Walsall’s only public golf course could be closed within months under plans to claw back £12.8 million of public money, sparking anger today.

The popular Grange Golf Course would shut, 50 council jobs would be axed and the opening hours of libraries slashed if Walsall Council agrees to make the savings.

Regulars at the nine-hole facility in Broadway North said they would be “lost” without it, while opposition leaders said they were “dismayed” at the proposals.

The council looks set to fall more than £2 million into the red by the end of the financial year, with plummeting income and rocketing costs expected to continue.

Chris Hart, a 48-year-old prison worker, from Whetstone Lane, Aldridge, reflected the fury felt among regulars at the Grange Golf Course today.

“My father is 75 and this is one of the few things he looks forward to. He’s here all the time and will be lost without it,” he said.

Councillor Tim Oliver, shadow leader of the Labour group in Walsall, said: “We do know times are very hard.

“But we have got to put these new proposals into some context. We have seen council tax bills rise by over 65 per cent already, while millions are being used on failed privatisations, pay outs to employees and mismanagement of contracts.

“Walsall Labour group is dismayed by the sudden announcement, which has come out of a lack of strategic direction shown on this and other matters.”

Walsall Council leader John O’Hare today defended the plans, saying “tough times call for tough decisions”.

“Our experiences over the last few months have resulted in a large downturn in income,” he said.

“We have also suffered from the Government giving us £6 million less than they had said we needed in Walsall, which clearly contributes to the pressures.”