Dream becomes a fantastic reality: Scott MacCallum chats with Ross Ovens, who has seen Schloss Roxburghe, in the Scottish Borders, mature into one of the finest inland golf courses in the country.
When the Roxburghe opened in 1999 it immediately became a welcome addition to Scotland’s already burgeoning portfolio of outstanding golf courses.
Dream becomes a fantastic reality
You can well imagine the 10th Duke of Roxburghe, back in the mid-1990s, walking across his land, swinging an invisible 7-iron and dreaming about just how wonderful a golf course could be created from just a small portion of his vast 50,000 acre Roxburghe Estate.
You can also understand the fanatical 4-handicap golfer wrestling with whether to go ahead and make it happen – his heart playing the holes he had already designed in his mind, while his head weighed up the financials.
It was heart that won the day because the Duke enlisted world renowned golf course architect, Dave Thomas, to draw up a layout on 200 of those Roxburghe Estate acres.
When The Roxburghe opened in 1999 it immediately became a very welcome addition to Scotland’s already burgeoning portfolio of outstanding golf courses. It also complemented an Estate which already boasted some of the finest shooting and fishing to be found anywhere in the world.
What Dave created stands as the best test of golf in the Scottish Borders and for many years it was the playground for the Duke, guests of the 22 room hotel, and the lucky golf club members who were able to call it their golfing home.
The Duke’s death in 2019 coincided with the sale of The Roxburghe to German luxury hotel group, Schloss, who looked at what they had purchased and felt that it could be taken to another level.
We all know what happened the following year and the development and massive expansion of the hotel was delayed. However, five years on, Schloss Roxburghe is a thriving “resort” with a ultra-modern extension and spa, nestling behind the original hotel.
Now boasting 78 bedrooms and suites, as well as 51 self-catering cottages scattered around the golf course, it operates under the Hyatt Destination banner.
One man who has seen it all, if notexactly from the very very beginning, is Course & Estates Manager, Ross Ovens, who joined the club as a fresh faced teenager 25 years ago. He has seen his job change markedly since he started and not just in his rise to his current position.
“When I joined in 2000 the course was still extremely young and it did look very new. Now, 25 years later, it really has matured, the trees are up and it certainly doesn’t look like the new golf course,” said Ross, as we sat in the first floor Board Room, offering wonderful views across the course.
“Dave Thomas was chosen because his design involved the minimal amount of soil movement. He kept the natural flow of the land and every architect I’ve spoken to since, has said what an amazing piece of land it was to design a golf course and what an excellent job was done,” said Ross.
“The routing of the golf course has been very well thought out and flows through the topography of the land, how it rises and falls along the side of the River Teviot, is just phenomenal. There are not many holes that run side by side, so when you’re out there you’ll not see many other golfers.”
There are many excellent holes but perhaps the most famous is the par-5 14th, running along the side of the River Teviot, with an imposing viaduct acting as the backdrop. Many a photograph has been taken from the back tee looking down the length of the hole.
The beauty of the Schloss Roxburghe extension, which took many attempts to achieve planning approval, is that the original part of the old Victorian hotel is what you see as you come down the drive. The extension and spa are hidden from view.
“The drive in sets the tone of the exclusive resort that we are,” said Ross, of the multi million plus, and counting, investment.
“While the actual golf course has not changed there’s been a lot of investment on the driving range, complete with the latest Toptracer technology in every bay; short game area; brand new maintenance facility, and a lot of money on machinery. So when you add it all up there has been a significant investment in the golf side since Schloss took over.”
“We have engaged with European Golf Design and have created a masterplan to make some structural changes to the golf course in the future. These changes will enhance the golfers experience and the quality of the golf course. One area in particular would be the bunkering.
Dream becomes a fantastic reality
“Some of the bunkering is a case of repositioning, but the main thing is to restyle them and bring the sand lines up and out of the ground. So visually from off the tee it will make the holes pop much more.
“At the moment the bunkers sit down and from the tee they just look like grass banks, you can’t really see them. When the work is done you will see the bunker much more clearly.”
There will be a real maintenance benefit to be had too.
While Ross had an abundance of agronomy knowledge gained from years of being in the industry he has been working closely with Turfgrass for the last three years.
The Dublin-based company has a client list operating at the top end of the game including names like Wentworth; Woodhall Spa; ’27 Ryder Cup host, Adare Manor, and many others across the golfing world.
“Our partnership has been great and they have provided great knowledge and support to improve the quality of our putting surfaces.
“When I took over the organic matter was such that I felt it was a priority as it was preventing us from improving the quality of the putting surfaces.
“We made really good inroads and brought the level down, as shown by all the data, but unfortunately COVID came along, we had to reduce our cultural practices so it crept back up. But we are now nearly back to where we were before the pandemic.”
Like many golf clubs Ross has experienced the problems of attracting staff but he currently has a settled team, some of whom joined him in Harrogate in January for the annual BTME show, where they attended seminars and workshops.
The greenkeeping team is integral to both the performance and success of the venue. Their expertise in maintaining turf quality, optimising playing surfaces, and ensuring environmental sustainability all combine to create a safe, enjoyable, and high-performing environment for golfers.
“Without them, the integrity and excellence of the facility would suffer, negatively impacting the overall results,” explained Ross.
Having gained experience and knowledge over the last quarter of a century at Schloss Roxburghe, Ross has also volunteered at a number of high profile events to further expand his knowledge in presenting a course and organising larger teams for professional golf events.
“I’ve worked on the support team at the Ryder Cup, in France in 2018, and also worked at six French Opens at Golf Club Nationale. I’ve also volunteered at a British Masters, at Close House, and a Scottish Open, at Castle Stewart, so I’ve gathered tournament experience and know what levels we need to achieve here.”
With that in mind Ross was instrumental in bringing in IMG on a consultancy basis to Schloss Roxburghe to add impetus to the drive to raise golf operation levels to where they need to be to achieve and maintain not only Hyatt Destination standards, but to be regarded as one of the top golf venues in the country.
“50% of my role is now actually involved in golf operations as well as greenkeeping. I’m keen to help support the golf operations and grow the golf business so we have the finances to continue to improve the golf course and be a successful part on the business.
While the Scottish Borders is a beautiful unspoiled part of Scotland it is not regarded as a golfing hotspot, meaning that there is not a host of courses on golfers’ hit lists to attract them to the area.
“The remote location is always going to be a hurdle so that’s something that we have to work with if we want people coming here to play the golf course. Many come to enjoy Borders’ hospitality and the shooting and fishing. We want golf to be higher up their priority list and have Schloss Roxburghe on their list of courses they want to play,” he said.
“We really want to sell Schloss Roxburghe as Scotland’s start of the journey north to play golf.
Dream becomes a fantastic reality
“We’re always going to attract the UK and European market with a very small percentage of American clientele. We know the reason why the Americans come to Scotland and that’s to play links golf, but you’d like to think that we could pick up some more of that American market.”
Schloss Roxburghe has much to be recommended to visitors and potential visitors. That sense of being a Scottish golfing outpost has its benefits. There are usually tee times available, but achieving a higher profile and making Schloss Roxburghe a course that appears on the “must play” list of golfers should increase playing numbers and ensure that the future developments and improvements can be achieved more quickly.
Ross knows that the improvements he desires, and they include a new irrigation system and irrigation lake, will come in time but he is buoyed by the ambition of the owners and the fact that following on from a successful Tartan Tour Event, supported by former Open Champion, Paul Lawrie, who also played in the tournament. last year, they have secured a Challenge Tour event for this summer, with all the resulting television coverage.
“We decided we’d close the golf course for the Paul Lawrie event and really make an impression. We did what we could to make it a special occasion. The team loved it and the feedback we got was fantastic.
That opened the door for us to be awarded the Farmfoods Scottish Challenge, supported by the R&A, which will be a fantastic showcase for Schloss Roxburghe.”
So what would Ross’ aspirations and dreams be for the future?
“For me, it would be getting the recognition that the golf course deserves, because I don’t think that we’re there yet.”
Patience will be needed but the raw materials are already in place and Schloss Roxburghe is already heading in the right direction. It would be wonderful to know just what the 10th Duke would think about his beloved Roxburghe now, 30 years on from those imaginary swings down those imaginary fairways.
