The golf driving range at the former Scottish National Golf Centre at Drumoig is set to re-open within two or three weeks, The Courier can reveal.

The centre is now under full control of the landlord, Drumoig Ltd, and the outdoor range will re-open by April 1 as part of its commitment to the “growth and prosperity” of the Drumoig village site.

The purpose-built Scottish Golf Academy building will remain closed at this time. The landlord revealed, however, that the “most appropriate usage” of the facilities was being looked at with “various interested parties” involved in discussion over the next two or three months.

Drumoig’s partnership with the Scottish Golf Union was also set to continue, with discussions on a new lease for the Home of Scottish Golf administration headquarters close to conclusion.

The news comes just over a week after a deal that would have resurrected the Scottish National Golf Centre under new management collapsed.

A consortium of business men thought they had reached an agreement with the official receiver, accountant KPMG, to buy the centre after it failed last year with substantial debts.

However, their hopes of reviving it as one of only two David Leadbetter golf academies in Europe were dashed after the landlord invoked a special clause of “irritancy” in the lease.

Irritancy refers to the right a landlord has to end a lease if the tenant has breached any conditions.

Drumoig Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dundee-based civil engineering group Torith Ltd, had refused to accept the consortium’s bid and the centre, built at a cost of £4.5 million, is now in its hands.

In an interview with The Courier at Drumoig yesterday, Torith Group managing director Ian Mathers would not be drawn on the technical details of the consortium deal collapse, but made it clear the fact the centre went into receivership had triggered the irritancy procedure.

He made it clear that five months’ effort was “reasonable time” by the receiver to find an appropriate buyer.

The centre went into receivership on September 25 with the loss of 13 jobs.