tidy. There was no irrigation on the course so during long dry periods the course was scorched and they lost the greens at least once, as a result they had a big migration of members from the club. In about 2006 some land was sold for housing, this included the 13th green, the par 3 was re-designed by the Whitemoss head greenkeeper at the time who added a Braid style bunker at the front, with a very small two tier green, a testing target.

As for characters at the club, there were none larger than Vic himself, who was at the club every day to open up. He was a typical working farmer who was happy to spend time chatting with members whilst having a quick cigarette. Vic always had a story to tell and was a very likeable guy. He would often help out around the clubhouse grounds strimming and generally trying to keep the place tidy. As well as her clubhouse duties Edith would trim the hedge outside the kitchens and look after the flower borders. Edith was the golfer of the two and a really nice lady who ran the clubhouse making lunches and keeping Vic in check! Rory, the youngest son used to cut rough twice a week as well as helping in other greenkeeping tasks and he later looked after the clubhouse when Vic’s health started to suffer. Murray the elder son used to help with work on the course on his days off from his full time job, but most of his time was spent on the family farm, which they still had to run.

One of the club captains was Jim Williamson, who was a very nice guy, he worked at Murray Royal infirmary in Perth and he was always quick to praise the club the course and its condition. Vic chaired most of the club meetings where he would pass on the usual course and staff reports. Club membership was about 350 with most of the membership playing in the evening and weekends. Medal competitions were played on Wednesdays and Sundays. Unlike other courses in the area there were no old guard of male members who went out at the same time every day, in fact there were probably equal numbers of women and men, thanks to Edith inviting all her friends to join!

For club competitions it was all standard stuff, with Gents open the first Saturday in June, Seniors open the first Saturday in July, Ladies open the last Saturday in July and the mixed open the first Saturday in August. There is evidence of a European Ladies event taking place in about 2005, this was an amateur competition that was hosted at Whitemoss due to two of its members winning it the previous year.

Although the land was turned over to grazing when the course closed the sheep would never get the opportunity to consume the grass on the greens, this turf was eventually sold to nearby Gleneagles who used it to re-lay some of the greens on the Queens course and this must have given much satisfaction to the former green staff at Whitemoss.

Some of the holes had curious names, some were related to the area and some were an amalgamation of the Westwood family names. The following is a selection if anyone has any more information please contact This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. I would love to complete the hole names.

The first was called "Get Yokit” which I’m reliably informed means let’s get started in the local scots dialect.

The par three second was named Edmurovic (A mix of Edith, Murray, Rory and Vic - so all the family)

The ninth was called A9, which is the main road from Wick in the north of Scotland to Falkirk in the centre, the hole was 617 yards long and was quite straight, hence the name

The short par 4 fourteenth was called Craig Rossie after the hill which sits above the course and behind that green.

The par 3 sixteenth was called Agricola's Urn, after the Roman commander who fought his way through the area and made a lot of the original road network. Many Roman artefacts have been found around this part of the course.

The par 4 seventeenth was called Westwood, after the family.

The par 4 eighteenth was called lousin' time, which means finishing time.

Looking back down the first hole from the back of the green. 

Looking down towards the 12th green with the clubhouse is in the background. 

The 14th hole with Craig Rossie in the background. 

Another picture of the 12th with the clubhouse. 

The 6th hole from the fairway. 

Looking back down the 3rd hole from the green. 

The 4th green with the 3rd fairway dogleg running below it to the left. Authors Collection.

Due to the owners retirement Whitemoss Golf Club closed for business on the 26 November 2011. The owner, Vic Westwood, intends to turn the course over to sheep grazing, but he was not ruling out the possibility of re-opening the course in the future. He explains “I am not going to plough it up I couldn’t do that. The holes will remain, leaving the option open for it to be a golf course again one day, but for the foreseeable future it will be sheep enjoying it”