Fife Golf Alliance to improve services

NEWS RELEASE
Fife golf courses and the tourism trade are being encouraged to take a bigger share of the golf tourism market by giving their views on the way forward for more collaboration, through a Fife Golf Alliance.
The aim is to improve services, facilities and the golf product, boost business, generate a bigger and better offer to visiting golfers and spread the benefits of golf tourism across the region.
With an estimated 1,200 golf related jobs in Fife, the market is increasingly competitive and new international destinations are investing heavily, so the planned Alliance would help protect and boost jobs too.
BTS consultants, appointed by Fife Council, are inviting the tourism trade – and the golf courses – to express their opinions through an open survey and online forum, found at: www.businesstourism.co.uk/fife_golf_alliance_consultation.html
(The link is live from March 25.)
Golf tourism generates around £220m for the Scottish economy. This includes the value of visiting golfers staying overnight (£187m) and a further £36m through expenditure by visitors to the major golf events (source VisitScotland). There are already good examples of local collaboration occurring in golf – through the St Andrews Links Trust, St Andrews Golf Development Group, First in Fife Golf pass, Links with History and Elmwood College for instance –and Fife Council believes that there are definite opportunities to be realised by further enhanced joint working

David Watt's TPI instructor role at Hilton Park

improving members' fitness and their swings

By DAVID WATT
Readers who follow the golf on television, especially tournaments in the States, may well have heard commentators talk about the Titleist Performance Institute(TPI). They are the world’s leading experts on golf specific health and fitness and count a vast number of touring professionals as their clients.

Probably their biggest devotee is Padraig Harrington who has worked extensively with them in recent years and this week they were mentioned again during the Accenture Match-play in relation to Ben Crane.

His recent victory in the Farmers Insurance Open was a welcome return from a back injury that threatened to derail his career.

As reported in Golf Digest, “It was Crane’s third career victory - and maybe not his last. His work with Dr Greg Rose of the Titleist Performance Institute, both on fitness and simplifying his golf swing, have Crane relatively pain-free both in body and mind.”
Last September I visited the Butch Harmon School of Golf in Dubai to attend a TPI course and am now one of only a few certified Teaching Professionals with the Institute in Scotland. My role as a TPI instructor at Hilton Park Golf Club is to assess my pupils’ physical attributes relative to the golf swing and link them directly to any swing faults that may be present.

Should any underlying problems be suspected, then the player will be referred to a physiotherapist who is part of my team, ensuring they receive a thoroughly comprehensive service.

I then develop an exercise programme unique to each pupil that will attempt to correct any limitations and allow their swing style to be developed properly, efficiently and without risk of injury.

Sometimes the difficulty is in trying to convince a golfer that some of the most effective work they can do for their golf swing can be done without a club in their hand! However, the response I have had so far has been 100% positive and there is now a good section of the membership at Hilton Park improving both their bodies and their golf swings!
Should anyone like to hear more about the TPI programme that I run please feel free to email me at proshop@hiltonpark.co.uk . There is also a wealth of information available on the TPI site at http://www.mytpi.com/

Srixon to produce YELLOW golf balls ..

It's the appliance of science to golf

FROM THE PGATOUR.COM WEBSITE
Remember orange golf balls? They turned out to be a fad, and now white dominates again on tours around the world. But Srixon is reintroducing colour to the golf ball, this time with some science behind it.
The Z-Star and Z-Star X Yellow golf balls are just what the name promises -- with all the visibility that comes with. But Srixon, the golf arm of massive Japanese company SRI Sports, put its research and development staff to work on the visual elements of stress and athletic performance. The new balls were the result.
You'll have a hard time losing sight of this ball.
"By tapping into the psychology of hitting each shot and the visualization and calming effect at address, the Z-STAR"! and Z-STAR"! X Tour Yellow golf balls incorporate the science of visual perception with the psychology of colour effect on the human brain," Srixon noted in a press release.
"Science has proven that yellow is the most visible colour in the visual spectrum and psychology has correlated green with calming and stress relief; therefore Srixon has combined the two colours based on these findings to tap into the player's mind and expand the benefits of playing a better ball."
Both Jim Furyk and Vijay Singh play the white versions of the Z-Star. Srixon says some white Z players are trying the yellow ones. Keep your eyes peeled. The yellow balls will be available (in America) in April at a cost of $40 per dozen.

Grandson's bid to get Aberdonian

Tom Bendelow into Golf Hall of Fame

By COLIN FARQUHARSON
Stuart Bendelow, grandson of Aberdeen-born Tom Bendelow who became arguably North America's most prolific golf course designer in the golf boom years of the early 20th Century, is embarking on an effort to get Tom's name into the World Golf Hall of Fame at St Augustine, Florida.
"I expect his nomination will be put forth under the Lifetime Achievement category to which he clearly qualifies," said Stuart, who lives at Bluffton, South Carolina.
"Ballot papers will soon be sent out to the supporting organisations of the WGHOF for their nominations. The deadline for their nominations is March 1, 2010. Once his name is placed in nomination, we will have the happy task of encouraging the WGHOF Director's Selection Committee to select Tom Bendelow for induction into the Hall of Fame.
"I trust you will support and encourage this effort to give Tom Bendelow the recognition he deserves. In the past you have provided me with considerable encouragement and practical support. I look forward to hopefully celebrating Tom's induction with you in the near future.
"I will keep you informed of our progress.
Best regards
Stuart Bendelow

A RECAP ON LIFE OF TOM BENDELOW (1868-1936)
Frequently referred to as "The Johnny Appleseed of American Golf," Tom Bendelow (pictured above) is acknowledged to have designed more than 600 golf courses across the United States and Canada.
Born in Aberdeen in 1868, Bendelow, who worked as a printer with the forerunner of the "Press and Journal" newspaper, emigrated in 1892 to work for the "New York Herald" newspaper. An accomplished golfer himself, he began by teaching golf to New York club members in the mid-1890s. He opened one, if not the first indoor golf instructional school in New York City in 1895. In 1898 he was hired by the New York City Park Authority to take charge of Van Cortlandt Park golf course, the first municipal golf course in the United States.
During his tenure there, Tom redesigned and supervised the expansion of the course to 18 holes.
The success he achieved at Van Cortlandt Park drew the attention of numerous cities across the States and catapulted him into golfing prominence.
A preponderant number of Tom Bendelow's courses were laid out between 1900 and 1916 during his association with A G Spalding (Spalding golf balls) and his mission to "spread the gospel" of golf across America. No community was deemed too small nor too poor to have its own golf course.
Of all the courses Tom Bendelow designed his three lay-outs at Medinah are recognised as representative of some of his best work.
In 2005 Tom Bendelow was inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.
Tom died in 1936, never having returned to Aberdeen. The Bendelow family pie shop at Causewayend prospered for many, many years. Ironically, "Bendelow Pies" were more famous in the Granite City than Tom ever was, before or after his death.
The name Tom Bendelow is still far better known in America than in Scotland or even Aberdeen.
MORE INFORMATION ON THE WORLD GOLF HALL OF FAME
Visit www.worldgolfhalloffame.org
The World Golf Hall of Fame, located at World Golf Village in St Augustine, Florida honours and celebrates golf's greatest players and contributors. A World Golf Foundation initiative, the Hall of Fame represents collaboration among 26 national and international golf organisations, including the European Tour, LPGA, the Masters Tournament, PGA of America, the US PGA Tour, The R&A and United States Golf Association.
The museum houses interactive exhibits and historic and personal artifacts that tell the stories of its members and the game of golf.





+Any comments? You can E-mail them on any golfing topic to Colin@scottishgolfview.com

English Golf Union extends agreement with SkyCaddie

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY ENGLISH GOLF UNION
Twelve months after its decision to allow Distance-Measuring Devices (DMD) to be used at all of its 2009 Championships, the English Golf Union (EGU) is delighted to announce the extension of its agreement with SkyCaddie which sees the brand becoming the Official Rangefinder of the EGU.
This follows the statement from The R&A last month announcing amendments made to 'Decisions on the Rules of Golf' 2010-2011 edition which also included a joint statement made by The R&A and the USGA regarding the use of DMDs, confirming that the current practice of allowing DMDs by Local Rule remains appropriate.
EGU Chief Executive, John Petrie, explained the EGU’s decision to allow DMDs last year as one that they believed would have a positive effect on the pace of play; and moreover, that SkyCaddie’s support had allowed further investigation to help realise that ambition within the rules of the game.
During 2009 SkyCaddie supported all EGU National Championships, providing SkyCaddie GPS units for competitors to use at each event. In addition questionnaires were given to all players, including those who didn’t use a DMD and those that used their own personal devices, to assess their effect on pace of play.
The overwhelming response to the survey was that more than 90% of players believed DMDs helped the pace of play. In addition the EGU’s tournament staff and referees also highlighted that since the introduction of DMDs start times never needed to be pushed back or delayed (unless for weather) and there had been a really positive effect on the pace of play.
John Petrie commented, “Although our decision last year received overwhelming support from Counties and clubs there were still some concerns. Twelve months on and after important consultation with both players and officials we are pleased that we have some constructive results that can benefit the delivery of our events.
“This would not have been possible without the assistance of SkyCaddie. The support they gave at each of our events to both players and officials was outstanding and we are delighted to be able to extend our partnership into 2010.”
SkyCaddies will again be available for competitors at selected events to use in EGU events throughout 2010. In addition, SkyCaddies will also be made available to each member of the England squads. Jackie Hitchcock, Managing Director of SkyCaddie UK, said, “Working so closely with the EGU during 2009 gave us some unique and highly valuable opportunities. I believe that the EGU’s stance on DMDs, and the results of the survey which followed, provide clear guidance to club operators and event organisers.
“The survey shows that when golfers use a SkyCaddie, or a similar device, they play faster. This fact alone should encourage more UK golf clubs and organisers to allow DMDs by Local Rule during the 2010 golfing season.
“We will continue to strive to give golfers ever more accurate information via our mapping process – which we conduct in harmony with the wishes of English golf clubs. We are delighted to enter our second season as the EGU’s Official Rangefinder, and we look forward to strengthening the relationship over the long term to mutual advantage.”
The EGU emphasises that the ruling to allow the use of DMDs reflects the details of Rule 14-3 and that the device must measure distance only; it must not measure other conditions such as wind speed or direction, the slope of the ground or the temperature. Any player found using such a DMD will be in breach of Rule 14-3 for which the penalty is disqualification, regardless of whether any such additional function is actually used.

Stonehaven Golf Club members back

council's plans for new clubhouse

and revamped course

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY STONEHAVEN GOLF CLUB
Stonehaven Golf Club is pushing ahead with its plans for a multi-million pound redevelopment.
The 120-year-old club, which has more than 500 members, plans to sell about 20 acres of its land to a house builder and use the proceeds to revamp the course on the Braes of Cowie.
Part of the development of the course would include a new clubhouse on the field immediately to the south of the current clubhouse, which is an old wooden building no longer fit for purpose. The new clubhouse would be on a site within easy walking distance of Stonehaven town centre.
A special general meeting of members last week voted overwhelmingly to give the club’s elected council the authority to progress matters with the developer.
Should the planning process be successful, the club intends to make its new clubhouse available to a wide range of local organisations for meetings and functions.
Club captain Harry Roulston, pictured above, said: “Traditionally, golf clubs have tended to be used only by golfers and that is perhaps one reason why so many clubs, including our own, are experiencing such tough times financially.
“If our plans proceed as we hope, we will consult widely with other local organisations in Stonehaven before we finalise the design of the new clubhouse.
“We want it to become a real community asset, accessible to local people who may not want to play golf but who might find it useful to affiliate with the golf club and use its facilities for activities, meetings or social events.
“We plan to provide a first-class building with excellent modern facilities, which can be flexible to cope with activities for large and small groups.”
The club believes there is a need for such a building in Stonehaven following the closure of five hotels in the town over the past ten years.
The club has been working directly with the Stewart Milne Group (SMG) for more than a year to promote land belonging to the club on the west side of the Aberdeen-Dundee railway line for residential development.
Earlier this year, with the consent of the club, SMG submitted proposals to build houses on this 20-acre piece of land to Aberdeenshire Council as part of the council’s Local Development Plan process. This land currently contains four golf holes.
The new clubhouse and replacement holes would be located nearer the town to the south of the current clubhouse.
Golf course designer Graeme Webster has produced plans for the new holes and also for a revamp of the existing Stonehaven course.
Mr Roulston said: “We have been most impressed by Mr Webster’s design plans. His artist’s impressions of what the new field would look like are quite stunning and the changes he has recommended for the existing course, lying to the east of the railway line, would improve it greatly and would make our course much more attractive to play for members and visitors alike.”
The whole project, however, depends on Aberdeenshire Council allowing a residential housing development on the golf club’s land, Mr Roulston said.
Aberdeenshire Council’s Local Plan, which is being compiled at present, will allow for new housing development in Stonehaven. One of the sites under consideration is at Mains of Cowie and SMG’s masterplan for development at Mains of Cowie includes part of the golf course.
At present, council planning officials have suggested the golf course land may be unsuitable for houses, citing landscaping reasons, but SMG has lodged an objection to this.
“Our club hopes that local councillors will see the benefits of the development for the town and for the people of Stonehaven and can be persuaded to allow the development to proceed,” said Mr Roulston.
“If the deal goes ahead, the benefits for the town will be enormous. The future of the golf club will be assured for the next generation, which has to be very important for the town, and the community will have access to a terrific new facility, all at no cost to the public purse.”
He added: “Normally, when a land-owner sells some land, he pockets the cash and departs. What makes our plan different is that every penny our club receives for our land will be ploughed back into improved facilities, which will benefit not only our members but our visitors and the whole community.”

Golf course designing keeps Greg Norman busy worldwide

FROM THE AOL GOLF NEWS SERVICE
Despite what he achieved at the Open last year - third place at the age of 53 - Greg Norman is much busier as a golf designer than a golf player right now.
Recent shoulder surgery is keeping the former world No 1 out of action but that has not stopped him travelling to the United Arab Emirates this week, with the inaugural Dubai World Championship being played on Norman's Earth course - making it 14 of his lay-outs that have now staged tournaments. Another, he hopes, will be the Olympics in Brazil in 2016, when golf makes its first appearance on the medal programme since 1904.
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Click on links below for more golf news:
Westwood capitalises on duo's errors
Ochoa takes early lead
Smith surges into lead
Kuboya shares lead
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"Fortunately for me I have a couple of projects going down there and one of the developers is very much involved with the Olympic movement. Fate fell in our lap, but whether we get the nod to be the golf course for it, I don't know," said Norman. "We will see how it plays out. There is a scramble. Whether it's (Jack) Nicklaus or Ernie Els or (Nick) Faldo, everybody would like to be that golf course, that's for sure."
He added: "Everybody has just got to sit back and wait and see what happens. We are in the design phase right now and I would say we will probably know in the next couple of years.
"We'll start construction in the next year.
"For golf to get in the Olympics was the best thing that could ever happen to international golf. It's a huge shot in the arm for countries like China, South America, India, the Asian countries.
"Just talk about China. Three million golfers by 2020 and there will be more there than in the United States if it keeps growing the way it's going to grow."

Would Scotland put a golf education ahead of

reading and writing ... I don't think so!

SAYS COLIN FARQUHARSON
Scottishgolfview.com has been providing a platform for a debate about what should be done to help talented Scots youngsters fulfil their potential in the pro ranks.
China, with many, many millions more of a population to draw on, is attempting roughly the same objective from virtually a standing start with a view to making an impact as golfers in the Olympic Games now that the sport will be added to the programme in 2016.
Interesting to read in the Reuters article below that the Chinese plan to single out their best prospects and send them off to "special schools" for several years. Their education will suffer but golf lessons almost morning, noon and night over an extended period adds a new dimension to the words "child's play!"
Could we?... Do we want to go along such a route in Scotland in attempt to produce more golfers on the world stage who would reflect well on the Home of Golf. I think not.
E-mail your comments to Colin@scottishgolfview.com if you want your view to be published.

Single-minded Chinese plan golf schools to produce

potential gold-medal winners at Olympic Games

By Nick Mulvenney
Reuters Agency staff man in Beijing, China
China has already begun to throw the considerable weight of its state-run sports system behind the game of golf after the sport won a place at the 2016 Olympics.
With the Soviet-inspired system almost single-mindedly dedicated to Olympic success, the Copenhagen vote was always going to have far more impact in China than other countries.
"The state-supported system has proved a huge success over the past 60 years," deputy sports minister Cui Dalin told local media at a women's tournament in Xiamen last week.
"Golf is an Olympic sport now and we will make full use of the system to develop the game."
Development Chinese-style involves selecting children with aptitude for a sport at a young age and training them like professionals at special schools around the country.
They then feed up through the pyramid structure via inter-provincial competition with the best reaching an elite national squad where they will focus on Olympics achievement.
"First, we want Chinese to get to the 2016 Games and then we will aim for good results at following Olympics," Cui told the China Daily.
"If we want to have a bright future, we have to start the work at the grass roots level. We will set up more golf tournaments for young people and also send some of the youngsters abroad."
Cui was also at the launch of the $7 million WGC-HSBC Champions, where Tiger Woods said he thought the Olympic vote key to China becoming a power in the game.
China Golf Association (CGA) boss Zhang Xiaoning, also in Shanghai, agreed.
"It will increase the popularity of golf in China and it will become a more popular game for everyone, instead of a game for the privileged few," he told reporters.
"No matter what, the government's policy will change the perspective in China."
The sports ministry is already working on ways to change the perception of golf in China, starting with an attempt to reduce the tax paid by the country's 500 golf courses, presumably so the often exorbitant green fees can be reduced.
"Golf is widely seen as game for entertainment and thus the business tax rate is 22 per cent for golf clubs," Cui said.
"Adding the land-use tax, a golf club has to pay almost a 30% tax rate. That will not boost golf's popularity here and has to be changed."
Even before the Olympic announcement, the China Golf Association was already looking for help in developing golf in China from the established heartlands of the game.
The US PGA and European Tours, with an eye on a huge potential market, have been courting China and both wheeled out their top officials in Shanghai.
They are both also co-sanctioning the $5.5 million World Cup of Golf at the 12-course Mission Hills complex in Shenzhen next week.
But, however rich the tournaments the tours co-sanction in China, and however big the foreign names they attract, the ultimate goal for Zhang is to produce his own Tiger Woods.
China's top current men's player is 31-year-old Liang Wenchong, who was Asian Tour champion in 2007 and is now ranked 46th in the world.
As was the case in tennis, however, Zhang thinks that China's best chance of finding a talent to take on and beat the best in the world in golf will come in the women's game.
There, 20-year-old Beijinger Feng Shanshan has impressed in her first two years on the LPGA Tour, while Zhang Na is a consistent performer on the lucrative Japanese Tour.
"I am sure we will see that day very soon but we are very likely to see a lady Chinese 'Tiger' in the future faster than a male Chinese 'Tiger'," he said.

New golf PR consultancy launched in Scotland

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY GOLF COMMUNICATIONS INTERNATIONAL
Golf Communications International has been formed by Helena Woodcock and aims to provide a full suite of media handling, marketing and event organisation services to resorts, courses, hotels and other businesses involved in the golf industry.
Operating from a base close to the historic Home of Golf in St Andrews, Golf Communications International is already working with several clients in the UK and Europe .
With more than five years’ experience of the golf tourism industry, having worked as VisitScotland’s Golf PR Executive and previously heading up the Golf Department at the Czech Tourism Authority, Helena has a substantial database of media and golf contacts throughout Europe and beyond.
“I am very excited at the prospect of working with courses and businesses in the golf tourism sector to help them achieve their full potential,” explained Helena . “The industry is going through a tough period at the moment thanks to the global economic situation but that just makes it all the more important to find effective ways of getting the right message across.
“I can help courses reach their target media and work with them to ensure they raise their profile and promote themselves in as effective a fashion as possible without having to invest a fortune.”
Golf Communications International offers clients four main services. It can assist with all media activity from organising press trips to placing magazine features or attracting broadcast coverage. It can assist with preparing marketing materials from publications and brochures to display stands and copywriting. Clients can also receive support in working with tour operators to create packages for their venue and in official representation at trade shows and exhibitions.
Helena will be meeting with potential clients at the International Golf Travel Market in Malaga , Spain in November, the European Golf Course Owners’ Association Conference in Amsterdam , Holland in December and the USPGA Merchandise Show in Orlando , Florida in January.
Having helped establish a national golf department for the first time at the Czech Tourist Authority, Helena was instrumental in the country winning the Undiscovered Golf Destination of the Year Award at the prestigious International Association of Golf Tour Operators’ awards in Marbella in 2006.
From there Helena moved to VisitScotland where she worked with some of the most famous courses in the world of golf including the Old Course at St Andrews Links, Carnoustie, Turnberry, Gleneagles, Royal Aberdeen, Kingsbarns and Machrihanish Dunes.
Helena has worked with some of golf’s most important organisations including the R&A, IMG, the International Association of Golf Tour Operators, the European Golf Course Owners’ Association and the European Golf Travel Media Association. She has worked at major golf events such as The Open Championship, the Alfred Dunhill Links Championship, the Johnnie Walker Championship, the BMW International Open and the SAS Scandinavian Masters and has attended trade shows in the UAE, Czech Republic , Germany , Holland , Hungary , Spain , Scotland , Mexico , England , Finland and Sweden .
For more information visit: www.golfcomms.com
Email: helena@golfcomms.com
Skype: helenkene

Donald Trump course needs to be extra-special to

justify hype - do we need another links course?

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
After all the fuss – and there's more of it to come, no doubt – Donald Trump damn well better be about to deliver something special.
Never before has a proposed golf project in Scotland commanded more column inches in newspapers and slots on TV news bulletins. To be perfectly honest, I have found the scenario that has developed since the American billionaire revealed his ambitious plans quite tiresome.
During last month's Dunhill Links Championship, one colleague from a London-based newspaper was in a fair old lather the day before one of umpteen decisions was due to be made in the saga, making me wonder if I've been missing something here.
Yes, of course, it is important to the people in the North-east in general and, in particular, those close to Menie Estate, where Trump plans to transform the dunes into the "world's greatest golf course."
If the environmentalists and those who may lose homes aren't prepared to welcome the bold Donald with open arms, then it is only right that their concerns are listened to and taken on board by whoever is now dealing with the matter.
However, I sometimes get the impression that those involved – both the Trump camp and those protesting vigorously against the project – think that everything else on the Scottish golf front has come to a stop while we wait to see what's going to happen next.
The future of the game in Scotland isn't going to be affected or shaped by whether or not the country has a golf course within its shores bearing the name of Donald Trump. As a decent golfer himself even Trump knows there are plenty of great courses here already and, whisper it, Scotland doesn't really need any more. Particularly not a links, even if Trump thinks it could be on a par with the likes of St Andrews, Muirfield and Troon.
What has really irked me about the Trump project, however, is the perception that the development has been the only one on the table in Scotland over the past few years. That's not the case.
Courses continue to spring up around the country, with each deserving to be judged on its own merits. Marc Parsinen and Gil Hanse, for example, have created Castle Stuart, a gem of a course on the Moray coast just along from Inverness. That has been earning deserved rave reviews since it opened earlier this year. In my opinion, it is as good, if not better, than Kingsbarns, where Parsinen was also involved with Kyle Phillips.
And what about Machrihanish Dunes? David McLay Kidd, who, incidentally is also working on the gWest project next to Gleneagles, designed this one and, by all accounts, it is going to be popular with those who head down the Mull of Kintyre every year to savour its established neighbour.
It's not just brand-new courses either. Take the Torrance Course at Fairmont St Andrews, for example. It has undergone dramatic changes recently and the result is a much better test of golf – the lay-out of some of the holes on the back nine, for instance, having been changed to bring a burn into play.
But although there are plenty of developments going on in Scottish golf, you would hardly know it due to all the spotlight being on the Trump project. The man himself says he wants his course to stage The Open one day. Good luck to him.
Does he know we've already got five world-class courses on the R&A's rota for that event? What is more, the St Andrews-based organisation doesn't jump to attention simply because a rich American clicks his fingers.
Having passed the site recently en route to Fraserburgh, I can see why Trump is so excited about the prospect of building a golf course in those dunes, but will it necessarily be any better than the likes of Royal Aberdeen, Murcar Links and, in particular, Cruden Bay?
These are not resorts, of course, and that's where Trump will be hoping his pad scores over the other golfing venues in the North-east. Build it and they will come, to coin a phrase from the movie Field of Dreams.
St Andrews, as the home of golf, will always be on the list of any visiting golfer to Scotland and, judging by a recent trip up there for the Scottish Junior Masters, Gleneagles looks as though it continues to prove a popular haunt, as will be the case, no doubt, in the build-up to the Ryder Cup there in 2014.
However, there have been job losses recently at both Turnberry and Loch Lomond and, with all due respect to Trump, what exactly is he going to deliver that is any different to those two venues?
He'll struggle to eclipse Turnberry for either location or the quality of the golf course, and it's the same at Loch Lomond, which remains one of the favourite venues on the European Tour for players and spectators alike.
Having gone this far, there is probably no way back for Trump and, if we do see his course, hotel and houses eventually come into being, I hope it all proves to be a resounding success both for him and the Scottish economy.
Despite those diggers starting work last week, though, I have my doubts.

Dewer successor MacDougall can freshen up Scottish region

It was no real surprise to hear about a shake-up of personnel in the PGA Scottish region, having listened to Sandy Jones, the PGA chief executive, express some concerns about the set-up a few weeks ago.
Gordon Dewar, who has been the PGA's top man in Scotland for the past three years, is leaving to take up a post at the PGA's national headquarters at The Belfry, with Michael MacDougall replacing him at Gleneagles.
MacDougall, a very likeable young man, is well known to competitors on the Tartan Tour, having cut his teeth as a tournament controller with the Scottish region before taking on a similar role at national level.
He'll hopefully provide a dynamic approach in his new position which, with all due respect to his predecessor, seemed to be lacking during Dewar's tenure, though, in fairness, it is tough at the moment when it comes to attracting sponsorship in any sport.
It will be a help to MacDougall that the Northern Open, one of his flagship events, will have a title sponsor again next season and he'll be keen to try and build up the Scottish circuit in the countdown to the 2014 Ryder Cup at Gleneagles.
Personally, I think a lot more young golfers should think seriously about training to become PGA pros instead of trying straight away to become Tour players. Many of them aren't good enough to make it to the top of the playing ladder and, what's more, they are playing for peanuts when it comes to minor placings on the EuroPro Tour, Alps Tour etc.
Take former Scottish Amateur champion John Gallagher, for example. He played 11 events on the EuroPro Tour this year and earned a grand total of £1,347.50p.
The Tartan Tour provided the likes of Paul Lawrie and David Drysdale with a good grounding in the game and they've not done badly for themselves, have they?

Stop snoring - and cut your handicap!

FROM THE DAILY TELEGRAPH WEBSITE
By REBECCA SMITH, Medical Editor
Chronic snoring may impair your golf swing, researchers have found after players' handicaps improved by three strokes following treatment.
The study involved 12 golfers with severe sleep apnoea, a condition where oxygen flow is disrupted during sleep causing the sufferer to stop breathing for more than ten seconds at a time.
The condition causes extremely loud and heavy snoring, excessive sleepiness during the day and irritability due to tiredness.
Researchers at Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey, America, recorded the golfers' handicap index and daytime sleepiness at the beginning of the trial and then began treating them with natal positive airway pressure.
The treatment involves wearing a mask at night which delivers a continuous supply of compressed air that prevents the throat from closing which is what causes the characteristic gasps and the episodes where breathing stops for a few seconds.
After 20 rounds of golf played over three to five months their handicap improved along with their sleepiness scores.
A dozen golfers without the treatment showed no improvement.
The findings were presented at Chest, the annual meeting of the American College of Chest Physicians in San Diego, California.
Study author Dr Marc Benton, of the Atlantic Sleep and Pulmonary Associates, said: "More so than many sports, golf has a strong intellectual component, with on-course strategising, focus, and endurance being integral components to achieving good play.
"Obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome can lead to daytime sleepiness, fatigue, and cognitive impairment, all side effects which can negatively impact a person's ability to golf to the best of one's ability.
"As any golfer knows, when your ability to think clearly or make good decisions is compromised, the likelihood of playing your best is greatly diminished.
"Through treatment with NPAP, we can improve many cognitive metrics, such as attention span, memory, decision-making abilities, and frustration management, which may, in turn, positively affect a person's golf game."
The golfers with the best handicap to start with showed the greatest improvement, with drops from 9.2 to 6.3 on average and their sleep scores also improved from 10.8 to 2.8.
Co-author Neil Friedman said: "The drop in handicap among the better golfers probably reflected that the major limiting factor was not golf skill but cognitive compromise that improved when the sleep apnoea was treated."
In Britain 3.5 per cent of men are thought to have sleep apnoea along with 1.5 per cent of women. It can be associated with obesity and is most common in people over the age of 40.
Drivers with sleep apnoea are 15 times more likely to be involved in a car accident and they are required to notify the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA) on diagnosis. However licences will not be removed if treatment plans are complied with.
Sleep apnoea can increase the risk of high blood pressure which in turn raises the risk of a heart attack or stroke.
Dr Benton said doctors try to persuade patients to comply with their treatment by emphasising the medical benefits, but he said concentrating on golf improvements may be more effective.
He said: "Providers typically attempt to maximise compliance with NPAP by promoting its medical benefits or warning patients of the risks involved in not being treated, but this approach does not always work.
"In the case of this study, the possibility of improving one's ability to play golf appears to have been a significant motivation to improve treatment compliance."

Solar-powered golf carts are here in Scotland

and lack of sunlight is not a problem!

From Steve McTaggart
We read with interest the (Scottishgolfview.com) article by David Sheffer, USGA, about the use of solar powered golf carts.
We are a golf car distributor based in Scotland and have been promoting and selling solar panel cars for the last two years now. We too see this as the way forward and we are happy to report that many golf clubs are now considering using this alternative technology.
We have already supplied several golf clubs across Scotland who have been extremely pleased with the cars, their performance and the costings. We are also now able to retro -fit panels to some makes of golf cars already in situ - something which is also proving popular.
People are often very surprised to hear that these cars run well in Scotland and we have to remind them that the panel requires daylight only, not bright sunshine, to function efficiently. As David says in his article the financial benefits are obvious. Add to that the environmental benefits and the fact that the performance of the car is in no way affected or lessened due to its power source and its a win win situation.
Initially the cost of the cars is slightly higher than that of a petrol or electric car but these costs are soon off set by the reduction in fuel costs.
We hope that the trend will continue to grow and with growing pressure on us to embrace alternative technology this would seem the obvious way forward for the golfing industry.

Steve McTaggart
Managing Director
Scotia Golf Cars Ltd
5 Market Road
Biggar.
ML12 6FX

Solar-powered golf carts are the way to go

... from Hong Kong to New York, the word is spreading

By David Shefter, USGA
Southampton, New York. – A glorious fall day has enveloped the eastern end of Long Island, with the clear-blue sky matched only by the hues glistening off the Great Peconic Bay.
The near-perfect early October weather has brought a few more members and their guests to the Sebonack Golf Club, a four-year-old Tom Doak/Jack Nicklaus design that will host the 2013 U.S. Women’s Open.
While it’s an idyllic day to walk, some of the golfers choose motorised transportation to help them make their way around the gorgeous 318-acre property.
As they play, something scientifically remarkable is taking place, and it has nothing to do with any shot or particular design feature.
Even more astonishing is the fact that many of the golfers don’t even realise it.
This past May, Sebonack decided to enhance its environmentally conscious practices – it earned the Metropolitan Golf Association’s Club Environment Award in 2008 – by fitting 39 of its 40 carts with solar panels designed and engineered by SolarDrive, a Denmark-based company. By doing so, it became the first U.S. golf course to implement solar technology for golf carts.
“Power costs are very expensive on Long Island,” said Sebonack owner Michael Pascucci. “We’re saving minimum two-thirds on the amount of electricity [being used]. Why not take advantage of the free solar power we have on Earth? I don’t know why everybody isn’t doing this.”
That day could be coming soon, especially as the price for the technology comes down. The solar roofs run approximately $2,700 per cart, but like anything new that hits the market – whether it’s a titanium driver or a high-definition flat-screen television – costs tend to drop once there is greater demand and increased production. There are also state and federal tax incentives for golf clubs that go solar.
The potential savings are enormous, especially for facilities in year-round golf locales that heavily depend on golf carts for their day-to-day operations. Earlier this year, the Jockey Club Kau Sai Chau Public Golf Course in Hong Kong became the first club in the world to outfit its entire fleet of golf carts with solar technology. The club estimates it will save $50,000 annually by making the switch.
“Not only does it make sound business sense, but we think this type of technology sends out the right kind of strong environmental message,” SolarDrive’s Peter Randow said on the company’s Web site. “We’re lobbying other countries, and hopefully more and more will follow [Sebonack’s] lead [in the U.S.]”
The panels can be retro-fitted onto any make of golf cart. Once out in the sun, a cart can be fully charged within an hour and easily go 18 or more holes. A sensor underneath the roof provides instant feedback on the amount of solar energy the panels are receiving.
If it’s a sunny day, the cart constantly charges even while being used. But even on a cloudy day, a fully charged cart will have enough energy to go one full round.
And thanks to the technology, Sebonack staff members are no longer receiving distress calls about a dead electric cart out on the course.
“Normally, if you’ve got no sunlight on it and it’s just charged up, you’ll do 18 [holes], maybe 27,” said Mark Hissey, who works for Pascucci and was the project manager during the course’s construction. “But 18 is more likely.”
An energy study by the Golf Resource Group, a Phoenix-based firm, concluded that most golf courses use from 250,000 to 5 million kilowatt hours of electricity annually for operations. To put the higher number in layman’s terms, that’s the energy equivalent used in 278 2,500-square-foot houses.
Pascucci, knowing that eastern Long Island residents are concerned about conserving energy and protecting the environment, saw going solar as a way to cut costs without sacrificing high-quality service to the membership.
For Sebonack, going solar means a savings of $4 per day per cart. With 39 carts in operation, that’s nearly $160 per day. More important, the club estimates it will reduce its consumption from the electric grid by 50 to 75 percent.
The solar carts also help extend the life of the cart batteries, which cost $200 apiece. Because the sun constantly keeps the carts charged, the batteries last longer and don’t need to be replaced as often.
“You can’t miss with these carts,” said Pascucci. “It’s a really positive thing for our members and their guests to see that they’re riding around on the sun’s power and reducing their carbon footprint.
“The bottom line is … it was the right thing to do.”
Added Hissey: “Morally and financially … made it a no-brainer in my book.”
David Shefter is a USGA Digital Media staff writer. E-mail him with questions or comments at dshefter@usga.org.

What Scotland needs is well-run and

affordable hotels and golf courses

FROM THE GOLFWEEK.COM WEBSITE
By Alistair Tait
The Home of Golf seems to be up for sale. Donald Trump and Herb Kohler are living proof that money can buy anything.
Trump’s planned golf course on the Menie Estate near Aberdeen keeps thundering on toward realization. Trump received good news this week when Aberdeen Council refused to rule out compulsory purchase orders for four properties hampering the project.
The prospect of four families being turned out of their homes for the sake of a golf course does not bear thinking about. I’m sure whole villages have been shifted in other parts of the world to make room for golf courses, but we’re supposed to be civilised over here. Imagine what the families feel like not knowing if they are going to continue living in their own home.
The argument for building the golf course is the business it will bring into the region. I’m not so sure.
Scotland already has golf courses that don’t seem to be making much of a go of it in this financial climate. Look at Turnberry and the ludicrous money Leisurecorp has spent on it. The £85 million spent will take a long time to recoup.
Why Trump and his people think a luxury resort in Aberdeen will have any better chance of success than Turnberry is beyond me. Aberdeen is a nice city, but the golf season (April to October) doesn’t last very long in the North-east of Scotland
Besides, Scotland doesn’t need any more high-end resorts. What it needs is affordable, well-run hotels and golf courses. We’ve got courses in this country charging upwards of £150 per round. Why pay that when you can visit any number of gems for a fraction of the price?
As for here at St. Andrews, Trump is said to be interested in buying Hamilton Hall, the former student residence behind the 18th green that was recently earmarked to become luxury apartments.
Trump has competition from Old Course Hotel owner Herb Kohler and Irish businessman Dermot Desmond. Kohler visited the property during this week’s Alfred Dunhill Championship and is said to be considering an offer to buy the now derelict sandstone building.
Former golf course designer Richard Wax is dismayed that this part of St Andrews heritage might fall into the hands of wealthy businessmen and will only be for the elite.
“The town’s core message is ‘golf for all’ but increasingly, ‘Private/Keep Out’ signals are being generated to the detriment of the image of the town,” Wax told The Times newspaper.
Wax is fronting a consortia to try to buy Hamilton Hall. “Our project is conceived to regenerate the economic life of St. Andrews and Fife. It would bring quality business into town on a year-round basis for the benefit of hotels, bed and breakfasts and the commercial activity across the board.”
Small businesses in the town already feel aggrieved that Kohler’s Old Course hotel gets preferential treatment from the Links Trust because wealthy guests can get tee times through booking rooms in his hotel. Needless to say, any chance that he might take over another part of the town would not go down well.
There is a good chance both projects will get the go ahead and be for the wealthy elite only. The endangered residents on the Menie Estate are living proof that cash is King in Scotland for Sale.

Land of Crouching Caddies and Hidden Tigers

China's Mission Hills Golf Club ... the biggest in

the world with 12 golf courses of its own

FROM THE INDEPENDENT NEWSPAPER WEBSITE
It's generally seen as a Western, capitalist pastime: a hobby for wealthy individualists. But now golf is the fastest-growing sport in the People's Republic. Clifford Coonan reports from a land of crouching caddies and hidden Tigers
Vigilant female caddies in wide-brimmed hats, their faces wrapped in scarves as the heat bakes the green, watch intently. A yellow-shirted Chinese entrepreneur descends from his golf cart and examines the fairway, one of 216 in the vast club known as Mission Hills in southern China. He places his tee, the swing is good and straight down the middle, and the four-ball and their caddies patter down the fairway.
This serene golfing scene takes place right in the commercial heart of Guangdong province where former Supreme Leader Deng Xiaoping declared three decades ago that China would open up to the world. To get rich is glorious, he said. To be rich is to play golf, say China's new breed of entrepreneurs. After 30 years of economic growth, plaid trousers, Ping hats and spiked golf shoes have edged out the Mao suits and People's Liberation Army slippers. Welcome to China's golf revolution.
In China, golf is known as "green opium", although the sport is certainly not for the masses. In the old days, the Communists considered golf a decadent way for capitalists to waste their time, but China's new leisure-loving rich have different ideas.
Zhu Kai, who works for the state oil company Sinopec, has been playing golf for just over a year. "I began to play golf in March 2008. I love the feeling of the swing. I feel free, casual and elegant when playing golf," said Mr Zhu.
While golf is still an elite sport in China, public courses do exist, although they are relatively rare. "I usually play golf on the public course at Gaobeidian Central Business District International Golf Course," said Mr Zhu. "During days when it's not a holiday, the price is 150-300 yuan (£13-£26) for one round of golf, which is affordable for me," said Mr Zhu.
Another aficionado, who gave his surname as Xu, is a veteran, playing since 2002. "Golf is not a boring sport," said the 43-year-old. "It changes constantly. It's outdoors. And I like to be in a green environment. I usually play less than three times on the same golf course, since I like to play in different places. Nowadays, agents can book golf courses for a group. So it is not that expensive. They could offer a round of golf for between 200-600 yuan (£17.60-£52.80) for one round of golf. Of course, some are expensive," said Mr Xu.
The only senior Chinese government leader known to have played golf was Zhao Ziyang, the disgraced former potentate who backed the students during the Tiananmen Square crackdown and spent his declining years under house arrest, endlessly putting in his courtyard home.
Golf's reputation is not assured in China, even among the current group of technocrats running the country.
Ideological quibbles aside, these days there are more than 300 golf courses in China, mostly in the south, compared with just 20 or so in the 1980s. The golf market is estimated to be worth £4.5bn annually and is growing by 20 per cent a year. China now ranks fifth in the world and second in Asia in terms of the number of golf courses.
As in other countries, golf is a status sport, as a way of oiling the gears when it comes to building contacts and setting up deals. At the same time, as China grows in sophistication as a golfing nation, increasingly the focus among the elite is on the game itself. They save the deals for the 19th hole.
Or the 217th hole, in the case of Mission Hills. Located in the southern manufacturing hub of Shenzhen (just across the border from Hong Kong, where many of its members hail from), Mission Hills is the world's biggest golf club, with a record-breaking 216 holes. Divide that number by 18 and you get 12, yes, 12 golf courses. Shenzhen is in Guangdong province, which is home to 85 million of China's 1.3 billion people and a region that has for many years driven China's boom.
The economic slowdown means things are not as they were a couple of years ago, but China's economy is still expected to expand by around 8 per cent a year. That is the kind of expansion the rest of the world can only dream of at the moment, and this leaves a lot of leeway for the business community to get out on the fairway.
Full membership, giving you the right to play all 12 courses at Mission Hills, costs around £150,000 a year; but different memberships are offered to address different usage preferences and the lowest entry membership costs less than £25,000. The club has a staff of 7,000, including 3,000 female caddies, wearing the aforementioned wide-brimmed hats. On a busy day around 3,000 golfers can tee off.
"It is no secret that the economic crisis is having its toll on global business. We think China, and Asia as a whole, presents golf's best opportunity for growth in the long run. It certainly has become harder and has taken creativity and some rethinking on tactics to lure customers, but Mission Hills presents an exceptional value proposition and golf experience to members and guests alike. We have an excellent product and therefore continue to grow," said Tenniel Chu, Executive Director of Mission Hills.
In terms of dealing with the downturn, or more accurately the slowdown, Mission Hills said it is trying to accentuate the positives. "The crisis has brought the corporate community much closer together, and innovative ways are being worked out to reach new customers. For example, we have been creating reciprocal and associated golf programmes with other clubs around the world that allow our members and those of partnering clubs to visit each other and enjoy special benefits. It's a little bit like the alliances airlines form," said Chu, the son of the founder, Dr David Chu.
Mission Hills began life in 1994 with a course designed by Jack Nicklaus. Its current collection of 12 courses includes links designed by the some of the biggest names in the game, such as Nick Faldo, José Maria Olazabal, Greg Norman, Ernie Els, Jumbo Ozaki and China's own Zhang Lianwei.
There is a lot riding on Zhang Lianwei, since, for the sport to really thrive in China, the game needs a Chinese name to really shine – look at how Yao Ming has made basketball the most important game in China.
The time and money involved in the sport put it beyond the reach of young players who might boost the competitive side of the game, but there is a growing number of sponsorships for young players. Golf is too land-intensive ever to be a really popular sport – the Communist government likes gymnastics and volleyball, because lots of people play the sport, in a team, in an enclosed space.
It is much easier logistically to promote these kinds of activities when you have a population of 1.3 billion people than it is to encourage youngsters to get out on a huge park, on their own, and play for China.
Nonetheless, China's population of regular golfers has doubled since 2001 (partly because of the success of Tiger Woods, with his Asian background) and the China Golf Association predicts that by 2020 China will have 20 million golfers. Of the 3 million who currently play, around 1 million are believed to tee off on a regular basis, although significantly fewer are club members – and hardly any are woman. Around 2,000 of China's golfers are competitive amateurs (sufficiently serious to take part in competitions), while about 300 are professionals.
There are many top-flight competitions in China, mostly in Shanghai with occasional outings in courses near Beijing or in Guangdong. The most prestigious is the HSBC Champions in Shanghai, and it is a sign of China's growing significance in the game that stars who are expected to be competing for the tournament's $7m purse in November include Tiger Woods, Padraig Harrington, Paul Casey, Henrik Stenson and Rory McIlroy.
Another club that receives regular praise in the golf magazines is Spring City Golf and Lake Resort in the Yunnanese capital of Kunming, in the south-west of the country. The development has luxury villas and two championship courses – the Mountain Course, by Jack Nicklaus, and the Lake Course, designed by Robert Trent Jones Jr.
Spring City began life as an investment by Singaporean property developer Keppel Land Group in 1992. It has been operational since 1998. The overseas membership is predominantly from South-east Asia – Thailand, Hong Kong and Singapore are all within four hours of Kunming.
"It's a very reachable destination for people from south-east Asia. We see more and more mainland golfers here. There are between 5,000 and 8,000 golfers playing in Kunming and up to 1,000 going to courses – a big increase from zero a few years ago," said Lau Tong Chye, general manager of operations at Spring City.
"There are lots of reasons why Kunming is popular. The weather is great, and the grass is the best in the world."
There is another dimension to this picture of serene golfing pleasure. The development of the game is tightly allied to the social changes in China over the past three decades. As with so much else in the New China, this golf revolution is built on cold, hard cash. The primary motivation behind developing the game of golf in China is property, not bashing a little white ball around a course. Plush villas pay the green fees.
"What make money in most clubs are the villas and apartments ringing the courses. The golf itself is a loss leader, and many of the courses in China are chronically underutilised," said a golfer at another club – on condition of anonymity: he doesn't want problems with his membership.
In extreme cases, developers buy up large tracts of farmland on the outskirts of the boom towns of New China: Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Tianjin, Beijing and Shanghai. They then start building flashy villas – reasonably priced by UK standards but more than most Chinese families would earn in a lifetime. The courses are often an afterthought, hastily-constructed – even unplayable. The developers don't care; they can charge a lot more for property near a course.
Sometimes this land is taken illegally with the connivance of corrupt local officials, leading to social unrest as disenfranchised farmers take to the streets and demonstrate, attacking building sites and picketing government offices.
China's arable land is scarce, and the government is worried about a growing wealth gap between the rich of the cities and the poor in the countryside.
There have also been efforts to clamp down on Communist Party cadres doing business on golf courses. The central government has put a ban on the construction of new courses for fear of a potentially-destabilising backlash, and ultimately the development of golf in China is largely dependent on what the Beijing government does.
But the ruling doesn't mean an end to the construction of golf courses in China. Many courses are listed as part of the facilities for a luxury villa development or as country clubs to get around the ban. Most people believe the government is more concerned about stopping course development turning into another bubble, and the slowing of growth is aimed at cooling the market.
Meanwhile, there are good golf clubs with real facilities and there are bad clubs. In one city-centre development in Beijing, it looked as though the builders had just put up a few flags and tried to sell the villa development as a golfing lifestyle scheme. This was a golf like an army assault course, although a bigger turn-off was the grand piano in the show house villa that played schmaltzy tunes automatically when the front door opened.
Other clubs combine a decent sporting reputation with a name for being a good property investment. Huatang Golf and Country Club lies in the Yanjiao Development Zone, which, if traffic is clear, is within a half an hour of downtown Beijing. The area is expanding at an incredible rate.
Massive new villa and apartment developments are within reach of the golf club, which has also been developing real estate near the course. But not too near – it's still a good course.
What is fascinating about Huatang is the way a town has sprung up out of nowhere just outside its boundaries – apartments, shops, offices, a whole new community. All the buildings seem to have been constructed in less than a year. They ooze aspiration. Entrepreneurial hawkers – who may be members of the club by this time next year – are selling golf balls and hats from the backs of their tricycles as you approach the course.
"Golf fortune here is to do with property fortune," said one player. "If the economy continues to grow and the Central Business District continues to expand, then the demand will grow for places to live. In general, it's an optimistic outlook, not necessarily because of the golf but because of the economy and thus the property."
The financial services company KPMG's Golfbenchmark report on the industry in China in 2008 was compiled before the financial crisis. But its author, Andrea Sartori, said he expects its positive outlooks to remain in place. According to KPMG, the average club membership in China costs €32,000 (£28,000), far higher than in Europe, the Middle East or Africa. "If only 0.1 per cent of China's population will play golf by 2030 – approximately one-tenth of the European and a hundredth of the North American participation in the game today – China would have 1.3 million golfers," the Golfbenchmark report reckons.
Assuming an average of 650 golfers per course, this implies a total supply of 2,000 golf courses in China. That means 1,700 golf courses being built in the next 20 or 25 years, it said. Fore!
And we should never forget China invented the sport. Chinese historians argue that their ancestors were teeing off in 945 and say Mongolian travellers took chuiwan – "chui" means to hit, and "wan" is a ball – to Europe. According to this theory, the rules of the sport were formulated in a 1282 book called Wan Jing (or Manual of Ball Games).
An ancient scroll called The Autumn Banquet, dating from 1368, shows officials playing chuiwan. It is a familiar scene, as one eccentrically-dressed nobleman putts, another watches balefully, while a third seems to be consulting the rules. Even the Emperor Huizong is said to have played; his handicap is unknown.
Visiting Mission Hills a few years back, I went to a showhouse villa and was bowled over by the way the double-doors at the back opened on to a pool with a fantastic view of one of the tees at a signature course. This was a lifestyle straight out of Entourage. You could lie in this pool sipping daiquiris and watch great golfers tee off, I told the saleswoman. She waved her hand dismissively.
"It's all going to be filled in, moved around the back. Bad feng shui," she said. Some things are still more important than real estate or golf.

£65million expansion of Forrester Park

Golf Centre near Dunfermline

FROM THE SCOTSMAN WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
A new family golf centre is to be created in West Fife as part of an ambitious £65million expansion of the Forrester Park Resort, near Dunfermline.
The plans include a five-star hotel, spa and family leisure complex, but the owners are just as excited about a new nine-hole course that will be specifically aimed at juniors and women.
"It will be a pay-and-play course open to everyone but we are hoping it will be a boost in particular to junior and ladies' golf," said Robert Forrester, the resort's managing director. Forrester Park first became associated with golf when it opened a driving range in 1993 and, since 2001, it has been the home of an 18-hole course, which currently has 600 members.
As part of the expansion, a new driving range and clubhouse will also be built.
Hamish Grey, chief executive of the Scottish Golf Union, said: "We believe family golf centres are the future of golf in Scotland.

Nick Faldo to design course in Vietnam

NEWS RELEASE
Faldo Design has been appointed by the Banyan Tree Indochina Hospitality Fund L.P. to develop an 18-hole championship standard golf course at the Laguna Hue resort located between Danang and Hue city in central Vietnam.
The Nick Faldo-designed course will form the centrepiece of a luxury integrated resort complex situated on a 280-hectare beachfront site that, when fully developed, will have approximately 2000 hotel keys under the management of international-branded hotel and resort operators, award-winning spas, resort residences, convention facilities and a town centre with retail and recreational facilities.
Six-time Major winner Faldo commented: “This is a stunning and very diverse piece of land with gently rolling terrain, splashes of sand throughout and an impressive array of natural design features. We’re spoilt for choice, really: our lay-out will incorporate sand dunes, rice-paddy fields, trees and scrub, wonderful exposed rock formations as well as a section of dramatic coastline and a routing that will visit each of these features on both nines.”
“For this part of Vietnam it’s a real hidden gem. We have the opportunity to create a very strategic golf course that offers golfers an abundance of shot and route options, and players will need to plot their way through some very picturesque surroundings. The course will sport a ruggedly-handsome look with a real sense of place. I’m confident that we can produce a finished product that has the potential to become a genuine talking point in the region.”
This new course at Laguna Hue will be a prominent addition to Nick Faldo’s expanding portfolio of golf courses. In Asia alone, Faldo Design has recently opened courses in China and Cambodia, and has also commenced work on a new project in India.
For information on Faldo Design visit www.nickfaldo.com

Wentworth's West Course will

have new look come next May

FROM THE EUROPEAN TOUR WEBSITE
It is one of the abiding images of any BMW PGA Championship at Wentworth Club. The packed stands behind the 18th green on the West Course, flanked by the vast Hospitality Units on one side and state-of-the-art big screen TV on the other.
As a gladiatorial amphitheatre, that compact bowl sitting beneath the famous clubhouse generates an unbeatable electric atmosphere as the latest BMW PGA Champion is crowned on a Sunday evening in May.
However, a stroll down that familiar dog-leg par five closing hole at the moment will paint a completely different picture. The 18th green and approaches have disappeared under a mountain of earth as construction work continues apace to restore and modernise the West Course.
By the time Paul Casey defends his BMW PGA title next May, Wentworth will be proud owners of a fabulous facility designed for the 21st century, including a new-look 18th which promises to heighten the tension and drama like never before.
A water hazard will run parallel to the right-hand edge of the 18th fairway from 90 yards out then across the front portion and down the left side of the green. The green itself has been moved to the right and re-shaped to provide a potentially treacherous closing hole, adding to the excitement of the spectators and the nerves of the players.
It has been an enormous project undertaken by the Ernie Els Design Team in the immediate aftermath of the 2009 BMW PGA Championship, at the behest of Wentworth Club’s ambitious owner, Richard Caring, who took the bold decision to close the West Course for ten months and dig up all 18 greens and replace the poa grass with colonial bent to USGA specifications.
As Els says: “Through detailed discussions with Richard Caring, it became clear that this would be a once in a lifetime opportunity to leave a lasting legacy - a final, dramatic brush stroke if you like -on the one remaining area of the West Course which required attention.
“I firmly believe that if Harry Colt was alive today he would approve of what we are doing to refine and modernise his classic design. Harry was a man of remarkable vision and style in the early part of the 20th century and I am of the opinion that Wentworth’s role is to be equally visionary and progressive in this first decade of the 21st century.
"It is Wentworth’s way to pay close attention to detail and take pride in the quality of finish. This is what we are doing with the West.”
Apart from hole 18, which promises to be the jewel in the crown when the course re-opens for play in March 2010, there will be several other changes to whet the appetite of the golfing connoisseur.
Specifically,
+The ninth green has been raised by a metre.
+The 12th green - which will become a challenging 485yd par-4 par-4 rather than a straightforward par-5 - by nearly two metres.
+The 17th has new humps and swales which will sweep away any misdirected shots.
+The eighth green is smaller and the water hazard has been extended so that it is now in close proximity to the putting surface.
Additionally, a full review of the bunkering has also been undertaken with some new ones constructed, some removed altogether and others remodelled.
Around 20,000 square metres of turf was grown in Lincolnshire and transported in sections as required to Surrey to be laid with the skill and efficiency of a carpet-fitter within 24 hours of delivery. As with every other part of the project, nothing is ever left to chance.
Currently, eight greens have been completed, with a view for the remainder of the basic reconstruction work to be completed by the end of September 2009.
Els has taken an almost paternal view of the project and, like any expectant father, he cannot wait for the 2010 BMW PGA Championship, when his peers on The European Tour can ‘test drive’ the new layout for the first time in competition.
He concluded: “When Colt designed the course there were no sprinkler systems, so the greens needed to be able to hold water in the winter to provide moisture for the summer. To do this they put a layer of clay underneath the top soil.
“But now with today’s sprinkler systems and the rain we get early in the year, the water has nowhere to go so it just collects on the surface of the greens. That creates sponginess and an inconsistent roll. That’s why we had to rebuild the greens. It was the only way forward.”
Nothing gets in the way of progress and certainly the West Course greens present an aesthetically pleasing – as well as challenging – appearance with the new colonial bent grass creating a colour contrast with the darker rye grass around the fringes.
There is already a tangible sense of excitement around Wentworth these days and it is not hard to see why. Anyone who has been fortunate enough to witness the work in progress will want to dust down the clubs and play.
It promises to be an awesome and formidable experience.

Did Michael Sim start playing golf in Aberdeen or Australia?

Editor's note: Reference the third win by Aberdeen-born Michael Sim on the US Nationwide Tour which earns him "battlefield promotion" to the US PGA Tour. I E-mailed his father George in Australia, asking him to clarify whether or not Michael was introduced to golf before or after the Sim family emigrated to Perth, Western Australia from Aberdeen when he was seven years old. Colin Farquharson

George Sim replies:

"We are all excited with Michael's third win. He is now ranked 57th in the world.
"I was a member at Royal Aberdeen and Northern Golf Clubs. I won the Hands Across the Sea boys' tournament at the Aberdeen Links in 1972.
"Michael started playing golf at the age of four. He played with me at the nine-hole course at Hazlehead and the short course at Royal Aberdeen.
"I had clubs cut down for him. He always had a natural swing at an early age."
Regards
George Sim
Sent via BlackBerry from Telstra

Floodlit par-3 course at Amendoeira on the Algarve

Oceanico’s state of the art golf academy is now fully operational at Amendoeira Golf Resort on Portugal's Algarve.
It features every practice facility for the amateur and tour professional alike and features a nine–hole par-3 floodlit course.
The Academy has a variety of golf programmes tailored to meet the needs of all standards of golfer seeking to improve and hone their game.
A complete menu of private one-to-one and group lessons are on offer with experienced PGA professionals

R&A underwrite new all-weather greens

for SGU and SLGA for winter practice

NEWS RELEASE ISSUED BY THE SCOTTISH GOLF UNION
Scottish Golf has received close to £20,000 of support from The R&A to provide all-weather putting surfaces, including installing new outdoor greens in the north and south of the country to enhance its Academy coaching programme.
Based at eight different facilities around Scotland - Tower Wood (Dumfries), Mearns Castle (Renfrew), Brucefields (Stirling), Braid Hills (Edinburgh), St Andrews, Oldmeldrum (Aberdeenshire), Nairn Dunbar and Tain - chosen with the intention of minimising the amount of travel the selected players must undertake to attend coaching sessions, the SGU and SLGA Academies support around 80 players with each receiving 100 hours of coaching support per annum.
With the majority of coaching taking place over winter months a lack of quality putting surfaces during the winter had been identified as a major issue.
Consequently Scottish Golf has agreed, with full funding from The R&A, to enhance existing facilities, each of which has been individually assessed in close consultation with Scottish Golf’s preferred supplier Huxley Golf.
That will involve:
*Supplying a 8’ x 16’ modular green at each venue that can be used indoors and out which are large enough for a squad of six – the maximum number to be coached at any one time – to work on.
*Providing each Academy coach with 9 and 13 foot putting mats that can be rotated among the players for home use.
*Building 15’ x 25’ outdoor all weather putting greens at Tower Wood and Nairn Dunbar recognises these areas do not have such facilities currently available.

The facilities will not only be available for Academy and clubgolf programmes but also for any SGU or SLGA national squad member who requires access at no cost, as well as providing local golfers with facilities they would not otherwise have access to.
The SGU approached The R&A for funding to back the project which is costing a total of £19,430 and were delighted to be given their support for the full amount.
SGU CEO Hamish Grey said, "We are very grateful to receive this funding which further demonstrates The R&A's commitment to the development of golf in Scotland. The improved facilities will make a real difference to our Academies across Scotland enabling our players to practise meaningfully throughout their winter training programmes. They will play a vital part in our young golfers’ development.”
Director of Golf Development at The R&A, Duncan Weir commented, “Using money generated by The Open Championship, The R&A is delighted to support this new initiative which will benefit golfers all over Scotland. Twenty years ago it would have been fair to say practice facilities here in Scotland were generally poor but this situation has changed dramatically in recent times which must augur well for the future of our game.”

Scotland lagging behind Germany in

some aspects of golf, says Alan Hogg

FROM THE EDINBURGH EVENING NEWS WEBSITE
By MARTIN DEMPSTER
Twenty years after leaving Edinburgh, where he was born and bred, Alan Hogg is loving life as a golf club manager in Germany, a country he believes is leaving Scotland lagging behind in some aspects of the game.
After being introduced to golf by his father, Thomas, at the age of six, Hogg played at Torphin Hill and Baberton – he was a member there when he won the Lothians Boys' Championship – before starting his PGA training at Deer Park, where he worked under David Matthew.
He moved to Haggs Castle in Glasgow and then Alloa before a chance encounter led to a life-changing experience for a man whose best friend is Colin Brooks, the former Scottish Amateur champion from Glencorse and now one of the country's leading coaches
"I was up playing at St Andrews and got chatting to Walter Woods (the course superintendent there at the time] and he told me that Prince Maximilian of Bavaria was looking for a golf teacher," recalled Hogg.
"Two weeks later, at the age of 23, I was off to a club located to the south of Munich to become the club professional and, during my time there, I was proud to see the facilities get better and better."
After playing on the Challenge Tour for three years – he also teed up in a few European Tour events – Hogg decided to take a degree in business, a career move that helped secure his current position as director of the Golf and Vital Park in Bad Waldsee, which is in the south-west of Germany almost on the Swiss border.
"I've been here for five years now and we have a complex that includes 27 holes as well as a 40-bedroom hotel," he said. "I'm the director of the whole facility."
Hogg has been followed into golf by his two sons, Jake, 14, and Joshua, 12, the former coming over to Scotland to compete in the recent Scottish Boys' Stroke Play Championship at Ladybank with his dad accompanying him.
Hogg said of his offspring: "He's off plus one and, with the German Championship coming up soon, it was good for him to gain a bit of experience playing in different conditions than he's used to. He played in all four rounds, which was good, and I also got the chance to meet up with both Colin Brooks and Eric Grandison, another of my best friends."
During the time he's been in Germany, Hogg has seen the number of people playing golf treble from 180,000 to over 500,000, although that figure still only represents less than one per cent of the population.
"It's an elite sport in Germany for the very rich," he commented.
For a long number of years, Bernhard Langer carried the flag for German golf virtually on his own but the mantle has now been taken up by Martin Kaymer, the new Barclays Scottish Open champion and a strong candidate for next year's European Ryder Cup team.
As things stand, it's unlikely Colin Montgomerie will have a fellow Scot in his side at Celtic Manor and, even from afar, Hogg admits the state of the professional game in the "Home of Golf" doesn't exactly look too healthy.
"I don't think there's any doubt that the coaching has changed in Scotland over the past 20 years but I don't think the fitness and diet side of things has changed enough," he noted.
"Even back in 1989 there were clear signs of how the Swedes, for example, were changing the face of the game from that perspective. I remember being at the Tour School in 1989 with the likes of Willie Milne, Gary Collinson, Jim White and Colin Brooks and we just stood there when a group of Swedes including Jesper Parnevik, Per-Ulrik Johansson and Joakim Haeggman appeared with bottles of water under their arms and bananas hanging out their golf bags.
"These days, I think Scotland are lagging behind a country like Germany when it comes to practice facilities. Every course in Germany has a practice ground with a ball machine on the range and golfers can hit balls for hours on end.
"In Germany, they also provide excellent junior training. Indeed, it's club policy to provide coaching from the age of six and, at some places, they provide that five days per week free of charge."

+The full article above contains 735 words and appears in today's Edinburgh Evening News newspaper.

Change back to V-shaped grooves in

irons will favour stroke-makers

FROM THE TIMESONLINE WEBSITE
By JOHN HOPKINS, named Internet Golf Writer of the Year
Changes in the shape and size of the grooves on irons is not a subject guaranteed to cause a buzz at the bar. It is a bit arcane for most golfers. In the world of the pros, however, the change from U-shaped grooves that have been in place for some time back to V-shaped grooves next year is threatening to turn professional golf on its head.
Who says so? Any number of leading players.
Tom Watson touched on the subject a little at Turnberry, forecasting that many of the younger players who have only played with U grooves are going to find the effect V grooves have on shots to be different.
At the Senior Open, Tom Lehman and Greg Norman both emphasised what an improvement in the game the new grooves are likely to be.
"Stroke makers will be back" is the message. Big-hitting without thought will no longer be an advantage because if a ball ends in the rough it will be harder to control the escape shot.
"Andy North said to Tom [Watson] and I when we were playing last week: You two should be out there playing every tournament at the start of next year because it will take from three to six months for these kids to figure out how to play with these new clubs," Norman said.
"V groove clubs will definitely show the difference between a shot-maker and an average power player becasue now you have to think about the shots you're going to hit. Now you've got to think about how hard you've got to hit the ball out of the semi-rough.
"Even at Turnberry, even round here (Sunningdale), the ball will go 30 or 40 yards further than these guys think it will. They will have to make adjustments.
"I know that if I was them I would be playing the last part of the year with the new grooves for 2010, no question, because they are going to make a dramatic change to the game and a great one, too. It is a positive move."
The significance of the grooves is this. When playing out of the rough a player is liable to get grass or water between his ball and the face of his club. Because this limits the purchase his irons have on the ball, this causes fliers when the ball travels 10 or 20 yards further than expected. V grooves cannot prevent this risk; U grooves, being wider than V grooves and differently shaped, can.
Norman said he had heard that Tiger Woods was already practising with clubs with the new grooves. "He's obviously trying to get a jump on it. If I was in Tiger's shoes, or if I was one of the leading players, I would be doing that now. It depends on who is willing to accept it [the changes] and make the adjustments fast enough to do it.
"Every great player has that ability. It's just a matter of getting on it straightaway. They are all great shot-makers. It is just that shot-making now is going to go to another level. now."

New Castle Stuart course open to

public from this week

The new Castle Stuart golf course between Nairn and Inverness became open for play by the public on July 13 through to 30 November.

To reserve a tee time:
Telephone: +44 (0)1463 795440
Email: bookings@castlestuartgolf.com

Green Fees
July - October: £150 per round (£130.43 + 15% VAT)
November: £125 (£108.70 + 15% VAT)
Day Ticket £225 (£195.65 + 15% VAT)
PGA & BIGGA £50 (£43.48 + 15% VAT – cards required)

Scottish Resident Fee & Conditions (Click for details)
Local Resident Fee & Conditions (Click for details)

Caddies
Caddy Fee £35 plus discretionary gratuity
Caddies should be requested in advance through the reservations department and are subject to availability.

Club Hire
£30 per round

Castle Stuart Golf Links website:
http://www.castlestuartgolf.com

Sundridge Park - only seven miles from

centre of London - to get major revamp

Sundridge Park Golf Club, just seven miles from the centre of London, has two 18-hole courses which will begin a phased renovation this autumn under the auspices of Swan Golf Designs.
The practice has recently completed the blueprints for the management of the landscape and bunker strategy on both the East and West courses, following a detailed appraisal of both laouts, and is being retained by the club as golf course architects throughout the implementation of the improvements.
Bob Walden, Sundridge Park Golf Club’s general manager, said: “We wanted to look to the future and make sure we were keeping pace with the modern game and its equipment.
“Also, like most clubs, we have criticism of bunkers from our members and we wanted to address those from a completely independent point of view.”
Sundridge has a unique setting: the venue proudly claims to be the nearest 36-hole golf club to a major metropolitan city, just seven miles from the centre of London, and is set in the grounds of the Sundridge Park Estate, designed by Humphrey Repton, considered by many to be the last great English landscape designer of the 18th century and natural successor to Capability Brown.
The courses also boast an impressive design pedigree: the West Course was laid out by Willie Park under the supervision of James Braid while Sir Guy Campbell and Major CK Hutchinson – whose work as a team has been regularly recognised, including courses ranked in the UK ’s top 100 – created the East Course.
Swan Golf Designs was selected for the work bcause the club felt the company had the right qualities to follow in such prestigious footsteps.
For more information visit www.swangolfdesigns.com.