Uphall Golf Club in West Lothian, Scotland has been left shell shocked after a fire ripped through its clubhouse.
Uphall members are said to be 'heartbroken' by the fire which burnt for 12 hours, ripping through the roof of the clubhouse and 'gutting' the insides.
The club has shared on its Facebook page that 'a great deal of the club's history has been lost'.
The Scottish Fire and Rescue Service were called to the scene at around 1.30am on Saturday morning. After sending 10 appliances to tackle the blaze, fire officers confirmed that the blaze was already “very serious” and “well-developed" by the time they arrived.
Thankfully, no casualties were reported from the incident.
It is not yet known what caused the fire, but investigations are on going and the club has reached out to thank the emergency services who worked “tirelessly for hours on end” to put out the flames.
Uphall left devastated
A Facebook post from Uphall Golf Club read: “It's now just over 24 hours since the devastating event that has seen our clubhouse destroyed.
"You will have no doubt seen many of the pictures of the effects of the fire, and, while we are extremely thankful there were no injuries or fatalities, we are saddened that a great deal of the club's history has been lost.
"And so while work goes on to determine the cause of this horrible event, as a club we now look to the future and start the journey on the next chapter of the club's fine history."
PGA Professional at Uphall, George Law, who is also the former Scottish PGA champion, told The Scotsman that the damage was utterly 'devastating'.
“I don’t think I have felt as devastated about anything in my life," he said.
“For all the hard work we have done and the good news stories we have created at the club in recent years, it is terrible.”
Kind words
Many members have also been sharing their sadness over the tragedy.
Member Emma Cassidy wrote: "Absolutely devastated by the fire that blazed through my home club this morning! Thankfully no one was injured and I am grateful for the emergency services and all their hard work from early this morning. Hopefully they can get to the bottom of what happened and they can start rebuilding the clubhouse."
In addition, fellow member Stephen Jamieson commented: "Absolutely gutted! This place has been a huge part of all our lives, so many memories! Thoughts are with all the club staff, committee members and volunteers who we all know work tirelessly to give us a club we are all immensely proud off. We will be back!!"
Meanwhile, reflecting on the kind words and gestures to come out of such a horrible situation, an Uphall representative said: “It's a great source of pride and motivation to us all to know that our club is so well regarded in both the local community and wider golfing community.
"We hope it won't be long before we can welcome you all back to create more wonderful memories.”
The club will remain closed until staff can put a “safe routine for play” plan in place.
Our thoughts go out to the club and all effected.
