After a number of courses in the north-east were affected by record rainfall earlier this year due to Storm Frank, the Queen was keen to show her support.
She was visiting Ballater businesses which had been affected by the storm and requested that she would like to visit the golf club, going on to meet members who had assisted in the clean-up operation.
It was Her Majesty’s first visit to the club, which is only eight miles from Balmoral Estate, the Royal Family’s Scottish holiday home.
However, her son, Prince Charles, the Duke of Rothesay, had previously visited the club in 2012 to plant a tree in celebration of The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee.
“Her Majesty met around 30 members, committee members and greenkeepers,” said Colin Smith, the secretary at Ballater. “She was interested is how the club had been affected and the timescale for recovery. We informed her that we managed to get nine holes open by the end of February and the full course back for Good Friday.”
Deeside Golf Club and the Paul Lawrie Golf Centre were also among the facilities hit by the wild weather at the turn of the year, with north-east venues working hard in 2016 to get back up and running.
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