gmé | issuu 78

GolfManagement Europe

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James Cronk is a Canadian golf industry consultant who has worked with hundreds of

golf facilities and owners across North Americapage 28

photo finish at close houseWorld number one, Lee Westwood, officially opens the new Colt Course and clubhouse at Close House

issue 78 may 2011

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publisher’s editorial

I always remember reading some-where that you knew Bing Crosby and frank sinatra were singing legends because you could refer to them simply by their first names and people still knew who you meant.

As far as I can tell only four golfers cur-rently enjoy that privilege: Arnie, Jack, tiger… and seve.

that’s how much of an impact on the world game the late Mr Ballesteros had.

I grew up in a time when the BBC was just waking up to the fact that golf was ideal for tV viewing. the chance was there for somebody to become the icon of a new generation of fans.

seve Ballesteros was that icon. I can’t hear mention of his name without think-ing of that trademark fist-punching of his when holing a long putt or winning an event. My enthusiasm for golf was borne out of his skill and grace.

thanks to him I was able to turn what soon became a hobby into a living.

statistics never really paint the true picture. He spent more than 60 weeks as world number one, yet won ‘just’ five majors. that doesn’t even put him in the all-time top ten of major winners.

However, in modern times, the only european above him in that list is Nick faldo. And with all due respect to Nick, his influence on the game in europe was nothing compared to that of seve.

the spaniard resurrected interest in eu-ropean golf almost single-handedly in the

late 70s and early 80s and his contribu-tion to the current standing of the Ryder Cup can never be underestimated.

He was a mainstay of the european team which won the event in 1985 and by the time he captained the team in 1997, the Ryder Cup was on its way to becoming one of world sport’s biggest events. Before Ballesteros, only the Us

and a few people in gB&I even cared about the Ryder Cup.

By all accounts he wasn’t perfect; but on a golf course, with an iron in his hand, he was without equal.

Perhaps this quote from the Irish Independent summed him up best: “He spoke many other languages too: the di-alects of honour, of dignity, of sportsman-ship, of decency, of fair play, of loyalty, of integrity, and in the end, of dauntless, unforgettable, astonishing courage.

“In doing so, he rewrote entirely the international image of the spanish peo-ple. Quite simply, there has never been a finer ambassador for either his sport or his country.”

And golf will miss him terribly... GME

seve ballesteros. a true golfing legend

Michael [email protected]

Lee Westwood officially opens the new Colt Course and clubhouse at Close House.

7

Doug Carrick talks to GME about his desire to work more in the UK and europe.

25

sardinia may not be known as one of europe’s hottest golfing destinations... yet.

31

the Dutch opens this month amid a fan-fare of publicity and high expectations.

37

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“Before Ballesteros, only the US and a few people in GB&I even cared about the Ryder Cup.”

4 GME MAY 2011

headline news

Lough erne, the five star hotel and golf resort in enniskillen, Northern Ireland, has called in the administra-tors with reported debts in the region of €30m.

the resort will remain open for business and will contin-ue to trade under the super-vision of the administrators while they seek to find a buyer for the resort which was funded by local busi-nessman Jim treacy.

Bank of scotland (Ireland) is understood to have called in the administrators after a court hearing earlier this month.

the luxury resort, which features a Nick faldo designed golf course, also features Northern Ireland’s

only five-star hotel compris-ing 120 bedrooms and luxury lough-side lodges. Rory McIlroy is the resorts touring professional.

John Hansen and stuart Irwin of KPMg in Belfast have been appointmented as joint administrators of Castle Hume Leisure, the company that owns the resort.

Hansen of KPMg said: “It is our intention to continue trading and keep this outstanding resort open for business as usual including weddings and all other bookings.

“the Joint Administrators will seek to find a new owner however, in the meantime it is our intention to keep the business open and indeed

drive the business forward at every opportunity.

“It is early in the Administration process, but our intention at present is to keep the workforce intact. We will keep all matters under review in the coming days and weeks.”

An experienced hotel operator has been appoint-ed to assist in the ongoing management of the resort in order to keep trading, meet current bookings and reser-

vations and to secure future bookings for the resort. the Joint Adminstrators said they hope to sell the resort as a going concern.

Hansen added: “given the great location and our stated intentions we hope that people will continue to book and our immediate objective is to secure opera-tions, honour bookings and work with the existing staff. We will look at selling the resort in due course.”

lough Erne goes into administration

PowerPlay golf has announced plans to increase golf’s appeal to a wider sporting tV audience,

and the first stages of its strategy to roll-out an inno-vative nine hole, two-flag golfing format.

PowerPlay golf: Ignition is the first of a series of three unique televised professional golf tournaments, to be broadcast live worldwide in 2011.

In PowerPlay golf: Ignition, sponsored by saab, golf’s global ambassador gary Player will headline the impressive field.

Reigning Us open cham-pions graeme McDowell and Paula Creamer, Ryder Cup stars Paul Casey and Ian Poulter, and Major Championship winners John Daly, Ian Woosnam and Helen Alfredsson will also be among the stellar field of 12 players competing at the Celtic Manor Resort, at the end of May.

Braemar golf has announced the appoint-ment of David Hartshorne as director of golf at golf Club Zavidovo, PgA National Russia.

Hartshorne will become Braemar golf’s on the ground representative, and will oversee the grow-in of the golf course, as well as the recruitment of the management and oper-ating team.

Hartshorne is originally from New Zealand, and has held numerous direc-tor of golf positions in New Zealand and more recently he has been general director of Cua Lo golf Resort in Vietnam.

Michael Braidwood, operations director of Braemar golf said: “We are delighted to have someone of David’s experience on board.

“the PgA National Russia project is an extremely prestigious development and one that we are confident will be the leading golf facili-ty in Russia.

“David’s background will help us with many of the initiatives we need to activate in order to make this a reality.”

Major stars to tee off in powerplay Golf TV events

More than 20 golf clubs across the Netherlands have demonstrated their commit-ment to sustainability by achieving the coveted geo Certified™ award.

the 23 clubs have bene-fited from the long-term commitment and invest-ment of the Nederlandse golf federatie (Ngf) enabling Holland to lead the world in the number of clubs that have achieved the golf environment organization’s internationally recognised sustainable assurance.

It is notable that so many clubs have attained the ‘green’ status in such a rela-tively short space of time – the Ngf decided to endorse the geo’s onCourse™ suite of tools and guidance, and to support its members in achieving the ‘eco--label’, as recently as last year.

Jonathan smith, geo chief executive, hopes the achievements and commit-ment to environmental sustainability shown by the 23 newly accredited golf clubs will serve as an exam-

ple to others, both in the Netherlands and across the globe.

”golf needs visible, credi-ble sustainability leadership,” he stressed. “these clubs are models for others – demon-strating that real world corporate responsibility and environmental performance can be practically and beneficially delivered by all types of golf club.

“through their actions these clubs and the Ngf are leading sustainability in golf.”

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6 GME MAY 2011

footJoy has announced that it will continue its rela-tionship with the national squads at the english golf Union, highlighting its support of the game and wide appeal across all levels of the sport from leading tour professionals to the stars of tomorrow.

footJoy will supply all 2011 egU squad members with a pair of fJ Icon™ MyJoys

shoes, as well as premium fJ Performance Light Rain Jackets and Light Rain trousers.

the support of footJoy has become integral to the development of young play-ers, as an ever-increasing worldwide schedule has added to the demands on elite amateur players.

Quality equipment and apparel is necessary to

compete at the highest level, with players experi-encing a variety of condi-tions throughout the season.

“We are thrilled to contin-ue our relationship with the english golf Union and lend our support to the future success of golf in this coun-try,” commented Richard fryer, footJoy’s european marketing manager.

“there is a talented crop of english golfers playing professionally on the european tour who came through the egU system with footJoy, which highlights the importance of our align-ment with the english golf Union in supporting its devel-opment of young players.”

footJoy’s commitment to amateur golf is further underlined by its continued co-sponsorship of the egU order of Merit, which identi-fies the country’s best player over the course of the golf-ing season.

Past winners include two-time champion and footJoy ambassador Chris Wood.

news

One of Great Britain’s most successful golfers and europe’s 2011 sol-heim Cup captain, Alison Nicholas will be sharing her thoughts ahead of september’s eagerly anticipated showdown. edgbaston golf Club, Birmingham and fulford golf Club, York will be the venues for an exclusive solheim Cup evening on June 1 and June 2 respec-tively.

Troon Golf has been confirmed as the techni-cal advisor on a new ‘floating’ golf course project unveiled in the Maldives. Developed by the Dutch Docklands company, the industry experts in floating tech-nology, the $500m project is scheduled for completion in 2015 and will include a world-class golf facility, interconnect-ed by revolutionary underwater tunnels.

PGA Catalunya Resort’s status as one of europe’s finest golf venues has been confirmed follow-ing the release of a new course rankings survey. the acclaimed 36-hole golf resort, near Barcelo-na has maintained its top-five position in the top 50 Courses of Continental europe rankings, pub-lished by Golf Monthly.

The De Vere Oulton Hall hotel in Leeds, has been named Young Masters golf’s top performing club for a third successive year following a hugely successful 2010 in which more than 300 young-sters participated in the scheme which has been developed by a team of highly experienced PgA professionals.

in briEf;

footjoy extends EGu partnership

Colt Mackenzie McNair (CMM), the specialist execu-tive search firm operating exclusively in the golf market and with an established reputation in europe, Asia and the Middle east, has announced first quarter revenue growth of 35 per cent, driven by an increase in assignments from busi-nesses developing new golf facilities.

these positive results are underlined by mandates to recruit executive-level senior managers and fill operation-al roles at leading develop-

ments across the eMeA region.

Richard Wood, director of Colt Mackenzie McNair, said: “We are encouraged to see that leading golf developers, many in the process of building new golf facilities, have recognised the benefits of engaging our specialist help at an early stage.

“We are currently working on a number of exciting new projects across the eMeA region. And we see the growth of our own busi-ness coming from this

increased volume of execu-tive level work, specifically in the growing golf regions of eastern europe, the eastern Mediterranean and Asia.”

Wood upbeat about cMM first quarter performance

Campaigners against the redevelopment of a Devon golf club have taken their objections to the High Court in London.

Residents Against golf club sell-off (RAgs) has spent £20,000 on the legal fight against the proposed £20m redevelopment of Churston golf Club and have submitted a case for a judicial review.

group chairman geoff Melbourne believes they have a ‘strong case’ and says they are prepared for an expensive court battle.

He said: “the bid for a judicial review has been lodged with the court and a copy has also been sent to torbay Council, the golf club and Bloor Homes so they all know what our case is.

“It makes a number of claims and we believe if any one of those claims is right, the mayor should not have made the decision to vary the golf club’s lease,” said Melbourne.

“We have to wait now until we are allocated a judge who will review the case and decide if it is good enough to go on to a judi-cial review.”

raGs fight Devon redevelopment plan


on the cover

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“to welcome world number one golfer Lee Westwood to the Colt Course at Close House Hotel is just about as good as it gets” said graham Wylie, developer and owner of the Northumberland resort.

With over £12 million invested into the course, clubhouse and golf acade-my, along with a further 12 individually designed suites in the stable block; the facili-ties are widely believed to be on a par with gleneagles and Wentworth.

the course is both chal-lenging and beautiful with each hole carefully crafted and thought out by renowned International golf course designer scott McPherson, who took great care to construct the course around the existing land-

scape, 100 year old trees and vegetation giving the course a feeling that it has always been there.

the proximity to Newcastle International airport and the views across the tyne Valley to the Angel of the North on

a clear day make this a very special venue indeed.

general manager John glendinning, who has worked with graham Wylie since he purchased the venue from Newcastle University said: “What makes the new course so special is that it has been designed as an ‘old english’ course, which fits in with the style of the property.

“Rather than looking like a new course, it looks like it has always been here and it is only eight miles from the city centre.”

Commenting before the opening, Westwood said: “there are some favourable comments floating around the european tour about this new course at Close House.

“some of the guys know those senior tour pros who were asked to look over it last year and I’m looking forward to playing it and seeing what it is like for myself.”

Close House has also opened a new golf acade-my and driving range, and the 18th century hotel has been refurbished. GME

“What makes the new course so special is that it has been designed as an ‘old English’ course”

lee Westwood opens new colt course at close house

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8 GME MAY 2011

news

the National golf Centre, Woodhall spa, has announced the appoint-ment of experienced teach-ing professional Neil Harvey to the role of head coach.

the newly created posi-tion will see him spearhead

the growth of the highly acclaimed National golf Centre Academy, one of the UK’s most important teaching facilities.

Harvey, 45, who turned professional in 1991, joins the National golf Centre,

Woodhall spa, with a repu-tation as one of Yorkshire’s finest golf coaches.

He was previously club pro at Headingley golf Club, Leeds, and has worked with some of the UK’s top amateur and professional players.

Harvey said: “I’m hugely passionate about giving every visitor to the National golf Centre Academy a highly personal and memo-rable experience that will help them play better golf and take greater enjoyment from the sport.

“With the second-to-none facilities I have at my dispos-al at Woodhall spa, I’m confident we will deliver the very highest standards of golf tuition and further enhance the National golf Centre’s reputation as the home of english golf.”

new head coach for Woodhall spa

tourism Development and Investment Company (tDIC), the Abu Dhabi-based master developer of saadiyat Beach golf Club designed by gary Player, have announced its certifi-cation in environmental Planning.

Awarded by the Audubon Co-operative sanctuary Program for golf Courses (ACsP), an international program administered by Audubon International, the certificate is designed for landowners that preserve and enhance the environ-

mental quality of their prop-erty. Although the pictur-esque venue has received critical acclaim from the world’s golf media, it is a commitment to promoting sustainable processes that separates it from most other courses in the region.

With the island being a natural habitat for a variety of wildlife species, saadiyat Beach golf Club has made a conscious effort to promote environmental awareness on site, including its opulent Hawksbill Restaurant, which has been named after the indigenous turtle that call the island home.

“We are delighted to receive the certificate in environmental Planning, which is testament to our continued commitment of the natural surroundings on saadiyat Island,” comment-ed Ray Manulat, general manager saadiyat Beach golf Club.

“What makes this area so special is a combination of world-class facilities that compliment the beauty of the environment. Although we strive to offer our guests a comprehensive leisure experience, we aim to do so in a way that is responsible to this unique ecological environment.”

With unrivalled panoramic ocean views and expansive bunkering, the champion-ship course has received numerous awards over the past 12 months, including “Best golf Course” in the Middle east and Africa, at the 2010 CNBC Property Awards.

Managed by troon golf, saadiyat Beach golf Club is the flagship sports facility on saadiyat Beach, a future magnet for high-end visitors and residents. A host of planned exclusive five-star resorts will create one of the world’s most premium and stylish destinations.

saadiyat beach Golf club receives audubon award

the european Institute of golf Course Architects held their 2011 Annual general Meeting and Conference earlier this month, in Potsdam, germany, with new eIgCA president Rainer Preissmann keen to show how golf and golf course design had developed in germany over the last twenty years.

the formal proceedings at the AgM saw David Krause end his two year tenure as president.

“the last two years have been very exciting for me as president of the eIgCA,” said Krause.

“the role has allowed me to get a strong under-standing of the state of the game of golf and our profession.

“our business has changed, and it is impor-tant to realise that the cost of the construction and maintenance of golf courses, the difficulty of some courses and the time it takes to play have become very important factors which we as golf course architects need to appreciate.”

A UK-based golf design company has been retained to give a major overhaul to Chandigarh gof Club in India, in order to bring it up to european standards.

David Hemstock was hired after Chandigarh’ manage-ment launched a five-year upgrade plan to change its

ambience and layout to make it one of the top clubs internationally.

Club president Bs gill said it would be for the first time that the club would have such changes.

He said: “It would take five years to revamp the club and that would give City

Beautiful another symbol of architectural design and beauty.”

the club is home to european tour pro Jeev Milkha singh, and members mostly include senior bureaucrats, politicians, businessmen and defence officers.

hemstock set to overhaul chandigarh


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the Marriott Hotel and Country Club, st Pierre, have hired stuart Leech as PgA director of golf.

the news signifies a land-mark recruitment for Marriott, with the forward-thinking group hiring Leech due to his broad experience within the game.

A professional with nearly two decades of experience in the business, Leech said: “I have always wanted to be a director of golf.

“the fact that I have been granted the opportunity at such a prestigious resort represents a fantastic opportunity for me.

“I’ve always been looking to work with Marriott, as their values and integrity reflect my own.

“the impeccable resort and development standards that Marriott set with their golf resorts are second to none, so I’m very excited to be working at st Pierre.”

A struggling £7m golf club in Merseyside has been forced to put together a rescue plan to avoid closure.

the North West National, at Rainford suffered a series of setbacks after its first phase opened in 2009.

It is now saddled with £400,000 in debts and has entered a five-year payback scheme, known as a Company Voluntary

Arrangement (CVA), to fend off creditors.

It also emerged that direc-tor of golf glenn turner, who was instrumental in setting up the course and acted as a golf coach, has now left the company.

As well as the general harsh economic climate, progress at the club was hampered by poor weather. the course was built partly on old Pilkington glassworks

and former agricultural land, making it one of the longest in the region.

Hundreds of thousands of tons of earth were shifted to make way for the 18-hole course, but work was constantly disrupted by extreme weather conditions.

the course was launched in partnership with business-man Martin turner (no rela-tion), who has developed golf courses elsewhere.

Andrew tate, of insolven-cy practitioners Abbott fielding, which is handling the rescue plan, said: “the company is trying to reach a compromise with its credi-tors, so it can manage its liabilities and continue and complete the work it is doing.

“Members who have paid their fees will have those fees honoured and still be able to play.”

north West national agree cVa plan with debtors

Marriott appoint leech as new pGa director of golf

10 GME MAY 2011

news

Consett and District Golf Club, situated high in the dales of Co Durham, has taken delivery of a small fleet of six e-Z-go electric RXV golf cars from local distributor, Rickerby Ltd of Hexham. Vince Kelly, the club secretary and David Jobey, course manager were the driving force behind the decision to purchase e-Z-go RXVs.

The Tom Weiskopf-designed course at Drago golf Club in, tuscany, opens in June. the course is at the Castiglion del Bosco, a restored 800-year old country estate, set in the heart of Val d’orcia National Park, a UNesCo World Heritage site. the course boasts the longest hole in europe – the 685-yard number 13 – as well as an off-score sheet 19th that is perfect for settling tied matches or clubhouse bets.

The Gary Player-designed thracian Cliffs course in Bulgaria will open offi-cially in June. Player said: “I’ve been playing golf for 56 years and have never seen a site like this anywhere in the world. I’ve never played on a golf course where you can see the ocean on every single hole. It is truly incredible.”

Trick shot maestro David edwards has teamed up with golfmagic.com to reveal the technique behind some of his most famous golf trick shots. “I am delighted to be able to share some of my secrets with visitors to golfmagic.com and I hope this will help them to have even more fun playing golf,” he said.

in briEf;

Región de Murcia has underlined its serious commitment to staging the 2015 solheim Cup after it emerged La Manga Club resort is the only venue bidding to bring the event to spain.

following Andalucia’s withdrawal from the bid process, both the Murcia and the five-star resort have demonstrated a strong polit-

ical and financial commit-ment to staging the biennial match between europe and the United states.

the venue and region as a whole are synonymous with golf and has outlined the level of its support in its bid to host the 14th edition of the transatlantic match, while the region has committed to hosting tour-naments on the Ladies

european tour for the next ten years. Región de Murcia is gearing up to focus its tourism strategy around the event in the years leading up to and including 2015.

the Ladies european tour’s director of operations and the solheim Cup, Mark Casey, said: “We would like to recognise the extremely strong political and commercial support of Región de Murcia in its bid to host the 2015 solheim Cup and for responding so professionally and diligently to the bidding criteria.”

Antonio Ros, general manager of La Manga Club, said: “La Manga Club has hosted numerous prestigious events throughout the years and we’re dedicated to making sure the solheim Cup will be added to those.

“As a resort we are huge supporters of ladies golf and know we have the infra-structure and courses to ensure a first-class event for both competitors and spec-tators.”

la Manga club set to stage 2015 solheim cup

over 300 delegates from 45 countries came together at KPMg’s eighth annual golf Business forum, at the Dubai Creek golf and Yacht Club, Dubai, UAe, April 17-19, to be a part of the industry’s biggest networking event of the year.

Delegates from across the globe, including influential real estate developers from India, Morocco and China, discussed new business opportunities and shared best practice on key issues currently affecting the world of golf.

Andrea sartori, head of KPMg’s golf Advisory Practice in eMA, said: “this year’s three-day event in Dubai was outstanding, our best yet, and it brought together some of the most influential people in world golf to discuss many issues currently influencing the growth of the game.”

following in the footsteps of the game’s great ambas-sadors, including Jack Nicklaus, Arnold Palmer, gary Player and greg Norman, this year’s KPMg Lifetime Achievement

Award was given to Dr David Chu, one of the driv-ing forces behind the growth of the game in China.

KpMG praise outstanding Gbf event in Dubai

A local village body has been formed to fight the setting up of a golf course proposed by the four seasons group in goa, India.

the picturesque beach village of tiracol, located in the northern sub district of Pernem, has resolved the golf course being promoted by India-based Leading Hotels and the four seasons group should not be

allowed to go ahead because “it was detrimental to the village.”

Diogo Rodrigues said: “We are already facing water and power shortage. Instead of addressing these problems, a golf course is being dumped on us. We don’t want the project.”

the tourism department had floated an expression of Interest inviting reputed

developers and has shortlist-ed a proposal submitted by Leading Hotels Pvt Ltd and the renowned four seasons hospitality group.

“We have issued a letter of intent to the Leading Hotels and have requested them to submit a detailed project report on the proposed golf course project,” said tourism direc-tor swapnil Naik.

Goa course deemed ‘detrimental’


news

goncalo Carneiro, the former vice-chairman of feggA, has joined Ransomes Jacobsen as export regional sales manager, and will be responsible for business development, equipment sales and dealer support across Portugal, spain, greece, turkey and Bulgaria.

goncalo completed a four-year degree in Agriculture at Beja University

in Portugal before embark-ing on a career in green-keeping joining Belas Country Club in Lisbon as an Assistant greenkeeper.

for 12 years he held the post of course manager, before establishing a course management consultancy in 2007.

goncalo, who will report to sales director Rupert Price, will be based in Lisbon, where he lives with his wife and three children.

BIggA have announced that Jim Croxton has been appointed as the associa-tion’s chief executive officer, after a thorough and searching recruitment proc-ess.

Croxton comes to BIggA from the PgA, where he served most recently as sponsorship manager, having previously served as regional secretary of the PgA North Region and

National tournament direc-tor.

Commenting upon the appointment, Andrew Mellon, chairman of BIggA said: “on behalf of the BIggA Board of Management and our members I am delighted to announce the appointment of Jim Croxton as our new Ceo.

“He is a confident, ener-getic and determined golf

industry professional, with a track record of driving and implementing commercial and operational strategies, delivering successful and financially secure events and leading and motivating teams of staff.

“through using the servic-es of Colt Mackenzie McNair, we were able to identify many excellent candidates with a diverse range of experience.

“the process helped us to focus on the criteria which will be important to BIggA as we move forward.”

Commenting on his appointment, Croxton said: “I am proud and delighted to be appointed to this role and am looking forward immensely to working with the Board of Management and the excellent team at BIggA House to continue the work of the Association.”

biGGa appoint new chief executive officer

ransomes Jacobsen appoint fEGGa official

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12 GME MAY 2011

news

golfclub soestduinen, a parkland golf course adja-cent to Hilton Royal Parc Hotel in soest, about 60 km southeast of Amsterdam, has taken delivery of the first all-electric Jacobsen eclipse 322 in europe.

the delivery was facilitat-ed by Ransomes Jacobsen’s Dutch distributor, van der Pols through their local subsidiary dealer, Bonenkamp turfcare.

Paul Hogeboom, head greenkeeper said: “Because

of our location adjacent to the Royal Parc Hilton Hotel, the Jacobsen eclipse 322 electric is the ideal greens mower for us here at golfclub soestduinen.

“some of the bedrooms and business meeting rooms are close to greens, but guests are completely unaware when we are mowing, because the machine is so quiet.”

the eclipse 322 triplex greens mower is the only ride-on mower for greens applications that has all its functions electrically powered.

Unlike traditional greens mowers there is no hydraulic fluid in the machine and it totally eliminates the risk of any spillage.

All of the eclipse 322 range use electricity to power the systems.

first all electric 322 delievered to Europe

Yas Links has teamed up with IMg, the global sports, entertainment and media company, to support the launch of its new IMg Prestige service, a reciprocal programme that features a network of premier golf part-ners from across the world.

the new service entitles Yas Links’ full members, as well as full members at each participating club, to enjoy ‘preferred access’ status – which includes special rates, discounts, benefits and privi-leges – offered by IMg Prestige partners.

Neil Coulson, director of operations at IMg golf Course services, explained: “Working with some of the leading golf clubs around the world on a daily basis has placed IMg in a unique and privileged position.

“this has allowed us to create IMg Prestige, an exclusive service offering for participating members and its global network of premier golf clubs.

“each of the participating clubs offers a truly world-class golf experience,” continued Coulson.

“Yas Links is definitely worthy of inclusion and will be a great addition to the programme.”

Commenting on the signif-icance of joining IMg Prestige, Chris White, gener-al manager of Aldar Properties (golf Division), developers of Yas Links, said: “those invited to participate in IMg’s new service repre-sent some of the leading

clubs in their region and, in some cases, from around the world.

“for Yas Links to be includ-ed among these is a true privilege and testament to the great legacy (course architect) Kyle Phillips has created here at Yas Links.

“We have concentrated on launching IMg Prestige with a selection of some of the finest golf clubs from Asia, Australasia and the Middle east.

“In the months ahead we are looking to expand on this and already have a number of clubs from europe that are interested in taking part in the programme.

“We are confident IMg Prestige will serve as a valu-able member-benefit for the clubs signed up to the new service – giving members the opportunity to travel and visit clubs they may not ordinarily have had access to,” concluded Coulson.

Yas links joins forces with iMG prestige

A Cambridgeshire golf course is driving forward after plans for a £450,000 facility were given the go-ahead.

thorpe Wood golf Course, in Peterborough, has started work on a new 16-bay state-of-the-art driving range after planners at Peterborough City Council gave it the green light.

Contractors have begun to reposition the 14th hole of the course to make room for the two-storey building, which is set to be built between september and November, ready for its opening in early December.

It will be the first driving range to open in the city since swingers, based at the east of england showground in Alwalton, closed for business in september 2008 after its lease ran out.

the club was previously granted planning permis-sion for a driving range in 2003, but it was of a much smaller design and it decided not to go ahead with the works.

A joint spanish-Cuban golf resort project is planned for the guanahacabibes penin-sula, on the western tip of Cuba.

La Playa golf and Resorts sL has confirmed it is in negotiations with the Cuban government for construction of a large golf and marina

resort centred around seven golf courses.

When completed, the 4,000-hectare project would include apartments, villas and townhouses, three boutique hotels, a golf academy, marina, sport fish-ing club, as well as an equestrian centre.

the resort would be near the guanahacabibes National Park, a world biosphere reserve, and the tobacco-growing Viñales Valley.

It is conveniently located across the strait of Yucatan from Cancún, but is a half-day’s drive from Havana.

new resort planned for cuba


news

‘Specialist in Golf Course Construction’

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In recent months Carousel golfing has been increasing its long list of customers throughout the UK and europe, with clubs realizing the increased bag storage capacities made possible with the installation of their rotating Carousel system.

the highly efficient bag storage racking has made it possible for many clubs to treble the number of bags stored for its members, and as all units are delivered in

“flat pack” form freight costs are kept to a minimum.

A typical 12 x unit system can be installed in one day by two people, a simple procedure requiring only a nuts/bolts assembly.

to reinforce this fact, ferro Dodici in Italy have recently supplied Il golfino golf Club with a Carousel system for 144 of its members –with the total installation taking less than eight hours!

speaking after the installa-tion, managing director, Michael Waldron said: “We have noticed a significant upsurge in interest since the turn of the year, especially from clubs across europe.

“given the fact that many clubs these days are doing their utmost to ensure that members and visitors alike are well looked after, being able to securely store a golf bag is becoming increasing-ly more important.”

Nairn golf Club has unveiled a new-look club-house after the completion of an extensive project to extend its popular Newton Lounge, revamp its Junior room and upgrade its cloak-room facilities.

the development is part of ongoing plans to enhance the members and visitors’ experience as the club prepares for its 125th anniversary next year.

“We consulted with our members and the feedback we got was the Newton Lounge was simply too small,” explained graeme govan, Nairn golf Club’s marketing convenor.

“It was clear the bar had to be upgraded to accom-modate the growing demands placed on it by members, guests and visi-tors. It was a clear-cut deci-sion.”

the spike-friendly Newton Lounge, which overlooks the nine-hole Cameron course, has been substantially extended and now benefits from a bespoke bar and made-to-measure furniture.

the busy venue has also been fitted with two tVs, one 40-inch and one 50-inch, and sports a completely new look thanks to a specially made carpet incorporating the club’s

colours of purple, black and gold. With the club set to host the Curtis Cup in 2012 and celebrate its 125th anni-versary in the same year, the improvements are a timely investment.

“these are exciting times for Nairn,” govan noted. “the improvements are part of a much wider scheme that should be completed ahead of next year’s cele-brations.”

new look clubhouse unveiled at nairn

carousel Golfing help to transform il Golfino Golf club in italy

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Installations include:

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View a demo video online at

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14 GME MAY 2011

company profile WEBlInK; DsgtAg.CoM

As any golf course owner/manager will testify golf buggies have a lot to offer in providing additional revenue streams and enhancing the experience of the golfer, and with careful management will speed

up play.But the advantage of golf carts

has in the past been outweighed with issues of theft and vandal-ism, joy riding, free rounds and a general lack of control.

However, help is at hand at last for golf course operators with the launch of a unique new tagging system that has been designed to help courses run more efficiently.

The system not only helps the efficient running of golf carts but is equally happy look-ing after turf equipment and ancillary course equipment.

Using GPS and cellular tech-nology, the TAG delivers real-

time information that is accessible from any computer allowing course

operators to track buggies, turf equip-ment and golf trolleys anywhere on the

course and diffuse any potential problems that could develop into major headaches.

The creation of Canadian company DSG Fleet Solutions, the TAG Fleet

Management and Geofencing system was launched last year and has been devised specifically for golf, turf, and leisure vehicle fleets and promises to revo-lutionise the way courses and resorts manage their vehicles in the future.

Alex Doaga, president/chief operating officer for DSG Fleet Solutions, explained: “With the recession, we believed that golf operators needed some-thing to help them move on.

“Traditional GPS systems are very expensive and few courses are interested in taking that on in the current financial climate. We decided to come up with a system that gives golf operators the ability to know what is happening on their golf course at a specific time.

“The TAG gives the customer the chance to have complete control of their fleet and course.”

DSG Fleet – who’s head office is in Vancouver with offices in the UK and Singapore and can call on a workforce boasting more than 80 years’ experience in the golf technology industry – started work on the TAG system in August 2009.

The product, can be installed on any make of buggy, all turf-cutting equip-ment, food and beverage and course marshal carts and even carried by staff and walking golfers.

Already a leader in golf car fleet solutions in North America, Dsg fleet solutions are set to embark on a european-wide launch

this side of the Atlantic as Peter Simm reports.

lock, stock and Two smoking buggies


Monitoring the pace of play is one of its major selling points but the TAG system has many other features.

Its flexibility allows a course operator to protect sensitive areas, greens, tee boxes, and enforce cart path rules with state-of-the-art Geofencing which tells the course when a zone has been breached.

With remote keyless operation, there is no need for staff to be rushing around with cart keys or worrying about lost keys while the amount of wear-and tear on buggies can be measured with a detailed travel history by day, week, or month allowing a fleet to be rotated.

The TAG is easy and quick to install and is the ultimate in theft prevention, alerting the owner if a cart is being moved when it’s not supposed to, and a buggy can even be remotely shutdown and immobilised if its driver continually visits areas they shouldn’t.

The new product is equally beneficial to course owners on turf management equipment. Unnecessary course damage can be prevented by sensitive areas being cordoned off while the TAG allows opera-tors to plan their schedules better, with actual cutting times and patterns compared so that more efficient budgets can be drawn up and vital savings made.

Doaga said: “We have had a very good response all-round from the golf industry.

People like the fact that it’s very simple to install and operate, and customer service is top of our list of priorities.

“The system doesn’t require any kind of infrastructure on the golf course to use and there’s no impact on the battery life of the golf cart it’s installed in.

“Every golf course has different priori-ties and agendas. In the case of private courses in North America, where some members have their own carts, they can use TAG to keep play moving and also to keep buggies away from greens or other areas at certain times of the year which is very important.

“Other people have 25 vehicles for turf-cutting and that represents their main focus. On the turf side, the ability to measure how long it takes to cut a partic-ular part of the course is important as budget costs are probably the largest item in the running of any course. If you can improve efficiency by five per cent, that will translate into a lot of money saved.

“With the courses being looked after better and receiving less damage, this should save clubs a lot of money.”

Following its successful launch in North America, the TAG system – which is available to purchase or lease – was introduced into Europe two months ago and the signs are that it will prove just as popular here as across the Atlantic.

The TAG system has already been installed at courses in the UK, France, Ireland, Spain and Portugal, and more installations will follow shortly at venues in Greece and Turkey while Skibo Castle, in the Scottish Highlands has become the latest course to sign up to the revolution-ary new system.

Gary Gruber of The Carnegie Club at Skibo Castle, added: “I was very impressed when I saw the management and protection capabilities of the TAG. We also like the flexibility of the product which is installed on a range of vehicles at our facility from golf carts, utility turf and

road vehicles around the 7,000 acres that makes up the Skibo Castle estate.”

Colin Surman, vice-president of inter-national sales for DSG Fleet and who is based at DSG’s Oxford office added: “We’re very pleased with how the European launch has gone so far. I think the big selling point of the product is its install flexibility whether installed on golf carts, turf, utility or road vehicles coupled with a cost structure that can be custom-ized to individual fleet sizes.

“Also having offices in the UK we can offer quick efficient service and support which I think is also a key factor.”

In the case of golf fleet management, it would appear the future’s bright, the future’s TAG. GME

“I was very impressed when I saw the management and protection capabilities of the TAG.”

+44 (0)1865 784434 www.dsgtag.comContact us for a FREE on-course evaluation

16 GME MAY 2011

irrigation issues WEBlInK; RAINBIRD.eU

Rain Bird Golf has introduced the all-new Integrated Sensor System™ (ISS), a multi-component soil sensing system that provides accurate snapshots of soil condi-tions and the ability to automatically adjust irrigation system run times.

The ISS is the only sensing system in the industry that delivers real-time full central control integration.

The ISS sensors send soil moisture, salinity and temperature data to the system’s Soil Manager software which

in turn works with the course’s existing central control system to automati-cally set individual station run times.

“Unlike competi-tive technologies, Rain Bird’s sensors provide for accurate readings immediately

after installation with no need for calibration,” Bruno

Quanquin, product manag-er for Rain Bird Golf ’s division.

“It also makes it easy for Superintendents to

start with one sensor and then supplement with additional

sensors later.”

Each of the ISS’s Data Loggers collect and store data from up to 18 sensors throughout the course and display that data on a large LCD screen with an extensive menu.

The Data Logger transmits sensor readings to the Soil Manager software through a wireless mesh communication network. In areas where wireless commu-nication is more difficult then we are able to use repeaters that re-direct the signal back to the computer.

The Data Logger also provides power to the sensors, eliminating the need for sensor batteries that will have to be replaced in a few years, making it neces-sary to dig up the greens.

Superintendents can read sensor infor-mation at the Data Logger and immedi-ately evaluate soil conditions without having to return to their office computers. The Data Logger backs up information on an SD card, preserving it in the event of a power outage.

“The ISS takes irrigation system control technology to a new level, helping to ensure the most consistent playing conditions and improved course sustaina-bility,” Quanquin added.

“Superintendents can successfully manage irrigation while also reducing water, fertilizer and pesticide costs for an improved bottom line.” GME

A new irrigation system developed by Rain Bird delivers absolute soil sensing and real-time central control integration as Kneale Diamond,

of Rain Bird discusses.

rain bird offer complete control with new iss

Getting a better readon your course.

That’s intelligent

Only the Rain Bird® Integrated Sensor System™ (ISS) deliversabsolute soil sensing and full central control integration.

Through accurate, real-time measurements of moisture, salinity and temperature, the Rain Bird® ISS can help save time, water and other inputs, while maximizing turf health. The easy-to-install ISS can be used as a standalone system or can be seamlessly integrated with a Rain Bird central control. The ISS can even automate irrigation and adjust run times based on sensor feedback. Monitoring your course’s hotspots without breaking into a sweat. That’s The Intelligent Use of Water.™

Watch the demo and learn more about the Rain Bird® IS System at

www.rainbird.eu/ISS

18 GME MAY 2011

Users ClUb

For over 30 years Express Dual and Anglemaster has been appreciated by thousands of happy users.

To celebrate, we’re giving our users the opportunity to win a new Express Dual!

The User of the oldest Express Dual will win a Brand New Express Dual.

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club focusWEBlInK; CLoseHoUse.Co.UK

Upon announcing a £7.5m develop-ment at his Close House estate, Graham Wylie said he hoped to turn the north-east into a region that could host top tournaments and attract players from across the world.

Little more than two years later he looked on as world-number-one Lee Westwood teed off on his new Colt course.

Wylie purchased the land originally from Newcastle University in what he refers to as a “thank you” for his educa-

tion. Since then the man who co-found-ed the successful Sage accounting software company has spent an amount reported to be around £25m developing an elite venue.

This transformed the estate, creat-ing a 19-bedroom hotel, with 12 luxu-

ry rooms soon to be added; state-of-the-art meetings facilities; and the 6,000 yard Filly course. That is not including the latest £7.5m golf development which brought about an impressive clubhouse; a new golf academy and fitting centre; and, of course, the Colt course.

General manager John Glendinning was the second person employed by Wylie when he acquired the property, and has helped oversee the seven-year transforma-tion from day one.

He said: “The transformation has been absolutely fantastic. We started with a golf course that had just been run by Newcastle University.

“They used to close the course on Wednesday and Saturday when the university had rugby and football, because the pitches were right in the middle of the fairways.

“Graham gave me the brief and said ‘I want to have a course that is going to be renowned as being one of the top courses in the north-east if not the north of England’, so those were our parameters to work towards.”

But, as is so often the case, things weren’t as simple as initially thought and it would take a lot more than anticipated to get Close House to the desired stand-ard.

“Our initial thoughts have changed over the years,” said Glendinning.

When sage co-founder and entrepreneur graham Wylie purchased the Close House estate from Newcastle University, he had ambitious plans to

transform the estate into a golfing mecca. As lee Todd reports, it appears as if Wylie’s £25 million investment has paid off.

Wylie’s investment pays off at close house

20 GME MAY 2011

facTfilE;

Close House Hotel & golfHeddon on the Wall

Newcastle upon tyneNe15 0Htengland

TEl; (44) 01661 852255faX; (44) 01661 853322

EMail;[email protected]

GEnEral ManaGEr;John glendinning

coursE ManaGEr;Brian Clark

club founDED;1968

“But looking back we’ve probably come up with something better than what we’d imagined.

“Originally we only planned to have one golf course. We were going to redevel-op what we had and bought some extra land to extend it.

“After about a year we decided why not get some more land and let’s have two golf courses.

“We thought within the area there was the demand for two golf courses, but two different courses.

“So we’ve now got the original one that’s shorter and good fun and then the new one we’ve just opened is the more ‘championship’ one with bigger fairways, bigger features.

“Building the second course was a big decision and I think our inspiration was really the fact that when we looked at the top 100 golf courses in the UK on a map there’s not one course within the north-east of England.

“We thought ‘wouldn’t it be great if you could create a course that would possibly get into the top 100?’

“I’m not saying ours will, but that was one of our inspirations for the project – to make the course as good as we possibly could and hopefully in the future get some great recognition.”

While Wylie (pictured left) is well known as a racehorse lover and owner, that was not the only inspiration for the new layout’s name.

Glendinning explained: “That came about from Scott Macpherson who was the golf course architect.

“Because we’ve got a grade-two listed building here and a lot of very mature woodland, he thought wouldn’t it be wonderful to build a golf course that would suit the features of an old-fash-ioned site.

“He looked at golf courses in the past that have fitted in with this kind of prop-erty and what sprang to mind was Harry Colt who in the 30s had quite often built courses at old properties like this.

“Scott suggested we use some of the features Colt incorporated into courses. One of the big things was obviously that back then they didn’t have the machinery to move a lot of land so they used natural features to build the courses. We’ve got quite undulating land here so Scott designed the course around incorporating all of those features into it.

“He spent 18 months researching Harry Colt courses and that can be seen in a lot of the bunker and green designs and the strategy of the holes.”

And the culmination of all that work was when Westwood arrived by helicopter to play in the official opening of the new course in May.

While he undoubtedly stole the show, the world number one was not the only famous face on show with Alan Shearer, Ant and Dec and Tony McCoy among the star-studded line up.

The high-profile event raised £135,000 for the Children’s Heart Unit Fund (CHUF), at Newcastle’s Freeman Hospital, which benefits youngsters from across the region and is a cause very close to Wylie after the unit treated one of his daughters when she was just two days old.

Westwood – who played alongside Shearer, club captain and non-executive director of Close House David Fulton and a golfer who donated £10,000 to charity to complete the fourball – was suitably impressed with the new course.

He told club officials he particularly liked the need to think your way round the course and how that keeps the experi-ence interesting. He added: “It is very well set up indeed for a members’ club and


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with a lot of possibilities if they want to play big events. All the facilities were top-drawer.”

Westwood also opened the new club-house, an attractive modern building which provides a new home for Close House’s deliberately limited membership.

To keep an exclusive air there are only 300 memberships to the Colt course, 240 of which have already been sold, while the Filly’s 400 slots are all allocated.

Despite the £1,000 joining fee on top of a £2,400 annual subscription Glendinning is confident finding the last 60 members will not be a problem.

He said: We’re getting more and more members in each day – especially with all the publicity we’ve had around the open-ing. I wouldn’t be surprised if it was full in the next few weeks.

“We were up to 160 members for the new course in January or February, months before we’d even opened.”

And he attributes those early sales to the presence of the exemplary academy facilities which opened last August.

“The academy has definitely helped to boost our membership,” added Glendinning.

“It was the first thing we opened and it was our chance to show the standard of the facilities that were coming.

“I think that was such a high standard that people immediately thought this is so good that if the course and the clubhouse are a similar standard then it’s going to be a place worth joining.”

And in similar style to Macpherson’s research into Colt, Glendinning and his colleagues visited top golf facilities around the UK in order to work out exactly what they wanted.

He said: “We saw a gap in the market in the north-east in that there wasn’t anyone providing the first-class facilities that are elsewhere in the country. We wanted to build that.”

And that seems to have been achieved, with Glendinning reporting entirely posi-tive feedback for a facility featuring a state-of-the-art custom-fitting centre for Taylormade, Titleist, Callaway and Ping alongside full facilities for tuition.

With the new course in place you might think those at Close House would pause for breath, but Glendinning refuses to rest on his laurels. He said: “We’re definitely planning on further investment and obvi-ously want to continue to improve the golf facilities. We’re already looking at ways we can improve the original golf course going forward.”

When asked about any major events that might lie in the venue’s future he added coyly: “We haven’t set our sights on anything in particular.

“The R&A have been down to look at hosting some amateur events in years to come which would be fantastic. But all we wanted to do was to make sure that if the right tournament came along we would be able to host it.”

Maybe Westwood’s next visit will be more business than pleasure. GME

synthetic solutions WEBlInK; soUtHWestgReeNs.eU

Golf has come a long way in the last few decades.

From the introduction of cavity-backed clubs, graphite shafts and

four-piece balls to revolu-tionary breathe-easy cloth-

ing and new construction techniques, the game is one of the leading sports in intro-ducing and embracing new

technology and is evolving on an almost-daily basis.But there is one area where

trends have maybe followed a more traditional path and have not progressed at the same rate – that of driving ranges and general practice facilities.

While there are undoubtedly more ranges on offer for players to practice their skills, how many of them actually

offer facilities that truly replicate condi-tions you will find on a golf course and leave you with a feeling of satisfaction and that you have made some real progress when you come away from a practice session?

I know I’ve certainly paid more than one visit to a range, only to quickly lose focus when I see my ball shoot alarmingly in one direction after hitting unkempt ground or, worse still, bury itself into the outfield as it sinks into a soggy grave.

But now there are real signs that prac-tice facilities, whether it be at a golf club or driving range, are changing for the better by embracing the use of synthetic turf solutions.

Haaye de Jong, partner in Southwest Greens for Europe, Middle East and Africa, reports that his company has received a growing number of enquiries

the time pressures on golfers is becoming more and more apparent these days, which is perhaps why many golf courses are planning to

upgrade their practice facilities in an attempt to retain as many members as possible. Article by Peter Simm.

Driving towards a new era for range facilities

22 GME MAY 2011


from clubs and ranges across Europe interested in modernising their current facilities and upgrading their service levels by installing synthetics.

In Holland alone, de Jong revealed that up to 15 courses have already been in touch with him this year requesting infor-mation on how his company can help them.

“We have several proved modules to improve practice facilities,” said de Jong. “Nowadays, people are not just putting their golf clubs in the garage for three months during the winter but are playing the whole year. Countries like Germany, France, Ireland and in the UK want good facilities but sometimes practice is not possible because of the weather and they have to close their natural facilities.

“We have a teeline for difficult lies. This is something that we get requested a lot and the intensity of balls that are hit means that it makes sense to install synthetics.

“A lot of the problem with driving ranges at the moment is that people might go along and hit 100 balls but they get bored easily and there is very little constructive practice that goes on.

“With the right use of synthetics, we can create a unique practice session – no matter how short or long – allowing prac-tice to become more fun, efficient and measurable. Golfers are able to measure their progress and see how they’re improving.”

Synthetic surfaces have come a long way since they were first introduced to the golfing market. In the quest to simu-late natural surfaces, greens can now run from anything up to 14 on the stimpmeter while turfs can be laid so that they can replicate any sort of lie you will encounter on the golf course.

Crucially, they also run at a fraction of the cost of natural greens and surfaces when it comes to maintenance.

As one of the world’s leaders in fitting synthetic surfaces, Southwest Greens has been at the forefront of promoting the use of artificial surfaces since they were founded in 1996.

One of the many projects that the company is currently involved in, is a new project in The Netherlands that, de Jong believes, could transform the way golf complexes are built in the future.

Golfcentrum Amsteldijk (pictured below right) has been built on a 55-acre site in Amstelveen, on the outskirts of Amsterdam, and will include a nine-hole course, par-three course and Europe’s largest artificial turf practice facility when it fully opens in spring next year.

At 3,500m², the facility has been built for year-round practice and de Jong says the development has been designed to meet the demands of the modern-day golfer.

He explained: “People have less time to play and when they want to practice, they want to do so more efficiently. This facili-ty is based on those principles. What they are trying to do in Holland is to create the ideal picture.

“In this area of Europe, the idea of an executive nine-hole course made up of par-three and fours with a very large area to practice is becoming more popular and that was the basis behind the new centre.

“One corner of the new zone will be devoted entirely to pitching while there will be an area we call ‘wedge ladders’

which will be for people to practice their distance control with short and mid-range irons.

“In the ideal world, there are a lot of ways that you can practice the game, from target and chipping zones to wedge ladders and distance control areas.

“The whole facility is set up to practice and play a quick round of golf which is what people want to do these days with so much pressure placed on their time.”

Having installed greens at their homes for some of the world’s leading players including Retief Goosen, Sergio Garcia, David Toms and Vijay Singh, Southwest Greens have an impressive track record and de Jong is optimistic about the future.

De Jong is delighted at the progress the firm continues to make but is at pains to emphasise that Southwest Greens wants to continue working together with natural turf venues to provide a better product for the consumer and has no desire to replace all natural greens in the world.

He added: “We see synthetic turf as being very important to modernising existing facilities and creating additional services for existing golf venues.

“Synthetic is proven to be great for clubs and facilities at the beginner end of the market who can’t afford the mainte-nance of natural turf.

“At the other end of the spectrum, you have high-end courses that just want to add to their facilities so that play is possi-ble all-year round.

“In Scandinavia, Eastern Europe and the Alps (the “climate line”), they are interested in synthetic tees and greens because our product can extend their season by three months when the cold weather arrives. And in countries that have water limitations, our product can help solve a different issue in operating a golf course.” GME

“The whole facility is set up to practice and play a quick round of golf which is what people want to do these days with so much pressure placed

on their time.”

24 GME MAY 2011

UNSEEN INNOVATION

Good design goes unnoticed. Hunter Industries’ TTS rotor keeps all the innovation unseen and below the green. Featuring Total Top Servicing, TTS is the no-dig solution for simple and quick maintenance, so golfers have more time to play on. With the world’s first DIH- (Decoder-in-Head) capable rotor, you can forget about hundreds of unsightly decoder enclosures on your course.

Out of sight, out of mind.

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in person

Mention course designer Doug Carrick in a UK clubhouse and almost inevitably the conversation will turn to Loch Lomond.

The 54-year-old Canadian designed the eponymous second course at the idyllic Scottish venue, which opened in 2007 and immediately hosted the Ladies Scottish Open for two years.

The course which bears his name has been very well received, which makes it something of a surprise that Carrick has not been engaged again in Europe.

Instead his reputation continues to grow in his homeland where he’s had a

hand in designing or remodelling more than 70 courses since establishing Carrick Design Inc in 1985.

Although his personal design CV features two other courses in Europe – Fontana, in Austria, and Pannonia, in Hungary, both in collaboration with Hans Erhardt – the Carrick on Loch Lomond is his latest design ‘over here’. But the amia-ble father-of-two is open to offers.

He admitted: “It’s always difficult to find work in a new market when you’re not located there; you don’t get the same kind of exposure. Our contact base in UK and Europe is much smaller than it is

David Bowers chats with Doug Carrick and discovers

an award-winning Canadian architect who

would be overjoyed to produce a traditional links

course.

Doug is just missing that links

WEBlInK; CARRICKDesIgN.CoM

26 GME MAY 2011

here in Canada. It’s not because we don’t want to – we’d love to do more in the UK and Europe.

“I believe Loch Lomond has been well received. We don’t hear too much about it here but from what people have told me I understand it’s been well received. It’s a beautiful setting and I was very pleased with the end result.

“There were a few issues we had to address with the park authorities – if I’d had my way I’d have had a little less tree-planting along the loch shore. But we had to do a number of things to satisfy the national park authority.”

If Carrick had his way he would be given free rein over a piece of links-land. Strangely for a man who is yet to design a links course he admits the style is his favourite. And he even keeps a memento of when his dream almost became a reali-ty.

He said: “I’m a traditionalist. I probably favour links courses over parkland; I love links courses. I find the ground game adds so many different variables to the sport rather than just aerial shots that stay close to where they land.

“It gives us as architects the opportuni-ty to create some very meaningful contours that affect play when you have dry conditions.”

And he is quick to praise the work of his contemporaries who have been lucky enough to work with such terrain.

“The Castle Course at St Andrews was a nice piece of land and I admire what was done at Kingsbarns. My dream would be to do a true links course.

“I had a project many years ago in Donegal, in Ireland, on true links-land. It was absolutely stunning land on the north-west coast.

“We produced plans for the client but unfortunately he passed away before we got to build the courses. I still have that drawing hanging on my wall. It was one that would have been great. Sadly those kinds of sites are becoming much more difficult to discover.

“Macrihanish Dunes would have been a spectacular project to work on. I admire the work done by David Kidd; the way he was able to build a course very sensitively in that environment and utilise the terrain pretty much as it was presented to him. It would be fun to do a project like that.”

He still has time of course. And he hasn’t made a bad fist of the courses he’s laid out in the 31 years since he started working with CE ‘Robbie’ Robinson – one of Canada’s leading golf architects.

“Robbie was an older gentleman who was winding down his practice – when I first met him he was probably around 70. But he’d had a long career in the golf business.

“He’d started working with Stanley Thompson (designer of Banff Springs and Jasper Park) who was probably the pre-eminent golf course designer in Canada – and maybe even North America – in the 20s and 30s. He was in the same class as Tillinghast and Donald Ross and all the well known names of that era.

“It was great to spend time with Robbie. He was a great mentor and teach-er.

“I believe loch lomond has been well received. We don’t hear too much about it here but from what people have told me I understand it’s been well received. It’s a beautiful setting and I was very pleased with the end result.”


“We did a fair amount of remodelling work on Thompson’s courses, which exposed me to a lot of his design princi-ples and I hope I’ve carried that forward. It was inspiring and certainly had an influence on the work I’ve done.”

Carrick started working with Robinson in 1980 and continued to work alongside him until the latter’s death in 1989.

“There was a couple of years when I was working with a landscape architecture firm – before I started my own business – and I was doing work with Robbie in the evenings, so I maintained that contact.

“And once I started my own business in 1985 we were doing some projects together before I took over his business in 1987. I kept him involved as much as possible until he died. I hope he’d be proud of what we’ve achieved since.”

One imagines Robinson would indeed be proud. Carrick’s design practice has racked up the awards – with three sepa-rate Golf Digest ‘best new Canadian course’ gongs: for Angus Glen, in 1995; Greywolf, in 1999; and Bigwin Island, in 2002. And to those he can add numerous other Canadian accolades.

And with professional plaudits comes personal recognition. Carrick is very proud to have served as president of the American Society of Golf Course Architects (ASGCA) in 2009 and 2010.

With more than 30 years in the indus-try, Carrick – a former rep hockey player in his native country – has seen a few changes.

And he expects to see some more before he hangs up his pencil.

“There are two areas that have changed the most. Technology has affected course design with regard to the length of golf courses being built in the last ten years. It’s had a dramatic effect on how much land is used to build 18 holes and where you position landing areas off the tee.

“The other thing is the environmental requirements you’re faced with today. There is more and more scrutiny on the environment and the golf industry has responded quite diligently to meet the requirements for sustainable and environ-mentally responsible courses.

“One of the biggest issues facing us is the use of water on golf courses. Even though there isn’t much development going on at the moment; particularly in the southern and western states, restric-tions on water are causing a number of golf courses to look at how much area is irrigated.

“I know a number of my colleagues are doing remodelling projects that involve reducing the water requirements. That’s the biggest issue the industry will face moving forward but I don’t think it’s insurmountable.

“We may just be returning more to the roots of the game which involves more fast and firm conditions you find on links courses. I think it’ll bring an interesting element back into the game.”

And as a traditionalist, one can be sure Doug Carrick will approve. GME

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28 GME MAY 2011

customer retention WEBlInK; CRoNKgRoUP.CoM

How is business? Do you expect more golfers this year than last year?

Do you expect your membership to grow? Your revenues to increase?

If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then you either have a magic ‘weather-maker machine’, or more likely, you are planning to do what most golf clubs are striving for in this very challeng-ing industry... to steal customers from your competitors!

Stealing customers and stealing members? That’s a harsh way to describe it isn’t it? Well, are you worried about being politically correct or are you more

concerned about growing your member-ship, or increasing revenues per golfer, or keeping the bank manager from calling you at home?

If you operate in a golf market that has an oversupply of courses and more thirty year olds who would rather tap on their iPhone then tap in a birdie, you have declining options for growing your busi-ness.

No doubt that the investment to build a golfer from scratch is a very important and worthy effort for the long-term health of your business, and having a robust junior program and a successful ‘learn to

James Cronk is principle of Cronk group, a golf indus-try consulting company in

Canada. With over 20 years experience as a golf

professional and club manager, he is a speaker,

trainer and consultant who has worked with hundreds

of clubs and organizations, including the NgCoA.

are you a customer thief?


golf ’ effort for adults will ensure you are able to retire one day.

But that is helpful only if you last that long! Increasing costs, more demanding members and customers, and new pres-sures such as water and pesticide restric-tions might force you into early retire-ment without giving you the proverbial gold watch.

So what do we do to grow our business now?

Well, if we sold widgets for a living, we would be focused on one thing – selling widgets to people who need them. So if we were really good at finding these widg-et lovers, would we be successful?

The answer is sadly no ladies and gentlemen, because golf is not a widget. Our amazing and wonderful activity called golf isn’t a necessity (although some of our members think it is) but an option.

Our customers choose to spend their hard earned money to pay a green fee, or a membership, and to take time out of their increasingly busy lives to tee it up.

With the state of their world these days, it seems that in many places there are less people seeking our widget product, and worse still, it’s likely that in your county or country, there are too many widget sellers and many of them are offering their widg-ets for half price.

So, how do we survive and grow? Well, if there are only X number of buyers and Y number of sellers, and X is not growing but Y is, we must convince the customer that our widget is best.

If needed, we must steal away these limited customers from our competition, and we can do so by delivering the three principles that will make us a successful widget company.

First, make a great widget. Second, make sure every widget buyer knows we have a great widget. And third, deliver such a great widget experience that our widget buyer never wants to go elsewhere for his widget!

So enough about widgets… it’s more the ‘wedges’ we are after.

Hands up those clubs who are increas-ing expenses in 2011? Okay, the two of you should skip this article and look for a job that is titled ‘seeking newly displaced manager with blinkers on’. Even if you have the money, you should stash it away for the day for when you really need it (like next year).

The responsible thing to do in a chal-lenging market with an oversupply of competition and a shrinking market is to reduce our costs. But… and it’s a big but… we must find ways to save that doesn’t impact the quality of our product.

If we need to reduce our costs, and we all do, we should do everything possible to not let the quality of our product suffer, since that is usually the first thing our loyal customers and members will notice.

When was the last time you heard one of your golfers say about another course, “They have really let the (insert ‘greens’, ‘fairways’, ‘clubhouse’ etc) get in rough shape”. It was likely the last time you chatted with a member!

So, reduce operational hours, find part-ners instead of suppliers that want to promote to your clients or better yet, improve the efficiency of your staff and reduce your labour costs, but whatever you do, don’t stop mowing greens, pick-ing weeds or cleaning the car park.

If you have a great product, are you shouting it from the rooftops? Does every single golfer within 100km/miles know what you offer that other facilities don’t?

Do you pride yourself on having the best conditions, best service, the best hot dog or the best bang for the buck?

No matter what your unique selling proposition, does every possible widget buyer golfer know who you are, what is your promise and what they will get by choosing you over someone else?

If not, make this a number one priority. We must be a difference maker.

If their option is course A or course B, we must be able to clearly and effectively communicate why choose us?

Every element of our communications and marketing needs to clearly describe our features and benefits and more importantly, a call to action. If you are challenged by coming up with creative ideas, no problem but then find someone who does, or at least pick up one of the million books available on effective sales and marketing.

Finally, and most importantly, are you delivering such exceptional value and experiences to your customers that they are so loyal they will promote your course

to their friends? Do you provide custom experiences that fit their needs?

If they only want to play fourteen holes will you make that happen? Or will your staff say. “Fourteen holes? Are you absurd? Do you realise the history of our course?

Do you understand that our course was designed by (insert non-recognisable name to the masses here)”?

We are in the entertainment business, and when our customers choose to spend their money, they want to see that staff make an effort to meet and exceed their expectations and that we don’t take them for granted.

People who work in the golf business sometimes have a tendency to believe that customers are here because they want to play golf, and that as an employee I have little impact on their choices.

The reality is that each of us who love this great game of golf, who believe so strongly in the values and benefits that the game has to offer, must do everything possible to convince people that playing just one more round this summer is good for them (while being good for us).

In most parts of the world, not all, but most, it is time to start casing out your competition, be the best that you can be, and grab the loot wherever you can find it. GME

“We are in the entertainment business, and when our customers choose to spend their money, they want to see that staff make an effort to meet and

exceed their expectations and that we don’t take them for granted.”

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sardinia

“It’s the best island in the world,” says Donato Ala excitedly as he drives towards the Chia Laguna resort. I assume his confidence stems from his familiarity with the roads; after all, this is where he grew up. As it’s quarter to midnight and pitch black, it’s hard to confirm whether Sardinia is indeed the best island in the world, but it certainly has a nice feel to it; even in the dark.

Before making my way to the autono-mous region of Italy, I had done my usual research into what lay ahead but found gathering up first-hand accounts of the second-largest island in the Mediterranean difficult, never mind unearthing any good golf stories.

Those who had been here gave glowing reports about the stunning geography and ink-blue seas, but were muted about everything else. So, when I arrived, all I had to go on were the excited ramblings of my Italian host.

To be fair, Ala heads up an Italian media company that specialises in report-ing on some of the world’s best golfing destinations, so although his pride was clearly on show, he also knew what he was talking about.

As I discovered, Sardinia is in fact a remarkable island full of exotic scenery and rustic charms right in the middle of the Mediterranean, which for some reason has passed most of us by.

Mark Alexander explores the exotic island of sardinia

and finds out why political indifference to golf may be

coming to an end.

Treasure island

32 GME MAY 2011

After arriving at the resort and enjoying a good night’s sleep, Ala continues his charm offensive by describing what’s in store for the island.

On a map, he scribbles numbers at various locations – number three in the south east corner, number four in the north west, and so on. Large circles are quickly drawn around each indicating the locations of various new golf develop-ments. By his calculations, 17 are current-ly in the offing.

His figures surprise me. Although Sardinia is remarkably beautiful, centrally located and blessed with 300 days of sunshine annually, it rarely makes it into golfers’ top ten places to visit. This might have something to do with the limited number of golf courses on the island – at last count, only four 18-hole courses and two nine holers were in play.

A new batch of courses would certainly do the island no harm, but why hasn’t it happened before? Indeed, for that matter, why hasn’t Italy been able to establish its golfing credentials generally?

John Strawn, who organised a two-day symposium in Rome to discuss this very matter last year, thinks he might have some answers.

“Italy is a fantastically attractive coun-try, but it has never sought to develop itself as a golf destination,” said the presi-dent and CEO of international golf course architects Hills/Forrest.

“The reasons for this are cultural and political. Golf has never been popular in Italy, in part because the idea of a public, daily fee course simply doesn’t exist.

“All golfers in Italy must have a green card - that is they must join the Italian Golf Federation through their local clubs in order to play.

“Courses can even be punished if they let non-green card members play. Golf is not a casual undertaking.

Someone can’t just decide to go give it a try, as they would in the US, for exam-ple, or in the UK.”

At a grass-roots level, Italians face size-able barriers to joining the game. Moreover, it seems the political will hasn’t been there to encourage participation at a younger age. Back in Sardinia, this apathy has stifled development to a worryingly degree according to Richard Cau, golf director at Tanka Golf Club; one of Sardinia’s newest golf courses.

“Nobody believed in golf until now,” he says passionately. “Sardinia has only four main golf courses which is incredible for a place like this. Considering how well other countries and areas in the Mediterranean work with golf, Sardinia should have 20 or 30 golf courses, not just four.”

He’s got a point. The island certainly has the topography to support golf with 2,000 kilometres of coastline character-ised by spectacular cliffs and bleach blonde beaches. The interior offers a host of possibilities as well with beautiful grasslands and lush forests.

Indeed, with an economy relying on fishing, agriculture and mining, you would think the opportunity to develop a new sector would be greeted with open arms.

As it stands, there are four courses of note. The island’s first, and its only 27-hole layout, was opened in 1975.

Is Molas held the first of four Italian Opens in 1976 and has welcomed the likes of Bernard Langer, Sam Torrance and Ian Woosnam to its tees. Today, it looks tired.

Further north, Pevero Golf Club is a hugely expensive playground for the megawealthy. With views overlooking azure coves sheltering massive yachts of Europe’s nobility, the Robert Trent Jones Snr course promises much but falls short in terms of presentation and design.

“Considering how well other countries and areas in the Mediterranean work with golf, Sardinia should have 20 or 30 golf courses, not just four.”


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Thankfully, Sardinia has some lower profile courses that make up for the shortcomings of the big two. Tanka Golf Club, for instance, was fully opened in 2007 and is a tough mountain track with incredible views, smooth-running greens and taxing doglegs.

Elsewhere, the Robert von Hagge-designed Is Arenas is a beautiful tree-lined course that will test the most accom-plished players.

But with only four championship courses and a handful of nine holers (including the remarkable links course at Puntaldia), are there enough options on which to build a golf tourism industry?

“It can only get better,” says Cau, whose father was the first Sardinian golf pro and who himself has either worked or lived at three of Sardinia’s top four cours-es. “In the last 12 months, for the first time, local politicians have started talking about golf perhaps because of the success of the Molinari brothers. Hopefully this will be the start of golf development in Sardinia.”

He says it’s too early to predict what will come from this political sea change but reveals that discussions about provid-ing financial support to those willing to invest in tourism and, in particular, golf have already taken place.

“Change takes time so it won’t happen overnight,” he admits. “More should be done to educate people. I was surprised when things started to change. But, at last, I think we have politicians who believe in

tourism and developing Sardinia. The biggest problem until now has been the ignorance of the public administration who knew nothing about golf, so no-one believed in it.”

Strawn agrees. “Educating local governments about the benefits of golf tourism is the biggest challenge, along with overcoming a kind of knee-jerk hostility to golf in some places and the tendency of opponents to paint golf as some sort of environmental bogey-man.”

It would appear this ecological anxiety has reached Sardinia where worries about the environment are foremost in general public’s minds. “We have to change the mentality of the Sardinian people,” says Cau.

“Somehow, people must realise golf presents huge possibilities for us, and not a risk. At the moment, a lot of people think golf will ruin the countryside and waste water. We have to teach them about the benefits of golf.”

Golf can provide a conduit to main-stream tourism. In Sardinia, local experts have suggested that growing the golf offering could extend the tourist season from five to eight months.

To do this, while maintaining the island’s undoubted charms, will require careful management and considered plan-ning. Ultimately, it will require a commit-ment from politicians to educate the public about golf and drive through change.

Let’s hope they’re up to the job. GME

34 GME MAY 2011

richard campey WEBlInK; CAMPeY25.CoM

Richard Campey started his working life in farming, before taking a career change to join ICI. In 1976, as a twenty-two year old, he moved to SISIS, and it was here that Richard fell in love with turfcare machinery.

In 1986, Richard decided that it was time for a change, and set up his own company – Professional Turf Care – to carry out sportsturf contracting in and around the Manchester area.

Richard moved to his present location, just outside Macclesfield, two years later, and the company and premises have gradually expanded year on year as Richard explained: “We were far too small a company at the time to take on products from the big three, but we did have a chance to work with some of the smaller manufacturers.

“We took on the Iseki and Lesco range and, in the first year, sold 35 machines in the North West, and continued to expand, taking on Charterhouse, Saxon, Dennis and Trimax in the early nineties.

“In 1994, Iseki went to Massey Ferguson, so I approached New Holland/Ford and became the local dealer for them.”

Richard is always keen to attend equip-ment shows, both at home and abroad, and it was when he was over Holland in 1996, that he first saw a Koro machine.

“I was very impressed with the machine’s simple, yet effective, design and, as a contractor, I could immediately see a good market for them.”

In that same year the Koro Field Topmaker was stripping off the first foot-ball pitches in the UK, courtesy of Richard.

Next to catch his keen eye was the Dakota range of topdressers and, in 2001, a distribution deal was agreed, but this time with European rights included. In addition, Campeys added to their own Raycam range of innovative products, including Hi-lift Trailer, Striegel Harrows and Speedresser large capacity drop spreaders.

The contracting side of the business was sold to Souters in 2005, although a close working relationship still remains. This sale gave Richard and his team the opportunity to concentrate on selling products, as well as freeing up much needed space at the premises for more new equipment.

The Koro Man

this year marks the 25th anniversary of when

Richard Campey decided to embark on a career specialising in turf care

systems. Article by Charmian Robinson, in

association with Pitchcare.


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What stands out, above all else, is Richard’s ability to recognise an opportu-nity when he sees one, and turn it into an industry standard. He has a gut feeling for the business he is in, acquired not just through experience but through natural instinct.

He is not afraid to challenge existing methods if he believes they can be improved on, and will use whatever influ-ence and power of persuasion to get his machinery in front of the groundsmen and women responsible for maintaining sports pitches across the UK and Europe, with enormous and lasting effect.

Prime examples are the Koro Topmaker and Recycling Dresser. The impact on the way pitches are managed today is profound; ‘koroing’ is now a recognised generic term and the Koro Topmaker enjoys a highly respected position in the world market of pitch renovation, leading the way for further innovative products, including the Imants Shockwave and Rotorknife.

Dakota Turf Tenders have gone from being unheard of in 2000 to the present day, where they are a highly recognised and respected brand.

The decision by Dutch manufacturer Imants BV to take over the manufacture, marketing and development of Koro-Systems in 2009 provided Campey Turf Care with another major opportunity for expansion.

In February 2010, the close association between Campey and Imants in the UK was consolidated further with Campey being appointed official distributors for Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

This association is proving to be a winning combination as interest in the Imants range has far exceeded expecta-tions, particularly in light of the global recession. This has brought renewed enthusiasm and interest to an existing range of equipment.

Likewise the Koro Recycling Dresser, Topdrain and Cultiroll are now being promoted in new countries alongside the hugely popular Koro Topmaker.

So, a company that initially started out as a business offering sportsturf mainte-nance work within the North West, has now grown to be one of the UK’s leading

independent distributors, with machinery available to customers across the globe.

Marketing across country borders brings its own unique challenges and the European demonstration tour, which took place in 2010 over a period of seven weeks, was no exception.

It provided a unique opportunity for anyone involved in sportspitch mainte-nance to view a whole range of renovation and maintenance machinery at work.

Richard Campey believes that this open approach of taking ‘the mountain to Mohammed’ is why they have become so successful. “We don’t shy away from a challenge, and the team put in 100 per cent effort; from the office staff that organised the logistics of each event to the men who conducted the demonstrations.

“Our goal,” continued Richard, “is to cross the language and cultural divide, and to discover and adopt good working practices in sportspitch renovation and maintenance.”

The roadshows were just one example of how the Campey team share knowl-edge and demonstrate expertise in our industry. His passion for the industry is obvious, and Richard always talks with immense enthusiasm: “I want to see the quality of sportsturf improved, but my biggest bug bear is the local authorities. Standards need to be raised.

“People bang on about the Olympics changing the industry’s perspective but will Joe Public learn more about the work we all carry out? No.

“Education needs to start in schools, with more work experience offered. This year we have invited local schoolteachers to a tour of our premises. They can then see, at first hand, what we do and, hope-fully, will go back to school and encour-age some of the kids to get involved in our industry in the future.

“I thoroughly enjoy what I do and like to keep ‘hands-on’. We continue to devel-op new ideas and concepts that will bene-fit the work of groundsmen and green-keepers. As a company we are always ready for fresh challenges.”

You would have to say that Richard Campey has come a long way since he took those first tentative steps back in 1986. GME

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the dutch

The Netherlands is remarkably flat. It’s a place of smooth-running roads where vantage points are rare and views stretch on for miles. It is a cyclist’s paradise defined by unbroken mirror-flat surfaces and uniform planes.

The country’s millpond appearance means that any rise or peak is cherished. It also means that The Dutch – Holland’s newest championship course and epicen-tre of its failed Ryder Cup bid – comes as a bit of a shock.

For a start, there are hillocks, mounds and ripples, not to mention the occasional bump and ridge. The Colin Montgomerie-signature course is awash with contours and gradients unlike anything you see in the surrounding countryside.

Opened by the Ryder Cup captain in May, the Dutch is for all intents and purposes a rough-and-ready links-style course. “Radical shaping has been used to create a rugged golf-course character where undulating fairways, featuring many bumps and hollows, are framed by dramatic mounding,” explains a note on Montgomerie’s website.

In between the bumps and hollows, the course stays true to its origins by incorpo-rating a host of water features. The trans-formation by European Golf Design has been absolute with straight and angular canals remoulded into meandering streams and sweeping lakes.

Once you’ve come to terms with the hills and streams, the next thing you’ll notice is the clubhouse. Grand and imposing, the building sits on the ideal spot overlooking the 9th and 18th greens.

Inside, nothing is left to chance. From the spike bar to the elegant restaurant, the attention to detail is striking. Then it dawns on you; this place could be special.

But like all special clubs, The Dutch didn’t just spring up by itself. Indeed, the most intriguing aspect of this impressive members-only club is the management team which is almost entirely made up of golf professionals.

“We’re all good friends; that’s the basis of our relationship and our company,” said David Burnside, (pictured above) one of two Scottish directors of Made in Scotland, the company behind The Dutch.

With more than 750 members signed up before its official opening, Holland’s newest championship course is causing a bit of stir.

Mark Alexander finds out why.

cultural Exchange

WEBlInK; tHeDUtCH.NL

38 GME MAY 2011

The company’s founders, which include Burnside, Mauk de Booy, Alan Saddington and Jonas Saxton, share back-grounds in teaching golf and a collective ambition to create their own networking company based on specially organised golf days.

Eventually, their vision took hold and Made in Scotland was formed a decade ago.

“We wanted to create a networking company,” says de Booy. “We wanted to use golf to bring people together and in the ten years we’ve been doing that, we’ve built up a client base of just over 40 major companies.”

The concept behind Made in Scotland was to provide corporate clients with golf experiences hosted by pros. The bare threads of this model came from an arrangement made by two of the founders – then tour players – and an international carpet-making firm.

“Heuga sponsored me and Jonas for about nine years,” explains Saddington. “It worked well, and to give something back to the company, we offered to play with their clients. That’s how it started.”

The idea was replicated and a business model began to emerge. Saddington and Saxton were joined by their friends Burnside and de Booy and the four pros started formulating plans to turn their dreams into a business.

By 2001, Made in Scotland was up and running, taking corporate clients around the world to play some of the world’s most iconic courses.

The team had cornered the Dutch corporate market, but their success depended almost entirely on access to and the service of their hosts.

“About seven or eight years ago, Alan suggested we should consider having our own golf course,” de Booy recalls. “We were taking our clients to these lovely courses, which was great, but it meant we were entirely dependant on the clubs we visited. We needed our own place to do our golf days.”

The network around which Made in Scotland had been built now acted as a pool of potential members for the new private members club. To do it properly, however, the founders drafted in Phil Helsby, another Scot who had crossed the North Sea to forge a career on the conti-nent and was now making a name for himself not only as a club pro, but also as Holland’s national team coach.

“They wanted to create a home base,” says Helsby. “At that time, no decisions had been made as to what type of golf course they wanted or what the business model was going to be. There was noth-ing. I was given the idea and asked to develop it.”

Helsby had moved to Holland in 1987 to take up the position of head pro at Wouwse Plantage Golf Club. Over the next 18 years, he played a pivotal role in developing the course from nine holes to 18. It was clear he had form.

“Being a professional golfer and play-ing in tournaments and being a national coach and travelling with teams to


European and World Championships, you’re in a lucky position to visit some of the best golf courses in the world,” he says. “I knew the difference between what was good and what was bad, and what worked and what didn’t.”

His experience has been transferred into what is clearly a premium private members’ club that loosely follows the Loch Lomond model but with a massive corporate twist (for instance, each member is assigned a relationship manag-er who interviews the member and then

introduces them to other members with similar interests).

But the club is more than just a corpo-rate match-making service. The quality of the facilities throughout The Dutch, from the Cigar and Whisky room where members hire specially designed lockers to house their favourite tipple to the fine-dining experience in the restaurant and the colonial feel of the meeting rooms, is impressive and exciting.

It is perhaps indicative that the found-ers relied on their own knowledge of golf to create a refined club with purpose and poise.

Their hands-on approach even reached the interior design of the clubhouse where tartans and The Dutch’s Saltire logo add a splash of Gaelic flare.

“I was asked by Phil to do the club-house because he felt I was the only one pernickety enough to do it properly,” admits Burnside, who had no experience of interior design prior to his appoint-ment.

“My inspiration came from Loch Lomond. We wanted to create something the Dutch people hadn’t experienced before – a high-quality golf course with a high-quality clubhouse with good service and great facilities.”

It seems to have worked.

Despite a lavish joining fee of €43,500 and hefty annual subscriptions of €2,500, the number of members at The Dutch has swelled to over 750. Bearing in mind, 150 of these are corporate members, who pay anything up to €250,000 a year, it’s clear Made in Scotland is doing something right.

With a second course in the offing and a boutique hotel planned, the future looks bright for The Dutch. “I am a profession-al golfer but a naïve businessman,” admits Saddington; the self-confessed ideas man behind the outfit. “If you were a serious businessman, you wouldn’t have started this project.”

Maybe not, but there are certainly a lot of serious businessmen buying into it now. GME

“My inspiration came from loch lomond. We wanted to create something the Dutch people

hadn’t experienced before”

www.golfgraf�ix.cominfo@golfgraf�ix.com

40 GME MAY 2011

my view WEBlInK; eCosoLVe.Co.UK

Rheinhessen Golf club situated in vine-yard country near Mainz, offers a demanding course with famously quick greens.

However, for the past few years it has been troubled by slow drainage on those greens despite the fact they were constructed to FLL specification using a mix of fine materials and gravel in the drainage zones.

“The only part that was good, was the new rootzone that we have built up over the past 18 years by verticutting, top dressing and aerifying,” commented course manager, Andreas Stegmann.

Poor drainage had also resulted in a high incidence of grass diseases on course such as Pythium, Fusarium and Rhizoctonia, so in 2008, Stegmann called in rootzone expert Arm Bruster who

discovered that there was too much fine material in the rootzone which was impeding drainage.

The answer, he said, would be Drill n Fill aeration and the experienced contrac-tors Ecosol Turfcare from the UK were employed to do the job last September.

The unique Drill n Fill aerator can gently fold back turf and penetrate soil to a depth of 31cm, backfilling instantly with sand and a soil amendment such as Ecosol’s own zeolitic Sportslite.

This will relieve compaction and allow improved drainage as water percolates down the ducts which remain open for months and accelerate the infiltration rate. Backfill can be tailor-made for each green according to turf conditions to give a soil exchange with sand, zeolitic or ceramic amendments and blends of nutrients.

British company ecosol turfcare visited germany last autumn to treat 15,000 sq m of poorly draining greens at Rheinhessen golf Club with

their specialist Drill n fill aerators, and as Penny Comerford reports, the operation was a complete success.

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Removing the soil allows lateral move-ment in the rootzone, releasing compac-tion. The increased percolation reduces the spongy, soggy conditions which encourage diseases on the green.

Deep holes and good soil amendment encourage deep, strong roots and result in better, healthier, grass growth. There is a choice of drill depths and diameters.

At Rheinhessen last autumn, Ecosol Turfcare wanted to improve soil exchange on the slow draining course.

The team took to Germany, three Drill n Fill aerators and 58 tons of back fill to treat the whole course of around 15,000 sq m in total. Rheinhessen employed 310mm deep drills with a diameter of 20mm.

They used a backfill of 80:20 kiln-dried sand to Sportslite, Ecosol’s zeolitic soil amendment ,which adds a wealth of benefits to soil, including increasing cati-on exchange capacity, lowering suscepti-bility to compaction and helping grass growth by reducing leaching and retain-ing nutrients.

The backfill was specially blended for Rheinhessen by Bespoke Blending and Bagging (BBB) – Ecosol’s own specialised operation which is also based close to the company’s head office in Wiltshire.

BBB is the fine turf industry’s only customised service for any ratio blends of

top dressing, rootzone and soil amend-ments.

Blends are precise, clean and replicable and no ingredient is too small, so that greenkeepers can order specific blends of nutrients or soil amendment which will be delivered anywhere in the UK or Continental Europe, clean, dry and in 20kg, 25kg or 1000kg bags.

As we approach the half way point in the year, 2011 is looking likely to be one of Ecosolve’s busiest ever in Europe.

Several jobs in France are already booked as are two golf courses in The Netherlands and one more in Germany. Most are using specially blended sand/Sportslite backfill from the UK but Ecosol is happy to use customers’ own kiln-dried sand if preferred.

“The European market remains a very important one for Ecosol Turfcare,” said managing director, Bretton King.

“Many clubs have very old courses with clay-based greens and they are find-ing that our aeration system, backed up by excellent attention to detail, efficiency on the ground and after-sales service, is working wonders for them.

“Added to that, the strong Euro, and the fact that we can supply backfill mate-rial has resulted in a cost-effective and convenient operation for golf clubs in Europe.” GME

“The European market remains a very important one for Ecosol Turfcare.”

HAWTREEGOLF COURSE ARCHITECTS

Since 1912

5 OxFORd STREET, WOOdSTOCk,OxFORd Ox20 1TQ

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

WWW.HAWTREE.CO.Uk

42 GME MAY 2011

the last word

It may sound silly but I’ve forgotten how I was able to drive to unfamiliar destinations.

My sat-nav – a garmin Nuvi, if the company wishes to offer me the latest model – takes me everywhere now. I remember I possessed a plethora of atlases, but if I was on my own how did I drive and read a map at the same time? I genuinely can’t recall.

I certainly didn’t lay out the atlas on the empty seat next to me and glance over periodically. the fact I haven’t driven my vehicle up a motorway escarpment supports that theory.

Likewise, when I first started out in journalism there was no such thing as

the Internet – or personal computers for that matter.

When I wished to research something I had to go to places like the library – in those days we still had some – or the archives of large institutions.

And when I wrote out my copy it was on a typewriter. Make a mistake and one was required to go over the text with upper-case Xs to ensure the error would not be compounded by being set in print.

My younger colleagues almost choke on their skinny decaf lattes when I tell them this.

A world without the instant commu-nication of email or the immediate

resource that is the interweb is unfath-omable to them.

As a species, we in the western world have become reliant on such devices. so is it fair to assume in 20 to 30 years time we will feel the same on the golf course?

Will the next generation of golfers be as familiar with rangefinders and on-course gPs devices as we are with the telephone and DVD players?

In any other sphere of life it would be fair to assume so, but golf has always been an anachronism. Well almost always. When it first started people didn’t use stone clubs to hit pebbles towards a woolly mammoth – but you get my drift.

golf has always been averse to progress. But technology is moving apace, whether in club manufactur-ing, ball design or, with gPs systems, in game improvement.

for the amateur such devices are a god-send – but for the sport in general the fear remains the launch of such technology was merely the first anthrax spore in the Pick ‘n’ Mix (with due deference to the legendary Jasper Carrott). GME

plotting a course in the 21st century

“When I wished to research something I had to go to places like the library – in those days we still had some – or the archives of large institutions.”

David [email protected]

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Project4:Layout 1 5/1/11 09:13 Page 1

Code: GME/05/11/RXVtest3

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“The build quality of the RXV is excellent and weparticularly like the four year warranty.”

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“The automatic braking system, where the cars’brakes are applied on hilly terrain with no input fromthe golfer, is a superb safety device. These areexcellent cars and the members like them very much.”

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GME RXV Testimonial 3 09/05/2011 15:14 Page 1

We gave our engineers the ultimate challenge – design the greensmower that will redefine precision cutting. With the new Greensmaster TriFlex, they exceeded all expectations.

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