Local residents have hit back at comments from Carnoustie golf club captain Bill Thompson, who took issue with the scale of the Open golf championship.
He told the BBC that the town is “not built for 40,000 or 50,000” and that the modern Open was run “as a corporate machine.”
Mr Thompson highlighted road closures, parking issues and the loss of playing time on the course, and added that “for the first time, we’ve actually seen pieces of the golf course torn up for corporate hospitality tents.”
The claims sparked fears that the Open would not return to the town, but Chief Executive of the R&A, Martin Slumbers pointed out that a few weeks’ disruption was the price of “huge value to Carnoustie as a golf course and as a town for decades to come.”
Local residents were dismayed by the claims.
Carnoustie and District Independent Councillor Brian Boyd said: “Having known Bill and supported him along with the Carnoustie golf club for many years as local councillor, I find his comments disappointing.
“Many golfing friends have contacted me and are most annoyed at what he has said – one going as strongly as to say he’s lost the plot.
“Rumours are rife that he has written to members apologising, but he should also be apologising to our town.
“It’s ridiculous to say the town can’t cope.
https://www.thecourier.co.uk/fp/sport/golf/691221/live-updates-follow-all-the-action-on-day-two-of-the-2018-open-in-carnoustie/
“Everything is running extremely smoothly with the 180,000 visitors arriving and leaving very easily at possibly the most accessible course to get to in Scotland”
Fellow local councillor David Cheape also slammed the comments.
“Carnoustie is immensely proud to host the 147th Open Championship this year,” he said.
“It has taken an extraordinary amount of preparation to deliver one of the world’s most important sporting events – at one of the world’s most iconic golf courses.
“Having spoken with Carnoustie residents, and indeed, members of Carnoustie Golf Club, it is tremendously disappointing then, that the first day of play of the Open has been marred by the negative views that we have seen reported in the national press.
“And with the first day of play under way, I think it is important to note that there has not been a single email in my inbox from any Carnoustie residents complaining that the Open is somehow too big for the town, or that the short inconvenience is not worth the tremendous economic benefits that the town, and indeed the county reap from hosting this incredible spectacle.
Local resident Suzi Caesar accused Mr Thompson of being “detached from the 21st century” and said his comments were “not representative of the town’s views and capabilities.”
She added: “We have demonstrated that we are a town that embraces these global events and can accommodate them.
“Golf underpins our local economy, and without it, we be a very different town.”
Mr Thompson declined to comment.
