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GolfManagement Europe

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The 30-year wait is nearly over for Celtic Manor owner Sir Terry Matthews, the driving force

behind bringing the Ryder Cup to Walespage 33

toro’s ryder cup legacyAs the 38th Ryder Cup beckons, Celtic Manor becomes the latest venue to enter the Toro hall of fame

issue 73july 2010

ThE EssEnTial ManaGEMEnT publicaTion for EMEa Golf club opEraTors

july 2010 GME 3golfMAnAgeMenTneWS.CoM

publisher’s editorial

far be it from me to act as an unpaid cheerleader for the R&A, but hey, let’s hear it for the R&A!

In a 21st century in which it seems everything is driven by the expediency of cash, the R&A refused to sell its soul to the devil. And it would have been easy so to do. like the Ryder Cup, the open Championship is not protected under Television Broadcasting Regulations.

It is only highlights that need to be shown on terrestrial TV.

The european Tour sold out with the Ryder Cup. And it has only itself to blame should interest wane in the event this october because only those with a Murdochian pass can view it.

However Sky hype it up – and they will, for every relegation battle in football’s Championship is built up to the fervour of a george foreman-Muhammed Ali rematch – people are unlikely to sign up in their droves. All it has done is line the pockets of the Tour and enhance Sky’s monopoly on top sports events.

But not the R&A. Maybe some of the views expressed by its members are entrenched in the 19th century. Maybe they haven’t realised that in modern sport you sell to the highest bidder and screw your grass-roots support.

or maybe, just maybe, they have re-alised that in signing an extension to the current broadcasting deal which will see the open shown on BBC TV until at least 2016, they have simply refused to sell uK

golf fans down the river. It may be that simple, and the R&A should be lauded for doing the right thing.

Would we have been surprised if they had sold out to Sky? Probably not. Would we have been angry about it? Probably for a short while, but sporting emotions are fickle.

The R&A’s decision means a tradition is maintained.

The open Championship is one of TV’s great annual sporting events. It’s up there with the fA Cup final, The grand national, and Wimbledon – all of which, incidentally, are protected under Televi-sion Broadcasting Regulations.

The open Championship is an event, which belongs to the people and not to the peaks and troughs of a sales ledger.

I have a Sky Sports subscription. And I will watch the Ryder Cup. So I’m not pontificating for personal reasons. It’s just the thought that the open Champion-ship might have been lost to the general public is beyond the pale... it’s just not cricket.

or golf, for that matter. GME

r&a refuse to sell-out to the highest bidder

Michael [email protected]

As the 34th Ryder Cup beckons, Celtic Manor enters the Toro hall of fame.

7

golf Management news.com launches with all the latest news and Twitter feeds.

22

Ian Bunch will soon call time on a distinguished career at Prestwick golf Club.

25

Peter Dawson of The R&A discusses The open and the new TV extension.

28

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“The European Tour sold out with the Ryder Cup. And it has only itself to blame should interest wane”

4 GME july 2010

headline news

Construction work is underway on Donald Trump’s controversial golf course on the Menie estate in Aberdeenshire.

The uS tycoon won plan-ning permission to start work on what he has dubbed the “world’s greatest golf course”, four years after Trump first put his plans forward – a move which sparked a lengthy battle between supporters and local objectors.

The £1 billion champion-ship links course develop-ment, to include a hotel, 950 holiday apartments and 500 residential homes, was given outline planning permission by the Scottish government last December.

And in june the course was granted full planning permission by Aberdeenshire Council.

The first phase of work, being carried out by Sol golf Course Construction, will include the creation of construction access routes and compounds, followed by the detailed shaping of the golf course.

future detailed applica-tions include the mainte-nance facility and club-house, which are currently being prepared for submis-sion later this year. Detailed designs for subsequent phases will be presented in due course.

After more than four years of planning and develop-

ment, The Trump organisation has engaged over 20 leading Scottish consultants in the prepara-tion of its plans, and has invested over £40 million to date.

nine planning applica-tions and a lengthy public inquiry have formed part of the rigorous process the project has undertaken in order to reach this stage.

It is widely accepted that this project is the most scruti-nised application in recent uK history.

The project was finally approved despite local objections.

opponents said they took ownership of a one-acre stretch of land belonging to local man and objector Michael forbes, hoping to block the project in its current form. However, councillors refused to rule out using compulsory purchase orders to remove residents from the land.

The championship golf course is scheduled for completion in 2012.

Trump finally gets underway on the Menie Estate

following a two-year £2 million investment, the new Kernow Course at St Mellion International Resort is now

complete. owned and operated by Crown golf, the Kernow Course features nine brand-new holes.

golf course architect Alan leather was briefed to retain the best of the old Course in creating a new course which keeps pace with advances in golf equipment technology.

Work began back in May 2008, with golf course constructors european golf Services working closely throughout the process with St Mellion’s course manager Mike Bush to ensure the new course opened in pristine condition.

“The formal opening of our new Kernow Course is an important factor in St Mellion’s transformation into a stylish and modern resort,” said Crown golf chief exec-utive, Stephen lewis.

Marriott uK has announced that all ten of the golf resorts it operates in the uK have been awarded “Certified Audubon Co-operative Sanctuary” status.

The Audubon Co-operative Sanctuary Program for golf Courses helps to enhance wildlife habitats and protect natural resources for the benefit of people, wildlife and the game of golf.

The programme is designed to give course managers the information and guidance they need to implement stewardship projects and receive recognition for their efforts.

“To be awarded this prestigious accolade and be classed alongside the likes of Valderamma and loch lomond, who also hold official Audubon status, is a real honour and a clear testament to all the hard work that our greens-staff have put in over the past few years,” commented Alison Ainsworth, Marriott senior director of golf, leisure and Spa operations europe.

st Mellion unveil new look Kernow course

Citywest Hotel, confer-ence centre and golf complex in Co Dublin, has been placed into receiver-ship by Bank of Scotland.

The Citywest site includes 1,712 bedrooms, two golf courses, two conference centres and a helipad, and had been the subject of much controversy in recent years with owner jim Mansfield frequently locking horns with planning authori-ties over his expansion plans for the site.

Dalata ltd, a hotel oper-ating company, has been appointed to run the hotel and its other facilities.

In a statement, the receiv-er said he intended to continue trading the busi-ness as a going concern.

Citywest’s 400 staff will continue to be employed by the business.

Rumours of financial diffi-culties at Citywest have circulated for some time but Mansfield, 71, had consist-ently brushed them aside.

At the end of june, he told the Sunday Independent that he was in talks to sell Citywest to a uS firm for a reputed €1 billion.

His holdings comprised more than 2,250 acres of land in Dublin and Kildare, including Citywest Hotel and golf resort in Saggart, the Weston aerodrome near lucan, the West Park Hotel in Dublin and the PgA national golf course at Palmerstown House in Kildare.

citywest forced into receivership


news

Belek golf Club, the first integrated golf and residen-tial community on Turkey’s Mediterranean coast, is to become a european Tour Destination.

The partnership will result in top-flight professional golf being staged in Turkey on a new jose Maria olazabal designed golf course, construction of which starts this autumn.

Hasan Besneli, chairman of the Board at Belek golf Club, said: “our partnership with The european Tour is

significant as it guarantees our residents, hotel guests and golfing visitors outstand-ing facilities and levels of service, positioning Belek golf Club among the world’s finest golf clubs.

“jose Maria olazabal, who has taken a close personal interest in this project, has designed a remarkable golf course that will be a fitting venue for a european Tour event, and a compelling, enjoyable course that all golfers will want to play.”

Club Car have announced the upgrade of 50 Precedent Club Car vehi-cles with one of their most loyal partners at Wensum Valley golf Club near norwich.

The deal ensures Club Car in association with Ben Burgess garden equipment will continue to be the exclusive supplier of golf

and utility vehicles to the norfolk club.

Wensum Valley has been working with local distributor Ben Burgess garden equipment and Club Car for several years and was home to 50 Precedent vehicles before the upgrade.

In such a big deal the process was completed in two stages with one set of 25

brand new precedents delivered first, closely followed by the balance.

All of the new buggies are equipped with latest state-of-the-art on-board charg-ing logistics modules and chargers.

Basil Todd, managing director at Wensum Valley golf Club was instrumental in the deal.

“We have a long standing relationship with Club Car and are absolutely thrilled with the upgrade,” commented Todd after taking delivery of the cars.

“The new vehicles which are equipped with on-board chargers ensure that our guests receive the highest quality product available on the market.”

loyalty pays off for club car at Wensum Valley

belek set to become a European Tour hub

SOL Golf Golf Course Construction can count many prestigious golf clubs in its portfolio, some of which have been hosts to the Ryder Cup, the Open Championship, the Irish Open, the Walker Cup and the Curtis Cup.

We are proud to be able to add the Trump International Golf Links in Scotland to that list.

SOL Golf Course Construction LimitedTelephone: +353 64 775 1006

www.solgolfconst.com

6 GME july 2010

news

Last month an enthusiastic group of just under 150 lo-cal children took part in a series of clinics during the faldo Series Russia Cham-pionship, staged at the le Meridien Moscow Country Club. The clinics, con-ducted by Sir nick faldo’s coach, Keith Wood, and a number of local profes-sionals were designed to give the group of young Russians their first taste of golf and were similar to a series of other grass roots activities taking place in europe and in Asia.

The €60m Moyvalley Hotel and golf Resort, in Ireland has become the latest casualty of the economic downturn.The Irish nationwide Building Society has seized possession of the 550-acre resort, as well as a related course in Co Westmeath, the new forest golf Club. Both resorts continue to trade.

The Duke’s St Andrews, owned by the Iconic old Course Hotel, has joined golfSwitch, the real time, tee-time distribu-tion network. jo Maes, european director for golfSwitch, said: “Adding the old Course Hotel and the Duke’s Course to our portfolio is a significant step forward in our devel-opment in Scotland and europe.”

Eddie Konrad, the former head mechanic at The ladies’ golf Club of To-ronto and contract pro-fessor at Seneca College in ontario, is the third win-ner of the International golf Course equipment Managers Association edwin Budding Award, sponsored by Ransomes jacobsen.

in briEf;

one of the most important new european golf courses of recent years, The eléa golf Club near Paphos, Cyprus, will be officially opened this autumn by the course’s designer and six-time Major winner Sir nick faldo.

The eléa golf Club, which is situated in Paphos and 8km from the international airport, will be the centre-piece of eléa estate, a premium development that will boast luxurious villas and apartments, a boutique hotel supported by a range

of dining options and exten-sive spa facilities.

This magnificent par 71 golf course commands a striking location above the shimmering Mediterranean Sea and has been meticu-lously crafted through dramatic landscape, featur-ing imposing weathered outcrops of limestone that offer a unique character across the course.

Commenting on his vision for eléa golf Club, Sir nick faldo said: “This golf course certainly has the potential to play a pivotal role in estab-lishing this part of the world as a leading european golf destination.

“When we designed the golf course at elea golf Club we decided to put the emphasis on thoughtful, rather than big-hitting, golf and there are plenty of stra-tegic riddles for the golfer to explore and unravel over all 18 holes.”

Eléa all set to open later this year says sir nick

The future of a greater Manchester golf course has been thrown into doubt, after councillors rejected plans for a housing estate on the site.

The owners of the Bolton open golf Club had hoped to use the profits from the development to keep the club open. But members of Bolton Council’s planning committee dashed their hopes by refusing the appli-

cation, because of the site’s green belt status.

Robin Day, who owns the club, told the committee that only by allowing him to convert the existing club-house into five properties and build a further eight homes could they guaran-tee the future of the club.

He said: “We had three objectives, that was to retain the use of the golf course, enhance the green

belt and develop within the existing footprint of the site.”

Councillors ignored his pleas and were unanimous in their objections to the scheme, which also includ-ed the demolition of the driving range facility.

The council had received 26 letters of objection from local residents concerned about the loss of green belt land and the loss of the driv-ing range.

future in doubt after housing rejection

Colin Montgomerie, the 2010 Ryder Cup captain, has announced a new fund-raising drive for the elizabeth Montgomerie foundation in partnership with the Maggie’s Cancer Caring Centres, that will see him write to every golf club in the uK, inviting them to turn one of their monthly medals between now and the end of September into a Monty’s Monthly Medal.

Montgomerie said: “I established the elizabeth Montgomerie foundation to support people with cancer after my mother died of the disease.

“I was determined to help people in the same situation and the first time I walked into a Maggie’s Centre I immediately thought ‘what a difference this place would have made to my Mum’.

This is why I am working with the organisation to build two Centres. I have spoken with many people who visit Maggie’s and they have told me about the unique mix of practical, emotional and psychologi-cal support they receive and I know what a differ-ence that makes to people living with cancer.

“golf has been good to me and I am delighted that I can now give something back by supporting those affected by the disease.”

Monty in funding drive for cancer campaign


on the cover

facTfilE;

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TEl; (1) 952 888 8801faX; (1) 952 887 8258

WEbLinK; ToRo.CoM

Celtic Manor’s director of golf, jim McKenzie, has taken time out of his prepa-rations for the Ryder Cup, to pay tribute to Toro who are helping him ready The Twenty Ten course for the prestigious tournament.

The resort in South Wales, has been an exclusively Toro user since the early 90s and, following the opening of the 7,493-yard, par 71 Twenty Ten course specially constructed for the famous tournament, McKenzie has added a number of new machines to his already extensive fleet.

“We’ve been a 100 per cent Toro user since 1993,” McKenzie reveals, “and in that time we’ve never once used another make of machinery – we’d never consider going elsewhere.”

McKenzie will be relying on Toro’s tournament serv-ice to supplement his machinery needs come the big event in october.

“We will be using the tour-nament support fleet and are discussing our needs

with Toro, although we’re very fortunate here, having three courses – we have about £900,000 of equip-ment between them – so we can direct kit from the differ-ent courses according to our needs.”

With The Twenty Ten course set to close on September 6 for final prepa-rations for the 38th Ryder Cup, McKenzie says excite-ment is growing.

“everyone’s starting to get quite excited, but there’s still an awful lot of work to do both on and off the course.

“When we close the course we’ll have three weeks of no play and a real-ly intensive maintenance period,” said McKenzie, who added that Toro equipment offers further reassurance when preparing for an event the size and magnitude of the Ryder Cup.

“We’ve undergone a huge amount of develop-ment, hosting other major events in the build-up to winning the Ryder Cup and Toro are probably our biggest partner in terms of development.” GME

“We’ve been a 100 per cent Toro user since 1993, and in that time we’ve never once used another make”

McKenzie pays tribute to Toro support at celtic Manor

180x127_GolfManagement.indd 1 12.05.2010 13:24:29 Uhr

8 GME july 2010

news

le golf national de france has selected a fleet of jacobsen golf mowers for its golf courses located at guyancourt, south-west of Paris. The equipment has been supplied by the local distributor of Ransomes jacobsen france, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Ransomes jacobsen ltd.

The courses at le golf national de france are the property of the fédération française de golf (ff golf), and have been the home of the principal french men’s golf tournament since 1991.

Designed by french golf course architect Hubert Chesneau in 1987, the golf national was opened in

1990, and features three courses – the Albatross, eagle and Birdie.

The club is also currently applying for geo Certification, as well as biding to host the 2018 Ryder Cup.

The signature course is the Albatross which hosts the principal french men’s tour-nament every july, and features spectacular holes with lakes and water hazards coming into play on twelve of the eighteen holes.

The golf national has chosen greens, tees, fair-ways and rough mowers from jacobsen. Their fleet features twenty-seven machines with further orders promised during the term of the contract.

Director of golf, olivier Roche, said that the deci-sion to change to jacobsen equipment after many years with the competition was due to a number of clear considerations.

“The local Ransomes jacobsen dealer jardins loisirs, as well as Rj france, have been here at the golf national whenever we needed them; they have values that we share; they are experienced in our busi-ness, recognise our needs and offer true support,” he said.

David Withers, managing director of Ransomes jacobsen, who was present at the signing of the supply contract expressed his delight at the golf national’s choice.

“We are delighted that this most prestigious organi-sation has decided to choose jacobsen equip-ment,” he said.

“our local distributor and laurent Proupin’s team have worked tirelessly to win this contract. We will do everything possible to meet the golf national’s needs and to keep their course at the forefront of european and world golf.”

Golf national de france selects Jacobsen

The Club Managers Association of europe (CMAe) has announced the first in a series of e-learning courses for club managers will begin in october entitled, Membership, Marketing and Food & Beverage for Clubs.

This is the first of four e-learning courses that are being developed by the CMAe and Hotelschool The Hague, one of the world’s top universities for hotel management, which already boasts Hilton, Starwood and Hotel okura Company among its global clients.

jerry Kilby, chief exec-utive of the CMAe, said: “This is an important step in our development, as we’ve been trying to source a practical and affordable solution for club managers to gain the knowledge they need to take our Certified Club Manager exam.

“This series of e-learning courses are an important step forwards in that process.”

Huxley golf is helping a host of celebrity golfers raise vital funds for a leukaemia charity.

Hampshire-based Huxley golf is providing an artificial green for a putting competi-tion at the 2010 leuka Mini Masters sponsored by Bing.

Celebrities such as leuka patron Dougray Scott, star of Mission Impossible, will compete to hole a 35-foot putt on the surface along-side the main par-3 tourna-ment at Dukes Meadows in Chiswick.

The putting competition has been carried over from a promotional launch in May, when no-one managed to hole a

competitive putt on a Huxley green laid out on a balcony at the Mayfair Hotel – dubbed london’s highest putt by event media partner Esquire.

The prize, an omega Seamaster watch, has also been held over and could now tempt confirmed tour-nament captains such as Hugh grant, Rob Brydon, james nesbitt, Phil glenister, johnny Vaughan and Dj Spoony.

Paul Chester, Huxley golf sales manager, said: “As its name suggests, Mini Masters is a fun, tongue-in-cheek golfing tournament. We were surprised that no-one holed a putt at the launch

but we are delighted to supply another putting green to help raise as much money as possible for leuka.

“It gives everyone a second bite at the cherry.”

huxley help stage the leukaemia ‘Mini-Masters’

oscar-winning actress Dame judi Dench officially opened lingfield Park Marriott Hotel and Country Club, in Surrey, in june.

Dench, a local resident, unveiled the new £29m four-star hotel, to formally launch the venue as the first on-site, integrated racecourse,

hotel, spa and golf resort in the uK.

After cutting the ribbon at the launch event, she said: “With such breathtaking surroundings, this is a unique venue, which I’m certain will be enjoyed by everyone that has the opportunity to stay and visit.”

In addition to lingfield Park’s 18-hole, tree-lined course, the new hotel devel-opment features a golf teaching academy to rival existing facilities across Surrey and further afield. A new pro-shop and club-house have also been incor-porated within the hotel.

lingfield is the new Dench-mark


news

for the second consecu-tive year, the prestigious Murdoch Medal – presented by the British golf Collectors Society for the most outstanding golf publication of the year – has been awarded to a book designed by Chic Harper, the fife-based graphic designer.

The book, Social Links, The Golf Boom in Victorian England, by Cambridge author Donald Cameron and launched in March 2010 by Peter Alliss at gog

Magog golf Club, was described recently by Golf Monthly as “undoubtedly a labour of love… beautifully presented… definitely an excellent library addition for keen golf historians.”

This year’s award further adds to Harper’s growing reputation in the field of golf book design.

“I’m absolutely delighted to be recognised once more by the Society,” he said. “It was a privilege to work with Donald on his excellent book.”

john Deere has announced that it is set to enhance its parts distribution network in europe.

With an investment of more than uS $60 million, the company plans to expand its european Parts Distribution Centre (e-PDC) at Bruchsal in germany and in addition, establish a new Regional Distribution Centre

(RDC) near Stockholm in Sweden.

“The continual expansion of john Deere product lines throughout europe requires the parallel expansion of our parts infrastructure,” commented fritz Rheindorf, director of parts distribution for europe, CIS, northern Africa, near and Middle east.

“With the intent to provide excellent parts service to our customers and dealers, and in light of rapidly increasing logistical costs and environ-mental considerations, we are enhancing the services of our e-PDC in Bruchsal, and have decided to estab-lish a regional parts distribu-tion centre in northern europe.”

More than uS $30 million will be invested in a new 16,700m² facility at Bruchsal.

This new centre will create extra space for receiving, packaging and cross-dock-ing parts at e-PDC and will enable more efficient distri-bution of orders to john Deere dealers throughout europe, and to other parts centres worldwide.

John Deere expands European distribution bases

harper wins book award for second year running

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10 GME july 2010

news

lely’s Toro Protection Plus (TPP) plan has helped Rookery Park golf Club significantly reduce and better manage its mainte-nance budgets.

The 27-hole course in Carlton Colville near lowestoft recently signed a new Toro deal that will see its fleet of mixed machinery makes turn all-Toro in the next five years.

Thus far, course manager Mark Henderson has taken delivery of two new mowers having decided to update the club’s existing kit after repair bills for the ageing fleet begin to rocket.

“We used to use a mix of two machinery makes, but the kit was beginning to age and so we looked at all the three major companies and did some demos.

“We chose Toro because the machines offer quality, reliability and are well-built,” added Henderson.

Together with moving the club’s machinery mainte-nance in-house, Henderson says that TPP – which aims to provide the turf industry’s most comprehensive machinery protection – is helping protect the club against unexpected repair bills and manage budgets to the penny.

“We haven’t had to spend a penny on our new mowers yet, whereas our ageing machines regularly had to be carted off for repair to the tune of £1,000 a time,” he continues.

“Thanks to our new in-house workshop area for day-to-day maintenance and setting-up, we’ve certainly reduced our main-tenance costs and also have a more reliable fleet as well as eased our service and maintenance overall.”

Troon Golf has announced the opening of The Al-legria golf course, devel-oped by SoDIC, egypt’s leading Real estate devel-opers. located in the ac-claimed Allegria develop-ment, just outside of Cairo the all new Championship course, designed by greg norman is now open for play.

A distinguished PGA pro who aims to scale each of Scotland’s 283 Munros has reached the peak of his career having been awarded PgA Mas-ter Professional status. glasgow-based john Mulgrew, a pivotal driving force behind the PgA’s director of golf qualifica-tion, received the honour at The open Champion-ship.

Club Car has won a new account to become the exclusive supplier of golf and utility vehicles to Houghwood golf in St Helens. The contract is a significant coup for Club Car as they have won the account from one of their largest competitors.

Macdonald Hotels and Resorts have pledged to encourage budding young sporting enthusi-asts to take up the game of golf over the next five years. In an unprecedent-ed move, Macdonald Hotels have committed to helping young amateurs and professionals alike to take up the game across their portfolio of over 40 properties in the uK.

The €100m Heritage Golf Hotel & Spa, in Kildare, went into receivership in june, following moves by two if its lenders.

in briEf;

rookery park impressed with lely and Toro

A norfolk golf club has successfully used Barenbrug grass seed to create a links-look course in spite of chal-lenging soil conditions and a limited budget.

Paul Searle, owner of the new 18-hole course at Heacham Manor hotel near Hunstanton, has almost singlehandedly designed, specified and overseen construction of the project.

And such is his passion for bringing a slice of St Andrews to the north norfolk coast, he has become quite the expert on grass seed selection in particular.

Searle worked closely with norfolk-based Barenbrug distributor, Collier Turf Care’s managing director Andrew Harding, to realise his ambi-tion to create a links-style

course worthy of this quality development, which comprises a 14-bedroom boutique hotel and planning permission for 150 luxury log cabin holiday homes surrounding the site.

But, if you think Harding was the driving force behind the specification and selec-tion of individual Barenbrug mixtures and cultivars to achieve that links feel, then think again!

Searle’s commitment includes him taking an unusually in-depth interest in grass seed selection to rival many a greenkeeping professional.

“I don’t like making deci-sions on things I don’t know about,” Searle reveals. “I’ve worked with Collier Turf Care and Barenbrug before, so

I’ve become quite hands-on. I wanted a links-style course, but we’re not on traditional links soil – we’re on clay/silt soil.

“So we put artificial undu-lations in and used tall, willowy, wispy grass – the idea was if you stood on the tee and looked down the fairway, you would see the links-style effect.”

links style look at heacham by barenbrug

A golfer has left nearly £500,000 to one of Britain’s most exclusive clubs.

friends of Peter Smith, who died aged 90, were aston-ished to discover he had left almost his entire fortune – £441,536 – to the club.

The former Army major and retired Treasury lawyer used the nearby Rye golf Club at least three times a week.

He had no family and never married, living alone in Winchelsea, east Sussex, with

his dog until his death last summer.

Speaking after the will was read, one friend said: “People are free to leave their money to who they like. But the club is not exactly a needy cause.”

rye benefits in member’s will


news

e-Z-go has delivered a significant package of golf cars, people shuttles and utility vehicles to the Costa navarino resort in the Messinia region of greece.

The resort includes the Dunes course, designed by Bernhard langer in conjunc-tion with european golf Design. Managed by Troon golf, the course was completed in May 2009 and given a full year to mature prior to its opening in May.

forty of the very latest e-Z-go RXV golf cars have been delivered to the course along with a four-seater and a six seater Shuttle for transporting guests to and from the adja-cent Westin Hotel.

The Costa navarino devel-opment is one of the largest projects in europe which, when completed, will feature five luxury hotels and five championship golf courses.

Meldrum House Country Hotel and golf Club has begun to reap the rewards of investing in a new green-keeping centre which boasts a number of innova-tive eco-friendly technolo-gies.

As well as providing secure storage for the resort’s fleet of mowers, trac-tors and aerators, the £750,000 development is also helping to reduce the

resort’s fuel bills through highly-efficient wood pellet/log boilers which provide heating and hot water for the facility.

The new complex, which took 18 months to construct, has also been designed to collect rainwater which is then used to wash the machines.

once used, the water is filtered and stored for further use.

The eco-credentials of the 875m² compound are also enhanced by a super-wall system which incorporates insulating materials that trap heat within the building and reduce heat loss.

The result is a new mainte-nance facility that has the potential of being entirely self sufficient within a year.

“At the moment we’re using pellets for the burners, but we hope to use wood

only from the estate by this time next year,” said Kenneth Harper, golf course and estate grounds manager.

“We think it is extremely important to adopt a responsible approach to energy and water usage and as a result, eco-plan-ning has become an impor-tant part of our business.

“It had an obvious bear-ing on the design of the new complex.”

Meldrum house reaps eco-investment dividend

E-Z-Go win major contract at navarino

2 0 1 0

12 GME july 2010

news

Troon golf has announced that las Colinas golf and Country Club has officially opened to the general public.

The 18 hole championship course is located on the Mediterranean coast south of Alicante in the region of Valencia. The stunning new development sits in Dehesa

de Campoamor, between Alicante and Murcia, one of the most established and fastest growing regions for golf anywhere in europe.

Designed by the highly respected Cabell B. Robinson, the championship golf course has been carved out of a spectacular gorge that results in breath-

taking panoramic views in whichever direction you look. With vistas of the near-by coastline, the surrounding nature reserve and golf course, las Colinas golf and Country Club represents one of Spain’s and europe’s most exciting and appealing new developments.

“What has been created at las Colinas golf and Country Club is remarkable for not only the region of Valencia, but in Spain,” commented Cabell B. Robinson.

“There is a rich heritage of golf in Spain and a Mediterranean lifestyle that many people actively seek out.

“las Colinas has captured the very essence of this, and integrated one of the finest new golf courses within an environmentally conscious development. The natural beauty and unique terrain have helped create what I feel is a truly exceptional course.”

The par 71 golf course measures 6,973 yards and provides a stern yet fair test of golf.

Dramatic bunkering also plays a major part in the nature of the golf course, as many intimidating and visu-ally impacting bunkers guard the entrance to greens or await the slightly wayward tee shot.

“We are excited to be working with the team at gmp at las Colinas golf and Country Club,” commented Bruce glasco, managing director Troon golf europe, Middle east and Africa.

“This is truly a unique development which will offer residents and guests an exclusive environment to enjoy the extensive leisure facilities.

“With its world-class golf course there is no doubt las Colinas will have a positive impact on golf, not only in the region, but also in Spain.”

las colinas officially opens for play

A Scottish golf club is helping to protect the Arctic tern, whilst at the same time raise the species’ profile.

land close to Brora’s course in Sutherland provides habitat for a long-established breed-ing colony of the birds, which fly at least 10,000 miles from Antarctica to the Highlands’ east coast.

Brora gC has teamed up with RSPB Scotland to raise awareness about the species through the launch of a pin badge and a leaflet.

Tony gill, secretary of Brora golf Club, said: “The terns have been regular summer visitors to Brora for as long as anyone can remember and have been used as the club logo for many years.

“We look forward to them continuing to be our neighbours for many years to come.

“We are proud to have jointly commissioned a limited edition pin badge with the RSPB,” conclud-ed gill.

The club where Wales’ Ryder Cup bid was launched is to open new starter golf facilities – thanks to the success of that bid.

Rhondda golf Club was chosen in january 2001 as the venue to launch the Welsh bid to host The 2010 Ryder Cup.

just over nine years ago that bid seemed a pipe dream, but just before Wales is due to host the event, Rhondda golf Club is to open a new nine hole short course designed specifically for youngsters and players new to the game.

The club was awarded over £70,000 by the Ryder Cup Wales legacy fund,

financed by the Welsh Assembly government, to improve their facilities help-ing to attract new golfers by developing the nine holes course and learning area.

Secretary/manager Ian ellis said: “The launch of The Ryder Cup bid was held here at Rhondda golf Club so it has come full circle in a way.”

A £25m plan to build a hotel and championship golf course in Argyll is on the brink of collapse after the owner put the estate up for sale.

Peter Blacker, the property and golf entrepreneur, has put the Knockdow estate on the Cowal peninsula on the

market just weeks before Argyll and Bute Council was expected to grant planning permission for his leisure proposals.

It comes less than a year after ministers rejected separate proposals on appeal by a consortium led by Blacker to build a wind

farm on part of the same estate.

Blacker said: “We are not going to go ahead in the current economic climate.”

He added that he had received strong interest in the estate, whose total guide price is £3.75m, but none from hotel developers.

Exclusive development plan rejected

ryder cup bid comes full circle at rhondda Golf club


news

A golf centre in the north-east of england has devel-oped its own, possibly unique, approach to golf course mowing by using john Deere’s new 8000e e-Cut hybrid fairway mowers on the greens.

Denis Craggs is the found-er of the 45 hole Knotty Hill golf Centre at Sedgefield, near Stockton-on-Tees in Co Durham.

Craggs’ approach to golf course maintenance is about maximising productiv-ity and minimising costs.

This has led him to employ a highly mechanised regime that now uses two john Deere 8000e hybrid fairway mowers to cut all 45 greens, and two sets of linked 365 trailed gang mowers to cut the fairways.

The primary mowing takes place every Monday – when the course is closed for the day – and the same number of staff that maintain the 45 hole complex now is the same as it was when the first 18 holes were opened in 1992.

The next stage of the acclaimed Modry las golf course is taking shape in the beautiful West Pomerania region of Poland.

The foundations of a new, contemporary clubhouse are being laid alongside the gary Player design, which was recognised in its first year as one of europe’s top 100 courses.

Work started on the $2 million project in May, with the first stage of construction to be finished this Autumn.

When finished, the Modry las clubhouse will include a spacious restaurant with a panoramic terrace over-looking the 18th green, a sports bar and lounge, extensive changing facilities and a golf boutique.

A team of architects from the uS, Switzerland and Poland designed the contemporary structure to incorporate all the comforts of a country lodge.

The goal is to make the new clubhouse a convivial place where guests can share good food and fine wines in a welcoming atmosphere, according to

Arthur gromadzki, chairman of Modry las: “We want to create a place where members and visitors not only enjoy the experience of playing a world-class course, but can savour their time off the course as well,” he said.

“I am very proud of the recognition we have received in a relatively short time.”

new clubhouse takes shape at Modry las

John Deere fairway mowers suit the greens

14 GME july 2010

company profile WEbLinK; TTIRRIgATIon.Co.uK

There can’t be too many 60-year-olds who are in the office at 5.30am every morning and are genuinely excited at the thought of the working day ahead.

By this stage of their working lives, most people are beginning to wind down and look forward to the prospect of a long and enjoyable retirement, if they haven’t taken it already.

But then Colin Clark isn’t any normal 60-year-old.

Having left school at the age of 15, Clark went into the merchant navy as he had no idea what he wanted to do as a career. But, after a flirtation with the building industry, he found his way into the irrigation industry and he hasn’t looked back since.

After spending the 1970s, 80s and 90s working all over the world gathering knowledge of the business, Clark felt well enough qualified to start his own compa-ny.

Topturf Irrigation Ltd was founded in 2000 and such has been the success of the Arundel-based firm that they are now regarded as one of the UK’s leading irri-gation companies offering design, installa-tion and servicing for all commercial and private enterprises.

“The industry does excite me,” said Clark, Topturf‘s managing director. “I consider myself lucky to have some really good engineers and we have a very personal company. I feel very lucky and feel pretty young.

“Unlike some companies, we don’t have a boss and employee environment. We are all personal friends and we have only lost three employees since we started. The problem with bigger companies is that people become non-entities.

“We employ very much a personal touch. There are only 16 of us in the company and we all perform multi-func-tioning roles to keep the overheads down.

“We have to work harder as individuals but I consider we get more from that and I can now count a lot of clients as person-al friends.

“Our engineers are on the road at 5.30am, everyone works in excess of 12 hours a day and our clients appreciate it.”

Topturf ’s rise is a heart-warming story. Starting out in golf with just two men and a van, the company now boasts a small but well-qualified staff, while their fleet of seven fully equipped vans are constantly on the road allowing them to hit their service calls within 24 hours’ notice.

Working across the UK and Europe, Topturf ’s team, with a combined experi-ence of more than 150 years in the indus-try, understand the importance of provid-ing a jargon-free, prompt and efficient service and having open and honest communication.

And such has been the success of the firm that it was forced to split its opera-tions five years ago and set up two sepa-rate companies – Topturf Engineering Ltd and Topturf Service Ltd – which operate under the parent company’s umbrella managed by Clark.

Topturf Engineering, under the direc-tion of Andy Burbridge, offers a complete package from surveys, estimating and design (bespoke and detailed estimates), overlay of drawing onto overhead photo-graphs, specification drawing, presenta-tion and, most importantly, understand-ing the client – listening to requests and concerns and providing a bespoke response.

colin’s Top of his Trade

Colin Clark, managing director of Topturf Irrigation, has built his company from nothing ten years ago into

one of europe’s leading irrigation contractors as

Peter Simm reports.


Topturf Irrigation is one of the leading specialist design and build irrigation contractcompanies in the UK & Europe utilising all major irrigation products & Otterbine BareboAeration Systems. The team has a combined experience of over 100 years and guaranteea reliable, honest and jargon-free service with the highest level of expertise.

An irrigation system to be proud of

Please visit our website at www.ttirrigation.co.uk or for more information call us

on 0044 (0)1903 278240 where one of our team will be happy to help you.

Topturf Service was created by Clark as he realised there was a gap in the market for a servicing division that provided a polite, efficient and reliable service. Under the direction of Rob Callaway, it has gone from strength to strength and it now serv-ices all makes and models of irrigation and Otterbine aeration.

Incidentally, Topturf has won the Otterbine/Lely contractor of the year for the past four years running.

Whether initially installed by Topturf or not, the company can provide an efficient service plan for the most basic or sophis-ticated systems.

Clark has lost count of the number of golf courses his company has worked on since the turn of the millennium – The RAC Club, Royal Mid Surrey, Old Thorns and Clandon Regis are just a few – while Topturf ’s expertise stretches beyond the golf industry with stadium, racecourses, bowling greens, sports fields, private grounds and other bespoke projects all having benefited from their services.

Names such as Chelsea, West Ham, Reading, Southampton and Watford Football Clubs’ pitches, Sandown and Kempton racecourses, Mercedes Benz World and Loughborough University are included on Topturf ’s impressive client list.

The company uses the best products in the business, working with Toro, Hunter and Rainbird for its ranges of sprinklers and controllers.

But no matter what the size of the project, at the heart of the company’s work ethic is a devotion and attention to detail and desire to keep the client informed with regular communication.

Clark said: “No job is too small or too big. We take every job as it comes. We feel that if your engineers are well-presented and polite, that counts for a lot and clients will always tell the next person along the road.

“What we do works. We have never turned anyone away and all our projects are difficult and different in one way or another. Some people say that all golf courses are the same but that is not the case and it’s the same with our job.

“We only have a maximum of five projects on the go at one time and we are always honest with people which is very important because people respect that.

“I think we have got the mixture and balance right and we have good guys both on the road and in the office. Our success isn’t down to one or two people – it’s down to everyone.”

With current projects including The Wisley’s 9-hole Church Course, and the installation of irrigation on the tees, greens and approaches at Woodcote Park, Topturf is clearly moving in the right direction.

The company also recently finished work on the Scandinavian Golf Club in Denmark. And who’s to say that Clark won’t still be the company’s driving force in 20 years’ time? GME

16 GME july 2010

customer relations WEbLinK; nfS-HoSPITAlITy.CoM

You hear the term CRM – Customer Relationship Management – and you think ‘boring’, right? Wrong!!

Huge multi-national companies right down to your local community businesses have been using CRM for years, and it’s about time golf clubs started using it to their benefit.

We all know that recording customer communication is a tedious job, but it is vital in the battle to retain customers or members. Profiling your customers and members allows you to cross-sell and up-sell a multitude of products and serv-ices, and secure that vital repeat business.

Let’s imagine you are hosting a family birthday party event at the club for one of your members. From the moment they enquire, you capture all communications and requests made from start to finish.

This way, if the events co-ordinator isn’t available, another member of staff can pick up easily where they left off and have all relevant information ready at the click of a mouse.

More importantly, on completion of the event, the member who organised it

says, “it was fantastic and we should do this again for my

mother’s 70th in three years’ time.”

Normally this would go forgotten,

but logged in a CRM tool for

a future call in, say, two years’ time, you have every opportunity

of securing the repeat

business. Place your trust in the

CRM system and let it remind you automatically.

Now, is that boring?The above example is just one way in

which CRM works for the golf market.

Gone are the days of rolodexes and notepads, and along with these manual processes, the mistakes that inherently came with them.

The new age is here for clubs, so don’t get left behind when it comes to revenue-generating solutions that really do have a great return on investment.

CRM is becoming the essential ‘piece of kit’ for any club looking to drive sales and increase revenue across the board, and CRM allows you to look after the most important component of your busi-ness – the customer.

Most of the solutions on the market are inexpensive and you can become an accomplished user within just a few days. The better products include integration and synching with your email, so you don’t have to copy and paste emails into the customer profile, which is a real time saver.

Another feature to look out for in a CRM product is one that includes campaign software. This allows you to design your own emails for marketing purposes and have the ability to mail-merge the customers in the CRM system.

Subsequently you can then target specific people in your database and send them the right offers and the most rele-vant information.

We all know that in the current economic situation, club managers find themselves fighting, on a daily basis, to increase revenue through all departments within their club. Prospecting for new members is becoming increasingly diffi-cult within this saturated market, but CRM really is an area worth investigating.

You will never forget that call, email, meeting, game of golf or show round ever again, as the CRM looks after your diary, communication and tasks.

With waiting lists gone and a huge selection of golf clubs for the consumer to choose from, CRM can secure that vital business and won’t let your potential customers or members slip through the net.

crM — it’s about time!golf clubs can now benefit from easier marketing

processes to win and retain business, as Steve Salter, head of nfS’ golf and leisure Division explains.


Golf and Leisure IT Solutions

Core Functionality

Full integration across all your club’s departments

Full sales intelligence and CRM

Online tee times and members accounts

Loyalty schemes with web-based reporting

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As used by the London Golf Club (European Open 2009)and Medinah Country Club (Ryder Cup 2012)

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Michael Barrett, IT Consultant to the golf and leisure industry for the past 15 years, comments: “Clubs that implement CRM and fully commit to using it prop-erly show a remarkable improvement in member and customer retention.”

Clubs are becoming more sales focused as business is no longer falling in their laps.

The reactive sales approach isn’t gener-ating the revenue it used to, so forward-thinking clubs are using CRM as part of a proactive sales approach in their market-ing to local businesses and individual customers.

We can learn a lot from hotels and other similar businesses that capture the all-important customer data so very well. As a customer we sit on their databases and from time to time receive offers.

Why don’t individual golf clubs work in a similar way? Grow your database, and grow your business!

All of these ideas are possible with good data collection and a powerful CRM tool. You can send regular text messages or emails with specific offers and informa-tion to the right customers, and generate more business for your club.

Marketing using CRM is a numbers game. As you collect more data – either by buying a database or by collecting

customer data from visitors – your data-base grows, and in turn so does the busi-ness generated from it.

At NFS Hospitality, we have been providing IT solutions and advice to the leisure industry for over 15 years, and help clubs to better generate business through IT implementation and the latest club management software.

The CRM module complements the already excellent functionality of NFS’ IBS Club Management suite, and provides Private Member and Golf Clubs the opportunity to market to their existing customer base with much more ease, due to a built-in HTML email designer and the ability to sync with Outlook.

NFS’ CRM module also offers a host of functionality, including Outlook Sync for email, making CRM admin obsolete; customisable security levels for all employees; quick communication panel for instant call logging; audit trail for all communication by staff, date, time and group; and a reporting suite for campaign statistics, including viewed, opened, clicked through and bounced emails.

Not only does CRM help clubs manage their clients, but the module can drastical-ly reduce the time staff spend on CRM admin, and a built-in triggers feature automates management processes.

For example, a new member is convert-ed from a prospective member to a full paying member. Next step? Send them a welcome letter, welcome pack and current newsletter.

Managers can use triggers to have the CRM send this automatically and instant-ly, the moment they are converted, using their pre-saved mail-merge template.

This feature can also be used to tell staff around the club of any new members joining by sending automated emails to relevant employees.

These are just a few of the ways that CRM can take care of those time-consuming but essential tasks that club managers face on a daily basis. With full integration across the club, recording any and all communication, driving marketing campaigns and sending task reminders, users of the new module can let NFS’ CRM software take the strain off every-day club business and communication.

Not only does the solution deliver oper-ational benefits to effectively manage the process of client retention and customer acquisition, but it also enables clubs to up-sell and cross-sell to their existing membership.

Taking a long-term view, the increase in lifetime value of such members can be substantially increased. GME

“Clubs that implement CRM and fully commit to using it properly show a remarkable improvement in member and customer retention.”

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iog_saltex.pdf 27/7/10 10:12:42


club focusWEbLinK; MelDRuMHouSe.CoM

When Andy Burgess (pictured above left) first visited the extensive grounds that surround the country house hotel at Meldrum House, he was struck by the possibilities presented by the Aberdeenshire property.

“There was huge potential, in every way,” says the hotelier. “From product development to marketing, in every way it was just waiting to be nurtured and presented at a different level than what it was operating at. As a businessman, it was very exciting.”

He made his first visit to the baronial estate at the end of 2008. Eighteen months later, Meldrum is about to host the Northern Open Championship on its 18-hole golf course and has collected a string of awards including a four-star rating from VisitScotland.

“That was a very important step for the project,” says Burgess, who spent 15 years at the Macdonald hotel group. “One of the measurements of re-positioning the business was that it would be classified as four-star when we were finished.

To tick that box was an important step in its development.” The accolade is well-deserved.

Since Burgess arrived at Meldrum, the property has gone through a transforma-tion which has seen £2.5 million invested in a new greenkeeping centre, conference facility and a recently opened wing of contemporary rooms.

Indeed, the long drive up to the hotel first guides you past the greenkeeping facility then close to an impressive golf academy and on to the idyllically situated 18th green. It concludes at a grand coun-try house complete with elegant stone staircase, tall turrets and accompanying stable block. It feels and looks wonderful-ly old.

The 14-year-old golf course fits in surprisingly well. In fact, so at home is it in this historic landscape that it would be easy to imagine the original owner, Philip de Fedarg who was believed to be a Knight Templar, rewriting history by strolling towards one of the large greens hickory in hand.

Donald Trump isn’t the only one looking to up the ante in the north east of Scotland. As Mark Alexander finds out, Meldrum House is

already leading the way in resort development.

house of possibilities

20 GME july 2010

facTfilE;

Meldrum House golf Cluboldmeldrum

Aberdeenshire AB51 0AeScotland

TEl; (44) 01651 873553 faX; (44) 01651 873635

EMail;[email protected]

opEraTions DirEcTor;Beverley Mess

coursE ManaGEr;Kenneth Harper

club founDED;1998

Indeed, Meldrum’s history can be traced back to the 13th century when a tower house was built on a rocky outcrop at the highest point in the area. A series of renovations, extensions and additions followed until eventually Meldrum House was opened as a hotel in the 1950s.

The heritage of the place is evident when you walk into the reception area which is warmed by an open fire and adorned with antiques and paintings.

The main body of the hotel, the center-piece of the resort, has also seen huge changes with each of the period rooms being meticulously renovated while prep-arations are being made to develop and launch additional rooms. “It’s a brave step,” says Burgess referring to the ongo-ing investment.

“The directors have genuine faith that a quality product will work even in the current climate, and they are therefore willing to take that risk.”

The board consists of three local busi-nessmen each of whom is involved in the construction industry in the north-east of Scotland.

Rob Edwards and Terry and Robert Buchan acquired Meldrum House 15 years ago when the then laird passed away and the estate was put on the open market. After the acquisition was final-ised, the new owners set about creating an 18-hole golf course with the help of local golf course architect Graeme Webster who heads up the design and build company Team Niblick.

The result was a private members’ golf club in a parkland setting with a mani-cured finish. The imaginative layout creat-ed a course that successfully balances playability with a sense of challenge, as well as a touch of drama.

This clever balancing act means visitors can enjoy their round just as readily as members. In many ways, it’s what many resort courses aspire to be with attractive holes defined by lakes and bunkers, finished off by enormous greens that offer tough pin positions for tournament play and straightforward access for the paying punters.

The course hit the headlines in 2009 when honorary member Paul Lawrie crit-icised the putting surfaces after a disap-pointing bounce match. The spat escalat-ed culminating in Lawrie and Meldrum going their separate ways. Looking at the greens today, it’s hard to work out what rattled his cage.

The hand-cut greens, cross-cut fair-ways and hand weeding give the course a distinctive look which keeps the team of greenkeepers on their toes.

Thankfully they’ve also benefited from Meldrum’s rebirth with a new £750,000 greenkeeping centre that not only provides secure storage for the resort’s fleet of mowers, tractors and aerators, but also helps reduce fuel bills through wood pellet/log boilers which provide heating and hot water for the facility.

The new greenkeepers complex has also been specifically designed to collect


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throughout EuropeFor further information about the

British Association of Golf Course Constructorsplease contact the chairman, Brian D. Pierson

on 01425 475584 or email [email protected]

New Courses • Renovation • BunkersIrrigation • Drainage

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rainwater which is used to wash the machines and then is filtered and stored for further use.

The eco-credentials of the 875m² compound are also enhanced by a super-wall system which incorporates high-performance insulating materials that trap heat within the building and reduce heat loss.

The result is a new maintenance facility that has the potential of being self suffi-cient within a year.

“At the moment we’re using pellets for the burners, but we hope to use wood only from the estate by this time next year,” comments Kenneth Harper, golf course and estate grounds manager.

“We think it is extremely important to adopt a responsible approach to energy and water usage and as a result, eco-plan-ning has become an important part of our business.”

That’s not the only change taking place at the golf end of the business. “Last year we launched the Black Course, which is over 7,000 yards long,” says Harper. “We built 16 new tees which means we’ve now got five tees on each hole.”

The increased yardage also meant Meldrum broke into an exclusive club of courses capable of hosting tournaments and, without doubt, helped the resort land a three-year contract to host the Northern Open.

As if to confirm this, Michael MacDougall, PGA Scottish Region secre-tary, described Meldrum as a fantastic

venue, commenting that “the new 7,000-yard course from the Black tees should make for an exciting 72-hole champion-ship.”

Tournament organiser, Brian Hendry, also praised Meldrum’s investment programme heaping praise on the hotel’s development. “With the refurbishment of the 13th-century mansion house, and the recent stable-block conversion adding even more luxury bedrooms, and with its existing practice facilities and golf course as a complete package, I think it’s the best venue in Aberdeenshire.”

Meldrum House has certainly adopted an aggressive strategy based on enhancing its key market segments. For instance, new conferencing facilities have addressed the business market while a permanent marquee has opened up the wedding side of the business. And while it has won plaudits for its cuisine, it is Meldrum’s golf that will secure its position at the top golfing table.

“We had looked at ways of raising our profile and credibility as a venue in the golfing world,” Burgess recalls,” and it had been muted that the Northern Open could be something of interest to Meldrum.

“We thought we were ready to host an event on that scale, so we made some noises last year but it was still at Spey Valley. Now that we have it, we see it as an under-pinning event that will help estab-lish us as a leading venue in the north east.” GME

online news WEbLinK; golfMAnAgeMenTneWS.CoM

Even in golf, a sport which has stead-fastly refused to move into the 20th century for at least 100 years, the advent of the Internet and its concomitant communication methods could not pass unnoticed.

And so it came to pass in GME Towers that the decision was taken to launch the website GolfManagementNews.com – an on-line and up-to-the-minute adjunct to the existing print magazine.

Publisher Michael Lenihan explained: “There are myriad reasons for having an on-line presence when you publish a print

magazine – but I can think of none for not having one.

“While Golf Management Europe (GME) has always had a presence within the parent company site

it became clear that as the maga-

zine continued to grow in popularity it did

require a website of its own.

“But as a bi-monthly, subscription magazine there are hurdles to overcome, so after some market research and several editorial meetings in which traditional print journalists were persuaded not to throw their toys out of the proverbial pram, we established a way forward,” smiled Lenihan.

The ‘way forward’ is a regularly updat-ed news site with the added benefits of an executive jobs section and a digital down-load area for PDF copies of the print magazine.

Included within the new site is an extensive digital library consisting of not only the current edition of GME but also the magazine’s entire back-catalogue – currently 72 editions in total.

“Like many publishers these days, access to such libraries is now on a chargeable basis, which is why we have introduced a new digital subscription costing just £10 a year,” added Lenihan.

“We feel that this nominal fee repre-sents excellent value for money,” contin-ued Lenihan, who was at pains to stress that the subscription only applied to digit-al downloads of GME and not the online news content.

“Although all digital editions of GME will now require a digital subscription in order to download the digital version of GME, access to all the online news will be free to access – without registration.”

GME unveils a new online news service like no other

Some would argue that it’s well overdue – including publisher Michael lenihan – which is why all of us at GME are so pleased to announce the

launch of golf Management news.com. Article by Sam Frederick.

22 GME july 2010


In addition to the latest industry news and views, there is also a searchable archive to enable readers to find referenc-es to individual companies or courses, as well as the new recruitment section listing the latest golf management positions throughout the UK and Europe.

Lenihan added: “The magazine is read by the decision-makers in golf – directors, owners, managers – and they are just as likely to wish to progress their career as anybody else.

“So that is why we have teamed up with Colt MacKenzie McNair, the leading specialist executive search firm, to post vacancies on the website as and when they become available.

“And, through our close working rela-tionship with PPC Golf, we are also able to carry the latest opportunities to purchase golf courses and hotels. It provides an all-round information service for the sport’s decision makers and owners.”

The new site launched at the end of July, and the publisher is determined that GolfManagementNews.com will not fall into the trap of so many others, by simply acting as a conduit for the circulation of formulaic press statements.

Lenihan said: “While we will undoubt-edly use material supplied to us in press release form we are determined to offer a genuine news service rather than just a means of distributing press releases to the industry.

“Far too many industry websites simply exist by regurgitating news pieces supplied to them by PR companies and marketing departments – we are in the business of providing ground-breaking industry news that you will not find on any other golf business website.

“Naturally, if these PR news releases have genuine news value, then of course we will be happy to use them in some form, but we will not be afraid to carry stories which do not paint such a positive hue – news is not always sunshine and light, even in the golf industry,” he smiled.

“There are often darker tales to be told and there would be little point in us employing experienced journalists merely for them to cut-and-paste press releases into a template.

“That’s not the way we do things in Golf Management Europe – which has always been a feature-led publication – and it will not be the way we operate at GolfManagementNews.com.”

The company has also introduced a new Twitter feed as well for all of those readers out there with Twitter accounts.

“I must admit, that like many others within the golf industry, I have been a bit sceptical about the benefits of using social networking sites such as Facebook and Twitter,” added Lenihan.

“But after using Twitter to keep up with all the latest news when the World Cup was on, as a way of broadcasting news as and when it happens, I really don’t think there is a better medium at the minute.

“Email newsletters and weekly updates seem to be such an out-dated way to communicate these days – after all I would hazard a guess that a good 35 per cent of all emails end up being blocked by spam filters – which is why Twitter is such an effective way to communicate.

“And if it works me, then just stop to think what it can do for your golf club. A message can be sent at the touch of a button to each and every member at your golf club – it’s free, easy to use and with-out doubt far more effective than sending an email.”

The print magazine’s news editor, David Bowers, will expand his role to include the on-line news section and he will be supported by a team of experi-enced journalists, many of whom have contributed to Golf Management Europe since its inception 13 years ago.

He said: “The golf industry is, more than many other industries, prone to peaks and troughs. Even when the overall economy is in good shape, it has been known for the golf industry to struggle, so there is always something to report, even if it’s not all good news.

“The launch of GolfManagementNews.com is a real benefit to the industry for it provides an up-to-date resource – a bi-monthly publication can never be the ideal vehicle for news due to its cycle.

“This is the perfect complement to the feature-led Golf Management Europe and I firmly believe it will be well received by those at whom it is targeted.” GME

GolfManagementNews.comFollow us on Twitter... twitter.com/gmenews news

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in personWEbLinK; WWW.PReSTWICKgC.Co.uK

Ian Bunch is taking a week off from running Prestwick Golf Club. He’s earned his reprieve. After 14 years at the helm of the world-famous club, you need a little down time. After all, the 65 year old has had a little more on his plate recently than the conventional run-of-the-mill budget-balancing chores.

Sitting in a secluded patio catching up on the Sunday papers, Bunch is recover-ing from a weekend of celebrations during which all living Open champions and captains of all the clubs that have hosted an Open Championship were invited to attend a celebratory dinner to mark the 150th anniversary of the first Open Championship in July 1860. It was a momentous weekend.

“We had 550 at a cocktail party, 260 playing golf on Saturday and then a dinner for 325 in the evening,” he says.

“The reason I’m here, is because I’ve worked non-stop and I decided I wanted a break away from it.”

The other reason Bunch was at his home in St Andrews was to hand over a specially commissioned replica belt which was presented to this year’s Open Champion, Louis Oosthuizen, along with the Claret Jug. “It’s all pretty special,” he says.

The happy coincidence of the 150th anniversary falling on a year when the championship is played at the Home of Golf marries nicely with the twist of fate that means Bunch is in his final year at

Mark Alexander meets up with outgoing secretary of Prestwick golf Club to find

out how he got there, what he achieved and who’s

going to replace him.

best of the bunch

26 GME july 2010

Prestwick and is looking forward to spending some of his retirement in the Auld Grey Toon 14 years after he left it to go to the West coast.

As if the patchwork of fate wasn’t intri-cate enough, destiny had already played its part in bringing Bunch to Prestwick. “I went to Prestwick in 1996 after spending 23 years in St Andrews,” he recalls.

“I was the managing director of Swilken Golf Company which had been quite successful but we’d gone through one recession too many and it was very hard to compete against the large American and Japanese firms.

“The day we called in the receivers was the day the secretary’s position at Prestwick Golf Club was advertised.”

In addition to Swilken, Bunch had also dipped his toe into the icy waters of committee work acting as the R&A’s representative on the management committee of the St Andrews Links Trust and also as captain of the New Club.

“My life has been golf,” he says starkly. “I’d done a fair bit of committee work and I’d run a company – I had the makings of a secretary, but I also wanted a complete change rather than going into manufac-turing or marketing a product.

“A golf club is what I wanted to do.”While his commercial background

would serve him well, the reality of taking up a post at one of the world’s most pres-tigious golf clubs had its fair share of challenges.

“You were there to serve members,” he recalls. “Compared to the hard commer-cial world, it was very different. Before, everything was about driving sales and

improving efficiencies and then suddenly I was in the service sector where you were expected to provide a service that the members wanted.

“All private clubs are run for the bene-fit of the members rather than driving more income to the detriment of its members.”

That’s not to say Prestwick doesn’t keep a close eye on the balance sheet. In fact, by Bunch’s own admission, the club is run with a commercial slant under-pinned by the ubiquitous needs of the members.

“I try to sell tee times but not to the detriment of our members; and that is when the course is quiet. Members’ needs are always first,” he says dutifully.

“Clubs and their members have to determine what they want. At Prestwick, we said if members want more times, they’ll have to pay more. So you have the option of having no visitors and the members paying three times what they pay normally, or you get some visitors in and the fees drop.”

As well as balancing members’ needs with the appeal of visitor income, Bunch suggests the way in which Prestwick is run could be a successful model for other clubs.

“We have a very good committee struc-ture where there are nine on the commit-tee with a chairman. Three come on each year and three go off. Our captain does the social side of the game, for instance representing the club at matches, but he also sits in at committee meetings.

“We have a lovely thing where he is only allowed to speak when spoken to –

“Clubs and their members have to determine what they want. At Prestwick, we said if members want more times, they’ll have to pay more.”


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we use him as wise council. It’s a great system and it’s one that clubs with 12 or 16 members should take a look at. I would strongly recommend it to any private members club.

“The idea that the captain should chair the committee is wrong.”

His 14-year tenure at the club has been full of highs, and perhaps some lows, but the over-riding impression you get is that Bunch relished his time and the friend-ships he made.

And despite overseeing the renovation of the clubhouse in 1999 which was built for the 150th anniversary of the club in 2001, he believes his legacy will be a modest one.

“It will hopefully be that I haven’t changed things too much because that was part of the remit,” he laughs. “Even when we put in a new carpet, we had it made so it looked exactly the same as the last one.”

Peter Graham, chairman of Prestwick Golf Club, has been glowing in his assess-ment of Bunch and clear in his descrip-tion of his likely successor. “We are extremely grateful to our outgoing secre-tary for his dedication and commitment to Prestwick Golf Club over the last 15 years and for all his hard work on the 150th Open Championship Anniversary celebrations this summer.

“This is one of the most prestigious jobs in golf and we are expecting a great deal of interest from across the whole of the UK.

“We are looking for someone who can represent Prestwick at the highest levels within the game, while at the same time ensuring the smooth running of the club.”

It is standard fair for a secretary’s role - managerial experience mixed with diplo-macy and charisma. But after 14 years on the job, Bunch can afford to be a little more specific.

He sees his successor as amiable, profi-cient and versatile while also being prepared to do things a little differently.

“When I retire, someone will come in and look at the club with fresh eyes and hopefully pick up on things that I didn’t see because I’ve lived with them for too long. It’s important there is change,” he says.

“He’s got to get on with everyone and he’s got to be a jack of all trades.”

The job description for the secretary’s role calls for a “highly motivated individ-ual with proven management experience.” Bunch suggests it might be better suited to someone with experience of change management.

“The challenges for Prestwick Golf Club will be related to legislation,” he says sternly. “Changes are afoot, and there are alterations that might have to be made because of government legislation.

“These are major issues – health and safety, use of pesticides; you name it. There is plenty of legislation that the new chap will have to contend with. I hope we get the right guy and he does a really good job.” GME

28 GME july 2010

The 150th Anniversary Open Championship, played over the Old Course at St Andrews, the home of golf, lives fresh in the memory.

In the opening rounds all concerned had coped with winds gusting to over 40 mph and torrential rain but by Sunday evening players, spectators and those watching on television had participated in a shared experience that will live on in the golfing history books.

Louis Oosthuizen lifted the Claret Jug on the 72nd hole and I had the honour of announcing his victory to packed grand-stands and a massive broadcast and online community around the globe.

In special celebration of the anniversary event, Prestwick Golf Club presented an exact replica of the original Champion’s Trophy, a Moroccan leather belt. While first prize from an increased fund of £4.8 million gave the young South African a cheque for £850,000 to complete the greatest prize in world golf.

It was a round of maturity beyond his years that secured The Open for the play-

er who had won only once on his adopted European Tour, the Open de Andalucia in Malaga in March of this year.

On his home tour he was a four-time winner, including a successful defence of the South African PGA title in 2008.

However in the Majors, in Open Championship outings at Troon, Hoylake and Turnberry and in appearances at the US Open and the Masters, Louis had previously failed to make the cut.

For the record, Louis Oosthuizen secured victory by seven strokes finishing with a total of 272, ahead of Lee Westwood, on his own in second place on 279, and Rory McIlroy, Henrick Stenson and Paul Casey tied third.

In his early career, Louis was mentored by the Ernie Els and Fancourt Foundation, one of five development organisations driven by former Open Champions that share funding support from The R&A.

The Palmer Cup, the Faldo Series in Europe and Asia, the Paul Lawrie Junior Programme and the Greg Norman

from the r&a

The open championship.as seen on TV

Chief executive of The R&A, Peter Dawson, reveals his

view of The open is mostly on television.


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Foundation are the others in this group. Louis is to establish his own junior golf academy in the near future.

Happily, I was able to speak to Louis immediately after the presentation cere-mony and it was clear he was only just coming to terms with what will be a life changing experience for him and his family. As ever it was a privilege to share the moment with our newest champion, but my view of his winning performance was almost all on television.

In my temporary office accommodation on site I have live feeds from our major broadcasters in a bank of television screens. Ensuring that players, spectators and viewers have the best Open Championship experience keeps me more office-based than I would like once the Championship is underway. Time spent on the golf course is mostly before and after play.

Television has played a major role in making golf the global sports success story it is today and I was pleased at the start of the Championship to announce a new five-year broadcast rights agreement with the BBC, maintaining their associa-tion with the event begun in 1955 through to 2016.

Under the terms of the agreement the BBC is the exclusive UK rights holder and supplier of the world feed, in High-Definition, to over fifty other broadcast-ers, ranging from Fox Sports in Australia to ESPN in Venezuela. Working with our media advisor, IMG, we continue to grow

The Open and this year’s pre-champion-ship broadcast forecast is for over 3,000 hours of live coverage.

New territories in Eastern Europe and Asia are enthusiastic supporters of tele-vised golf and, with each new broadcaster added to The Open Championship set, our Patrons (Doosan, Lexus, MMC, Nikon, RBS and Rolex) record an increase in the value of their relationship with the event.

Some 201,000 spectators attended The Open this year, despite the weather and the economic downturn, and we will never underplay their contribution to the event, but television gives us the resources we need to reinvest in the Championship and to fund grassroots development work on every continent.

For that reason I warmly welcome the announcement in the week following The Open from the new UK coalition govern-ment and Sports Minister, Hugh Robertson, that a decision on the Free-to-Air Listed Events Review is to be deferred until 2013.

This will allow the dust to settle on the UK digital switchover and the BBC Strategy Review before next attempting to strike the right balance between viewer expectations and the duty of individual sports to fund grassroots development.

We have lobbied hard to reserve the decision on the sale of broadcasting rights to the governing bodies in sport and in difficult times this is a measured and mature response from government. GME

30 GME july 2010

mytime active

In accordance with government guide-lines, more and more local councils in the UK are offloading golf courses to management operators.

That’s where sociable/charitable enter-prises like Mytime Active have taken full

advantage of the opportunity to deal in what is not quite a feeding frenzy but, nonetheless, a busy market.

In recessionary times it is impera-tive that local authorities cut expendi-ture to the bone but, even in the boom-and-bust era the practice of subsidising golf has never been partic-

ularly attractive to town halls up and down the country.

Golf on the rates has, in some sensitive political spots, been a hot potato. That, however, is likely or already has become a worry of the past thus opening the way for franchise seekers like Mytime Active.

They are not among the only bidders when tenders are invited although a flurry of successes at recent deals in the south-east suggest that the Bromley-based not-for-profit leisure trust pack a hefty punch when it comes down to cutting a good deal for all concerned.

At the beginning of the year, Brighton and Hove council agreed a ten-year oper-ating contract with Mytime Active for the courses at Hollingbury Park and Waterhall.

Both had been losing money for ages and the council wanted to get shot of both. And money, the most eloquent of languages, spoke loudest when Mytime Active beat four other bidders from an original queue of 32 and enabling the council to save £20,000 a year.

One Brighton and Hove councillor summed the negotiations up perfectly: “This should mean better value for golf-ers and taxpayers alike. This company has a good track record of increasing the popularity and financial performance of council golf courses.”

At last the council was no longer responsible for subsidising the courses with money that could be better spent elsewhere. Far more preferable was a single company providing a unified serv-ice. Result; everyone’s happy.

Members at the two well-established courses emerged from presentations with Mytime Active officials well pleased.

Time ManagementWith more and more local authorities turning to management companies to franchise out the running of their facilities, John Vinicombe examines the success that has been

achieved by operator Mytime Active in the south-east of england.


They gladly accepted the pledge to invest in the courses pestered by traveller’s and unthinking dog walkers.

Mytime Active, with an annual turnover of £15m and 1,000 full and part time staff, are not prepared to sell short. A little while before being awarded a five-year contract by Ealing Borough council to control Perivale, Brent Valley and Horsenden courses in West London, the company were already running High Elms and nearby Bromley, Cobtree Manor at Maidstone and Barneshurst at Bexley.

The man who helped form Bromley Mytime in 2004 is chief executive Steve Price. Under his leadership and dedicated team the charitable leisure trust has achieved multiple awards for excellence and service innovation and record levels of customer satisfaction, staff productivity and inward investment.

The focus, apart from golf, covers 15 leisure sites and five health contracts. Only good news is coming out of its Bromley headquarters.

The courses under the Mytime Active aegis concentrate largely on pay-and-play with a specific target of societies. That’s the way popular golf is going and far be it from being left behind, Mytime Active are trend setters.

Michael Weekes, group course manag-er, confirmed the priorities and was keen to emphasise that the needs of club members were addressed.

“We basically run pay-and-play courses that also have a membership,” he said. “It is important to realise that we don’t distribute our profits outside the facilities that we operate. We are foremostly a char-itable trust.

“We re-invest profits, that is the ethos of the trust.” Mytime Active, which began in 2004 when Bromley Borough council set up the trust, is a totally inde-pendent company that Weekes says enjoys excellent leadership from the top.

“The board comprises highly qualified and professional people. They all have expertise in different departments with Steve Price heading the senior manage-ment team. We do have competition and are hoping to extend a little more outside the south-east.

“There are opportunities for us to grow as we offer facilities for members and the general public to enjoy. We have a proven track record and are achieving a very high percentage of satisfaction.”

Michael Weekes, 62 first started in golf as a basic greenkeeper working up to head and progressing to course construction and project companies as a hands-on man and consultant.

He worked for Barrelfield later becom-ing course manager at Merrist Wood and moving into consultancy. At Mytime Active he works closely with Ian Mitchell, business director.

“All our courses show a profit,” said Weekes. “When we take over a facility it includes staff and that means continuity of employment, pensions, salaries and positions while golf professionals, who are often self-employed and caterers, fall into a different scenario.

“Where needed we provide new equip-ment and greenkeepers, and we have control over everything all under our umbrella. We are there to turn things round, to make money and re-invest. When we tender we look at shortfalls, lack of funding, lack of expertise.”

At the Mytime Active clutch of courses there are all sorts of inducements; vouch-ers for half price play, loyalty cards, recip-rocal green fees, two-day golf camps during school holidays, golf academies and cheaper Ashworth golf shirts all of which form part of a carefully arranged programme of packages and promotions.

Mytime Active say every penny is re-invested in service improvements, either in better leisure centres or subsi-dised activity programmes in schools or estates and community settings which otherwise would not happen.

“With the backing of the annual invest-ment fund we have re-invested over £6m surplus back into Bromley’s leisure serv-ices and launched many vital new services to improve health and education,” says Mytime Active top man Steve Price.

It seems beyond doubt that his compa-ny have set an agenda that encompasses a good deal more than golf and that in only seven years.

At this rate council courses will soon become a thing of the past. GME

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the ryder cup

With the Open Championship having been and gone, all

thoughts will now start to turn to the other great golfing event that is taking

place in the UK this summer – the Ryder Cup.

It only seems like yesterday since America wrestled the

trophy back off the Europeans amid triumphant scenes at

Valhalla in Kentucky nearly two years ago, and the home team are

desperate to get the cup back.The event is undoubtedly one of

golf ’s highest-profile competitions and

it’s estimated that this year’s action at The Celtic Manor Resort in Wales will be watched by an estimated television audi-ence of one billion people and will make stars of the players taking part.

With every birdie putt that is sunk and iconic image that is taken, so will come increased exposure that is guaranteed to boost the profiles and the marketing status of the 24 players taking part.

But it is not just the players and the European Tour who will benefit from the event on October 1-3, with plenty of other leading golf manufacturers queuing up to be involved in the game’s greatest team competition.

Monty’s chance to create history at celtic Manor

After a wait of eight years, the Ryder Cup returns to great Britain, and will – for the first time ever – be played on Welsh soil as The

Celtic Manor Resort in newport hosts the 38th playing of this golfing legacy. Article by Peter Simm.

34 GME july 2010

Quite simply, the Ryder Cup is so big now that it would be foolish not to be involved if you have the chance.

There were more than a few raised eyebrows when Celtic Manor announced at the start of the millennium that they were bidding for the right to stage the 2010 Ryder Cup, and even more still when they were awarded it in 2001.

But thanks to the vision of the resort’s inspirational owner, billionaire telecoms tycoon Sir Terry Matthews, the dream is now very much a reality and Celtic Manor are enjoying the advantages of being associated with the competition.

Matthews, born in Newport in what was the Celtic Manor nursing home, may have invested around £100 million on building the hotel and some £20 million on the magnificent new purpose-built Twenty Ten Course, clubhouse and surrounding infrastructure but figures show that now he is starting to get a return on his investment.

The South Wales resort bucked the trend of economic recession by selling 20,000 more room nights to leisure visi-tors in 2009 than it did in 2008, while it also saw revenues increase significantly across its golf, spa and restaurant outlets.

Rounds on its flagship Twenty Ten Course by visiting golfers almost doubled on the year before and 81 per cent of all the available visitor tee times were booked out.

In addition, some 22,000 rounds were played on its three championship courses, visitor green fee income rose by 58 per cent, overall room occupancy was up by

eight per cent and bar and restaurant revenue up by 26 per cent.

Paul Williams, PR manager for The Celtic Manor Resort, said: “The Ryder Cup is a huge marketing tool for us to get exposure on a global scale that we couldn’t get from any other event. It was a big asset in bringing the event here.

“We have received huge exposure before the event and we expect that to follow once the Ryder Cup has taken place as well.

“The event will be great in showcasing what golf in Wales and at Celtic Manor is all about, and plans are in place on how to consolidate our position after the Ryder Cup has taken place. We are committed to holding the Wales Open until 2014 and I’m sure the K Club still trade on the fact they hosted the event in 2006.

“The way the event has grown even in the last decade means that people will want to come along and play our course for many years to come.”

With early indications that the numbers are set to be the same this year, Matthews is certainly starting to reap the reward for his investment and the benefits of being involved in the Ryder Cup are seen with other companies as well.

For almost 20 years, Club Car has been the official golf car for the European matches of the Ryder Cup, with key personnel depending on the reliability and comfort of Club Car vehicles.

On each occasion, the fleet has grown in line with the growth of the event and this year an incredible 300 cars will be put into operation at Celtic Manor.


For the Ryder Cup, almost half of the vehicles on site will be utilised for TV crews and the remainder covering every-thing from rules officials, chief marshals, scoreboard officials and, of course, the captains and their teams to services such as shuttle buses, catering and even ambu-lances.

With such a giant worldwide television audience, that is exposure that is very difficult to gain elsewhere, and similar benefits have been felt by clothing firm Glenmuir, who has been the preferred supplier to the European team for the last 23 years.

The Scotland-based company’s long-standing association with the Ryder Cup began in 1987, when Tony Jacklin captained the first-ever European team to victory on foreign soil at Muirfield Village, and the relationship is one of the longest-running in the field of professional sport.

This fact is not only recognised on the course. Off it, the commercial association between Glenmuir, the Ryder Cup Committee and the European Tour grows ever-stronger.

With huge embroidery, warehousing and distribution firepower at its disposal,

Glenmuir is the official licensee for the supply of Ryder Cup embroidered cloth-ing to all markets - and at Celtic Manor it will be lead vendor in the merchandise tent, making it the dominant presence in The Ryder Cup Merchandising Pavilion.

For 2010, the company launched a bespoke Ryder Cup Fanwear Collection, giving a wonderful opportunity for golf lovers from across Europe to show their true colours and support Colin Montgomerie’s European team.

Brian Mair, Glenmuir’s marketing director, said: “Everyone in our business is immensely proud to be involved in the

greatest team event in golf and to be clothing Europe’s elite players.

“We view our association with the Ryder Cup team as a balance between sales and brand enhancement. Because of the global nature of the competition – and the brand awareness that it gives us – we’re confident it does have a positive impact on sales of general Glenmuir products as well as official merchandise.

“But maintaining the longevity of a relationship we’ve had since 1987 with the Ryder Cup committee and team is by far our overriding priority.” GME

“The Ryder Cup is a huge marketing tool for us to get exposure on a global scale that we couldn’t

get from any other event. it was a big asset in bringing the event here.”

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36 GME july 2010

les aisses

Recognised as an area of outstanding natural beauty, the Sologne region of north-central France has been a venue for sporting activities since the mid 19th century when Napoleon III began reclaiming the area’s naturally marshy ground accompanied by the planting of thousands of Scotch pine, silver birch and oak trees.

Although hunting, shooting and fishing remain favoured pursuits for residents and visitors to the region today, it is championship golf that Frenchman, Alfred Seydoux, is hoping to attract to his new 18-hole course, constructed over the past 18 months by British golf course and sports ground contractor, MJ Abbott.

Known as Les Aisses Golf, the course and its discreet, single-storey clubhouse are situated among 270ha of mature woodland some 20km south of Orleans, a little over 150km south of Paris.

The site’s sandy soils, vibrant heathers and attractive mix of conifers and decidu-ous trees endow Les Aisses with the look and feel of a traditional English heathland course, features that Monsieur Seydoux was keen to re-create when he purchased Les Aisses in 2005.

Designed originally back in the early 1990s by a French architect on behalf of

corporate Japanese owners, the complex was laid out initially as a loop of three nine-holes courses known individually as White, Red and Blue.

All three courses started and finished close to the clubhouse enabling any two to be played in sequence to provide a full 18 holes of golf.

The initial design of the three nine-hole courses has been described as being over-formal and unnatural, highlighted by narrow, tree-dominated fairways, American-style mounds and banks around the greens, composite buggy tracks and hard-edged water features.

In simple terms, a complete contrast to the wonderful natural landscape all around.

As a golfer and conservationist, Alfred Seydoux was determined to produce on the site a top-class 18-hole golf course that was worthy of its magical setting.

In 2006, he selected golf course archi-tect, Hawtree, to help him achieve his goal by re-modelling the White and the Red nine-hole courses to produce a single championship standard 18-hole course.

The nine, lower-lying holes of the exist-ing Blue course would remain much as they were to create a stand-alone Academy course.

british inspiration helps create french masterpiece

Alfred Seydoux, owner or les Aisses golf in france, is soon to complete a major renovation project which

started back in 2006, as Ellie Tait discovers.

WEbLinK; AISSeSgolf.CoM


A fundamental part of the overall re-design process involved visits by Alfred Seydoux to a number of well-known English heathland courses. Arranged and accompanied by Martin Hawtree, these visits proved a huge inspiration to Monsieur Seydoux, in particular the fact that all of the courses he saw were, in his words, “clearly working fully in harmony with nature.”

During a visit to Sunningdale, Monsieur Seydoux was introduced by Hawtree to MJ Abbott who were remodel-ling a number of bunkers on the famous Surrey course.

Impressed by the many similarities between Sunningdale and Les Aisses and the attention to detail being demonstrated on site by MJ Abbott, Monsieur Seydoux invited the firm to France to assess and quote for his own course reconstruction project.

That was in November 2007. One year later, with extensive tree-felling permis-sions granted, course design plans final-ised and the construction contract signed, MJ Abbott returned to Les Aisses to prepare for a starting date in January 2009.

Contracts director, Steve Briggs, takes up the story: “Abbotts have carried out many similar golf course reconstruction projects in the UK and overseas over the past 30 years so it was a straightforward task to get the machinery and staff in place ready for the required starting start.”

Briggs explained that all of the special-ist groundworks and drainage machinery needed for the duration of the project was transported to site by lorries from the company’s base near Salisbury, Wiltshire, and from other locations used by the firm across the UK.

A total of 20 Abbott staff were engaged on the project’s first phase which involved draining, reshaping and re-modelling the White course to create holes ten to eight-een of the new 18-hole course.

Completion of phase one was sched-uled for July 2009, followed by a further ten to 11 months’ growing-in of the reconstructed and newly-seeded greens, tees and other reshaped areas across the course.

Although MJ Abbott was prepared and equipped to carry out the planned groundworks without interruption, one aspect of the project which produced a surprise was the ambient temperatures experienced during the early months of 2009.

“Night-time temperatures on site dropped regularly to minus 17 degrees with day-time temperatures struggling to

break zero,” recalled Briggs. “We provid-ed our staff with all necessary protective clothing, so it was simply a case of putting on extra layers to stay warm in the bitterly cold conditions.”

By contrast, monthly summer tempera-tures in the Sologne region of France are on average around five degrees higher than that in the UK.

This necessitated the installation of the planned new Rain Bird irrigation system at the same time as the course was being drained and reshaped and the nine new teeing areas, nine new USGA greens and 53 bunkers were being constructed.

Fed by natural ponds and pools located across the site, the ready availability of programmed irrigation for the fairways, tees and greens proved essential to ensure strong, even germination and establish-ment of the newly-seeded areas in the face of high summer temperatures.

Completed on schedule in mid 2009, the back nine holes of Les Aisses Golf ’s new 18-hole course opened for play in June 2010 to existing club members.

Meanwhile, work on holes one to nine of the new course commenced on the former nine-hole Red course in January 2010, with monthly weather conditions and temperatures following a similar pattern to the previous year.

Those who had experienced the condi-tions in 2009 were well prepared for the second phase which required an addition-al four staff and two months to complete, due primarily to the construction of five extra bunkers and the presence of water features alongside six of the nine holes.

Edged originally with rocks and timber, the existing ponds and lakes have now been blended into the landscape by MJ Abbott with the help of natural rolled grass surrounds.

Phase two is set for completion in August 2010, with all 18 holes planned to be open for play by July 2011.

Those who knew Les Aisses Golf prior to its transformation, as well as those visiting the course for the first time, will discover a beautiful heathland-style course, where mature trees complement rather than crowd the fairways and indi-vidual specimens have space to grow.

Alfred Seydoux is looking forward with anticipation to the day when his new and transformed golf course is completed and fully in play.

“Our collective aim was to achieve a more natural look, integrating the course within its very special surroundings,” said Seydoux.

“I believe this has been achieved fully thanks to the professionalism and dedica-tion of all involved in the project.” GME

“night-time temperatures on site dropped regularly to minus 17 degrees with day-time

temperatures struggling to break zero.”

38 GME july 2010

salary study

The inaugural Golf Salary & Benefits Study 2010 reveals how the global economic downturn has impacted the EMEA industry. But rather than be a reflective document, it offers key informa-tion that can be used proactively to improve the performance of a golf club.

Prior to commissioning the study, Colt Mackenzie McNair (CMM) and The Club Managers Association of Europe (CMAE) were convinced clubs across the EMEA region were not arming them-selves with valuable ‘benchmarking’ infor-mation that could influence the key management areas of their businesses – current employment and professional development programs, remuneration expectations, training requirements, indi-vidual career development plans, to name but a few.

This lack of current market intelligence has meant many golf club businesses have become out of touch with both the requirements of their current staff and what is necessary to attract best-of-breed candidates when trying to fill a vacancy.

What this research has created is an up-to-date, relevant benchmarking study about the current state of the golf market – with information on salaries per region and other benefits received by staff (by different levels).

It also offers ideas on what different regions are doing in the midst of this economic crisis to manage their business-es efficiently.

Richard Wood, director of Colt Mackenzie McNair, said: “The Golf Salary & Benefits Study gives employers a deeper understanding of what they need to offer to ensure they attract or retain the best people for the job, thereby giving their golf club or resort a head start in this tough environment.

“With this study we have created a detailed reference document that will help senior executives develop and improve their businesses.”

Who took part in the survey?Senior managers at golf facilities

throughout EMEA were invited to partic-ipate in the research, with a view to providing information on the venue itself and up to six employees at the club.

On average, 85 per cent of respondents held the most senior positions within their golf facility – across the markets surveyed, this ranged from 78 per cent in France, Spain and Italy to 90 per cent in Scandinavia.

In keeping with this fact, most also had managerial responsibility for other members of staff. Overall, two thirds of the sample had at least six members of full-time staff under their supervision.

Regional differences were evident. For example, respondents from France, Spain and Italy tended to have over ten full-time employees in their charge, whereas it was rare for those working in Scandinavian facilities to manage this many full-time members of staff.

The key findingsA degree-level education or profes-1. sional qualification was not a prerequisite of a senior role, and only half of the respondents had either of these.Management roles were clearly a 2. long-term career move, with half of the sample having over ten years’ experience in golf club manage-ment.Salaries reflected the calibre and 3. experience of the respondents, with 40 per cent of those surveyed

WEbLinK; ColTMM.neT

Golf salary study reveals impact of recession

With much of the world still feeling the effects of the

global economic downturn, how has this directly influenced the

european golf club industry? John McKenzie

reports.


earning in excess of 60,000 Euros per annum. Bonus schemes were most common in the UK/ Ireland but it was not usual for bonuses above 10,000 Euros to be awarded in any market.Although those working in the UK/ 4. Ireland had the most opportunity for earning a bonus, they lost out in terms of annual leave, receiving the lowest levels across all markets. In contrast, over half of those from Germany and Scandinavia were rewarded with at least 30 days’ annual holiday.12 per cent of the sample had 5. international experience and were not currently working in their country of natural residence. Furthermore, a quarter showed willingness to move abroad. This decision would depend more upon job satisfaction and work/ life balance than on the location and remuneration involved.Golf Course Managers earned the 6. highest salaries, with a third paid in excess of 50,000 Euros per annum. Assistant Managers and Golf Professionals were most likely to sit within the 20,000-40,000 Euro wage band.Further down the hierarchy, 7. approximately 60 per cent of club-house managers/food and beverage managers/ stewards and member-ship managers/administrators

earned less than 30,000 Euros per annum, with 70 per cent of secre-taries/administrators falling into this category.Bonuses for other employees rarely 8. rose above the 5,000 Euro level, and, broadly speaking, only 30-40 per cent of these employees would qualify for a bonus scheme at all.On average, over 90 per cent of 9. clubs perceived a need for training their staff. Most had a budget for this, although over a third believed this to be insufficient. Where train-ing did occur, it benefited all employees (with Scandinavia being the most likely to focus on management training).Nearly three quarters of the clubs 10. included in the survey had a gross annual revenue under two million Euros. Regional variations were evident, though, and one in ten clubs in the UK/ Ireland boasted revenue of over five million Euros.2009 was stronger than 2008 for 11. many clubs in terms of revenues from membership and from visi-tors fees. Approximately half saw an increase in each of these aspects year-on-year.Over half of the facilities retained 12. the same staffing levels in 2009 as in 2008, and one in five increased their number of employees in this period. This bodes well for clubs’ future investment in staff.

It is clear that like other industries, the golf industry has felt the effects of the recession, with the UK and golf holiday destinations such as France, Italy and Spain feeling the impact.

With fewer jobs on offer in the indus-try, it is therefore an ‘employers market’ with the number of potential employees outnumbering the number of actual jobs available.

But looking at the industry from a senior staff perspective, 2009 was a rela-tively good year, with almost half seeing a rise in annual membership and visitor revenues and, in general, current employ-ees feeling well looked after.

Many still received bonuses and bene-fits alongside their salary, coupled with some training, although this was restricted to higher grade of staff.

Commenting on the Golf Salary & Benefits Study 2010, Jerry Kilby, chief executive officer of the CMAE, said: “This study highlights the need for many clubs to consider increasing their invest-ment in education programs for club management and general staff.

“With only 56 per cent of clubs having a sufficient budget for education and training, that leaves a massive 44 per cent of clubs who do not invest enough in this area of business, which arguably is more important now in these challenging times, when clubs need their management teams to deliver innovative and proven programs to encourage more people into our clubs.” GME

40 GME july 2010

my view WEbLinK; WelleRDeSIgnS.Co.uK

The design studio of Weller Designs has a buoyant air about it at present as the practice has been going from strength to strength since its inauguration in 1999.

Bruce and David Weller, are currently overseeing the construction of four new 18 hole golf courses in the United Kingdom, which given the economic

climate is no mean feat.Directors and identical

twins, the Weller’s have worked closely together in

design for a long time now and as Bruce put it on his brother’s

wedding day: “I have known and worked with my brother since I was an egg!”

They have taken all four current construction projects from inception through to the current construction phase including overseeing full planning and

undertaking Environmental Impact Assessments.

The four eighteen hole projects include an addition to the Rose Bowl Cricket Stadium development in Hampshire, a new 18 hole development for

Scott Cranfield of the renowned CGA Academies at Chadwell Heath, a

new 18 hole course at Hertford Heath and a new course at Stafford Castle (in collaboration with Simon Gidman).

Add to this a number of remodelling projects and it is easy to see why the twins are positive about the future in spite of difficult economic times.

Bruce (a Senior Member of EIGCA) is supported by four other staff including David, and said: “I think the reason why we have been successful is that, although we are a small company, between the five of us we cover all the bases, so not only is there a personal input to every aspect of a project but also an ability to co-ordinate all areas of a successful development.

“We personally deal with all facets of gaining planning approval including acting as planning Agents, which, after all, is now a difficult skill given planning sensitivities. In this respect the company’s ability to have a “one stop shop” is a real advantage rather than the client having to rely on a myriad of separately appointed consultants.”

Bruce is just as likely to be seen out on site undertaking a topographical survey as presenting a Environmental Statement to a planning committee or applying his artistic skills to water colours which he uses to bring his ideas to life.

Bruce believes there is ample room for both traditional drawings as well as CAD designs when creating a golf course, even though it was not how he was taught.

artistic licence to ThrillWeller Designs can rightly claim to being unique with the golf

course design business – the practice is owned by identical twins Bruce and David as Michael Lenihan discovered.


Weller Designs Limited Golf Course ArchitectsBishops Mead House, West Street, Farnham, Surrey GU9 7DU

E I G C AEUROPEAN INSTITUTE OFGOLF COURSE ARCHITECTS

Email [email protected] www.wellerdesigns.co.uk Telephone 01252 712 127

Directors: David Weller Bruce Weller

Passion and Flair . . . is Excellence From concept to completion, Weller Designs, specialist golf course architects

• Course appraisals & surveying • Concept & detailed design • Full planning application • Environmental impact assessment

• New Builds • Remodelling • Construction specification • Site supervision

Untitled-1.indd 1 18/9/09 13:08:20

Bratch Lane • Dinton • Salisbury • Wiltshire SP3 5EB

Tel. 01722 716361 • Fax. 01722 716828www.mjabbott.co.uk

Golf course construction

Remodelling & renovation

Grow in & maintenance

Sportsground construction

“When I first went to college my tutor used to remind us that an architect who can’t draw is a Contractor,” smiled Bruce.

“I think this is slightly unfair on both techniques as there are many ways of realising your design and construction goals, but having experienced sitting on an ice cold dumper truck for hours, build-ing a course in Essex in the mid-eighties, my inclination was to hone my drawing skills and pursue an architectural rather than a contractors career.

“Interestingly it was observing the late Sir Henry Cotton inspecting the construction of Gosfield Lakes Golf Club, in 1986 that inspired me towards the less “physical” approach to golf course development!”

For current clients such as Crown Golf, Mack Trading, Cranfield Golf, UK Sports Parks and the Russian Golf Development Corporation, the presentational and plan-ning approval skills of Weller Designs are well known.

The “heart and soul” approach of providing clubs with detailed hand drawn illustrations of their proposals has encour-aged a prolific portfolio in the field of remodelling.

“I think the combination of artistic skill and technical know how is fairly rare in the golf design industry,” added Bruce, “and we feel it is a particular strength of ours especially when dealing with committees members of clubs who would have difficulty in understanding a design in plan view.”

Weller Designs do use other presenta-tional skills for conveying proposals, such as photo montage or 3D CAD programmes, but it is interesting to note that many building architects have shifted back towards presenting more “hand crafted” designs simply because of the difficulty of conveying a sense of design flair and personal input through what can be a rather “sterile” medium of CAD and CGI.

Weller Designs is also very experienced in the gaining of planning approval for golf course builds using the importation of inert construction waste (inert soils, subsoils) for financing either small re-modelling projects or the entire financ-ing of new golf courses.

“Given the cost of building new cours-es in the UK it is not surprising that many clients have looked at this option.

“We have gained approval for over thir-ty such soil import schemes over the past eight years so can be regarded as one of the leading companies in this field.

“Such schemes are not without their planning and construction complications, but our considerable knowledge of County Councils Waste policies has proved vital when advising a client wheth-er it is worth undertaking such a scheme.”

The Weller’s set up the business just as the golf boom of the eighties and nineties was falling away, but despite the harsh economic realities back then, and indeed now, the practice has built an impressive name for itself. GME

42 GME july 2010

the last word

I love golf, don’t get me wrong. There’s nothing I like more than spend-ing a few hours in the company of three good mates searching for lost balls in the cabbage.

But spending my working hours immersed in the industry can be a little frustrating. We all know that there are areas of the golf industry that lag a few decades behind Isambard Kingdom Brunel.

Sometimes we smile and humour the anachronisms – but that is, generally, a result of a stoicism borne of years of frustration. When somebody new comes into the industry they can see things with a child’s innocence.

And like dealings with a child, it’s sometimes difficult to provide a defini-tive answer.

I wear a few different hats aside from my role as gMe’s pin-up boy, and in one of the others we welcomed a work experience fella into the office. one of his first tasks was to input some score-cards into a spreadsheet.

He quickly devised the formula and set up the columns and made a start. However, all was not well.

He soon asked: “Why is there no consistency in the colour of teeing areas? In other sports you’d never be allowed to get away with such an arbi-trary choice of colours for each differ-ent venue.”

All eyes turned to me expecting a definitive answer. I didn’t have one. I’d never really considered it before, but actually, yes, why isn’t there a set colour standard for tees, moving from championship through to forward tees? It would be simple enough to set up and very helpful for the occasional golfer. like me.

Having ‘ummed’ and ‘ahed’ my way from that imponderable, I was then faced with another.

“How come,” asked the workie, who was fast becoming the least likeable work-experience youngster we’d had, “that some of these really posh golf resorts spend millions on hotels with flash, unnecessary things, but still can’t add up their scorecards correctly? How do they expect people to play properly if their yardages are all to cock?”

now this had never really occurred to me as a possibility, but he showed me – and the spreadsheet doesn’t lie. He highlighted four major – not Major – venues in the uK and europe, whose scorecards simply didn’t add up. literally.

And it wasn’t just a few yards. In one case it was by more than 100.

on this, I had to agree with him. It was ridiculous I concurred. He phoned one and told them. They could not have been less interested had he said there was a blade of grass missing on the 15th.

“And why is a lot of their photogra-phy so poor?” he asked. now this is a particular bug-bear of mine and has been since before this youngster was sent to the county’s most expensive prep school.

fortunately it was now 17.31hrs and time for me to make a swift exit without having to make an excuse.

The moral of this tale is don’t let anybody with a decent education and an inquisitive mind anywhere near the golf industry. They’re likely to want to change things to make them easier to understand. GME

new kid on the block offers a different perspective

“Why is there no consistency in the colour of teeing areas? in other sports you’d never be allowed to get away with such an arbitrary choice of colours for each different venue.”

David [email protected]

+44 (0)1394 380800 | ppcgolf.com

Unsure what 2010 holds?

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