Golf South Ayrshire could do more to improve the appearance and the image of their courses, according to one member.

Chris Swaine says that more information about holes and courses, and more regular emptying of the bins, would do a lot to improve the overall look of the courses and encourage more people to come to area to use the courses.

Mr Swaine compared the courses in South Ayrshire to one in Stranraer when he was there visiting.

Issues that he saw in South Ayrshire, such as bins being full when teeing off early in the morning and a lack of hole information, were not apparent during his time in Stranraer.

Speaking to the Advertiser, Mr Swaine said: “We’ve seen the issue with the bins a few times and it’s even been a problem when teeing off first thing in the morning when you thought the bins would’ve been emptied at the start of the day.

“I don’t think it would take long for someone to go out on a golf buggy, either first or last thing in the day, and empty the bins ready for the next day.

“I appreciate the birds pick at bins, but I think a little bit of effort like that could make such a difference to the appearance of the courses and would attract more people there.

“When golfing in Stranraer, the differences were subtle but important.”

He added: “There was no old rubbish in the bins and all the holes had information about them and even had a space for local businesses to advertise, which seems like a win-win idea if you ask me”.

Golf South Ayrshire looks after eight courses.

A council spokesperson said: “The upkeep of our golf courses is very important to us and bins are emptied daily by greenkeeping staff. It is unfortunate that some people do leave dog mess next to general waste bins and staff try to address this quickly.

“We are also looking into providing slightly larger bins, which would allow items to be recycled by people using our courses.

“We are also considering installing new signage at our tees.

“We have an elected member and officer working group who are currently looking at proposals for our Golf Service and within that consideration to how we attract more visitors to play on our courses.”