Twelve months ago, golfers were still playing at the Scottish golf course, Caird Park. Today, dirt bikes are riding over the course.

One year of neglect has transformed the site into a visual testament to the impact of the city's budget cuts. The Courier reports that Dundee’s last public golf course is now badly damaged. The fairways have turned into muddy paths, and the greens are so damaged that they are almost unrecognizable.

Dundee City Council closed both the 18-hole and 9-hole golf courses at the end of April last year. They said the reason was a £500,000 gap in the city’s budget. The decision was finalized despite intense public protest.

Aerial footage shows serious damage across the golf course. Dirt bikes and quad bikes have left deep marks all over the ground.

Fallen trees have not been removed, and plants and weeds have grown everywhere. They have taken over the fairways that were once carefully maintained. Faint outlines of the original holes are the only remnants of the once-manicured course.

Local cyclist Paulo Seara, 45, has watched the decline up close. "It degraded really fast within a month," he told The Courier. "Now it's a playground for unsupervised kids on e-bikes and quads."

Dog walker Scott Bruce, 58, was equally direct. "Everything has changed for the worse."

The golf course had been open for more than 100 years, and even the 18-time major champion Jack Nicklaus once played there. Caird Park closed five years after another public course at Camperdown Park was shut down. Because of this, cheap and public golf options in Dundee became very limited.

Movement Park’s Plan to Rescue the Caird Park Golf Course

In November 2025, Glasgow-based charity Movement Park was chosen as the council’s preferred bidder. They plan to rebuild the area with new facilities. This includes a 9-hole golf course, crazy golf, and golf simulators.

The idea is to make it fun and welcoming for families and beginners.

Park founder and CEO Stephen Somerville told The Courier, "Our aim is not to replace golf, but to help make it more sustainable and relevant for a wider audience."

Not everyone is convinced. Former player Paul Johnson said the charity is "slicing and dicing up the 101-year-old course and reducing it to nine holes."

A full business plan is still required before elected members make any decision. Movement Park confirmed it will meet with the council next week to discuss an environmental study.

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Written by

Sneha Abraham

Edited by

Pulkit Prabhav