gmé | issuu 62

GolfManagement Europe

UK £5.00 Eur 6.25US $9.00

Berlin will host ‘The Big Change’ later this year as the European Golf Course Owners Association

prepares its members for challenging timespage 18

growing beyond bordersToro leads a global surge across key areas including Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East and China

issue 62september 2008

ThE lEadinG businEss MaGazinE for ThE pan-EuropEan Golf indusTry

sEpTEMBER 2008 GME 3

publisher’s editorial

I’ll be honest – I’m going to be contro-versial. so if you think there’s no place in golf for anything which upsets the status quo or which rails against popular opin-ion you’d be best to turn the page now.

Golf has no place in the Olympics. There I’ve said it.

While all the major players in golf gather together in a corner of the virtual room to state their case I’m in the oppo-site corner looking small and insignificant. But having said that, I believe my case against is stronger than the case for.

As Billy Bragg once said: “Just because they’re top of the pile, doesn’t mean their vision is the clearest…”

For a start, the Olympics is supposed to be an amateur event, and for too long now the Olympic waters have been muddied by the inclusion of professional sports and sports which purport to be amateur only to pay their participants appearance fees and huge training sup-plements. You know who you are!

Tennis, football, golf… they’re played all year round and each has major events on an annual basis.

They don’t need – or deserve – another major event.

The success of the recent Olympics was down in no small apart to the Corinthian spirit which existed among competitors in what we in the media detrimentally label minority sports.

They’re ‘minority’ sports because they don’t have the mass-media coverage or

the millions of pounds-worth of sponsor-ship of the likes of tennis, football or golf.

And that’s the way it should remain.There has been an argument put for-

ward which says golf should be included if the competitors are amateur. While this is more in keeping with the spirit of the games it still seems out of place in an Olympic environment.

speaking as a patriotic Brit, I suppose I should be in favour of anything which gives us more medal chances but even that doesn’t sway my thinking.

But I may be trying to nail water to a wall. There is a huge groundswell of opin-ion currently in favour – and money talks. The Olympics sold out to commercial interests long ago.

And I even have mixed feelings about that. Everything is an official Olympic partner these days, yet to maintain a ve-neer of respectability the games allows in ‘sports’ such as synchronised swimming and rhythmic gymnastics.

What next? snooker and pub-quiz machines?

At least golf is a true sport. GME

Golf should not be chasing the olympic dream

Michael [email protected]

Despite so much doom and gloom surrounding global markets, Toro remains strong.

5

The Repton short Course at Rudding park offers golf in an hour to golfers of all standards.

15

Multi-millionaire Martin Long has invested over £3.5m in sweetwoods Golf Club.

20

When Celtic Manor hosts the 2010 Ryder Cup, Jim McKenzie will take centre stage.

23

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Editor John VinicombeContributors Mark Adam, Mark Alexander, David Bowers, Tim Earley, sean Noble, pete simm

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“for too long now the Olympic waters have been muddied by the inclusion of professional sports”

4 GME sEpTEMBER 2008

headline news

st Mellion International Resort’s £100m transforma-tion is now well underway with the hotel, course and clubhouse projects due to be completed by the end of March 2009.

The front nine holes of The Nicklaus signature Course have re-opened and the back nine are being refur-bished including buggy paths, irrigation, bunkers and tee areas.

All the Nicklaus golf course works will be complete by the end of October and the Nicklaus course design team are very pleased with the progress made so far.

The Kernow Course - formerly known as The Old Course - will be completed by the end of October with some final bunker alterations to follow in the New Year.

Two attractive and chal-lenging new holes have been constructed on land behind the current tenth hole with new lakes and bunkers now formed and the greens being grown in.

These holes will not be used until summer 2010 so will have two years to mature.

phase one of building work at the resort is already complete revealing a fully refurbished gymnasium, leisure reception and spa rooms.

The former ‘golf bar’ has been converted into a new function suite now named st piran.

It has been completed to an exceptionally high stand-ard, has breathtaking pano-ramic views over the 18th green of The Nicklaus

signature Course and is appointed with state of the art wireless technology and fabulous, modern catering facilities.

Work has also begun on the new 80 bedroom land-mark hotel. stage one was the creation of a steel struc-ture which is due to be fitted with 80 individual bedroom ‘pods’ that have been manufactured in scotland.

The main structure of the hotel will be completed by

the end september and has a vastly reduced carbon footprint to conventional construction methods.

In the coming weeks the current Hamilton suite will be converted into a new golf retail outlet, golf reception and conference room.

Between the end of september and into October the old pro shop will become a conference room, and a new sales and reservations office.

st Mellion’s £100m refurb on course

Harradine Golf has announced that phase One of the Mudon Golf Course in Dubai has been completed.

The par 72 course, with a total length of 6,936 yards from the back tees is dispersed with relics to reinforce the historical Arab theme.

The dramatic18th hole dogleg par five, offers a direct shot over the lake which has to carry a large expanse of water to reach the green in two.

The theme of the development is based on five Arabian cities (Baghdad, Beirut, Cairo, Damascus and Marrakesh) in their tradi-tional urban form with residential areas based on typical courtyards that will resemble those histor-ic Arab city centers.

This extensive project includes the 18 hole course, 1,639 town houses and over 1,800 villas.

Mudon, or “Homeland of the Arab” as the name translates, will provide an insight into the traditional Arabic architecture and culture.

Troon Golf has been selected by sODIC, Egypt’s leading real estate develop-er, to manage Allegria, the first Greg Norman signature golf course in Egypt.

The Allegria development comprises modern residen-tial and commercial facilities set within acres of pristine parkland, designed with young families and children in mind.

The Norman-designed golf course is situated within close proximity to the centre of Cairo, Egypt with incredi-ble views of the ancient pyramids and is scheduled to open in 2009.

The course represents Norman’s and Troon Golf’s first project in Egypt, and the official signing ceremony

between Troon Golf and sODIC took place to coin-cide with Norman’s inaugu-ral visit to review construc-tion of the first nine hole phase.

Commenting after the signing, Mark Chapleski, vice president, operations,

Middle East, Troon Golf, said: “We are pleased to announce Troon Golf’s first management contract in Egypt and believe that Allegria will develop into one of the most spectacular golf facilities in our interna-tional portfolio.”

Members of a Norwich golf club have voted over-whelmingly in favour of plans to transform its 120-acre site into housing.

Members at the 115-year-old Royal Norwich Golf Club were asked to vote on whether to sell to a property developer.

The move would then see members transferred to a

nearby golf club, which will enjoy a multi-million pound revamp.

At the meeting there was an overwhelming majority in favour of the plans, with 239 of the 284 members voting in favour - an 84 per cent majority.

Now Norfolk-based Goymour properties Ltd will seek permission to build

what could be a major housing development on the site.

The 450-plus members of the club will be transferred to the nearby Weston park Golf Club, owned by Goymour, which will receive a £7m upgrade.

It is estimated there will be an 18-month transition peri-od prior to final relocation.

royal norwich sell out to developer

Troon manage to secure allegria deal


on the cover

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Global growth vital as Toro helps the game expand

some say the grass is always greener on the other side of the fence. In this case, it’s greener on the east side of the pond.

According to the Golf Research Group’s current estimates, there are more than 32,000 golf courses worldwide, with more than 50 per cent in the Us.

However, due to market saturation and economic conditions, growth opportu-nities are limited in tradition-al golf markets.

Today, 75 per cent of all courses planned or under construction are outside these mature markets.

Key growth areas include Eastern Europe, Russia, the Middle East, south Africa, India, China, south Korea, Egypt, Morocco and the Caribbean.

“Many countries are doubling their inventory of courses,” said Barry Beckett, senior marketing manager, Toro Commercial Equipment, International Division (pictured right).

“Three or four new courses in a country that has three existing courses is quite significant.

“Russia and China are similar in that many see golf as a prestigious sport. More people are learning to play the game and want to play on a celebrated golf course.

“Others look at courses with a pure business mindset and want to develop the property for long-term value.”

A perfect example is China’s Mission Hills Golf Club, the largest golf complex in the world.

The $625 million develop-ment, just 20 minutes from Hong Kong, features 12 world-class 18-hole courses,

with another ten courses in progress, plus the world’s largest pro shop.

As a global golf leader, Toro has a worldwide team working to establish and maintain distribution chan-nels, as well as assist with parts and service.

“We’re consistently work-ing to make each golf course professional’s job easier – no matter where they might be,” concluded Beckett. GME

“Three or four new courses in a country that has three existing courses is quite significant.”


This month marks Wyboston Lakes Golf Centre’s 25th anniversary.

The par 70, 18-hole Bedfordshire golf course was designed by Neil Oakden in 1983, and is recognised as one of the best coaching centres in the region.

The course is comple-mented by a range of on-site leisure facilities, including a fitness centre with an indoor pool, corpo-rate team-building events, 406 ensuite bedrooms and

two dedicated conference and training centres.

David Little, leisure services manager for the last nine years, said: “I would like to thank all of those who have made it possible to reach this milestone.

“providing a first class golf-ing facility, together with our warm and friendly welcome is our top priority, and we look forward to welcoming many more golfers to our course during our 25th anni-versary celebration.”

news

The biggest golf resort in Europe, which also features the largest golf school in the world, has chosen the new E-Z-GO RXV as its preferred golf car. The Hartl Golf Resort, Bad Griesbach in Bavaria has taken delivery of 90 electric golf cars from Duchell, the E-Z-GO dis-tributor for Germany.

England Golf has award-ed the Isle of Man Golf partnership £13,000 over the next three years to support the development of golf on the island.

intelligentgolf, a new on-line management system for golf clubs offers an advantage to their mem-bers on the course as well as off it. The brainchild of software developer Jamie Abbott, it enables players to see where oth-er players have scored well or not so well in any tournament in which they have played.

A Hampshire golf course has come onto the mar-ket. The freehold of Bishopswood Golf Course is being offered for sale by savills at a guide price of £795,000.

Golf Environment Europe has changed its name to the Golf Environment Organisation. The new name is accompanied by a new brand and organi-sational structure.

burnley Golf Club made a special trip to the first ever Ryder Cup venue to pick up a national award.The Lancashire club beat stiff competition to land the Glenmuir Junior sec-tion of the Year which was presented at Moor-town Golf Club.

in briEf;

Nick Faldo visited Lough Erne Golf Resort, near Enniskillen, Northern Ireland, recently to assess the progess and development of his stunning new design which is scheduled to open in the summer of 2009.

The 50 year old European Ryder Cup Captain toured the 7,209, par 72 course with owner Jim Treacy and recalled his initial visit back in 2002 to Lough Erne to the Irish Times: “We thought

wow, this has got serious five star potential so we twisted Jim’s arm to go for it.

“The original concept was that it was going to be a hotel and a hotel course. We said, no, this could potentially be a European Tour destination” said Faldo.

Europe’s most successful golfer also made reference to the fact that Lough Erne Golf Resort may draw favourable comparison with scotland’s prestigious Loch

Lomond which originally inspired owner Jim Treacy.

“You’ve got Lough Erne and Castle Hume Lake liter-ally 300 degrees around you and you won’t see a build-ing,” added Faldo.

“There are some wonder-ful natural features out here in terms of vistas and some beautiful natural spots like down on the eighth.

“separation is something wonderful when each hole has its own individuality; that’s really important to our design team”

Construction of the course began in spring 2006 with tees and greens built to UsGA specifications and there is a fully automatic irri-gation system to greens, tees, approaches and surrounds including the mown roughs.

Lough Erne will be fully cart pathed and have extensive practice facilities including a driving range, short game area, putting green and mini Himalayas.

faldo visits loch Erne

Golf clubs can earn an annual lump sum without doing anything other than signing up to a unique new scheme.

Golf player Direct (GpD) targets the club’s database of members and visitors, with a weekly email from manu-facturers, on-line tee-time companies, apparel distribu-tors or golf clubs with special offers.

And all the golf club has to do is pass on that data-base initially – secure in the knowledge it won’t be used

for any other purpose - before sitting back and waiting for a cheque in 12 months’ time.

Company spokesman Adrian Wood said, despite the simplicity of the scheme, there really is no catch.

He explained: “Golf clubs always need money and golf businesses have always wanted to target the golfers.

“There’s 2.2 million golfers out there and yet they can currently only target 100,000 of them via the traditional medium of magazines.

“Advertising in golf maga-zines hits the same people every month. There are hundreds of avid golfers who would welcome these offers yet never buy a golf magazine.”

If the club has a database of 1,000 golfers, over the year, it would receive £1,000, providing none of the members chose to unsubscribe.

If they do unsubscribe, the club receives money for those golfers who remain on the database.

new scheme offers money for nothing

Wyboston lakes strikes silver to mark anniversary


news

Director of Golf Operations for UK for Marriott Hotels

An exciting opportunity to join one of the worlds largest hotel companies and to be responsible for Golf at ten fabulous Country Clubs in England, Scotland and Wales including the Marriott Forest of Arden Hotel and Country Club, Dalmahoy and Country Club, Hanbury Manor Hotel and Coun-try Club, St Pierre Hotel and Country Club all of which have played host to major events.

The successful candidate will be part of a country club operations team.

Application should be sent to:

Paul Downing, Regional Vice President of Operations for UK,Ireland, Middle East and Africa

[email protected]

GC adamstal – austrian Golf at its’ very best

Developed over a period of 15 years GC Adamstal now boasts 27 holes having opened a new third nine in June of 2007.

Owned and operated by Franz Wittman (current presi-dent of the Austrian Golf Association and former 12 times Austrian Rally Car Champion) this magnificent 27 hole facility was designed by Ireland-based architect Jeff Howes.

Howes, a student of the game for over 30 years has played, and worked on many of the world’s finest courses – indeed his profes-sion has taken him to all fours corners of the world.

GC Adamstal was recent-ly voted the number one golf course in Austria by the Austrian Golfing public, and is located only an hours drive southwest of Vienna.

The course, which is situat-ed in a spectacularly scenic mountainous region, sits seamlessly into the surround-

ing wooded hillsides – it is perhaps, the most scenic golf course in Europe.

It is abundantly obvious where Howes’ inspiration for the courses’ design originat-ed from.

A native of Calgary, in Canada, Howes grew up close to many fine mountain golf courses such as Banff and Jasper.

It is clear to see that these superb creations of stanley Thompson have greatly influ-enced Howes and the stun-ning layout that he has achieved at GC Adamstal.

Testament to the quality of the golf course and its owners’ desire to raise the profile of golf in Austria, is the fact that the European Tours’ Challenge Tour have played an event here for a number of years now in the form of the Man NO Open.

Which incidentally has been won by home-grown talent such as, Marcus Brier and Niki Zitny.

The course measures 5,919m (6,475 yards) off the back tees, and whilst not very long by today’s’ stand-ards it is a very good test of golf and course manage-ment.

The tree lined manicured fairways and immaculate greens contribute to a wonderful golfing experi-ence in breathtaking surroundings. It is a true golf-ing gem.


news

Oceânico Golf will official-ly open its Amendoeira Golf Resort in portugal next month.

The resort features two spectacular championship courses, one designed by Ryder Cup Captain Nick Faldo and the other by Irish

legend Christy O’Connor Jnr, and as with all the Oceânico courses, the two new layouts are managed by Troon Golf.

The Oceânico Faldo Course is a par 72 course set in the stunning hillsides of Amendoeira.

Rocky outcrops, meander-ing watercourses and views to the distant mountains and orange groves define its essential character.

Faldo said: “The land at Amendoeira is dramatic and the project has the potential to be a real talking point in the Algarve; with so many courses in the region, that’s no mean feat.

“This is a very exciting project, which gives me a great opportunity to exploit my passion for design the same way I exploited my passion for playing.

“You have incredible views, beautiful undulating land and any time you get natural terrain like this, it is great fun to work with.”

perfectly complementing the Faldo Course, whilst taking advantage of the rich valley soil in contrast to the arid hillside, the Christy O’Connor Jnr designed course will offer no less of a challenge.

It features lush landscap-ing and orange groves in a low-lying valley where large areas of lakes and water-courses will demand accu-rate play.

Commenting on the course, O’Connor Jnr said: “The course has my version of Amen Corner, starting at the 7th. We have a lake which runs from the 9th, through the 8th and into the 7th, so it is a kind of a chain reaction and the 7th will be the first of it.

“The 18th hole is a humdinger; once you get up onto green and look down on the golf course, you will feel you have been blessed.”

The two new Amendoeira courses will be officially opened during the week of the portugal Masters (October, 16-19), which will again be hosted by the criti-cally acclaimed Oceânico Victoria golf course for the second consecutive year.

oceânico’s amendoeira resort prepares to open

A development firm wants to build on a preston golf course.

Northern Trust Ltd wants to halve the size of the 18-hole Ingol Golf Club to make way for housing, business premises and leisure facilities.

The firm has expressed an interest in developing the site but first must convince the council to change the planning rules.

The recent admission ends speculation on Northern Trust Ltd’s inten-tions – and residents living by the course have vowed to “fight every inch of the way” to halt any development.

A preston Council spokesman confirmed it had received a letter from Northern Trust about turning the club into a nine-hole course with commercial, leisure and housing developments.

He said: “This does not mean that there is defi-nitely going to be a development, just that the site owner is interest-ed in potentially develop-ing it.”

Members at shaw Hill Golf Club in Chorley, Lancashire, and Oakmere park Golf Club in Nottinghamshire are the latest to benefit from a

tie-up with Kingfisher Gift Vouchers (KGV). As well as using Kingfisher Gift Vouchers for golfing compe-tition prizes, including hole in

one, nearest the pin and longest drive, the clubs are also offering all members access to KGV’s on-line package of rewards.

Carol Houghton, Oakmere Golf Club’s Lady Captain said: “Kingfisher Gift Vouchers are ideal for us to use as a club - we benefit from the five per cent discount, plus they’re easy to order, handle and admin-ister.

“Equally, members love receiving them as prizes, because they can spend on over 400,000 different prod-ucts at any one of 150,000 different B&Q, Comet and Woolworths stores

Gift vouchers score with clubs

Land belonging to a UK police force could be turned into a huge golf complex.

West Mercia Constabulary has confirmed it is in negoti-ations to transform 200 acres of land near Worcester into an 18-hole championship golf course.

The proposed develop-ment, which would include a regional golf teaching academy, is part of the

ambitious Community sports Hub scheme, which a private development firm wants to build at Hindlip, on the outskirts of the city.

sir Bert Millichip sports Ltd (sBMs) has ambitious plans to build a massive new sports complex complete with Olympic swimming pool, cricket ground, tennis centre, football academy and a specialist sports science centre.

The firm says it already “controls” enough land to make the vision a reality, but that it also hopes to use police-owned land to build a massive golf complex next door.

The land is currently rent-ed to local farmers, but a spokesman for West Mercia Constabulary confirmed negotiations had begun with the sports development firm.

police land ‘nicked’ for golf


news

Remedy Oak Golf Club; ClubhouseDesign flexibility, speed of build, energy efficiency, durabil-ity and environmental excellence. These are all qualities that make Pinelog timber frame structures the perfect choice for imaginative building projects, large and small.

From clubhouses, to halfway houses, to driving bays, our design and build service consistently delivers for golf clubs.

Pinelog Limited, Riverside Business Park, Bakewell, Derbyshire DE45 1GSTel: 01629 814481 Fax: 01629 814634email: [email protected] www.pinelog.co.uk

pinelog complete remedy oak clubhouse

The stunning new club-house at Remedy Oak Golf Club was set up with three things in mind: to provide high quality facilities for members - on par with the magnificent course; to intro-duce imaginative, sustaina-ble architecture into a golf course setting and protect the natural environment.

situated in 256 acres of ancient woodland, Remedy Oak is a new championship golf course near Horton, in Dorset.

The owners approached pinelog with the request that they design and build an environmentally sustainable clubhouse that would fulfil all their objectives.

The new building had to include an open bar/lounge/restaurant; lobby and reception with office; pro shop; changing rooms with showers and toilets, kitchens and rooms for staff use, plant and storage rooms.

Having assessed the site and been given a detailed brief, pinelog’s architects submitted a design for a low building, set back into the top of a sloping site, with open views over a lake and the 18th green.

The proposal was accept-ed and pinelog liaised close-ly with the local planning department - the plans pass-ing the complex planning stages with only minor modi-fications.

The new clubhouse is based around two diametri-cally opposed pyramid shaped structures, one hous-ing a restaurant and a second a pro-shop.

These are connected by a bar and lounge area, kitch-ens, committee room and changing rooms around three sides of the perimeter, and a lobby and reception in the centre.

As the club was looking for natural yet low-mainte-nance external finishes,

pinelog specified a brick plinth and cladding using horizontal siberian larch panels, which was chosen because it is hard, durable and requires little mainte-nance.

A major intention of the design was to give an airy ‘barn-like’ feel in the communal areas and allow as much natural ventilation as possible.

A high vaulted ceiling constructed from glulam laminated timber achieves this. The main clubroom is also mechanically ventilat-ed and air conditioned

through louvres concealed in small roof dormers.

A full height dormer entrance throws itself forward from the building line creating a distinctive entrance to the building, guiding visitors to the lobby and reception.

Large glass windows posi-tioned for over-the-lake views ensure an apprecia-tion of the outstanding natu-ral environment the club enjoys. Doors along the back of the building lead to a decked area where guests can relax and take in the views.


news

Murray long, courses and estate manager at the prestigious sunningdale Golf Club in Berkshire, has recently taken delivery of three Jacobsen sLF1880 super light fairway mow-ers from local Ransomes Jacobsen dealer, TH White Ltd of Reading.

Monte Rei Golf and Country Club in portugal has recently appointed salvador Lucena and Iain McInally as general manager and director of golf respectively.

nobles Construction has been appointed by West Lancashire Golf Club to refurbish its clubhouse in a deal worth £1.2 million. New changing facili-ties, player’s entrance, extended kitchens and a new pro shop are all part of the scheme. Wasserman Media Group is expanding its golf practice into Europe to represent established and new golfers, and realise marketing opportuni-ties in the sport. The new European practice will be headed up by Brendan Taylor, who will serve as vice president, golf for WMG Management.

Rural Retreats Holidays, has noticed a surge in UK demand for properties with golf courses nearby-with golfers turning their back on the traditional golf destinations of the Algarve in preference of home soil.

Sunningdale Golf Club has attained nationally recognised ‘Investors in people’ status as part of its drive to be a centre of excellence, not just for golf but for employees.

in briEf;

As part of Dunston Hall’s continual development, De Vere’s renowned Norfolk golf course and resort has recently embarked upon a significant course improve-ment programme.

The scheme included replacing and upgrading some of the greens and the re-engineering of the irriga-tion system.

The new greens that have been installed create a better playing experience for all golfers, as they offer a

truer putting surface with a greater feel and roll, whilst giving a better hold to the golf ball than in the past.

As part of the clubs long-term plan and continuing improvements to the golf course, the re-engineering of the irrigation system will ensure that the course remains in excellent condi-tion throughout the year.

peter Briggs, golf opera-tions manager at Dunston Hall said: “Everyone at the club is delighted with the

outcome of the develop-ment work that has taken place.

“Not only has it made an immediate difference to the condition of the course but will have a significant posi-tive impact on our long-term plans.

“The advantages of being able to offer golf all year round are obvious, while the new greens make the course an even more excit-ing proposition than in the past.”

de Vere invest in dunston hall

Expected to set a new standard in luxury leisure in the northeast of England, the Rockliffe Hall Hotel, Golf and spa development near Darlington is due for completion in 2009.

The 150-hectare resort is home to Middlesborough FC’s training facility and Rockliffe Hall, a run-down 19th Century mansion that is being converted into a 63-bedroom five-star hotel.

Designed by Hawtree and built by MJ Abbott, the course is complemented by a driving range, grass-roofed clubhouse and practice area.

In order to achieve the rapid establishment and aesthetic appearance required by the architect, the course’s tees, fairways and roughs have been sown with two specially created Barenbrug grass seed mixtures.

The fine-leaved Bargold-based perennial ryegrass mixture sown across the tees, fairways and roughs, as well as the fescues and bents mix featuring chew-ings fescue, Bargreen, sown across the maintained roughs, also suited the course’s likely maintenance regime.

barenbrug seed selected for rockliffe hall

A newly launched golf academy on spain’s Costa Daurada has been set up to provide the next padraig Harrington with supreme training facilities to develop their talents all year round.

Based at the Med Group’s luxurious Bonmont golf and residential community, south

of Barcelona, the John Cook school of Golf will also provide budding 8-18 year old players with warm weather training.

players will be recom-mended by their respective golf unions and clubs, to take part in four and five-day residential courses at

Bonmont where they will receive expert tuition and the chance to hone their skills on one of Europe’s finest golf courses.

Founder John Cook, said: “It is vital that players have facilities to practice and be tutored from an early age throughout the year.”

Winter sun attracts pupils to spain


news

The game of golf is a multi-billion euro enterprise now worth more than €50 billion a year in Europe, the Middle East and Africa, according to a pioneering study from KpMG Golf Advisory practice.

Nine leading golf bodies joined forces with KpMG to publish the report that reveals the sport in the EMA region generates total reve-nues of €53 billion, supports almost half a million jobs and pays nearly €10 billion in wages.

In GDp terms, the game contributes as much to the economy in a single year as the last six Olympic Games combined (prior to Beijing 2008) – €14.5 billion.

And while golf in the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMA) region is about one-third the size of the Us golf industry, it is growing fast, especially golf tourism and golf real estate.

According to KpMG’s research, these key sectors now account for almost half of the game’s total revenue.

Real estate is the number-one money earner, bringing in €19 billion, which outstrips the total cash generated on-course (from green fees, memberships, etc).

The report reveals that in Europe alone, the number of courses and players has doubled since 1985, where-as in the Us, the number of courses and players has levelled off since 2000.

“This is the first time this kind of research has been done on this side of the Atlantic,” said Andrea

sartori, head of KpMG’s Golf Advisory practice EMA.

“While our report shows that golf in the EMA region is still smaller than America, the game is booming here, especially golf tourism and real estate.

“Golf courses are increas-ingly being used to support quality residential develop-ments across EMA, and several countries, especially in the Mediterranean and the Middle East, are capital-ising on the benefits that golf tourism can bring.”

Royal Birkdale’s course manager Chris Whittle took time to reflect on the tour-nament support they received from John Deere following the recent Open Championship.

“In all the years I’ve been working in greenkeeping, I don’t think I’ve ever been so well looked after by a manufacturer,” he said.

“The John Deere guys were absolutely brilliant, and did a tremendous job.

“By looking after their machines and getting them set up each day, it took a lot of the stress away from the greenkeepers and meant we could just concentrate on getting the course in the best condition possible.”

deere’s open support for royal birkdale

Golf Economy worth billions in Europe claim KpMG

Brian D. PiersonThe Golf Course Builder

projeCT manaGemenT ConsulTanCy aCross europe

Belarus, denmark, franCe, Germany, maCedonia, spain, sweden

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

180 Ruskin Road, Kingsthorpe Northampton NN2 7TA

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news

Robert Ernst, one of the Ransomes Jacobsen Cutting Edge Training team responsi-ble for end user training in Europe, has been tutoring greenkeepers at Landwirtschaftliche Fachschule Warth, an Austrian government-oper-ated Agricultural and Green science College in Warth, about 80 km outside Vienna.

Up to 24 students, primarily greenkeepers from Austria, Germany and the Czech Republic, enrol in the course

which features three modules: Mechanical treat-ment of golf surfaces – aera-tion, grooming, verticutting, slitting, spiking, top dressing and soil injection; Cutting units – grinding, setting, adjustment and mainte-nance; and Basic hydraulics and electrics.

The students attend the college for four weeks during the winter months for three years before sitting a final written examination and practical tests.

austrian greenkeepers in training for the future

The plimsoll Analysis Golf Courses and Clubs, published in June, prompted a back-lash in the UK golf courses and clubs industry.

Having found that a record number of golf courses and clubs companies are on the danger list, 1,141

jobs could go, and up to a third of golf courses and

clubs firms are at risk of failure under a

prolonged slow down in the UK economy, the news was

hardly welcome. In response to this,

plimsoll has produced an updated study to

incorporate the very latest figures and bring the picture right up to date.

Feedback plimsoll received from the original publication was that in general, companies were not experiencing too much difficulty in retaining sales.

This is borne out in the updated analysis that puts current market growth at a respectable three per cent,

with 636 of the 846 compa-nies analysed holding or increasing sales on last year.

David pattison, senior analyst on the project said: “The latest figures do seem to suggest that the focus has switched from profit to sales, as companies grab business almost at any cost!

“The old adage has never been more apt, ‘sales for vanity- profit is sanity.”

sales for vanity, profit is sanity claim plimsoll

John Jacobs Golf associatesInternatIonal Golf Course arChIteCts and desIGn Consultants

established 1985

70 Whitesmead Roadstevenage sG1 3JZ

tel: 01438 221026fax: 01438 229271

Mobile: 07770 981618

email: [email protected]


newscompany profile

faCTfilE;

Golf player Direct18 Audley Close

st Ives pE27 6UJEngland

TEl; (44) 07508 094192

[email protected]

WEblinK; GOLFpLAYERDIRECT.COM

With the credit crunch squeezing budgets ever tighter both at home and in business, if there was an opportunity to increase revenue for very little effort it would be churlish to not to investigate further.

That’s what Golf player Direct claims to be able to do – and the methodology is so simple it’s hard to argue against it.

But what, we hear you ask, is the catch?

Well, company spokes-man Adrian Wood insists there isn’t one.

A 22-year-old, scratch golfer with a background in golf marketing and opera-tions, Wood had the idea while talking to golf clubs in a recent role.

He said: “I noticed if golf businesses want to get to golfers digitally they strug-gle. They can really only go through the golf magazines email databases to target them.

“But it’s monotonous; they’re hitting the same people time and time again. They’re all the same type of golfer. For example, my dad’s a prime target for golf manufacturers – he loves the game but has never bought a golf maga-zine in his life.

“Yet if you sent him an email about buying tee times online or saving 40 per cent this weekend on select-ed golf gear he’d snap it up.

“I thought the best way to get to him is through the golf clubs that would have his email address.

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

The concept is simple enough – and the bottom line is in pounds sterling.

Effectively, each club allows Golf player Direct to

target their database of members and visitors, with a weekly email from manufac-turers, on-line tee-time companies, apparel distribu-tors or any business wanting to target golfers.

And for each name on the database, the club will receive around one pound per year. For doing nothing.

If you build you database up to 1,000 golfers, for a year, your club would receive £1,000. simple.

Why? Well, as Wood explained, golf businesses want to target golfers – and not all golfers read glossy magazines or register on golf websites.

“Golf clubs always need money and golf busi-nesses have always wanted to target the golfers,” he continued.

“There’s 2.2 million golfers out there and they can currently only target 100,000 of them.

“This way if golf clubs see the benefit and are prepared to do a bit of data capture, which we can help them with if needs be. They will realise they can make a hell of a lot of money.

“Clients that want to target golfers pay us to send the email for them and a percentage of that revenue gets fed back to the golf clubs depending on how many players they contribut-ed to the database.

“And the clubs are safe in the knowledge that the database will not be touched for any other use.

“The club will know exact-ly what goes through it, what is being sent and even

have the option of stopping emails going out to it if they don’t like the content.

“If individual members wish to unsubscribe from Golf player Direct mailings they can – the club just no

longer receives money for that

golfer. “They send

the database to us, we put it on our system we send the

email and they get paid per

golfer. “The whole process

is managed by us. Golf clubs don’t have to lift a finger,” added Wood.

“There is no catch. My very first client asked me what he’d have to pay to join.

“I had to explain that it didn’t involve a sign-up fee or anything.”

The unique scheme, which launched on september 1, has a limit of one email per week and the agreement is one of exclusivity, not a fixed time period.

And in addition, clubs signing up get access to an HTML email design service and a website design facili-ty. Like we said, it would be churlish not to investigate further... GME

Email initiative set to earn clubs extra revenue

“Golf clubs always need money and golf businesses have always wanted to target the golfers”


club focusWEblinK; RUDDINGpARK.CO.UK

Have the chance to play the 17th at Sawgrass - one of the most feared and talked-about holes in golf - in your lunch hour? You must be joking.

But while we’ve all imagined standing on the tee with knees quaking sizing up the 130-odd yard shot to the island green, that dream is now very much a reality with the opening of the new Repton Short Course at Rudding Park Hotel and Golf Resort - one of the leading and most forward-thinking golf facilities in the north of England.

Built to USGA standards, the imagina-tive six-hole par-three course is the first of its kind in the area and can be played in an hour or less, making it ideal for a quick practice before or after work, or even when you feel the need to stretch your legs at lunchtime.

Appealing to members, visitors, juniors and corporate days alike, the Repton Course has already proved quite a hit since opening in April this year and its reputation is growing all the time.

And at the heart of it all is the signature 137-yard fifth hole, with its spectacular island green and based on Florida’s noto-rious 17th on The Stadium Course at Sawgrass, home of the Tournament Players Championship.

“There’s nothing similar in the nearby vicinity,” said Peter Banks, managing director at Rudding Park.

“The holes are short enough for chil-dren learning the game, especially the younger ones, not to get discouraged. But for a decent golfer it’s still a good chal-lenge to go round in par.

“You stand there on the tee and think it can’t be that difficult but it actually tests the sort of shots you don’t often practice. How often, for instance, does a golfer play a three-quarter wedge?

“We’re all more time-pressured - nobody’s got much time to do anything - so if you just want to come up on your lunch break you can. It helps keep your hand in and six holes is better than not playing at all.

banks profits from speculating short

An idea born on the touchline of a football pitch has become reality in North Yorkshire as the Repton short course opens for play. Article by Peter Simm.


faCTfilE;

Rudding parkFollifoot, Harrogate

North Yorkshire HG3 1JHEngland

TEl; (44) 01423 871350faX; (44) 01423 872286

EMail;[email protected]

ManaGinG dirECTor;peter Banks (pictured)

hEad GrEEnKEEpEr;Richard Hollingworth

Club foundEd;1995

“And from a good golfer’s perspective, it asks you questions on every hole and really helps your short game.”

Make no mistake, this is no pitch and putt. Far from it. Designed by renowned architect Martin Hawtree - responsible for more than 750 projects worldwide - and constructed by John Greasley, the £700,000 development comprises one parkland hole, two woodland and two water holes as well as the signature hole.

With a fast-running stream running over weirs and through the course, the Repton Course is not only a golfing chal-lenge but easy on the eye and is the perfect addition to the Rudding Park golf complex, which also features The Hawtree - an 18-hole championship course - an 18-bay floodlit and covered driving range and an impressive golf academy.

Banks said: “We want this to be the golfing hotspot and a real ‘hothouse’ for golfers in the north of England.

“I came up with the idea for the Repton Course in 2002 on the touchline of an under-eight’s football match when one of my friends said: ‘you need a short course’.

“We talked about it, went around a few short courses in the country, spoke to Martin and walked around the land we had in mind.

“Martin came up and I told him I didn’t want it to be a pitch and putt and that we needed this to be our signature so people go, ‘Wow’ and remember it, some-thing like the 17th at Sawgrass.

“He said there’s no lake, though, so I said we’d dig one and we did! What used to be a field where there were campers and barbeques is now a massive lake with an island green slap bang in the middle of it.

“The way Martin has designed it is that some of them are three-quarter shots where you’re punching it when you are into the wind, whereas the next one is the same distance but is a full sand wedge with the wind behind and you have to get it to stop quick.

“We have just finished our summer league and have now started an autumn one. It’s a great opportunity for people to come down, play golf and have a hot dog and a couple of beers. It’s a bit like five-a-side football leagues or bowling leagues in America and there’s got to be that sort of thing for golf as well.

“I think the other benefit of this golf course is that we can offer good golf to everyone - even when there have been monsoon-like conditions.

“It’s open and you don’t have to go out for four and a half hours. You can go out for an hour, go out for another hour if you want and then get back in and you’ve had your fix without getting wet, cold or fed up.”

Banks is also hoping Rudding Park’s newest development helps introduce golf to a new group of people by disbanding some of the more traditional perceptions about the game.

He added: “I’m a firm believer in trying to de-snob golf and just make it available for people rather than make people feel embarrassed about what car they’re driv-ing or what they’re wearing. It’s just so wrong.

“Parent and child is really big because you can take your child on there without feeling embarrassed. It’s a short course and there’s no dress code. Yes, we want people to behave and I don’t want them hacking up the green with a seven iron but really what you wear is immaterial.”

With the Repton Course complement-ing the more established Hawtree Course and the state-of-the-art facilities available at the golf academy, Rudding Park is now regarded as Yorkshire’s premier hotel and golf resort.

Situated two-and-a-half miles south of Harrogate, much has happened since the 19th century house and 2,000-acre estate was acquired by the Mackaness family in 1972, with a 50-bedroom hotel adjoining the house, a conference and banqueting centre and the Rudding Holiday Park also opening since then.

“i’m a firm believer in trying to de-snob golf and just make it available for people rather than make people feel embarrassed about what car they’re driving or what they’re wearing. it’s just so wrong.”


‘Specialist in Golf Course Construction’

Repton Short Course at Rudding ParkRoyal Birkdale, Royal St George’s

Carnoustie, Goodwood

baGcc

John greasley limitedAshfield House, 1154 Melton Road, Syston, Leicester LE7 2HB

Telephone: 0116 269 6766 Fax: 0116 269 6866

Email: [email protected]

HAWTREEGOLF COURSE ARCHITECTS

Since 1912

5 OxFORd STREET, WOOdSTOCk,OxFORd Ox20 1TQ

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

WWW.HAWTREE.CO.Uk

The Hawtree Course, a par-72 lay-out running through the heart of the parkland estate, opened its doors for business in 1995 and its popularity is such that it now has 600 members.

Run as a separate business to the Repton Course, the 18-hole lay-out is doing an average of 40,000 rounds per year and Banks believes that its design and some recent alterations will help it maintain its popular status among golfers in the north.

He explained: “Everybody has played lots of golf courses where you just stand there and your jaw drops and you think ‘Wow’. Here, you have to put the ball in the right place and think on every shot where you are going to go. It’s a bit like golfing snooker really.

“As a golfer I played it for the first time in 1997 and thought what a beautiful piece of golf course land but it was all cut flat. There was no definition.

“You could really just stand there and hit your driver anywhere because it didn’t matter, so when I took over in 2000 we said we want this to look like a golf course and we toughened it up.

“We have ‘Oh My God’ rough, have introduced some new bunkers and visual-ly it’s now defined and shows you where you’ve got to go rather than being all cut down.

“It’s not in-your-face golf course design. It’s a thinking man’s golf course and I think that is where Martin is such a clever designer.”

Determined not to rest on their laurels though and despite the downturn in the economy, Banks and the Rudding Park team have a number of new projects planned to ensure they stay ahead of their rivals.

Work on a new hole to add to the 18-hole course, also designed by Hawtree, will start this winter, while planning permission is to be sought shortly on a £10-15 million development for a 34-bedroom hotel extension and luxury spa.

“Planning permission runs out at the end of this year so we are going to imple-ment building one hole straightaway that will go from the back of the fifth green through to the 14th tee and give us a nine-hole loop,” added Banks.

“That will give us a six-hole offering that you can get round in three quarters of an hour, nine holes that can be played in two hours and the 18-hole course from April 2010. We’ll see how we go with the other eight holes that we have planning permission for. Right now, building golf courses is an expensive game.

“The new development will give us another 34 rooms that are larger and more luxurious. You go to Gleneagles and their bedrooms are all 40 square metres and that’s the sort of market we want to get into.”

Having achieved so much in such a short space of time, few would back against them not being successful in their mission. GME


egcoa conference

The wind of change will be in the air when Berlin hosts the third European Golf Business Conference from November 5-7, 2008. The 2007 event attracted a record 230 delegates and, with an impressive array of speakers lined up for this year, and some hot topics up for debate, it is anticipated that attendance figures will reach an all time high.

The European Golf Business Conference is organised by the European Golf Course Owners Association (EGCOA), and aims to bring the industry together and to benefit all concerned.

Designed for owners, managers, direc-tors of golf, suppliers, representatives of national and European golf bodies, golf course architects and industry partners, the event is designed to allow maximum sharing of ideas, business models and networking.

The 2008 event focus is ‘The Big Change’ and a host of experts will be examining recent developments in the consumer’s attitude to golf. Areas to be examined will include the growth in popularity of nine-hole golf, the increas-ing importance of golf societies and a detailed look at the demographic of newcomers to the game.

CEO of EGCOA, Lodewijk Klootwijk said: “The popularity of golf has not diminished in the last year or so but we are seeing a definite change in the public’s approach to the game.

“To continue to thrive, the golf industry needs to know why these changes have come about.

“Over the course of the conference we will be addressing issues such as who are the new golfers and what are their needs?,” said Klootwijk.

WEblinK; EGCOA.EU

is the golf industry ready for The big Change?

As many golf clubs across Europe face difficut trading conditions, the theme of this years EGCOA European Golf

Business Conference is ‘change’ as Sean noble reports.


“Why are more people choosing nine holes over 18? What is the value of the social aspect of a golf society at your course?”

With less than two months to go before the decision makers of golf in Europe descend on Berlin, the organisers have announced many of the major areas that will be covered by some of the top busi-ness minds in European and international golf. These seminars should trigger plenty of enthusiastic debate on some of the game’s main issues.

Topics to be addressed will be both on a practical and on a strategic level and ‘The Big Change’ will be the central theme to each discussion.

Speakers confirmed to date include Andrea Sartori of KPMG, who will be revealing the findings and figures of the Economic Impact Study for Europe and David McLaren, director of venue and property at the European Tour, will share the secret of maximising profit from golf operations.

Other speakers include Bill Sanderson of Golf Business Coach; Jonathan Smith of Golf Environment Europe; Laurence Pithie, group golf course manager of Crown Golf; Peter Harradine, managing director of Harradine Golf and Kryddan Peterson who will be giving a presentation on how best to improve the pace of play on your golf course.

In line with the growing success of the European Golf Business Conference, the past few years have also seen significant growth for the European Golf Course Owners Association (EGCOA).

The Association was set up back in March 2004 when representatives of the associations of golf course owners from

Germany, France, Denmark and the Netherlands initiated the creation of a European umbrella association.

The EGCOA has now grown to repre-sent over 600 golf course owners from 16 countries, including France, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Holland, Italy, Portugal, Slovenia and Finland.

As EGCOA’s reputation for making a difference continues to spread, so coun-tries such as Spain, Ireland and Norway are also starting to take notice.

The prime objects of the association are to look after the interests of the golf course owning members and to profes-sionalise and help to grow their golf busi-nesses. Members receive a range of bene-

fits, notably an EU and US list-serve where members can share prob-

lems and ideas in a forum environment.

Discounted registration to the European Golf Business Conference is another benefit as is access to a host of reports, data and publi-cations which prove an invaluable library of information for any golf

course owner. The final word came

from Klootwijk, who added: “We feel strongly that the

EGCOA is the best organisation to bring about the required change in golf on various levels.

For the third year running, specialists from around the world and EGCOA members will be attending seminars at the European Golf Business Conference and sharing their opinions on the important issues facing the golf industry.”

Are you ready to make your Big Change? To register, visit the EGCOA website www.egcoa.eu/conference2008 and meet the decision makers of golf in Berlin, November 5-7, 2008. GME

“We feel strongly that the EGCOA is the best organisation to bring about the required

change in golf on various levels.”

0870 241 4678 | www.ppcgolf.com0870 241 4678 | ppcgolf.com/property

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

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

PPC


profile

Martin Long should know a good risk when he sees one.

The 57 year-old millionaire who made his fortune in the insurance business took one look at Sweetwoods Park and bought it. For £3.5m.

That was in late April this year and Long still cannot believe what a gem he

has invested in although he doesn’t expect to make money out of the

course tucked away on the Sussex-Kent border between East Grinstead and Tunbridge Wells.

Nevertheless, Sweetwoods is being run as a business

but not on strict proprietorial lines. The golfing side is still down to an elected committee and captain. The arrival of Martin

Long has not meant an arrival of the suits.

It is Sweetwoods’ incredible fortune

that Long was

thumbing through Country Life and noticed that the course was on the market. Until then Long had not even heard of the lush 18 holes at Cowden although he lives only 20 minutes away at Westerham on a farm next to Chartwell Manor where Sir Winston Churchill once resided.

Owning a golf course appealed to not only the happy hacker in Long but the parent as it offered the opportunity of spending more quality time with his five sons who like playing golf. Three of them took third place in the club pro-am short-ly after dad took over.

Martin Long, who is semi-retired, plays golf and admits not very well. He mostly plays at one of his homes in San Roque, Spain.

Since adding Sweetwoods to his prop-erty portfolio, Long has had offers from two other clubs. It didn’t take the grape-vine long to start buzzing that a big spender had opened his cheque book. Prudently he declined to name names and explained why Sweetwoods had caught his eye.

“It all started when I was looking through the magazine and so I went and had a look. I found it to be a fantastic

long says ‘oh yes’ to sweetwoods

When insurance mogul Martin Long sold Churchill Insurance for £1.2 billion, little did he know that a year or so later he’d be investing in sweetwoods park. Interview by John Vinicombe.

WEblinK; sWEETWOODspARK.COM


setting, a fabulous course, really lovely and picturesque.

“The club has a wonderfully friendly and relaxed atmosphere, not at all pomp-ous, not the sort of place where you have to wear a jacket and tie, none of that stuff.

“I am running it on traditional lines and as a business although I don’t expect to make money out of it. I have some investing to do on the course, building some nice bridges over the streams and freshening-up the clubhouse.

“I enjoy chatting with the members and meeting societies and, what is very impor-tant to me, I’m seeing more of the boys. Getting them together on a golf course gives me a great deal of pleasure.

“The golf club is the likeliest place where they and myself can mix and when I saw the advert in Country Life it was then that the idea came to me that I might buy the place.”

The club was founded 14 years ago by local farmer Peter Strand, who supplied the 193 acres of land, while partner Mike Hewson put up the money.

A vigorous marketing campaign attract-ed well over 400 members and three years ago Sweetwoods housed the Sussex College of Golf before it transfered to Lindfield.

That is not to say Sweetwoods was left in the doldrums but for a buyer to appear out of the blue answered any lingering questions about the future. Even before the credit crunch era many golf clubs were seriously wondering about what lay

ahead and no wonder when Long stepped-in at Sweetwoods he was approached for a lifeline from a couple of strugglers.

It was in Croydon that Long cut his big business teeth and became one of the principal movers and shakers in the insur-ance world as a force behind Sphere Drake, Northern Star, Halifax and Direct Line and finally the founder of Churchill.

He sold Churchill to Royal Bank of Scotland for £1.2 billion and then took a year off sailing around the Greek islands among other things.

On returning he joined loss adjusting and specialist services provider AMG as non-executive chairman and main board director but recently resigned the chair.

Being associated with so many high-power transactions I asked Long if he was a millionaire or a billionaire. He thought for a while and said, “millionaire.” In that brief moment I could almost see his mind working and the impression was that his chief concern is Sweetwoods and all who enjoy their golf there.

It is not as though Sweetwoods has been part of a rescue operation. The venue is no stranger to top class golf, having hosted a EuroPro tour event in 2002 which served to raise the profile of an unassuming but ambitious club.

The location and ambience is what captivated Long as he surveyed the stun-ning views on this part of the High Weald and the prospect of getting together with his sons and knocking a ball about. GME

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in personWEblinK; CELTIC-MANOR.COM

As director of golf courses and estates management at Celtic Manor, Jim McKenzie has plenty to keep him busy. Three courses, including the new 2010 Ryder Cup course, a golf academy and a practice range place formidable demands on his time.

Add to that the daily trials and tribula-tions of a golf resort with two clubhouses, two hotels and 1,400 acres of parkland and you see why his 4x4 takes a pound-ing.

With all that on his plate, the last thing he needed was a run of poor weather in

the lead-up to this year’s Wales Open, but that’s exactly what he got.

The first tournament to be held on the Twenty Ten Course

was shrouded in mist and drenched in rain. It

wasn’t pleasant. “It was one of

the worst springs I’ve seen since being

in the industry,” grum-bles McKenzie. “It was cold and wet.

“We had frost five times in eight days in April which made grow-ing grass very difficult.

On the Wednesday, 22mm of rain fell in a couple of

hours so was no surprise when we lost the pro am. It was

horrendous.”

The course survived thanks to the drainage measures put in by the course architects and McKenzie’s team of 14 full-timers and four seasonals who worked feverishly between downpours to cut 16 hectares of fairway spread over 330 acres - under normal conditions the bunkers alone take 24 man hours to cut.

“We wanted to prove that the course was capable of meeting the challenge and that our team was up to the task,” he says.

Amid the drama, McKenzie celebrated his 46th birthday with friends and colleagues in the lavish surroundings of Celtic Manor’s restaurants and bars. It was a far cry from his upbringing in the industrial town of Clydebank where the Scot familiarised himself with a drop or two of rain by watching his beloved Clydebank FC from the terraces.

In his youth, he attended local primary and high schools before moving to Glasgow aged 16 to be close to his moth-er’s family. The move was prompted by the untimely death of his father. It was a decisive moment.

Despite his mother’s best efforts to promote the virtues of thorough educa-tion – she was a teacher at a local techni-cal college – young McKenzie had other plans. “I hated school with a passion,” he recalls. “I came up with a plan of applying for jobs but I wasn’t going to tell my mother. If I landed one, I’d leave school.”

A stand-off ensued when his mother intercepted one of his job applications.

Jim McKenzie’s input has been pivotal to Celtic Manor’s Ryder Cup preparations. With the new Twenty Ten Course now open for business, Mark Alexander finds out how a scot ended up spearheading the most prestigious sporting event ever to be held in Wales.

Celtic Connections


Head strong and unrepentant, McKenzie left school and took to his bedroom for some well-earned rest after five years of high-school education. Or so he thought.

His recuperation was ended abruptly by his aunt who marched him to the job centre where he spotted an apprentice greenkeeper’s post at Haggs Castle Golf Club.

With few options available to him, he made his way to the Glasgow club where he met, among others, Chris Kennedy. Now head course superintendent at Wentworth, Kennedy gave McKenzie his first introduction to greenkeeping.

“I remember on my first day, Chris gave me a cutlery knife and a pair of green overalls, pointed to an old set of trailed gang mowers and asked me to scrape the grease off of them. That was the winter maintenance in those days.

“I thought; ‘what the hell have I done’. [As it turned out] it was a really good place to work because you did everything. We didn’t have mechanics or irrigation engineers. It was the last of the old-school era.”

McKenzie’s apprenticeship at Haggs Castle lasted four and half years. He left in 1985 to take a post at the nearby Cawder Golf Club where Alistair Connell continued his education.

“I went there as a head greenkeeper of one of two courses,” McKenzie recalls. “Alistair was the guy who taught me about managing people. At Haggs Castle I wasn’t in a senior position so that’s where I learnt my trade. I worked for Alistair for three years as head greenkeep-er of the Keir Course. It was fabulous.

“I was in a senior position but I wasn’t carrying the can for my own mistakes. It’s like my head greenkeepers here; I’m responsible for the condition of the cours-es, not them. They can show a bit of flair and flexibility but if it goes wrong, it’s me that gets it.”

It was a smooth transition from apprentice to head greenkeeper and it brought with it the opportunity of prepar-ing the course for the Ladies Scottish Open. After three years at Cawder, McKenzie was brimming with confidence and felt it was time to manage a course on his own. He moved to Renfrew Golf Club.

“I remember going there feeling really cocky,” he remembers. “I was single, I had a company house and I was earning eight and half grand a year. I thought it was brilliant.”

He describes Renfrew as one of the best inland golf courses he has ever seen but one that was 20 years ahead of its time decked out with American wedge-shaped greens and expansive bunkers.

“Nobody had ever seen anything like it before. They’d had an old traditional golf course with little bunkers and little greens and suddenly they were given this monster, and it surprised everybody but the members couldn’t afford to maintain it.

“I was only there for two years. I couldn’t see it reaching its potential.”

His next move brought him to the hallowed turf of Wentworth and reunited him with an old boss. “By the time the position of golf course manager became available at Wentworth in late 1989, Chris Kennedy had done a number of Scottish Opens at Haggs Castle,” he explains.

“He was recommended by the European Tour and several months [after taking up the post] he asked me if I’d be interested in a career move. It was a huge leap forward and it didn’t take me long to make up my mind.”

As McKenzie points out, the PGA Championship and the World Matchplay event make Wentworth one of the most recognisable courses in Europe so when it came to taking on the head greenkeeper’s job on the West Course, he says he already had a good idea of the layout.

“i remember on my first day, Chris gave me a cutlery knife and a pair of green overalls, pointed to an old set of trailed gang mowers and asked me to scrape the grease off of them. That was the winter maintenance in those days.”


What he wasn’t ready for was the hike in standards demanded by a regular tour venue. “When I’d been involved in the European Tour events at Haggs Castle I was an apprentice,” he remembers. “I’d also done events at Cawder and Renfrew, but when I went to Wentworth the Tour events had moved on so much so that it was a massive learning curve.

“Before we didn’t cut fairways or tees in the mornings, for example. Everything was to a much higher level at Wentworth.”

As well as tournaments, McKenzie also got involved in reconstructing various aspects of the courses; the most important being the remodelling of the third green on the West Course. Noting his enthusi-asm for the project to the agronomist George Shields, McKenzie unwittingly sowed the seeds for his most challenging move to Celtic Manor.

“I’d always fancied getting involved in building a new golf course,” he says. “When Robert Trent Jones Senior started the course at Celtic Manor, George Shields was doing the testing and was asked if he could recommend anyone.

“I got a call from Jeremy Slessor, the Trent Jones site supervisor, who asked me to come down to the project. I met Terry Matthews’ sister, who was the chief exec-utive, and she told me Terry wanted to build a golf course that would host tour events and the Ryder Cup.

“I thought this couldn’t be for real, but half way through she mentioned that Ian Woosnam had been signed up as their

touring pro. Ian Woosnam was number one in the world at that time, so I realised these guys must have been serious.”

McKenzie was warming to the idea and a deal was struck in 1993 when he met the chairman of Celtic Manor Terry Matthews. “I met him before I accepted the job,” he recalls.

“After five minutes in his company, I had no doubt that I wanted to come here. I’d never met anyone like him. If he had asked me to punch through a wall, I’d have asked which hand.”

He admits, the move was the biggest of his career and a massive culture shock, after all not only did he move to an area where he knew no-one, he also bought a house for the first time and met his now ex-wife.

On a professional level, he achieved his ambition of building not one but five courses and has been at the centre of the £12m investment to prepare Celtic Manor for the 2010 Ryder Cup. Not bad for a high-school drop-out.

“It’s a hugely exciting time,” he says. “As a Scotsman, it’s quite strange pitch-ing my hat into the ring for my adopted country rather than my country of birth, but it’s a unique opportunity that doesn’t happen that often.

“My satisfaction will come from taking the land from a farmer’s field through to seeing the Ryder Cup being played on it. I don’t think I would have got the same feeling of satisfaction if I had gone to an existing venue.” GME


design

Europe has the talent to design the very best

Before a developer or a golf club selects a golf course architect to undertake a new course or important renovations, they should choose carefully, as their style, working practices, location and marketing profile, shall have a direct implication on the cost of construction, playability, main-tenance and affordability.

And these variables come starkly to the forefront when choosing

between European and North American architects.

Today it is accepted that a good number of European

architects are as techni-cally proficient and professional in the servic-es they render, as their

North American counter-parts. And let me let you in on a

little secret... many undertake the actual work for North

American architects that have no office in Europe.So what may be some of those

variables?A European architect is more likely able

to speak in your language, be it Spanish, German or Italian, which will have reper-cussions when speaking to contractors, consultants, planning authorities and government officials.

He will be knowledgeable with regards to the administrative procedures, the documents to be produced and the prob-ability of obtaining zoning by-law chang-es, and in what timeframe.

This is crucial, as today possessing 65 hectares or having an option to buy such a property and adequate financing doesn’t entitle you to build a golf course.

Many potential projects may face seri-ous administrative hurdles and opposition and a European architect will be able to give you an assessment of those.

Many potential developers with this knowledge often reconsider their invest-ment and sometimes seek another more favourable site, with greater potential of getting planning consent.

Administrative problems don’t end there for most projects, as a developer shall then need to undertake environmen-tal impact assessments and studies in order to obtain the necessary environ-mental permits.

In many cases a public enquiry will need to be held, with hopefully a favoura-ble outcome. Without doubt a European architect due to his experience in your country will have a greater chance of obtaining overall planning consent for a project.

Now with regards to construction he shall have knowledge about contractors, their reputations strength and weaknesses and their professionalism. This has signifi-cance as cost overruns and extensions of deadlines and poor workmanship may be avoided.

But above all he shall be able to super-vise the construction more often and at less cost by being in the same geographic area.

Another significant difference regards the specifications for the works. A European architect is more liable to adapt the specifications if no suitable materials exist relatively nearby at a reasonable cost.

North American architects have been know to impose a USGA standard forc-ing developers to import material at a prohibitive cost.

past president of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects, Mark Adam, puts forward the case for European archirects over their American counterparts.


With regards to maintenance he will be aware of how other courses in your area are maintained, their budget, and player expectations and skill levels.

He will also be able to inform you on the availability of skilled and qualified labour for the maintenance, which is vital when building a golf course in an emerg-ing market in Europe such as Hungary. It is of little value to build a golf course that will be near impossible to maintain to a satisfactory standard.

Another often overlooked point is getting advice in the selection of the maintenance equipment. Today the prob-lem is not the manufacturer of the equip-ment, as the market leaders have machines with similar characteristics, but rather their distribution network, and the strengths and weaknesses of the local concessions.

A developer should be selecting his maintenance supplier based on the quality of the known and cross-checked service rendered by the local concessions rather than the make of the maintenance equip-ment. The European architect will be helpful in this diagnosis.

All this said, do not forget that a European architect will be striving to build a sustainable golf course, be it envi-ronmentally, economically or socially, otherwise he is liable to get much fewer commissions in the future.

A North American architect on the other hand, will generally be much more proficient in marketing his name, and in some cases developing a brand, to an extend that he may be categorised as a ‘branded architect’.

As such a developer may select such an architect, because he seeks to market his project using such a brand. But this approach has several drawbacks that developers should acutely be aware of.

First and foremost the cost of the over-all project will be notably higher due to much higher design fees, construction costs and marketing costs, not to mention later the cost of maintenance.

With respect to the design, the develop-er should be aware that by wishing to use a brand, that brand will impose particu-lars so that the brand keeps a certain homogeneity worldwide and that he will be locked in, leaving little chance for local adaptations.

The result is that the design will have characteristics that in some cases, particu-larly in emerging markets, will not take

into account local economic conditions, or the existing market. Basically the devel-oper loses control of the project to the brand, whilst taking on all the financial risks.

The North American architect general-ly is not concerned if the projected design is economically viable. It’s literally, take the money, and move on. Statistically, a project using a branded architect versus an architect has a much higher chance of going into bankruptcy.

The developer also at first thinks that he doesn’t have to do much marketing because he thinks the brand is so strong, only to discover that his marketing budget is doubled because he is having to spend money to market the brand and then the project itself.

Soon he is in a quandary because once the project is completed and open for play, he discovers that players come to play a course first and foremost for the experience and value for money not the brand.

Differences also exists with regards to construction itself, as a North American architect is liable to impose a construction

methodology that is costly and unadapt-ed, because that is how he constructs in his home market. You may also discover that he doesn’t have professional indem-nity insurance or that it doesn’t cover your country.

You will invariably find that the mainte-nance of the course is prohibitive, or in some cases unmaintainable due to the style of design and turf selection. You have to maintain a look at all times.

So as we can see, differences in approach between the European archi-tects and North American architects don’t achieve the same outcome.

The economic model could be compared to the SUV versus the econom-ical fuel-efficient car.

One is flashy, oversized and has func-tions and options that are little used in urban situations and is high maintenance, the other is more modest, suited to urban use and is reasonable to maintain. Both bring you to the same destination.

Hopefully in the future and by being better informed, developers will make the correct choice for the European market, which is to use qualified European archi-tects who at heart seek to build challeng-ing and aesthetically pleasing courses, but have reasonable construction budgets and are easily maintainable. GME

“The north American architect generally is not concerned if the projected design is economi-cally viable. it’s literally, take the money, and

move on. Statistically, a project using a branded architect versus an architect has a much higher

chance of going into bankruptcy.”


coastal erosion

The oldest course in England still play-ing its original 18 holes and arguably an indispensable part of our golfing heritage, has long been under threat from the sea.

As if the forces of nature are not serious enough, Royal North Devon Golf Club at Westward Ho! is also engaged in a differ-ent sort of battle. The adversary is Natural England, a government agency responsi-ble for coastline management.

The links lie on a flat expanse of land known as the Burrows and protected, in part, from the high tides of Barnstaple Bay by the great Pebble Ridge. A 40 yard gap has been breached and two holes, the seventh and eighth, are in danger of being submerged by the waves.

Little by little the course, where golf has been played 144 years is crumbling into the sea. Not only club members but local residents are engaged in a campaign to spur the local authority and Natural England to pay for the barrier of stones to be repaired.

A moderate amount of money in terms of golf course maintenance will do the trick; something around £20,000 and £25,000 so we are not talking vast fortunes.

The ridge between the sea and course used to be rebuilt by the hands of the ‘Potwallopers’ of Northam. They are the locals or anyone who ‘boils his pot’ in the parish.

Theirs was an ancient chore but when mechanisation took over, the sea started to win and up to 30 metres of coastline have been lost this year.

Humping stones was not the sole occu-pation of the ‘Potwallopers.’ The paris-honers enjoy grazing rights over the 640 acres constituting the Northam Burrows Country Park which is common land.

That is not a matter of dispute by the golfers who pay £38,000 a year to lease 170 acres. The ‘Potwallopers’ have permission to graze 100 horses and 1,200 sheep dating back to an award of 1716 when they took the Lord of the Manor to court and obtained an agreed settlement of their rights.

But in this so-called enlightened age Natural England have called a halt to maintaining sea defences as part of their policy of ‘managed retreat.’ Although the golf club have gained short term conces-sions from Natural England, RND secre-tary Robert Fowler (top left) says a last-ing solution has still to be arrived at.

A number of influential voices have been raised on behalf of the club. Peter Alliss, the BBC golf commentator and course designer, said: “The course is a piece of golfing heritage. Surely some-thing can be done to save the coastline.”

Steve Isaac, director of course manage-ment at the R&A, commented: “Some links are of historic value and that should

WEblinK; ROYALNORTHDEVONGOLFCLUB.CO.UK

royal north devon fighting to stay afloat

Originally designed by Old Tom Morris, the links course at Royal North Devon is under threat from coastal erosion and Natural England as John Vinicombe reports.


be considered as part of coastal erosion planning.”

Doug Bushby, club chairman, has won some sort of concession from Natural England when they considered a resump-tion of minor repair work with the proviso that the threatened holes are relocated in the medium to long term. “It’s clearly not the most desirable answer to the problem but we have to be realistic as it would give us a few years to plan.

“By then the authorities might have decided where to put some sea defences. We put new championship tees in six or seven years ago when the sea was 40 metres away, now it’s two metres away.”

David Lloyd, a former club chairman, told the Western Morning News: “If the erosion continues, not only will the course have to change, but there would be an environmental catastrophe if the sea bursts through into the adjoining waste dump.”

He believes the 40 year-old under-ground site contains cyanide and hundreds of tonnes of asbestos and there were stories of deformed lambs being born after grazing.

The question is: who pays? The course is owned by Torridge District Council and the club say they should foot the bill. So what does Natural England have to say?

Spokesman Paul Wynne said the policy of not recharging the ridge was agreed with the Environment Agency, Torridge District Council and Devon County Council ten years ago.

He said it was not financially viable or environmentally sustainable to move large quantities of stone.

“The breaching of the golf course is something we have sympathy with and we are working to minimise it. The option was to allow some breaches and accept that as forces of nature.

“We are working with the golf club so they can work alongside that and not against it.”

He is backed up by James Diamond also on behalf of the agency. “Our view is that recharging the ridge is not a viable long term solution based on the evidence we have gathered.”

Local MP, Geoffrey Cox, said: “I have no power to force the various parties to act. The line taken by Natural England is that recharging the ridge is not right. They are an independent body and short of legal action it is difficult to see what will shift them from their position.”

Let’s hear from a ‘Potwalloper’ wearing his club secretary hat. Northam-born Robert Fowler, 61 who started as a ten-year-old caddy knows the local scene better than anybody and says the flooding is nothing like as bad as in 1996.

According to him the pebble ridge is constantly moving.

“We are in a delicate state at the minute. Natural England have stepped back from doing nothing to agreeing to some small scale remedial work. It is a

short term solution for buying time for the seventh and eighth holes

to be relocated. “I would stay the esti-mated cost for the ridge

to be repaired is between £20,000 and £25,000.

“Our members are frustrated and have got up a peti-tion together with the local people.

We are not a rich club. We have 1,100

members and a full seven-day membership is £494.

“The ladies’ club is the oldest in the world. Our membership includes all

sorts from road sweepers to judges and we still have an artisan section. I would say there is there is light at the end of the tunnel but as for the refuse tip, God knows what went into that. The records have been lost. Some say asbestos and clinical waste and cyanide was deposited.

“The sea comes closest at high tide when the wind is in the north-west which is not very often. I wouldn’t go so far as to say the actual future of the club is menaced. There is space for the two holes to be relocated and I think it will come to that.” GME


my view

With the extensive list of environmental and water protection regulations, it would not be surprising if you are unsure of what regulations are in force, how this impacts your golf course and what you need to do to ensure compliance.

As ignorance is no excuse, hopefully the following will make interesting read-ing. That said, this is at best a simplified overview of complex and changing legis-lation and does not constitute legal advice!

To give a flavour, the primary legisla-tive Acts you are expected to be in compliance with include the Environment Protection Act 1990 and Water Resources Act 1991.

These Acts have been regularly added to in recent times. Recent notable addi-tions include the Environment Act 1995, the Groundwater Regulations 1998 and Water Act 2003.

In addition there are a number of European Directives in

force (e.g. Groundwater

Directive 80/68/EEC), which everyone should be in compli-ance with. This list certainly

makes for good bed-time reading!Current

water management legislation is widely

acknowledged as patchy and inconsistent, liable to

lead to confusion. The new Europe-wide Water Framework Directive intends to resolve this by rationalising and updating existing

legislation with consistent legislation for the whole of Europe. Implementation of the Water Framework

Directive began in 2006, with enactment

across Europe of the new legislation currently planned to start in 2009 and completion of implementation by 2015.

However, in case anyone thinks they can delay doing anything, preparation of this new legislation is bringing a new emphasis and increased attention to potentially polluting activities and the current legislation in force will be actively enforced.

To summarise the current position, the Environment Agency require that an Environmental Risk Assessment should be undertaken for every facility.

Environmental risk assessment and the management of risk are the bases for preventing pollution of the environment.

In particular, when designing new facil-ities, the Environment Agency stress that emphasis should be placed on hazard prevention rather than risk management. (i.e. avoiding the problem in the first place). This requirement has taken on a new urgency following the recent wide-spread flooding across Europe.

The Environmental Risk Assessment should take account of Hazard Indentification, Polluting materials handled (e.g. fuels, detergents, chemicals etc.) whilst considering what could go wrong in the event of an accident.

Until the Water Framework Directive is implemented, the current legislation is supported and enforced through a series of Pollution Prevention Guidelines (PPG’s), emanating from the Groundwater regulations 1998.

Several of these PPG guidelines directly impact the operational activities of golf courses, including refuelling, chemical handling and equipment wash-off.

For example, the new regulations require that washing operations must be carried out in a designated, kerbed area which drains to the foul sewer, or a Closed Loop Recycling Wash-off System must be used.

WEblinK; WAsTE2WATER.COM

Managing director of Waste2Water, Tim Earley, discusses the new European Water Framework Directive and the

impact it could have on your club.

Just how legal really is your course?


If neither of these options is installed, there is a little-used third option available of installing a sealed collection tank for off-site disposal by waste disposal special-ists, but this is not realistic in most cases as it becomes prohibitively expensive every time it rains!

It is now a criminal offence to allow certain substances including mineral oils, detergents and chemicals to enter surface drains, watercourses or soakaways. If you are not complying, you are personally liable for breaking the law, with the threat of a fine of up to £20,000 and imprison-ment for a serious infringement.

Even if a case does not go to court, the cost of repairing the damage still has to be met, which could be very expensive (e.g. replacing fish which have been killed).

Environmental concern is easy to understand as golf courses routinely handle quantities of 15 litres upwards of concentrated pesticide at a time when fill-ing a chemical sprayer. The Environment Agency advise that as little as 0.5 litres of neat pesticide is sufficient to exceed the permitted limit of the whole of London’s water supply! The consequences of an uncontrolled spillage are, therefore, easy to imagine.

A major innovation to guarantee the removal of any risk of groundwater pollu-tion from golf course maintenance activi-ties has been introduced by Waste2Water.

Creating a Wash Pad Environmental Activity Centre removes the risk of pollu-tion arising from the routine activities of

golf course maintenance and ensures up to date compliance with the ever-chang-ing legislation.

The Wash Pad Environmental Activity Centre simply consists of a concrete wash pad sloping into a collection sump. On the periphery of this area include the installation of as many potentially pollut-ing storage activities as possible.

This includes the Diesel Tank, Chemical Store, Chemical Mixing Tank and Recycling Equipment Wash-Off System. Ideally the area should be large enough to enable multi-activities at the same time, allowing equipment wash-off, refuelling, degreasing, chemical mixing and loading to be carried out within this controlled area.

The Waste2Water System takes care of any spillages of oil, petrol, diesel and chemicals etc., converting them to harm-less CO2 and water, removing any possi-bility of contamination arising from golf course maintenance activities.

Creating an Environmental Centre could not be easier. This can be as simple as installing your diesel tank on the edge of the pad with the Recycling Wash-Off System installed at the heart of the opera-tions area, often retro-fitting into an exist-ing area to minimise the budget.

The Biological Recycling System removes all contamination risks, reduces water usage by a massive 90 per cent and tidies up one of the worst aspects of golf course maintenance.

Three in one can’t be bad! GME

providing the complete wash pad environmental

activity centre

we are sure you know about our recycling wash-off systems but did you know we build and

supply everything you need to create your own wash pad environmental activity centre?

esd waste2water europe ltdtel: 01782 373 878 Fax: 01782 373 763

E-mail: [email protected] Web: www.waste2water.com


the last word

Often, one of my non-golfing friends will ask me ‘why?’ Why golf?

Many of my long-standing chums look no further than football for their sporting pleasure. They grew up play-ing and watching it and still do despite being in their 40s and 50s. One or two may dabble in the willow and leather, but in the main it’s football which captivates them.

And it was the same with me, until I decided in my early 30s that I’d finally become too fat and lazy to continue playing and, some years later, too much of a pauper to watch now my team had hit the big-time with promo-tion to, and then consolidation in, the premier League.

No clues as to whom, but they are the FA Cup holders…

so it was that having started writing about golf I decided I might as well learn to play.

And now, having been raised on a diet of football, but in the loosest possi-ble terms ‘a golfer’ the advent of the football season brings forth nothing more than a groan.

It’s not, however, because I am a fair-weather golfer and the onset of autumnal weather generally precludes me from taking part in a weekly work fourball – though I am and it does.

It’s because golf does not require me to get up on a saturday and sunday morning and transport my offspring and their muddy friends across the Home Counties. Football, on the other hand, certainly does.

With two teenage boys playing foot-ball, for three teams, on saturday and sunday from september to April, there is no chance of a weekend round even if the weather remained clement.

And what’s worse I’m involved with one of the teams in an official capaci-ty (almost), and as assistant manager, I have a duty to be there, rain or shine; to put out the cones and issue the bibs; and to remain positive despite an 8-2 drubbing on the opening day of the season.

Golf on the other hand is free of such responsibilities. If my playing partner slices his tee shot into the water on the first I’m not expected to say: “Oh hard lines. Nice try. Keep your head up. It’ll come good.”

No. I can just stand there and pray to God I don’t do exactly the same thing.

Nor am I subjected to tantrums, stamping of feet and ritual abuse – not from kids anyway, though I’ve been known to go off on one when I’ve four-putted.

I also don’t feel helpless, which is the overwhelming emotion standing on the sidelines when the boys you care deeply about are being roundly thumped by an opposition with all the sympathy of a lion about to bring down an antelope.

I know that if I hit my tee shot into the trees it’s my fault. I can put it right – or make it worse. Whatever happens it’s me against the elements. I don’t care that in 15 years the elements have won on every occasion, at least I know that if it goes wrong it’s my doing.

I don’t pull my hair out because however hard the boys try they’re just beaten by a better side. And I don’t stand there having walked off the 18th green demanding that they ‘look at yourselves in the mirror and ask yourself if you really gave 100 per cent’.

No. I lose my rag and ask myself that question on every bloody hole. so we’ve gone full circle and the question remains: Why golf? GME

What is it about golf that keeps us all addicted?

“With two teenage boys playing football, for three teams, on Saturday and Sunday from September to April, there is no chance of a weekend round even if the weather remained clement.”

david [email protected]

Unsure what the future holds?

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

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