Plans submitted for Arnold Palmer's first Scottish course

Detailed plans have been submitted to Highland Council for US golf legend Arnold Palmer's first golf course in Scotland.

The Arnold Palmer Group is collaborating with Castle Stuart Golf Links on the building of the course near Inverness.

It will complement the existing Castle Stuart course on the Moray Firth.

Castle Stuart hopes work will start on the Palmer Tribute course before it hosts next year's Scottish Open.

The building work on the new course could be completed in the late summer of 2018 and the greens officially opened the following year.

A 234-acre (95 ha) area of farmland close to the Inverness-Aberdeen railway line and the B9039 Inverness to Ardersier road would be involved.

Palmer, 85, visited Castle Stuart and the proposed site in July.

Detailed plans have been submitted with Highland Council

Detailed plans to develop the Palmer Tribute course adjacent to the existing links have now been submitted to The Highland Council.

It is hoped approval for the new multi-million pound course will be granted in January to allow work to begin in the spring, just a couple of months before Castle Stuart hosts the Scottish Open for the fourth time in six years.

The Arnold Palmer Group (APG) is investing in the current partnership at Castle Stuart and senior architects from the Arnold Palmer Design Company (APDC) are lined up to join the current on-site team to design and build the new course. The intention is to complete the project in late summer of 2018, ahead of an official opening the following year.

It is predicted that about 30 jobs would be created during the initial 14-month construction period, with ten posts retained for a further year. An additional 20 jobs would be created on site, including greenkeepers, clubhouse staff and a marketing, sales and admin team.

The Palmer Tribute course, Arnold Palmer's first in Scotland, is earmarked for a 95-hectare farmland site close to the Inverness-Aberdeen rail line and the B9039 Inverness-Ardersier road.

US golf legend Arnold Palmer has visited the site of his company's first golf course in Scotland.

The Arnold Palmer Group is collaborating with Castle Stuart Golf Links on the building of the course near Inverness.

It will complement the existing Castle Stuart course on the Moray Firth.

Palmer, 85, said: "When it comes to locations we'd like to work, Scotland has always been at the top of our list."

He added: "Needless to say the bar is set pretty high. Accordingly, we've been careful not to jump at the first opportunity to come along, deciding instead to wait on the right project."

It is understood the course could cost £5.5m to construct.