T
here’s no secret why
governments and tourist
authorities around the world
are keen to see golf developed in their
countries and regions. Golf tourism is
big business, and golfers are among
the best, highest spending visitors
a destination can have. Around the
world, from Thailand to Turkey, Cabo
to the Costa del Sol, any number of
successful tourist destinations give
testimony to the power of golf as a
source of economic development.
The danger with golf tourism is
that it can sometimes appear to have
been parachuted in from another
world, and visitors may seem
disconnected from the communities
which they are visiting. This is most
obvious in areas with no previous
connection to golf: the development
of the Belek coastline near Antalya,
Turkey, for golf tourism over the past
fifteen years has been, in many ways,
a spectacular success, with over a
dozen courses in close proximity
and many thousands of golfing
visitors bringing precious income
to a region that was previously
rather poor. But the Belek resorts
are almost entirely self-contained.
Yes, the hotels and golf courses have
brought investment, visitors and jobs
to the region, but how much of that
is going into the pockets of locals? If
golf is to achieve its potential as an
engine of economic development, it
needs to connect with communities.
Otherwise, we run the risk that
golfers will seem to locals as ‘white
settlers’, and their presence will be
resented, rather than welcomed.
Examples of best practice of this
kind abound in the golfing world.
The stunning success of Bandon
Dunes Golf Resort has brought fame
and fortune to a part of southern
Oregon that was previously a
backwater. Although most golfers
seem to stay exclusively on property
during their visits to Bandon, the
appearance of the Bandon Trails
and Old Bandon courses in the
town, and the growth of many
tourist-focused businesses in the
region shows how the resort has
transformed its economic prospects.
And developer Mike Keiser’s next
project, the proposed Bandon Muni
course to the south of the town,
which will be designed by architect
Gil Hanse, ASGCA, will connect the
local community even more closely
with golf, offering preferential rates
for locals and securing the future of
a large amount of coastal land, while
bringing still more high-spending
golfers to the area.
I was prompted in this line of
thinking by a visit, in July, to County
Mayo in the far west of Ireland for
the opening of the third nine holes
at the Carne Golf Links. The story of
Carne is well known: how a group
of locals, led by Eamon Mangan,
conceived that a world-class golf
course in the huge dunes of the
Mullet Peninsula, would help the
run-down economy of the region,
and convinced Irish golf architect
Eddie Hackett, then well over the
age of 80, to design the course for
practically no fee.
Twenty years on, and Carne is
another stunning example of the
power of golf to transform economic
backwaters. The streets of Belmullet,
far from being full of shuttered-up
stores and houses, are thriving, and
the course has now expanded to 27
holes. American architect Jim Engh,
ASGCA, a long-time admirer and life
member of Carne, initially drove the
project, and Scottish designer Ally
McIntosh completed the holes. With
new hotels and restaurants springing
up around the area, Carne and the
Mullet region, though still a hike
from any starting point other than
perhaps Sligo, have become part of
the modern world. And it is golf that
has got them there.
•
Economic Development
|
Adam Lawrence
Golf’s role for
communities
CLOSING THOUGHTS
Adam Lawrence
Adam Lawrence is editor of Golf
Course Architecture and a contributor
to Golf Monthly and Golf World in the
UK. Educated at Oxford University, he
has been a journalist throughout his
professional life.
18
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By Design
Adam Lawrence reflects on the ability of
golf to bring economic development to
vulnerable or struggling communities
