Development company Alvarez & Marsal Golf – whose portfolio includes Hogs Head in Ireland and Paako Ridge in New Mexico, USA – has been given the green light to move forward with its masterplan to develop a golf course at the Feddinch Mains site on the outskirts of St Andrews, Scotland.

The new course will be the first to be constructed in the area since David McLay Kidd’s Castle course in 2008. It is to be built on open fields southwest of the town, adjacent to The Duke’s, which was revised and renovated by Tim Liddy in 2006.

Various developers have been trying to transform the Feddinch site since the proposals were first put forward more than 20 years ago, and course designer Tom Weiskopf visited the site for an inspection seven years ago.

The A&M plans are for an 18-hole course, a par-three layout, practice areas, a clubhouse, a luxury hotel and spa, and six cottages for guests.

“Following extensive consultation with Fife Council, the local community and other key stakeholders, this approval is a major milestone in regenerating a site that has remained undeveloped for 20 years,” said Tyler Kirsch, managing director at Alvarez & Marsal.

“We are confident our project will bring lasting benefits to the local community, and we remain committed to ongoing engagement as it progresses.”