GolfManagement Europe

UK £5.00 Eur 5.95US $7.50

As the Castle Course closes for the winter, we take a look back at how the seventh course at

St Andrews has been received worldwidepage 15

celtic manor to host kpmgThe sixth annual KPMG Golf Business Forum will be held at The Celtic Manor Resort, Wales, in May 2009

issue 63november 2008

ThE lEadinG businEss MaGazinE for ThE pan-EuropEan Golf indusTry

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 3

publisher’s editorial

I once had a dear old Aunt whose favourite saying was “you can only help those who want to be helped.”

I’ve finally understood what she meant.The recent European Golf Course Own-ers Association (EGCOA) conference held in Berlin was an ideal vehicle for the industry’s owners and operators to get together and discuss ways to beat the recession.

One would have thought the movers and shakers would have been only too keen to hear how financial meltdown could be avoided.

But far from moving and shaking, there was barely a tremble from people who should, quite simply, know better.

A mere 76 golf clubs were represented at the event with the remainder of a (quite large) turnout comprising inter-ested suppliers and members of assorted media. That’s less than 1.4 per cent of the registered golf clubs in Europe. Quite simply that’s a disgrace.

Is golf still so arrogant and intransigent that it feels it is bombproof in such an unstable environment?

Surely the industry must realise that if huge organisations like Lehman Broth-ers are forced to admit defeat then golf clubs will also find themselves with their collective backs to the wall.

The EGCOA produced another superb conference with some fascinating and innovative speakers all offering ideas and advice about how golf clubs can affect

the ‘Big Change’ and get through these troubled times. Yet just a handful of own-ers participated.

If they can’t see the ‘Big Picture’ how the hell will they affect the ‘Big Change’?

So with this in mind, GME has signed an exclusive partnership with the EGCOA by which it will be able to communicate its message to clubs via this magazine. That we were in a position to do this is largely down to you, our readers.

Our recent survey provided evidence that of all the trade magazines and web-sites out there Golf Management Europe

appears to be the most widely respected and read. Many of you went as far as saying it was the only title you turn to for advice and reference on running your business.

It was collected evidence such as this, which persuaded the EGCOA that Golf Management Europe was the only magazine which could fulfill its brief and support its aims within the golf industry.

As Humphrey Bogart once said: “I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friend-ship.” GME

Take a look at the big picture and act now

Michael lenihanlenihan@portman.uk.com

Celtic Manor will play host to the KPMG Golf Business Forum next May.

5

With margins being squeezed, what does the future have in store for the club pro?

18

Short courses could be the way forward for many golf operators in Europe.

23

Mark Smith asks whether the time has come for owners to lease their operations.

30

Golf Management Europe is published six times per annum by PPC Portman.

PPC PortmanDeben House, Main Road, Martlesham, Woodbridge IP12 4SEUnited Kingdom

T 0870 241 4678 F 01394 380594E editorial@portman.uk.comW www.portman.uk.com

Editor John VinicombeNews Editor David BowersContributors Jeff Howes, Vicky Kiernander, Peter Simm, Mark Smith

Publisher Michael LenihanAdministration Sharon O’ConnellPrint Colourspeed

SubscriptionsTo ensure your regular copy of GME, call 0870 241 4678 or subscribe online at www.portman.uk.com

UK 6 Issues £30; 12 Issues £50Europe 6 Issues £36; 12 Issues £60World 6 Issues £42; 12 Issues £70

All rights reserved.

No part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted in any form without the prior written permission of the publisher.

Whilst due care to detail is taken to ensure that the content of GME is accurate, the publisher cannot accept liability for errors and omissions.

© Portman Publishing and Communications Limited 2008

PPC

“If they can’t see the ‘Big Picture’ how the hell will they affect the ‘Big Change’?”

4 GME NOVEMBER 2008

headline news

Donald Trump’s £1billion Scottish golf dream will not be bunkered by the deep-ening global credit crunch.

George Sorial, who is lead-ing the Trump Organisation’s development of a champi-onship golf resort and village on the Menie estate, near Aberdeen, said the project was safe.

He added: “It’s full steam ahead and we are ready to roll. Our cash position is high-er than it has ever been before - and in this market if you have cash, you have a world of opportunity.”

He added that the dollar was regaining strength in the money markets, oil prices were coming down, the cost of materials were falling and there were plenty of workers available.

Former James Bond star Sir Sean Connery has accept-ed the membership number 007 and is looking forward to officially opening the new controversial links course.

Connery, 78, said of Trump’s plan: “During tough economic times, this is a major vote of confidence in Scotland’s tourist industry

and our ability to rise to the challenge.

“I look forward to seeing a new gem in the north-east that is good for Aberdeenshire and good for Scotland.”

The plan was originally rejected by Aberdeenshire Council over fears it would damage the environment. But it was later called in and approved by the Scottish government.

Trump’s scottish dream not in peril

Braemar Golf has announced that it has been appointed by Palm City Holdings to manage golf facilities planned for the Palm City Family and Golf Resort.

The development is currently being built in and around the seaside town of Frederikshavn located on the northeast coast of the Jutland peninsula in Denmark.

Braemar Golf, who has a close association with the PGA as their official supplier of golf management servic-es, will work alongside Palm City Holdings, Colin Montgomerie and European Golf Design offering techni-cal services and consulta-tion related to pre-opening operations.

Once opened for play in the autumn of 2010, Braemar Golf will oversee

the management of both the golf course and the extensive Academy.

Keith Haslam, Braemar Golf’s managing director said: “I am delighted to be working alongside Colin and EGD again.

“Moreover, the Palm City project has enormous potential and will become the leading golf resort in Denmark. We are thrilled about developing a long relationship with the Palm City project.”

Siggi Standeng of Palm City Holdings is delighted with the completion of what he believes is a world class team. He said: “With the addition of Braemar Golf, we are confident in their ability to deliver exceptional operational and manage-ment expertise for our golf facilities.”

The three real estate sites and all of the Palm City amenities including a water park and retail outlets will be fully operational by 2013.

braemar Golf secure rights to manage palm City family Golf resort

Jack Nicklaus is unhappy with Gleneagles after it changed the design of one of his courses.

Bosses at the five-star complex in Perthshire have been forced to change the description of the course as a result of the fallout with the 18-time major winner.

Gleneagles previously described the course as being “designed by Jack Nicklaus” but now refer to it as having been “created by” the sporting legend.

Nicklaus, designed the Centenary Course for its opening in 1993, and called the course “the finest parcel

of land in the world I have ever been given to work with.”

In a statement, Gleneagles said: “Jack Nicklaus designed the course for us in the early 90s, and in the build up to the Ryder Cup, we have had another designer tweak a few holes.

“We do say he created the course and we have an ongoing relationship with the Jack Nicklaus organisa-tion.”

It is understood the Centenary Course will be altered again in time for the Ryder Cup and possibly even re-routed.

Golden bear snarls at Gleneagles for design changes

Golf course architect Howard Swan picked up an award for the best new golf idea in 2008, at the recent EGCOA conference in Berlin.

FirstGolf, conceived by Swan and Gill Wilson, provides simple facilities to broaden the game on a global scale, and features portable bunkers and hazards that can be easily installed on any recreational area, creat-ing an environment in which newcomers to the game can experience the thrill of golf.

Swan said: “I was delighted with how well the FirstGolf concept was received.

“Most importantly it will bring golf to young chil-dren putting golf clubs in their hands and giving them the chance to experience the great game at an early age.”

Swan next takes FirstGolf to India where a project is due to commence in Bangalore.

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 5

on the cover

faCTfilE;

KPMG Golf AdvisoryH-1139 Budapest

Váci út 99Hungary

TEl; (36) 1 887 7389faX; (36) 1 887 6656

dora.hayes-bolgar@kpmg.hu

Where can you find one of golf’s best kept secrets?

FREETIME SOFTWAREThe complete management system for

Golf Clubs and Golf Courses

Epic Software Limited+44 (0)131 477 2545www.epicsoftware.co.uk

WEBlINK; GOLFBUSINESSFORUM.COM

KPMG has announced that its sixth annual Golf Business Forum will take place at The Celtic Manor Resort, Wales, May 4-6, 2009.

The conference, firmly established as the leading golf business event for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMA), will bring together delegates from the golf, real estate, finance and tourism sectors at the venue for the 2010 Ryder Cup.

“The Golf Business Forum has become a significant event for the golf industry, and is a major annual meet-ing point for golf’s most important businesses, brands and executives,” said Andrea Sartori, head of KPMG’s specialist Golf Advisory Practice in EMA, and founder of the Golf Business Forum.

“The Celtic Manor Resort is an ideal venue for the Forum and we look forward to welcoming our friends, clients and industry profes-

sionals from all over the world.

“Sixteen months before the world’s best profession-als face each other at The Ryder Cup, the golf indus-try’s biggest players will have their opportunity to meet, exchange ideas, do business, and even to play The Twenty Ten Ryder Cup course.”

Last May, more than 310 industry professionals from 46 countries attended the Golf Business Forum in Ireland and witnessed Jack Nicklaus

receive KPMG’s Lifetime Achievement Award.

Highlights from last year’s event included presenta-tions from George O’Grady, chief executive of the PGA European Tour; David Spencer, CEO of Dubai-based Leisurecorp; and Tenniel Chu, executive director of Mission Hills Golf Club, China. GME

“The Golf Business Forum has become a significant event for the golf industry”

Celtic Manor beckons for the sixth Golf business forum

6 GME NOVEMBER 2008

news

laurence McCrory, course manager at Bices-ter Golf Club, has taken delivery of two Jacobsen Eclipse mowers, the latest pedestrian greens mower from Ransomes Jacob-sen, which are available as either a petrol/electric hybrid or an all electric machine.

Diamond Golf and GolfTech have complet-ed a bunker renovation programme at Cleydael Golf and Country Club in Belgium. Of a total of 67 bunkers, six were removed and five were created with the remain-ing bunkers undergoing extensive refurbishment.

A new report suggests that as the effects of the wider economy reaches UK golf clubs, a series of takeovers and sell offs will sweep the market. The report, by Plimsoll Pub-lishing, has found that a combination of needs is forcing smaller compa-nies to consider selling to their larger rivals and larger players are looking to buy their smaller rivals to diversify and develop their businesses.

A drive to push golf club membership remains one of the key initiatives dur-ing the coming months, following the release of the national findings of the fourth EGU/EWGA Golf Club Survey.

The PGA has appointed Colin Pearson to spear-head the Association’s role in the ‘One Plan for Golf in Scotland’. The 52-year-old brings a wealth of experience to the PGA and will work with a number of key stakeholders.

in briEf;

Founded in 1894, Tramore Golf Club in Co. Waterford, Ireland, relocated to their present site in 1939 and engaged Captain HC Tippett to design the course.

Since opening, very little has changed since it was originally constructed, so following a special General Meeting in 2006, members voted to proceed with a Jeff Howes Golf Design extension and renovation plan.

The new nine holes which opened for play amid rave member reviews earlier this year, was phase one of a three phase project which will see Tramore Golf Club expand to a 27 hole facility.

The completed redevel-opment is scheduled to be open for play during 2010.

In phases two and three, all greens and tees will be redesigned and fairway bunkers will be added.

The club’s continuing success with the golf course will also be boosted with the introduction of a short game practice area adjacent to the clubhouse.

Once completed Tramore’s 27 holes will be fully integrated allowing for three loops of nine holes returning back to the club-house.

Commenting on the rede-sign work, chairman of the Course Development Committee, Frank Kelly, said: “We are absolutely delight-ed with the way the new nine is playing.

“It is just beautiful and it is amazes us how we can play it in all weather conditions as the drainage installed is working brilliantly.

“We look forward to the day we can finally tackle Jeff Howes’ and his dedicat-ed teams redesign of the original course.” he conlud-ed.

Tramore expands as JhGd completes phase one of their masterplan

Thomson Perrett and Lobb has unveiled its design for a golf course in the most dramatic landscape the company has worked with yet, on hills overlooking the ancient Pyramids.

New Giza, Egypt, is to be built on desert hills with spectacular views to the ancient monuments and includes at least one tee shot where golfers will be required to line up with the Pyramids.

The masterplan for the project, which will be a landmark development for Egypt including residential areas, a resort, university, school, hospital plus a dedi-

cated public transport system, has now been fine-tuned and it is hoped construction on the course, which will descend into the bowels of an old quarry, will start early in the new year.

Tim Lobb said: “There are some breathtaking holes, and it will be one of the most spectacular land-scapes we’ve worked on.

“We are using the natural features to add drama to the course, and will add bold landscape features with strong bunkering and large greens.

“As a design firm there are few opportunities to create golf holes where the line of play is one of the Seven Wonders of the World,” added Lobb.

Giza set to be a true wonder for Tpl

Ambitious £7m plans are being launched to build a championship standard golf course and clubhouse at Close House Hotel near Heddon-on-the-Wall in Northumberland.

The hotel, which already has one golf course, is owned by Sage co-founder Graham Wylie, an entrepre-neur, property developer

and one of the North East’s wealthiest men.

He has been steadily buying up around 200 acres of land from farmers to the north and west of the exist-ing golf course to provide space to create the new facility.

A planning application has been lodged with Castle Morpeth District

Council for a new £2m “futuristic” clubhouse and a separate application for the course itself is expected before the end of the year.

Wylie and his team at Close House have hired designer Scott McPherson to put together the 18 holes of what will be known as the Colt Course after golf course architect Harry Colt.

Colt all set for revival in the nort East

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 7

news

When Wenvoe Castle Golf Club near Cardiff lost nine holes due to a spraying error, the club decided to improve the course rather than simply repairing the damage.

The club’s greens chair-man, Robert Gillard, and pro, Jason Harris, took over the management of the course after routine spraying for leatherjackets and worms had led to the acci-dental contamination of the greens in 2007.

After re-laying seven holes on a temporary basis, Gillard and Harris made a commit-ment to return Wenvoe standards players expect. “To do this, we needed the very best equipment and that’s why we chose Toro,” Gillard said.

The club committed to Toro exclusively after its greenkeeping team tested the machines against two major Toro competitors.

As Gillard explains: “We’d already had some Toro kit

and knew it was a market-leader, but this was the first time we committed to it entirely.

“The equipment out-performed everything else on the course,” concluded Gillard.

Wenvoe even better with the help of Toro

Troon Golf has further strengthened its Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) team with several new additions, key promo-tions and strategic reloca-tions.

Stephen Follet has joined Troon Golf EMA and relo-cates to Geneva as director of operations. His impressive resume includes 15 years of golf management and

operations experience as director of golf at several high profile Marriott resorts.

In his most recent role as director of golf operations for Marriott UK, he acquired extensive experience in managing European Tour events including the English Open and British Masters.

Follet will work closely with Bruce Glasco, senior vice president and managing

director, EMA to deliver the renowned Troon Golf customer experience across the portfolio.

Declan McCollam has recently been appointed as director of golf at The Grove, London, and brings a wealth of experience to what has become one of the finest resorts in Europe.

With strong management experience, McCollam

served in several roles including director of golf at the acclaimed Brookwater Golf Club in Queensland.

He joins the team at The Grove following his time as operations manager at the corporate office in Geneva.

In addition, Gill Shannon has assumed the sales and marketing manager’s posi-tion at The Montgomerie in Dubai.

Troon strengthen their position across Europe

8 GME NOVEMBER 2008

news

The Twenty Ten Clubhouse at The Celtic Manor Resort is celebrating two prestigious awards within its first year of opening.

The Twenty Ten has been named Clubhouse of the Year in a prestigious annual poll and its Rafters Restaurant has picked up a coveted AA Rosette for the quality of its cuisine.

The spacious new club-house beat off stiff competi-tion from the likes of Sunningdale and The Belfry to land the UK title at an awards ceremony at Mere Golf Club in Cheshire.

Built to serve the first course in history to be constructed specifically for staging The Ryder Cup, the new facility impressed judg-es with its striking, contem-porary architecture and welcoming feel, as well as its luxurious facilities and seam-less service.

The relaxed ambience and modern European dining available in Rafters Restaurant was another key ingredient and also proved a recipe for success when inspectors from the AA assessed the dining venue for the first time.

Celtic Manor scoops two clubhouse awards

Campaigners packed a courtroom in a bid to block controversial plans for a £1m golf course revamp in Essex.

The Friends of Basildon Golf Course fear the controversial scheme involves “disguised waste dumping” which will ruin a beauty spot and destroy the homes of badgers, glow worms, great-crested newts and other flora and fauna.

More than 60 residents were at the Royal Courts of Justice in London to hear their legal team argue that Basildon District Council had unlawfully given the scheme approval.

Their counsel Jeremy Pike said the develop-ment involved the impor-tation to the site of thou-sands of tonnes of waste material to “remodel” the course at Clayhill Lane, Basildon.

He said: “There are a number of similar contro-versial schemes taking place elsewhere.”

Roy Leavitt, head of the county’s environmental planning department, had written to the district council saying he would be “grateful” if the coun-ty council was consulted on any further similar applications as it was the waste planning authority for the area.

Ransomes Jacobsen has re-affirmed its long standing commitment to sustainability in golf through its appoint-ment as the official and exclusive partner of the Golf Environment Organisation’s latest project.

The turf maintenance equipment manufacturer will partner in the production of international Sustainability Guidelines for New Golf Development.

Jonathan Smith, chief executive of GEO said: “For some time now GEO has advocated the need for a set of definitive sustainability guidelines for the planning,

design and construction of golf courses.

“We now have the support in place from The R&A, the European Institute of Golf Course Architects, the European Golf Course Owners Association and the European Tour, and I am delighted that Ransomes Jacobsen has accepted our invitation to become our official and exclusive partner for this project.”

David Withers, managing director at Ransomes Jacobsen added: “We are an environmentally aware organisation and market our products using the strap line

‘Driving Environmental Performance’, but this is much more than a market-ing slogan.

“We are totally committed to the ethos of sustainable golf and have clearly demonstrated our support as sponsors of BIGGA’s Golf Environment Award and the STRI’s Sustainable Golf Course Management DVD.

“We are also the initiators of an industry-first programme for the environ-mental disposal and recy-cling of redundant mowers and turf maintenance equipment, known as ELMO.”

ransomes re-affirms its commitment to sustainable golf with GEo link

Colin Montgomerie offi-cially opened his first golf course design in the Mediterranean in October, The Montgomerie at Papillon Golf Club, Antalya, Turkey.

Montgomerie worked on the course with European Golf Design, and completes a trio of courses designed in the Belek region of Turkey, the other two being the Sultan and Pasha at Antlaya Golf Club.

At the launch, Monty explained how delighted he was to be asked to work with Papillon Hotels and European Golf Design.

“Back in May 2006 when we began work on the design of The Montgomerie at Papillon Golf Club, I was thrilled to be asked to be associated with such an exciting project.

“Working alongside Gary Johnston from European

Golf Design has been a great experience, and I am absolutely delighted with how the course has turned out.”

Speaking at the official opening, Cahit Şahin - general manager of The Montgomerie Papillon said: “The choice to have a course by Montgomerie was based on promotional and marketing advantages.”

The course forms part of a new €200 million golf and hotel complex. To comple-ment the 18-hole golf course, there is a flood-lit nine-hole short course and a golf academy, as well as a 600-room five-star hotel and 31 holiday villas.

papillon opens for play in Turkey

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 9

news

PGA Golf de Catalunya has opened the doors of its striking new clubhouse.

The stylish new structure, set on forested hills overlook-ing one of Europe’s premier golf resorts, has been designed in modern Catalan style by acclaimed Barcelona-based architects Francisco and Damian Ribas, who will also design the resort’s first luxury houses, set to be built in 2009.

Golfers arriving at the clubhouse will be welcomed

by an impressive new sculp-ture by world renowned artist Rosa Serra, who was commissioned by Nike in 2001 to create a life-size sculpture of Tiger Woods for the company’s headquar-ters near Portland, Oregon, USA.

“The new clubhouse is designed to welcome inter-national golfers and make them feel comfortable and at home,” said PGA Golf de Catalunya CEO Juan del Rio.

“This is a facility befitting of one of the best resorts in Europe and we look forward to welcoming golfers to

what we hope they will see as their clubhouse during their visit to PGA Golf de Catalunya.”

new Clubhouse for pGa Golf de Catalunya

Rowallan Castle Golf Club, the first course Colin Montgomerie has designed in his native Scotland, remains on course to official-ly open in spring next year.

The 6,882-yard champion-ship course, part of the £60 million development near Fenwick, Ayrshire, was initial-ly due for completion in the middle of last year but the opening date had be put

back after falling victim to unseasonably bad weather.

But Gordon Milton, managing director of Delta Golf 2000 Ltd, the construc-tion company working on the project, revealed that the course is all but finished and Rowallan Castle is scheduled to open its doors for the first time early in 2009.

“We have completed all our work save for putting the

sands in the bunkers, and that will not be done until the last minute,” said Milton, whose company have carried out work at venues including Moy Valley, Forest of Arden and The Belfry.

“The weather was very frustrating. Within a three-month period at the start, we were only able to do a week’s work because of all the rain we had.”

Set in 600 acres of rolling parkland, Rowallan Castle will feature a 19th hole - ‘The Money Hole’ - a 180-yard par-three designed to settle those matches that are still tied after 18 holes.

Milton added: “I thought it was a bit bizarre when I was first told about it but then I listened to the logic involved. It will certainly be something different.”

delta Golf all but finished at rowallan Castle

No.1 for Synthetic Golf

GREENS TEES SHORT COURSES

t: +44 (0)1482 333120 f: +44 (0)1482 333128 e: info@europeangolf.co.uk w: europeangolf.co.uk

To find out more information on how European Golf can help you join the revolution, please visit our website and order our brochure and DVD or you can simply contact us on +44 (0)1482 333120. Please quote GME

Hildesheim, Germany is the location of a 6 Hole Synthetic Short Course that is revolutionising the way we play golf. The 4700m2 course consists of synthetic tees, beautifully contoured and shaped greens plus challenging bunkers and water hazards equivalent to those found on any regular golf course. For even quicker or more focussed practice sessions you can also use the separate putting, chipping and target greens available at Hildesheim.

European Golf are leading the market in synthetic short course projectsincluding designs, synthetic golf turf innovation and complete installation.

Synthetic Greens

Fringe to Green

The Synthetic Golf Revolution is here!Reduce your course maintenance & increase playability all year round despite bad weather conditions with Synthetic Short Course Facilities by European Golf Ltd

European Golf's short course projects in

development include Austria, Holland, Germany, Portugal,

Italy and Ireland

10 GME NOVEMBER 2008

news

Toro’s latest launch is the Workman MD Series, an advance on the special-ist turfcare machinery manufacturer’s popular mid-duty utility vehicle design in the form of two dynamic new models, the Workman MD and MDX.

Golfplan-Fream, Dale and Ramsey will break ground in 2009 on the first golf course project in the Ukraine - an 18-hole resort track planned for the sandy shores of Dobolet-sky Island.

The championship course at the Karnataka Golf Association in Bangalore will be ready for play this month, after a two-year renovation project spear-headed by Swan Golf Designs. Braemar Golf of St Andrews, a company providing golf course management,development, technical and marketing services has been selected to manage the golf facilities at Pravets Golf and Spa in Bulgaria.

A five year contract hire with maintenance pack-age from John Deere Credit has allowed The Oaks Golf Courses at Oaks Park in Carshalton, Surrey to acquire an extra mower for their fleet, and to improve their fairway cutting regime.

The PGA has expanded its portfolio of branded golf facilities after agree-ing a deal with the Al Salouma Investment Company in Egypt. The PGA Golf Academy, 6th October City, Cario, will join a growing list of other PGA branded facilities.

in briEf;

John Wells, estate and golf operations manager at Brocket Hall, has taken deliv-ery of a selection of E-Z-GO

electric utility vehicles for housekeeping and client transportation duties around the complex.

The Brocket Hall complex, set in 543 acres of mature parkland, features an inter-national conference centre in the stately home, two 18-hole championship golf courses, the Faldo Golf Institute, Melbourne Lodge with 16 luxury bedrooms and Auberge du Lac restaurant.

“The facilities here are spread over a wide area and we need to get staff around the site in a comfort-able and timely manner.

“We purchased three RXV electric vehicles for use by the fine dining teams at the Auberge, the Hall and in the golf clubhouse, with a fourth vehicle for the housekeep-ing team.”

brocket hall drive their clients and staff in style

The first complete new irri-gation system for tees, greens and fairways using John Deere parts is going in at Blackpool North Shore Golf Club, following the company’s move into the European golf irrigation market earlier in 2008.

Designed by consultants York Martin International and installed by Arden Lea Irrigation, Blackpool North Shore’s new system forms part of a five-year preferred supplier agreement for course machinery and irriga-tion equipment.

The irrigation installation will include a state of the art computer-based Aurora control system and a new water storage facility.

Course manager Iain Gunn first saw the new irriga-tion equipment demonstrat-ed at John Deere’s Feedback event for green-keepers and groundsmen in Germany in 2007.

“Our old system has been in for 34 years, and was basi-cally outdated,” said Gunn.

“We needed extra capacity to cover the whole course, particularly the tees,

and the course mainte-nance fleet was also ageing, with little back-up for individual machines.

“The club had recom-mended we look for a single supplier solution,” added Gunn, “and following a long and very comprehensive tender process, we found there was no other compa-ny in a position to offer us the complete package we were looking for.

“The finance deal has also put us in a very good posi-tion to renew the machinery fleet as and when required.”

John deere’s 360 degree solution

Pleas to save a Hampshire golf course fell on deaf ears when councillors approved proposals for its closure.

Golfers from Eastleigh’s Fleming Park Golf Course spoke against plans to turn

the council-owned 18-hole course into public open space with allotments, picnic areas, cycle paths and parkland.

Golfers also called for the course to be reduced to

nine holes rather than shut altogether. But, after hear-ing of the declining use of the course, the committee voted in support of a report recommending the golf course be closed.

Course set to revert to parkland

www.clubcar.cominfo_esa@clubcar.com(+ 44) 777 180 5463

the revenue drivers

club car new advert_FINAL alt 28/10/08 15:01 Page 1

12 GME NOVEMBER 2008

news

Ransomes Jacobsen, the Ipswich-based turf equip-ment manufacturer, has introduced flexible finance packages for its range of turf maintenance machinery.

Available on all equip-ment, with the exception of E-Z-GO and ex-demonstra-tion models, these finance packages apply until December 31, 2008.

Two options are available including pay nothing for an entire year or interest-free payments spread over two years.

Rupert Price, UK and Ireland sales manager, commented: “These limited time only special rate finance offers can be accessed through any Ransomes Jacobsen dealer across the UK.

“We appreciate that in the current financial climate golf clubs, contractors, local authorities and municipali-ties may be thinking of deferring purchases, but we believe these flexible finance packages and the other finance offers that we can provide, will help them purchase the quality equip-ment they require to meet their clients’ needs.”

Royal Portrush in Northern Ireland has appointed MJ Abbott to install a new irriga-tion system.

It comprises fully-automat-ic irrigation to the greens, tees, approaches, fairways, walkways and green surrounds to both the Dunluce and Valley Courses.

The project also includes a new 125m³/hr pump station, 650m³ capacity water stor-age tank, upgraded pump station electric supply and five new boreholes.

Toro Irrigation equipment will be used for the installa-tion which has been designed and will be managed by Robin Hume Associates.

Work began last month with completion scheduled for March 2009.

Club secretary Wilma Erskine commented: “We selected MJ Abbott because of its wealth of expertise in the field of irriga-tion. We’re very pleased to be working with them.”

royal portrush appoints MJ abbott

Work to create a £6m golf course in one of Glasgow’s most deprived areas is to start after a 12-year fight.

Ruchill’s derelict nine-hole course will be trans-formed into a professional standard facility, thanks to the last piece of fund-ing being put in place.

Local residents as well as Colin Montgomerie have battled to get council-run Ruchill Golf Course re-opened since it was closed for play back in 1997.

Glasgow City Council, which was behind the plan, hopes the pay-as-you-go facility will spark an interest in the sport among young people and help cut anti-social behaviour in the area.

Work to restore the disused course is expect-ed to start in the new year after a grant of £300,000 was received from Sports Scotland.

The project has been plagued by delays because of funding short-ages, and most of the cash to finance it was generated through land-fill taxes.

Ruchill Community Golf Trust raised more than £600,000 and £1.7million came from Scottish Enterprise.

The golf course had been in use since the 1920s but was closed after vandals and spend-ing cuts left it in a state of ruin.

flexible finance packages on offer from ransomes Jacobsen

The TGI Golf Show under-lined its position as the UK’s premier golf trade event as more than 70 per cent of the buying group’s members attended the Harrogate International Centre, November 5-7.

Many of the golf industry’s main players, including all three Acushnet brands – Titleist, Cobra and FootJoy – exhibited at the show, bene-fiting from a strong turnout of TGI Golf members.

Eddie Reid, managing director of TGI Golf said: “The show is a good barom-eter of the industry among

professional retailers and the general consensus is that although it’s tough, our members are doing well and being supported by consumers.

“It’s a simple, almost old fashioned ethos, but when times are tough, good customer relationships are what see you through – and this is what both our members and our accredit-ed suppliers are benefitting from now.”

The three-day event also featured seminars, including one with renowned club-maker Tom Wishon.

TGi show proves it’s the real deal

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 13

newsnews

Ireland’s Ballyliffin Golf Club says that its new Toro Irrigation Golf Decoder Controller system “saved the day” when a prolonged dry spell almost prevented the 2008 Irish Seniors Open from taking place.

Having been installed 15 years ago, the County Donegal club’s existing system had reached the end of its useful life, so general manager John Farren selected Toro’s state-of-the-art GDC system.

The system soon proved its worth when an unseasona-ble spring drought set in after installation.

“We went seven weeks without rain in May,” said Farren, “and without the new irrigation system we wouldn’t have been prepared for the Irish Seniors Open in June.

“It saved the day and enabled us to prepare and manicure the course to the high standards required,” he concluded.

Toro GdC saves the day at ballyliffin

Vertech, who provide scientific and technical solu-tions to assist in the success-ful management of the golf green environment, are set to launch in Europe.

Vertech have enjoyed success at some of Asia’s premier golf courses where their technical solutions have allowed the greens to thrive in the strenuous, humid climate.

Vertech’s arrival into Europe’s golf business is eagerly anticipated with ongoing negotiations in place for their first contract.

Operating from facilities in Asia and Scotland, Vertech is a multi-disciplined, global company who offer a comprehensive service to assist in the optimisation of soil conditions for turf growth and conditioning.

Vertech provide subsur-face systems for aeration, drainage, heating, irrigation and water recycling which assist course management to control the subsurface environment of greens.

The systems regulate mois-ture content, air movement and temperature conditions in the root zone which result in optimum and consistent growing conditions.

John Woodford, chief executive of Vertech Ltd commented: “We are delighted to be expanding into Europe, and feel Vertech’s solutions can assist to address environmental and economic issues that golf course developers face.

“All golfers love great greens and owners love a healthy bottom line; we can help deliver both.”

Vertech announce European launch

© 2008 T

he Toro Com

pany

The opening of The Castle Course has brought to reality the vision of the St. Andrews Links Trust and DMK Golf Design in creating and developing a new course worthy of being part of the family of golf courses in the keep of the Trust. The home of golf is like no other golf location in the world. Creating another course that would blend with the heritage of St. Andrews and its surrounding countryside would test their resolve. The result is a magnificent course that will provide future generations of residents of, and visitors to, the home of golf with an unquestionable challenge and unique playing experience. Toro is proud to be a partner and Official Supplier of the St. Andrews Links Trust in the care and maintenance of all its courses.

A Modern Masterpiece

Image supplied by 3DEagleview International

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 15

club focusWEBlINK; STANDREWS.ORG.UK

There can have been few more antici-pated moments in the golfing world this year than the opening of The Castle Course at St Andrews.

Yes, there was the drama of the Ryder Cup at Valhalla in September and Padraig Harrington’s double major triumph at The Open and US PGA Championship in the months preceding it, but rewind the clock to the end of June and there is no doubt where most eyes were pointing.

After all, it’s not every day that a new course is built at the Home of Golf. Not only is The Castle the first new champi-onship course to have been commissioned

at St Andrews in around 100 years, it is only the seventh to have been designed at the Home of Golf since the game was first played there some six centuries ago.

But if the St Andrews Links Trust had any doubts that the new ‘no. 7’ would fail to live up to expectation, they were quick-ly banished and David McLay Kidd’s new creation has quickly cemented a reputation of its own not only in the local area, but in the Kingdom of Fife, Scotland and beyond.

Some 12,000 rounds have already been played on the course since it officially opened on June 28.

inside The Castle

As The Castle Course closes for winter, Peter Simm takes a look back at how the seventh course at St Andrews has been received since it opened for play in June, and asks what changes - if any - are planned for the future.

16 GME NOVEMBER 2008

faCTfilE;

St Andrews Links TrustPilmour House

St Andrews KY16 9SFScotland

TEl; (44) 01334 466666faX; (44) 01334 479555

EMail;enquiries@standrews.org.uk

GEnEral ManaGEr;Alan McGregor

opEraTions ManaGEr;Kevin MacKay

Club foundEd;2008

The Castle has now closed for the winter to allow it to take a rest and carry out some maintenance work - a pattern that will be followed over the next few years - but expect a stampede of golfers to its door when it re-opens in April.

Mike Woodcock, communications manager at St Andrews Links Trust, who manage the seven courses, admitted: “It has been very good since the course opened.

“We have had a great season and the rounds that have been played has been well balanced between visitors and locals. If anything, it has been better than we expected. I thought interest would tail off after the initial period after opening but it hasn’t.

“We closed on October 31 but we took more traffic than was anticipated, espe-cially bearing in mind the poor summer we had.

“We have been pleasantly surprised in the amount of coverage we have received. We knew it was going to get a lot when it opened but it was on the main cover of an American magazine in January and it has continued on from there.

“It has been great. After all, it’s not every day that a new course is opened at St Andrews and David McLay Kidd deserves a lot of credit. The Castle is not the easiest course in the world but it is spectacular and makes the most of its location.”

Built on a stretch of rugged coastline that used to be home to Kinkell Castle in the Middle Ages - hence the name The Castle Course - McLay Kidd and his

co-designer Paul Kimber have succeeded in converting a set of potato fields into one of the game’s finest golfing land-scapes over a 220-acre area of land on the outskirts of the old town.

The Castle Course is a demanding test of golf with its difficulty off the tee, well-situated bunkers, severely-sloping greens and openness to the elements and demands a golfer brings his ‘A’ game and imagination with him, or face the conse-quences.

Bounding fairways with grassy humps placed in the middle of them and roller-coaster putting surfaces mean the empha-sis is very much on strategy and plotting your way around the course.

It might not be every golfer’s ‘cup of tea’, but Kidd regards the course as his finest yet. Not bad when you consider he has designed such renowned venues as Bandon Dunes in Oregon, Fancourt in

South Africa, Powerscourt in Ireland and Queenswood, the private club in Surrey favoured by the likes of Lee Westwood and Darren Clarke to hone their games.

“David regards it as his finest work so far and I think he is very pleased with it. He has made a very dramatic landscape with humps and hollows and has achieved his vision,” added Woodcock.

“The greens are very dramatic. I would be the first to say they are not everybody’s cup of tea but they make it a real chal-lenge and make it a short game challenge. They are great fun.

“A lot of the features David Kidd put in were put there for visual effect and to intimidate off the tee.

“The greens are very dramatic. I would be the first to say they are not everybody’s cup of tea

but they make it a real challenge and make it a short game challenge. They are great fun. A lot of the features David Kidd put in were put there for

visual effect and to intimidate off the tee.”

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 17

HAWTREEGOLF COURSE ARCHITECTS

Since 1912

5 OxFORd STREET, WOOdSTOCk,OxFORd Ox20 1TQ

TEL: (01993) 811976 FAx: (01993) 812448

WWW.HAWTREE.CO.Uk

“But once you have played up there, you realise that it is more about the short game and accuracy. It’s a course you need to hit chip some shots, hit bump and runs for others and really use every club in the bag.

“Everyone has been very positive about the standard of the course and the greens and the fact it looks like it has been there for some time.”

The benefits of The Castle Course don’t end there, though. Due to its loca-tion and design, the St Andrews Links Trust now has a much-needed flexibility to help take the pressure off some of its other courses, while nearby venues including Kingsbarns and Fairmont St Andrews are also reaping the rewards.

Woodcock explained: “One of the things The Castle was designed to do was free up a bit more space on the other courses. It has done that and taken a bit of capacity away from the New and Jubilee courses.

“The way The Castle is run fits in quite well with the other courses and gives us options and opportunities that we don’t have with the other St Andrews courses.

“We do quite a bit of work with the other courses in the St Andrews Development Group because, if you bring in more visitors to the area, then everybody is going to benefit.

“We are also in a position to offer a trade rate for tour operators which allows it to be packaged with Kingsbarns, the new Kittocks Course at Fairmont St Andrews and The Duke’s.

“There’s a lot going on in the St Andrews area and there are also a lot of other very good golf courses either open-ing or having just opened in Scotland - like Machrihanish Dunes, Castle Stuart and The Carrick at Loch Lomond - which can only be a good thing in attract-ing golf tourism to our country.”

Stuart McEwan, general manager of Kingsbarns Golf Links, said: “I have always been of the opinion that if there is space to built a certain standard of course it has to be good for the area.

“We were excited about The Castle Course being built but there was also a certain amount of apprehension as we didn’t know how many people it would take away from us here.

“But The Castle is not a links course. Most of the people that we target want to play links golf and most people who visit St Andrews are like that. The Castle has some links features but that’s where it ends. It is a different type of experience.

“The Links Trust have been quite clear in their promotion and it adds another dimension to the area for people who like to play different types of golf courses.”

Charles Head, general manager at Fairmont St Andrews, added: “The Castle Course is a fine addition to St Andrews, the Home of Golf. Having a great course such as this and Kingsbarns minutes away is an obvious plus for the hotel and guests alike. With 14 courses now within easy reach of St Andrews, the Home of Golf is going from strength to strength.” GME

18 GME NOVEMBER 2008

special report

At least three years before the current financial global downturn it was not uncom-mon for club professionals to moonlight in order to supple-

ment diminishing incomes.How prevalent the trend has

become among the 7,300 regis-tered members of the PGA, and

bearing in mind 1,600 work abroad in 60 different countries, is not easy

to say.While the PGA itself remains on a

sound financial basis despite all the fiscal upheavals, there is little doubt that the role of the club professional is changing radically with the times. Market forces have driven some into taking a second job. A few, despairing at an ever rising tide of bills, have left golf.

That may be put down to natural wast-age but clubs are also reacting to the grim

climate forcing them to re-assess the posi-tion of the man in the shop.

Professionals who were encouraged a few years ago by the slogan - those who know buy from their pro - have long abandoned the retail battle leaving the field clear to the High Street shop and Internet.

Some have availed themselves of powerful buying groups like Foremost with 1,000 club pros on its books and TGI Golf which is owned by its members. They and Foremost are arraigned against a formidable counterfeit club industry estimated to be worth £275m in the UK alone.

But when clubs driven by the need to save money cut retainers then there is little alternative for pros up against it than to bite the bullet or work extra hours else-where to help meet the mortgage repay-ments.

are we witnessing the demise of the Club pro?

With increased competition from the High Street as well as the Internet, the role of the modern club professional

is under threat as John Vinicombe reports.

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 19

This unhappy situation has not happened overnight as Cliff Pluck (pictured right), secretary of the Sussex Professional Golfers’ Union for the last 28 years will testify. He believes an increasing number of the 72 paid-up club professionals on his patch have been struggling at least since 2005.

“The recession was waiting to happen,” says Pluck who built up a thriving busi-ness in car accessories before moving to Sussex and running the SPGU. “When I came into the job there were a lot of pros looking for assistants. Now there just isn’t the jobs available on anything like that scale. And a worrying number have had to get other work to keep going.”

He showed me a list of names that I prefer to remain anonymous but have every reason to believe his facts are correct. One professional quit to open a sandwich bar; another gave up his job to train as an undertaker; yet another turned his back on golf and worked as a baggage handler at Gatwick Airport.

The sandwich bar owner, who is 42, told me: “Being a professional golfer is a great job, but as a business, it is getting tougher which is why I decided to get out.

“The retail side is now almost impossi-ble what with the golf shops and Internet. My tuition prices have not gone up in ten years but people won’t pay more than £20 a lesson.”

Another 40-something to leave his shop said: “I just cannot make the retail side pay. This is a sad indictment on what is happeing to the club pro and I’m glad to be out of it full time.”

Among those who cannot get a living wage out of golf is an experienced pro now working as a clerk for a timber company. The Sussex moonlighters include a pro working as a night porter in an hotel; a furniture maker, a furniture van driver, a postman and soccer coach for local kids.

Commented Pluck: “I cannot see it getting any better in the foreseeable future. Actually, I think the recession started three years ago in the golf indus-try when everybody was afraid to use the word.

“I used to have young people looking for introductions to jobs but the jobs aren’t there any more. When a job at a private members’ club is advertised on our website we have at least 60 inquiries many of them coming from Europe.

“There are, of course, exceptions but the lot of the club pro is not a happy one. Nobody, really, is making any money out of the game at club level.”

The picture Pluck paints is not entirely all gloom and doom. “There are guys who refused to be beaten.

“Jeff Sim at Cooden Beach has started up his own buying business on the Internet. His philosophy is, if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.

“For all pros the main source of income is teaching. We have to limit the number of our tournaments because if a pro has a lesson or two they make more money out of that than playing. I can understand the pressure and some have gone bankrupt.”

Pluck fully understands the need for clubs to economise. “They cannot put up the subs every year and, therefore, have to look at ways of reducing expenditure. A lot of the so-called wealthy clubs are not any more and the pro is often the target by cutting his retainer.

“Yet clubs still expect 100 per cent service and for him to be there six or seven days a week or provide cover. East Sussex National, once the home of the European Open, has now only one ‘A Class’ pro and one assistant when it used to have five in the shop.

“Other clubs have changed the job description by calling the professional, director of golf. What hasn’t changed is that with members and green fees the first thing they do is to visit the pro shop for advice from the man they know will have all the information at his finger tips.”

Directors at one well established members’ club in Sussex discussed plans that included a change of role for the professional and removing him from the traditional shop. They accepted that the pro is no longer the purveyor of golfing equipment to the public and their man had no more than 1,000 customers.

The question was then posed: What does a professional offer a club that cannot be done by someone else?

It was accepted that teaching, club repairs, advice and being an ambassador on the grounds of playing ability was important. Whether or not the club concerned implements its blueprint for the future remains to be seen.

But the following remains on record: “Instead of concentrating on retail the professional’s major function should be on reception and the care of members. With this in mind a reception area would be the workplace of the professional.

“The emptying of the professional’s shop would create sufficient space for the office to move into.”

When, in 1901 the PGA was formed the founding fathers pledged to act as an agency for assisting any professional golf-er or club maker to obtain employment.

That declaration still holds good but events have overtaken those worthy aims and judging by the experience of some members, today’s credo is every man for himself. GME

“Being a professional golfer is a great job, but as a business, it is getting tougher which is why I

decided to get out.”

20 GME NOVEMBER 2008

profile

The latest analysis of the state of the UK golf market by Plimsoll Analysis paints a gloomy picture.

The report, which looks at the 846 leading golf courses and clubs, finds that almost half are running at a loss. This follows Mintel’s analysis of the market last year, which found that it has not grown significantly over the last five years, despite being the fourth most popular regular participation sport.

According to the report, there were approximately 2.4 million regular players in the UK in 2006 – 200,000 more than in 2001 – but this corresponded with a decline in the number of occasional play-

ers, while membership figures have also stagnated at around 1.2

million. So, what does this mean

for operators and what are they doing

to ensure success in

these condi-tions?Thierry Delsol,

chief executive of The Club Company,

the ten-strong golf and country club

chain, believes golf clubs will have to diver-sify to succeed in future. It’s a strategy the group

has been pursuing for several years by adding

health and fitness facilities to all of its golf clubs. “The future of golf will have

to be associated with complemen-tary activities to make it economi-

cally viable,” said Delsol. “There are a number of ways golf clubs can

diversify. “Golf is a seasonal activity and we

wanted to make our business less so by adding health clubs.

“It means we can offer a full lifestyle experience to the whole family all year round and as a result we’ve more than tripled our EBITDA from 2001 to 2007.”

Delsol says the two activities comple-ment each other well - golf is most popu-lar during the day and in the summer, while health clubs are busiest in the mornings and afternoons and during the winter.

Crown Golf, the largest UK group with 33 sites, has also introduced fitness facili-ties to a number of its sites with the most recent being Chesfield Downs Golf and Country Club, which has just unveiled a new clubhouse with a health club and spa.

Its flagship site, St Mellion International Resort, is also being redeveloped in a £100m project that includes a four-star standard hotel, significant improvements to the Jack Nicklaus Signature Course and Old Course, spa treatment rooms and an enlarged gymnasium.

“Retaining and growing membership is vital to our business so we are constantly looking at ways to add value. Creating fantastic golf and leisure environments is important, but there are other ways we add value,” said Nick Moran, sales and marketing director at Crown Golf.

“We offer club members reciprocal playing rights at every Crown Golf course and also at courses in Spain and France, in a partnership with Golf Americh and Nouveaux Golfs De France. And we’re making it easier for members and visitors to play by offering an online tee time booking service.”

As well as this, the company is rolling out its golf academies across the group. With eight already in operation and six more due to open in the next few months, the company aims to offer a fully co-ordi-nated coaching service to members and visitors and grow the sport at grass roots level, explains Moran. “The long term future of golf depends on new people taking up the sport and by establishing

a helping hand to fight all the doom and Gloom

It seems that everywhere you turn at the moment, the economic downturn, recession, slowdown - call it what you will - is headline news. Vicky Kiernander looks at what some clubs are doing to stay ahead of the competition.

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 21

Crown Golf Academies as a welcoming, safe network of first-class teaching centres, we believe we will attract and retain new players to the game.”

Attracting new players is crucial if operators want to stay ahead in today’s challenging climate. Golf Development Wales introduced a scheme last year to entice more women to the sport. Working with members’ and proprietary clubs, it identified sites which wanted to increase their quota of female members and issued grants to allow them to offer subsidised taster sessions and lessons.

The scheme has proved a hit with 40 clubs taking part in 2008. Thanks to the £20,000 funding from Golf Development Wales, the clubs offered six group golf lessons for around £15.

“The demand is huge among women and the clubs that have signed up the most new members are those with an active ladies section offering social events after the lessons,” says Brian Davies, director of development at Golf Development Wales.

In addition to making its clubs as welcoming as possible, Crown Golf has introduced initiatives designed to break down perceived barriers and attract as many new women to golf as possible.

The Club Company has found that introducing health clubs to its portfolio has encouraged more women to take up the game too.

“Sixty per cent of our health and fitness members are female and we have been actively targeting them with group lessons and ongoing promotions to encourage them to try the game,” said Delsol.

Their efforts are paying off with some sites reporting up to a 20 per cent increase in female members.

The other obvious source of new play-ers is juniors and many golf operators are actively working to bring them into the fold. The Golf Foundation is committed to encouraging golf participation among children and has launched a number of schemes to support this work.

Many golf clubs report an increase in junior members following the introduc-tion of such schemes and Eccleston Park Golf Club is no exception. The club’s Pro delivered golf sessions to local schools and attended assemblies to promote a Tri-Golf Festival.

The club itself closed two holes to host a family fun day where the Pro and trained volunteers supervised structured sessions. In addition, the club committee reviewed the joining fees for juniors and the minimum age for junior membership, which led to a 600 per cent increase in the number of junior members.

The Club Company’s approach to encourage more young players is to make junior memberships as affordable as possible to ensure prices are comparable to any other sports subscription such as rugby or martial arts.

“If golf is to enjoy a prosperous future, it must adopt a more proactive approach to encouraging young people,” says Sarah Tennyson, marketing manager of The Golf Foundation.

“Clubs are doing more than they did in the past, but more needs to be done, particularly in terms of the rules and regulations that still exist in many clubs.

“They need to consult young people and listen to their views to learn how golf is perceived and gain some new ideas.”

A concept that is proving popular with juniors, as well as adults, is PowerPlay Golf.

Currently in its pilot phase, it’s a short-er, punchier game of golf played over nine holes, with two flags on each green – one white, one black. Players can ‘PowerPlay’ to the black flag a limited number of times; nominating which flag they are aiming for before their tee shot.

The harder black flag pin position allows players to double their Stableford score if they score net birdie or better.

The new format introduces elements of risk and reward, creating a condensed yet authentic golf tournament in half the normal time. Over 75,000 golfers in 14 countries worldwide have sampled PowerPlay Golf in its first 18 months, and the company is making big predictions for the future.

Andy Hiseman, PowerPlay Golf ’s chief operating officer, is convinced it will have positive ramifications for the game: “It is bringing back lapsed golfers who couldn’t afford the time to play 18-holes, and is attracting newcomers who thought golf was not their style.

“A golf club in the south of England recently made £6,000 worth of PowerPlay Golf society bookings in one afternoon after inviting its key golf organ-isers to play a round. Not a bad return for a £50 annual licence fee.”

As the above examples demonstrate there is no quick fix, no magic bullet to ensuring success in the current condi-tions.

But with no sign of a change in fortune any time soon, operators would do well to learn from their colleagues who are apply-ing modern sales and marketing and management principals, and finding inno-vative ways to tap into new markets to grow the game in these challenging economic times. GME

22 GME NOVEMBER 2008

Golf Courses, Sports Grounds and Land Drainage Contractors

Ransomes Jacobsen Short Course

GOLF COURSE, SPORTS GROUND AND LAND DRAINAGE CONTRACTORS

Grassform LimitedDunsteads Farm, Trueloves Lane

Ingatestone CM4 0NJ

01277 355500www.grassform.co.uk

Landscape ArchitectGolf Course ArchitectEnvironmental Consultant

Delighted to have advised Ransomes Jacobsen in the construction of their Short Course in Ipswich.

Environmental assessment and sustainable design are now key requirements of golf projects whatever the location. Mike

Wood offers a unique personal service in support of developers, architects, and design teams, helping to guide projects through

the legislative process.

33 East Claremont Street Edinburgh EH7 4HTTel: +44 (0) 131 558 7216

Mobile: 07867 788926mikewoodconsult@btinternet.com

Member of the Landscape InstituteAssociate Member, European Institute of Golf Course Architects

mikewood

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 23

short coursesWEBlINK; RANSOMESJACOBSEN.COM

As a selling tool, a company couldn’t really wish for much more to show off their wears to prospective customers.

There will have been a few puzzled looks when Ransomes Jacobsen first

unveiled plans to build their own three-hole course at their headquar-ters in Ipswich around three years ago.

But Ransomes Jacobsen managing director David Withers’ vision is now a glorious reality, the new RJL Course was officially opened last month and all the early signs are that the new addi-tion to the family will help keep the machinery manufacturers at the fore-front of their business.

Laid out by architect Howard Swan and his team at Swan Golf Designs and constructed by Grassform, the challeng-ing short course provides the ideal envi-ronment for Ransomes Jacobsen to test and preview their equipment.

The project also involved some of the industries major suppliers with the likes of Rain Bird supplying the irrigation equipment, Barenbrug providing the seeds and Mike Wood advising on envi-ronmental matters.

Centred around a large water feature, the three par-three holes use varying gradients and contours to allow Ransomes Jacobsen’s technical team to test and demonstrate their extensive range of products, as well as train potential new users.

With each of the greens and tees being constructed with differing profiles and different grass types - including fescue, fescue and bent and creeping bent - visi-tors are guaranteed an experience they will never forget.

Little wonder, then, that Withers is so enthusiastic about the project.

He said: “I am delighted with the result. I knew that Howard and his team would be perfect for this project and that we would be guaranteed a challenging variety of landscapes on which to test our prod-uct range.

“The course has certainly done what we hoped it would do. It allows us to show off our products in a playing environ-ment. Around 30-40 people played the course on the day it was officially opened and up to another 30 have around it since then. Everybody has loved it.

short Course adds appeal for such a tiny investment

The reasoning behind the new Short Course at Ransomes Jacobsen was simple - to act as a show-case for their products - but as Peter Simm reports, the concept can be applied and adapted for use virtually anywhere.

24 GME NOVEMBER 2008

“In my view, our business is all about building relationships. We build good mowers but so do our competitors.

“It’s a replacement business. You want to build up long-term relationships, and if people are spending more time with you because they are playing golf and see exactly what you do, you have a better chance of doing that.

“People who visit us will get a power-point presentation and they then get the chance to look at our mowers and try out our cutting equipment for themselves.

“But when people go to play the course, we let them go around at their own pace, don’t point out anything special to them and just let them play the holes as they see them. What tends to happen is they remember the mowers but they certainly remember the golf.”

Speaking to the main protagonists involved, it quickly becomes clear the initial challenge that they faced but the enormous satisfaction they have gained from working on the project.

Swan said: “Creating a natural and challenging golf course was some test, but doubling its design with a machinery test bed and training ground, with varied slopes, contours, sizes, corners, was just something else.

“Setting that in the natural environment with indigenous grasses, plants, and of course the restoration of the heathland was a great experience. Seeing it open and work successfully was immensely satisfying.”

Mark Dunning, managing director of Grassform, added: “The end result is something we’re very proud of and it’s a perfect match for what Ransomes Jacobsen do.

“It’s a great selling tool and is perfect for us as well as them. Howard has produced a great layout and there is noth-ing that I would want to change.

“It’s certainly in the top three projects I have worked on. The only wonder is that nobody has thought of doing something like this before.”

Built on six acres of heathland and scrub, the RJL Course has quickly become a haven for wildlife with the emphasis placed on the sustainability of the design, with crucial input from the Golf Environment Organisation.

Withers is undecided about whether Ransomes Jacobsen’s rivals will follow their example, but he does believe that short courses are going to have a growing influence in golf in the future.

He said: “A lot depends if companies have got the space to build on. We had six spare acres so were able to develop it into a golf course but if you have to buy the land it could become expensive.

“But, to me, we will get more long-term impact to our customers by doing this rather than increasing our production by half a per cent.

“We have been very pleased with how well the course has grown in. Considering the greens are only a year old and were only seeded in September 2007, it’s amazing how established it is.

“We already have ducks on the pond while we had plenty of swallows, swifts and dragonflies during the summer. It is a haven for wildlife which is very important as the environment is now a key part of golf course development.

“We are also doing some work with the Suffolk Wildlife Trust, so the whole area presents a lovely work environment for our workforce with a decking area that overlooks the course.

“The problem with golf is that it does take a lot of time but this course allows you to play in an hour. I would have thought there is an opportunity for short courses in the future and people have recently started building six-hole courses.

“Creating a natural and challenging golf course

was some test, but doubling its design with

a machinery test bed and training ground,

with varied slopes, contours, sizes, corners,

was just something else.”

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 25

Construction Remodelling Water Features

Tel: 01604 468908Fax: 01604 474853www.deltagolf2000.co.uk

180 Ruskin Road, Kingsthorpe Northampton NN2 7TA

BAGCC

“Playing a round in an hour is very good, plus playing on an 18-hole course can be daunting for a youngster learning the game and this could be a good way for them to develop.”

His views are echoed by Swan, a lead-ing advocate of the introduction of more short courses worldwide to help grow the game. Swan said: “We need to give people more opportunity and golf course archi-tects have a responsibility to do that.

“I’m looking at the moment at putting nine-hole or six-hole courses in playing fields, and although it’s going to be a struggle to attract new people into the game, that’s what we need to do.

“You’re always going to have the likes of Tiger Woods’ new $50 million course in Dubai but we need other facilities.”

With attitudes to course design and the length of layouts changing, this is also likely to be reflected by a rise in the number of artificial tees and greens being installed at clubs and driving ranges in the future.

Synthetic turf specialists European Golf were only founded three years ago but have already completed more than 150 installations throughout Europe and have seen a marked shift in their business from residential to commercial projects in the last year.

European Tour stars Darren Clarke, Lee Westwood and Nick Dougherty are among the people to have had putting and short game areas installed at their homes, while the growing company has

also completed work for some of the most prestigious names in the golfing industry including the PGA, Ping UK, Mizuno UK, European Tour Golf Designs, Oceanico, American Golf, British Masters and Alfred Dunhill.

Sam Calverley, development manager at European Golf, said: “When we start-ed, the majority of the business centred around the residential side of things but that has changed more and more.

“We are working far more on commer-cial developments focusing around short courses and the percentage is now 60-40 in favour of residential installations.

“We already have ventures booked in Austria, Portugal and Italy next year and our business is progressing all the time. We are also working on another venture to launch in 2009.

“The beauty of a synthetic green is it requires very little maintenance after the initial installation. They are more expen-sive up front but once a green is in place all you have to do is brush the leaves off from time to time.

“We originally installed a 200 square-metre green at Silvermere Golf Club in Surrey but they found the green was getting so much use that, this year, they asked us to put in a nine-hole putting course. It’s a fantastic practice facility.

“Half the battle is getting people to see an installation and get them to play it for themselves to see what the quality is like. Golf has always been very traditional and averse to change,” he concluded. GME

The Hallamshire and the intelligent use of water

www.rainbird.eu

Like anything else in life, you only get what you pay for and that is particularly true ofirrigation systems. The Hallamshire GC, a long established members’ club near Sheffield in theUK, needed a new system, and the Club and their Course Manager, Gordon Brammah, wentfor the best: Rain Bird.

Gordon Brammah: “We were very impressed by the sheer quality of the design, equipmentand approach of Rain Bird. The Rain Bird system does everything that it says on the tin. It’s extremely reliable and always works whenever we want it to. The software’s very user-friendly, very simple and straightforward. This particularly suits my long held belief and philosophy in minimum water usage. The added advantage of the Rain Bird system is to be able to exercise that approach far more accurately.”

Forwards- and backwards-compatibilityUnlike other systems, from software to sprinkler Rain Bird’s irrigation systems are all forward-and backward-compatible, which extends the lifetime of any Rain Bird system and ensures itis always capable of benefiting from new developments.

Best quality tools in top working order“A golf course is always under pressure to be in the best playing condition all the time, and itneeds a good reliable irrigation system. It’s a tool, but to achieve high standards you need thebest quality tools you can get, and in top working order”.

“That’s what we’ve now got with Rain Bird.”

Rainbird Ad_HALLAMSHIRE:A4 12/11/08 16:03 Page 1

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 27

revenue management

The economy heading rapidly into recession, house prices falling, banks going bust. Wherever you look these days, it seems you can’t escape the effects of the credit crunch.

All over the UK and Europe, businesses are having to tighten their

spending belts and make the necessary

adjustments to ensure their bank

accounts remain fluid and in the black.The same is

true in the golfing world where it is getting

harder and harder for clubs to maintain membership levels and keep fees down, while trying to supplement these at the same time by finding new revenue streams.

But in these testing times, there are ways that clubs can help themselves and raise extra income for very little effort simply by embracing the modern age of computers and the internet, and most important of all - they are all FREE.

It may seem an almost trivial thing to do but, just by collecting data from pay-and-play golfers, such as emails and mobile numbers, gives clubs the capabili-ty to email them offers and incentives to come back.

Money for nothing and your Clicks for free

If it only takes a moment or so to ask a non-member for a contact number and an email address, why is it then that so many clubs just don’t bother? As Peter Simm reports, email addresses can generate quite a lot of revenue.

28 GME NOVEMBER 2008

That is exactly what new company Golf Player Direct does, and the best news for clubs is that they do all the emailing for them.

Golf Player Direct targets the golf club’s database of members and visitors with a weekly email that outlines special offers from companies involved in the golf market – manufacturers, retailers and travel companies.

What’s more, Golf Player Direct offers clubs £1 per year for each email address on their database meaning that, typically, a golf club with a database of 1,000 golfers, would receive £1,000 over the year. Not bad money for doing virtu-ally nothing.

“These are testing times for everyone at the moment. It’s important that clubs find a new way to make money and this is one of the ways they can do so,” said Golf Player Direct founder Adrian Wood.

“I know golf clubs are not generally the most efficient but this really is money for nothing.

“There are 2.2 million golfers out there and yet businesses and clubs can current-ly only target 100,000 of them via the traditional medium of magazines.

“So I came up with the concept where the golf club gets paid for doing very little and golf businesses get the opportunity to target previously unreachable golfers.”

Wood, a 22-year-old scratch golfer, launched the new scheme and believes it will prove a big hit among golf clubs in the long term once they realise the bene-fits that can be gained.

“From my point of view, the concept is a no-brainer for all concerned. For golf clubs to earn money by doing nothing couldn’t be easier.

“I realise that clubs are contacted all the time by people asking them to do some-thing for nothing and I sympathise.

“I think it’s just a question of educating clubs about the extra benefits they can earn from initiatives like this because people don’t realise what’s open to them. We have to make sure we get the message across.

“I know there are at least 200 commer-cially-minded golf clubs out there. We have got a good product and it’s a matter of getting all the golf clubs in the UK to realise that.”

Wood’s feelings are endorsed by the directors behind iGolf and National County Card, two new schemes aimed at helping boost club membership levels and helping them generate new revenue streams.

Started by Ian Bailey, club manager at Great Hadham Golf and Country Club, in 2006, iGolf offers a new flexible style of club membership, with the aim of help-ing clubs build their memberships, increase their tee bookings and add incre-mental sales.

Instead of paying a large lump sum, players subscribe to iGolf for a small monthly fee of £10 online - with the fee shared equally between the club and the company - and then buy credits from the club allowing them to book tee times convenient to them.

This then keeps them in the game, rath-er than let their memberships lapse due to lack of play.

Bailey, managing director of iGolf, said: “I designed iGolf to suit people that would not get value for money from an annual unlimited play membership.

“Many clubs have said that it’s a very well thought-out concept. Every penny of additional revenue must be welcome with the economy as it is at the moment.

“And with iGolf ’s flexibility, I think it will be very useful for a club to be able to offer an alternative payment scheme to members as their circumstances change.”

National County Card (NCC) is a new concept especially for private members clubs and its members and is giving them the opportunity to join just during the quieter winter period and receive all the benefits that the innovative scheme offers.

Free to join, more than 1,000 clubs across the UK, Europe and North America have signed up to NCC since it was launched at the start of the year.

Each UK private members club that enrols in NCC will receive their own tailor-made advertising campaign at a nearby driving range with the aim of increasing memberships and visitor levels.

With around 400 partner-driving rang-es, NCC can offer an advertising campaign within the proximity of most clubs in a bid to generate more income for them at no cost to the club.

And in addition to extra visitors, enrolled clubs also receive £5 per card sold when their members buy a card.

“Winter is a time when clubs’ member-ship levels tend to drop off,” said Rob Sutton from National County Card. “This is where NCC can help. We can provide a free membership recruitment advertising campaign to promote your club at a local proximity driving range.”

With opportunities like these available, it would be a commercial suicide for clubs to waste them. GME

“From my point of view, the concept is a no-brainer for all concered. For golf clubs to earn

money by doing nothing couldn’t be easier... I think it’s just a question of educating clubs about

the extra benefits they can earn.”

property matters

‘Credit crunch,’ ‘global banking system meltdown,’ ‘stock market crash,’ ‘reces-sion!’ – what an incredibly turbulent economic year 2008 is proving to be.

Now throw into the equation some extraordinarily erratic summer weather over the last few seasons and what does this all mean for the UK golf industry?

From talking to many of the operators in the industry, the feeling seems to be that golf revenues are holding up pretty well this year. Most seem to be up on revenue from last year, even if the percentage increase is small – however last year was generally a poor year.

There is no doubt that the banking crisis is making it very hard to borrow

money. Even before the ‘credit crunch’ trying to raise

bank finance for golf was never easy.

I know that many golf course owners run on high overdrafts, and as we move deeper into the

winter where most cashflow goes

negative until subscription monies come in next

Whether one’s revenue is up on last year is of course only half the story. What about expenditure? With inflation running at five per cent, and high utility and fuel bills keeping annual expenditure ‘to below last year’s level’ is going to be a tough challenge indeed.

As a result annual profits for golf oper-ators will be under pressure. As the saying goes ‘turnover is vanity, profit is sanity.’

The best venues in good trading loca-tions should continue to do well but for many others trading conditions are going to be challenging for the foreseeable future.

Fundamentally, business from a finan-cial perspective is pretty simple: there are three variables – price, volume and cost. In my opinion for the country as a whole (‘Golf GB’) prices charged for playing golf, in real terms, have at best stayed stat-ic over the last five years and have argua-bly fallen.

Whilst there are detailed studies analys-ing the current demand for golf from the general public, my instinct is that the volume of golf played is pretty static or actually falling for most owners.

Annual revenue for Golf GB – the product of price times volume – could therefore be falling; yet running costs are still rising. This simply means that profits for Golf GB are being continually squeezed.

Many entrepreneurs who developed their venues from scratch will now have been in the business for 15 years or more. Is it time for a change in direction? Mark Smith, considers some alternative operational options.

WEBlINK; PPCGOLF.COM

Time for More Time?

30 GME NOVEMBER 2008

negative until subscription monies come in next year, it will be worrying times.

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 31

To make progress in this market golf course owners are going to have to run their businesses exceptionally well.

There are alternative options open to owners who may feel they no longer want to run their golf businesses. The huge UK golf course construction boom of the early 1990’s brought about many new owner-operators. Almost 20 years on and some may feel that the time is approach-ing for them to get out of day to day management.

Now is not a particularly good time to be selling golf courses outright, as buyers in the current property market will want a bargain in a ‘buyer’s market’.

Leasing and management contracts are good options to consider. They can be a ‘win-win’ situation for a golf course owner and the chosen golf operator.

The owner retains the golf course investment but does not have to run the business, thus freeing up precious time to do other things in life. As for the operator who takes over the business, the company should have strong operational skills yet may not have, or does not wish to commit the financial resources to buy golf courses outright.

If golf course owners don’t want to grant a long-term contract to a golf oper-ator to run the business, then the most common solution is a management contract between the parties.

The operator gets paid a management fee for running the business which is typi-cally a monthly retainer with a top up bonus linked to achieving pre-agreed performance targets.

If golf course owners are looking to ‘de-risk’ their golf property investment then a mid to long-term lease with an experienced golf course operator is likely to be the preferred option.

The main ‘risk’ difference between a lease and a management contract is that

under a lease the tenant pays the golf course owner a rent whereas for a management contract the golf course owner pays the operator a fee to run the business.

For a lease, higher levels of financial risk and reward fall predominantly on the shoulders of the tenant, whereas with a management contract these remain more with the course owner. Good operating performance means that the owner is like-ly to earn more via a management contract compared to a rent but the converse is also true.

Rents for leases are geared to the tenant operator’s viewpoint on the future

‘EBITDA’ potential of the business in its hands and the cost of any capital expenditure programme that it has to fund. EBITDA stands for earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation and is the equivalent of net operating profit.

If existing profits at a golf course are modest it can be the case that the rent offered is higher than the earnings that the golf course owner was taking out of the business.

Management fees tend to be geared more to the physical time input by the chosen operator.

There has been a tendency in recent years for the required length of golf course leases to get long-er. A couple of factors are at play: some banks are demanding longer periods for secured lending (especially with the current economic situation); and golf course operators need long enough leases to allow for proper long-term business planning in what is already a very competitive marketplace.

This is particularly so if capital expend-iture is required early on in a lease to make a golf property ‘fit for purpose’.

If a golf course owner is interested in the idea of granting a lease or a manage-ment contract then in most cases it is best to test the market by getting proposals from a handful of experienced operators.

Since it will be imperative for an owner to choose an organisation with a good track record, it is usually not necessary to have to offer the opportunity on the open market.

It is possible to draw up a shortlist of candidates and approach them on a confi-dential basis.

The shortlist can be compiled taking into account the geographical location of the venue and its positioning within the golf market. For example is it an affordable ‘high volume’ pay and play venue or is it more membership based? There are good operators who focus on different sectors within the market. A confidential placing to

a small number of hand-picked operators has the benefit of not disrupting the operation of the busi-ness (for staff and customers) whilst

the marketing exercise is done. Normally it is possible to final-

ise a deal with the chosen opera-tor within two to three months, although it can be even quicker if the preferred option is a

management contract.If you would like to contact Mark

Smith to discuss any aspect of the process of granting leases or management contracts on UK golf courses then you can do so via the property section at www.ppcgolf.com. GME

Unsure what the future holds?

If you’re considering buying, selling, leasing or managing a golf operation, call us in total confidence for some honest advice. You’ll be glad you did.

0870 241 4678 | ppcgolf.comPPC

“leasing and management contracts are good options to consider. They can be a ‘win-win’ situation for a golf course owner and the chosen golf

operator. The owner retains the golf course investment but does not have to run the business, thus freeing up precious time to do other things in life.”

32 GME NOVEMBER 2008

my view

Introduced to golf by my Dad as a youngster, I was attracted to the game because it was fun.

From day one, I liked the freedom of walking around in the great outdoors in search of that elusive perfect shot. I also enjoyed the simple, social aspects of the game. I learned early that being a committed golfer is a healthy, satisfying and enjoyable way of life.

Lately, I have noticed that some of the things I liked most about golf are begin-ning to disappear and the game I love is being damaged as a result.

Because of the overly-difficult manner in which many modern golf courses are set up, the game has become more like a battlefield and a war of attrition than being simple fun.

Ask a military man what he dislikes most about war and he will tell you ‘the waiting.’ In present day golf there is far too much waiting.

Waiting while the group ahead searches for ‘lost’ golf balls in tall grass or they four putt a green that is too undulating and too quick for them to handle.

More and more, I find that my task as a golf architect is to endeavour

to help cut out the waiting, to keep the game moving, allowing

players to find their golf balls by giving them more space to play into, obstacles to play over and putting as much fun as possible back into it.

And, with a little fore-sight, it can be done without making the game ‘too easy’ for the experts.

From the beginning, golf was intended to be a

moving game in which the player made a stroke and then moved on as quickly as possible to the next one.

While golf is not a race it is meant to be played fast (within reason), and standing around was never part of the deal.

There is so much standing around in golf these days that a round normally takes closer to five hours than four. That’s not good and it will do untold damage if allowed to continue.

Besides, while we all might love to be in the great outdoors and being at one with nature we also like to have some ‘extra time’ to spend ‘socialising’ in the club-house. After all, non-golf activities are nearly as important when it comes to finding the money to pay for expensive facilities. Taking too long to play the golf course inevitably reduces the amount of time available for the ‘after activities’.

There was a time when a three and a half hour round was normal. The first time I went to St Andrews to study the famous links, I overheard two older gentlemen talking: “Can you believe how slow it was out there yesterday,” one said to be other. “No, I can’t,” the other replied, “I’ll give up the game if these four hour rounds continue.”

I can also remember going to the world-renowned Banff Springs golf course in Alberta, Canada as a 16-year old with a friend. We went there early in the morning with the faint hope of play-ing 36 holes. Because the course was not busy, we managed to get in 54 joyous holes, walking at a comfortable pace. It may have been the most fun I ever had on a golf course!

We all love to hit that perfect shot which is essentially a hole-in-one or sink-ing an approach shot to a par four or par five. This aspect of the game will, thank-fully, never end but if we could learn to get around the courses a bit faster we will obviously have more opportunities to find that ‘perfect stroke.’

It is time to get ‘dead serious’ about slow play and I think we need to start with the the touring pros on television

WEBlINK; JEFFHOWESGOLFDESIGN.COM

slow play isn’t much fun...

With more than thirty years experience in golf course maintenance, construction and design, Jeff Howes knows a thing or two about the golf industry. Born in Canada, and now based out of Kilkenny in Ireland, he shares his thoughts on one of the biggest problems currently facing the game of golf... slow play.

NOVEMBER 2008 GME 33

who are setting a bad example for lesser mortals by taking five hours to play 18 holes.

Instead of moaning about slow play, more TV commentators, not only Peter Alliss, should praise and highlight the faster players. The governing bodies need to be a lot tougher on the offenders who are well-known. Anyone watching Trevor Immelman’s ‘performance’ during last year’s Masters knows what I am talking about.

Secondly, teaching pros would do everybody a favour, including their pupils, if they encouraged faster play. In the end, the game would be more fun and more profitable in all of its aspects.

How a golf course is maintained is also a big factor. Greens committees must surely realise that narrow fairways and high rough slows up play? No less than Dr Alistair Mackenzie used to say: “No one likes looking for golf balls.”

The speed of all greens should not be dictated by the stimpmeter reading at Augusta National or a US Open. Green speed should be determined by the slopes on the greens. If they are severely sloping then you will have sufficient break and interest without making them ‘real quick.’

Two putts was always intended to be the norm. If golfers are taking three putts too often - it will obviously delay play.

In general, golf holes are more memo-rable if they are shorter and ‘more strate-gic.’ And, why is it that all new courses these days seem to have the brief to be a par of 72 measuring well in excess of 7,000 yds?

Par is only a number. Of itself it means nothing. It’s the total score that counts and its relationship to par is irrelevant apart from keeping TV viewers informed on the ‘state of play.’ At club golf level, par is less important than CSS.

Fota Island near Cork City in Ireland is one of my more successful and popular courses. The director of golf there, Kevin Morris, had the right idea from the outset.

When I received my first briefing from him, Morris had obviously grasped the idea that while there has to be some frus-tration involved for golf for it to be the challenge that it is, there does not have to be a crucifixion.

There are far too many courses where the golfers exit the 18th green feeling beaten down, inadequate and bereft of expensive golf balls. Too many new cours-es are ‘overly-Americanised’ with water hazards everywhere and thick rough gobbling up golf balls. If you want to annoy a golfer; take away his golf ball!

“At Fota, we treat the non-Irish idea of water on our golf course with a certain amount of caution and have virtually

eliminated thick rough from the surrounds of greens and fairways and yet there is plenty to challenge and interest golfers of all abilities out there.

“We do have some water hazards but not on every hole. Heavy rough causes too much unnecessary time wasting, searching for ‘lost’ balls. Our members and visitors heartily agree with the policy of not wanting fourballs taking longer than four hours to get around any of our three courses.

“We believe in the Mackenzie philoso-phy that the achievement of par figures is a worthy accomplishment but making a bogie should be relatively easy, if you use your head,” added Morris.

He makes sure that everybody who goes there to play golf will enjoy them-selves and will want to return. It’s a long overdue and welcome approach.

It is my sincere view that the growth of the game is being seriously impeded because golf is not as much fun as it once was and the two principal reasons for it impinge directly on each other: golf courses are too long and too difficult for ‘ordinary golfers and 18-holes takes too long to complete.

As an architect, my goal has always been to design and build golf courses that are ‘manageable’ and fun for everybody to play. GME

“It is time to get ‘dead serious’ about slow play and I think we need to start with the the touring pros on television who are setting a bad example”

34 GME NOVEMBER 2008

the last word

There was a time of course when golf was regarded as being snobby - hard to believe I know...

Women weren’t allowed on the course or in the clubhouse and artisans could only play during electric storms and while wearing a suit of armour.

Thank heavens those days are gone. Well, for the most part I believe we’ve seen the back of them, but I do believe in recent years the industry as a whole has rather looked down its nose at the new trend in golf: the gated community.

It started in the US of course, where most things start – obesity, loud golf fans and R&B, to name but three. And in recent years there has seen a dramatic rise in the take-up of these communities in warmer European countries, Portugal and Spain especially.

Consequently, the industry has treat-ed these developments rather like a mad old uncle at a family wedding - you have to have him there, but you’d rather steer clear of him.

However, having visited some of these developments recently I think it is time we accepted they’re here to stay

and embraced them rather than treat-ing them as the black sheep of the family. The developments I visited were actually rather good.

Like anybody who has watched golf on the TV in recent years I had heard of Polaris World but the golfing grape-vine had hardly been eulogising.

Let me reassure you: from what I’ve seen the properties aren’t thrown together and thrown up, they’re actu-ally very impressive pieces of architec-ture doing exactly what they say on the tin.

And the golf courses aren’t sub-standard at all; they’re actually rather good. Polaris World will ultimately have nine Jack Nicklaus courses in Murcia, southern Spain, each accompanied by a high-end residential develop-ment.

Two of the resorts - Mar Menor and La Torre - have InterContinental Hotels, a sure sign that this is not a ‘stack-em-high, sell-em-cheap’ development.

The developments may also act as a golfing barometer for the economic downturn we apparently find ourselves in. Once the purchases of the proper-

ties start to pick up again it will surely be a sign that things are on the up.

Personally, not being able to afford to play golf is not a problem currently, as I’m suffering from knee ‘knack’ which has curtailed my golf for more than a year now.

And this was really brought home to me, like a Big Bertha to the ankle, when I was out in Murcia. The courses looked so inviting and it was with enor-mous regret that I had to refuse the kind offer of a couple of rounds.

And would you believe the cheek of it? Instead of pencilling me in for an operation on my dodgy cartilage, the specialist, to whom I have been referred, has told me to come back in four months… having “lost some weight.”

Now I admit I’m no Kate Moss – but what bloke is? I’m now having to join a slimming group – or ‘Fat Club’ as my three teenage boys call it – in an effort to get my golf up and running again.

Consequently whenever anybody now brings celebratory doughnuts into the office I have to decline on the grounds that “it’ll go straight to my knees.” GME

residential golf is here to stay even in tough times

“let me reassure you: from what I’ve seen the properties aren’t thrown together and thrown up, they’re actually very impressive...”

david bowerseditorial@portman.uk.com

0870 241 4678 | ppcgolf.com/property

Spain. 18-hole course in Andalucía, with planning consent for1,110 homes and 200 bed hotel. Guide price $40m.

Ireland. 18-hole course in Southwest Ireland, with 200 bed hotel and consent for 36 apartments. Guide price $18m.

Morocco. Planned golf resort comprising Faldo designed course, hotels, villas, marina and equestrian facility. Guide price $100m.

PPC

Ransomes Jacobsen Ltd.West Road, Ransomes Europark, Ipswich IP3 9TT Tel: +44 (0)1473 270000 Fax: +44 (0)1473 276300 www.e-z-go.co.uk

Ransomes Jacobsen Ltd is the first groundscare equipment manufacturer accredited to all three quality standards ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001

Code: GME/11/08/RXV2

The new RXV

Featuring a 30% more efficient AC drive, 350 fewer parts and a full time regenerativebraking system, the RXV really does set the new standard for golf cars.

For the golf course, there's lower energy andoperating costs, easier maintenance and less

down time. Whilst the customer enjoys a superiorplaying experience from enhanced comfortfeatures and increased braking control.

Contact us for a free demonstration or visitwww.e-z-go.co.uk for details of your nearestdealer. You won't be disappointed.

GME EZGO RXV2:Layout 1 10/10/2008 14:32 Page 1

One great result.visit www.toro.com

©20

07 T

he T

oro

Com

pany

Turf Equipment & Irrigation Solutions

EGCOA

P R E F E R R E DS U P P L I E R