Richie Ramsay calls for courses to be given listed status

Richie Ramsay would like to see golf courses given protected status so that they are not changed for the worse.

The three-time DP World Tour winner was speaking during the second round of the Cazoo Classic at the Hillside Golf Club near Southport.

The 39-year-old, a self-confessed connoisseur of golf courses, believes their natural beauty is something which should be protected.

The Aberdeen native, who lives in Edinburgh, would even go as far as having courses listed like buildings.

He said: "In my view, I think some golf courses should almost be listed. You see beautiful buildings. I live in Edinburgh, gorgeous Georgian buildings and they're all listed because people appreciate how beautiful they are, how much work went into them."

Ramsay takes a lot of time to appreciate the landscape of the courses he plays and added about Hillside: "The land is the first thing you look at, the dunes are spectacular. For me, personally, I think the bunkering is fantastic.

"I think it just makes you think off the tee, irrespective of wind direction, which is a big thing. It's not like one day the wind's right to left and it's trouble and the next day it's left to right and you can hit it over the bunker.

"It just makes your mind work and any golf course, in my experience, that makes your mind work is fun to play. It gives you options off the tee. If you want to be aggressive you are going to have to take on some risk.

"You get a nice breeze across and the dunes - it's just a beautiful place to walk and appreciate a first-class golf course."

Ramsay added: "I feel like there are some classic golf courses in Britain and we don't appreciate what we have until sometimes someone comes in and changes them."