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Business Insight

Tuesday August 12 2014

Fairwaysto heavenA panoramic view of the UK’s leading golf resorts

Tuesday August 12 2014 | the times

Business Insight2

Golf

It was Mark Twain who insisted: “Golf is a good walk spoiled”. This obviously made little impression on the vast majority of his fellow countrymen, who can be found bulldozing their bulky way round some of the top courses in Scot-land and the North of England.

They may often end up scoring over 100 and losing half a dozen

golf balls along the way but the satisfac-tion for them lies in ticking the boxes of playing at St Andrews or Royal Liverpool, thus walking on the hallowed ground of their sport.

That’s why golfing tourism is big busi-ness for both Scotland — the current value of £220 million is expected to rise to £300 million by 2020 — and to a lesser extent across the border, where the North is rack-ing up a significant share of England’s esti-mated £108 million from the same source.

With the total annual contribution to the Scottish budget from the golfing sec-tor now in excess of £1 billion and exceed-ing £3 billion in England, both have be-come significant self-sustaining industries in their own right that neither country can afford to ignore.

The Achilles heel for the sector though can be found in the fact that golf tour-ists are currently failing to appreciate the depth of the golfing offer to be found almost within teeing off distance of the famous clubs. And that applies equally to international travellers or the home grown golf tourists who make up 70 per cent of the UK market.

In both Scotland and England, tour op-erators cater for the demands of golf tour-ists to take them on the fame trail which leads directly to the handful of courses that host the Open or the Ryder Cup, ven-ues that have gripped global TV audiences

Scotland also has a further issue, in that it is the home of golf, so the history of the game has the same sort of pull on the vis-iting golfer as the Coliseum has on regu-lar tourists in Rome. That’s why it remains top of most golfers’ wish lists even though it is now the number three golf destina-tion after Spain and Portugal, which can also offer the bonus of good weather.

That means that the countless numbers of less well-known but excellent courses where the green fees are far more cost ef-fective and tee times are plentiful are not even on the tourist radar.

And this is increasingly a concern for the golfing authorities in both Scotland and England as they seek to spread and hopefully increase the revenue.

This is not simply squeezing the cash cow issue but is needed to help mitigate

the shared problem that is facing the ma-jority of smaller clubs in both camps — a serious decline in membership. Club play-ers increasingly can no longer afford the time or the money, so visitor green fees play a vital role in keeping many lesser known clubs afloat through boosting or subsidising subscriptions.

Some clubs are already attempting to face up to the new reality by replacing tra-ditional flat fees with scaled versions based on the amount of time members are able

North and south of the border, there is a drive to offset falling memberships with an inclusive offering for tourists, writes Mike Cowley

to spend on the course, and even offering standalone social memberships. Yet golf tourism presents the only proven lifeline.

“It used to be said that visitors were tol-erated rather than welcomed,” says Scot-tish golfing guru Allan Minto, the winner of the first ever gold star presented by Golf Tourism Scotland. “Members now appre-ciate they need the visitor income or their subscriptions could become unaffordable.”

The former golf pro went on to assist the industry in East Lothian develop and promote its tourism product and is now working with a 30 strong group of clubs and accommodation providers to position Perthshire at the centre of the Scottish golfing map.

“One of our big ambitions is to see them (golf tourists) spread out a bit more,” says. “When they first come here they simply want bragging rights. Yet on the next time — and a lot do come back — we would like to see golfers match their ability against the courses they play. They would get a lot more fun out of it.”

Meanwhile across the border in the North of England, the golf tourism sector is facing arguably even worse problems.

First off, it lacks any significant sup-port from the UK government — Scottish golf has the backing of a dedicated three man team in Visit Scotland supported by Events Scotland — and didn’t even have a representative body to give it a voice until last month when Golf Tourism England belatedly arrived on the scene.

The additional downside for the North of England is that it also lacks geographi-cal support within the region, whereas Scotland’s strength is that it is formed in clusters grouped around highly sup-portive councils such as East Lothian and Perthshire, so enabling it to offer products seen as golf hotspots.

Yet the one real cluster it does have — known as England’s Golf Coast that runs from Royal Lytham & St Annes in the north to Royal Liverpool in the south — has shown what can be done after what was arguably not the easiest of starts.

Originally funded by the Mersey Part-nership and then the North West Develop-ment Agency, it hit a brick wall when these bodies were terminated under government cuts and the funding rug was pulled.

Yet under the guidance of former York-shire PGA pro Geoff Harris — who had to persuade the golf courses involved to pay for what they originally had for free — it is now a force to be reckoned with. Mem-bership includes three Open Champion-ship courses and three Ryder Cup venues.

Stay in a hotel in the area and you are perfectly positioned to visit seven of the top 100 golf courses in the UK — and a lot more that aren’t so well known, but will be if England’s Golf Coast has its way.

Geoff Harris is busy playing that card and a couple of other aces he has up his promotional sleeve — football and the Beatles. Football of course goes down well with Scandinavian golf tourists, the sec-ond biggest spenders after the Americans, and they regularly fly into the region to watch either Liverpool or Manchester United. Harris wants to make sure they stay on to play a round of golf or two — and not just at the big name clubs.

However the Beatles are likely to have just as much impact as footie in that their fame has made Liverpool the most recog-nised English city outside of London for overseas visitors.

So much so that one golf tourism op-erator plying his trade locally is already offering a night in the Cavern club as part of the package.

Yet the ever ambitious Geoff Harris also has his eyes firmly on another market — Scotland. “We are working on getting more traffic from there although it will be seen by some people like trying to sell sand to the Arabs with our links courses offering …”

COVER IMAGE: DETAIL FROM GOLFING AT NORTH BERWICK C.1920, BY SIR JOHN LAVERY. COURTESY PRIVATE COLLECTION © NATIONAL GALLERIES OF SCOTLAND. PHOTOGRAPHY: JOHN MCKENZIE

THE ART OF GOLF: THE STORY OF SCOTLAND’S NATIONAL SPORT 12 JULY – 26 OCTOBER 2014. SCOTTISH NATIONAL GALLERY, THE MOUND EDINBURGH EH2 2EL

New faces join the club

Geoff Harris is keen to see golf played by tourists at a range of clubs

Scotland’s strength is that it is formed in clusters around highly supportive councils such as East Lothian and Perthshire

Business Insightthe times | Tuesday August 12 2014 3

www.visitfifegolf.com Voted 2012 European Golf Destination of the Year

Play golf in Fife, the Home of Golf, and sample a truly unique blend of golfing experiences.Whether you wish to follow the footsteps of legends on our historic links or playexceptional heathland and parkland layouts, Fife has the perfect course for you.

So, what are you waiting for? Over 50 fantastic courses look forward to welcoming you...

New York. This history generated wide-spread national and local newspaper ar-ticles and TV coverage.

Burntisland Golf Club’s charity golf day in 2013 was covered by Sky Sports News, which dipped in and out of the event to interview former championship players.

The ‘play’ channel on visitfifegolf.com promotes seven golf trails within Fife. These are the Classic Links, Open Cham-pionship Qualifying, Ladies Golf, Family, Hidden Treasures, Golf Gourmet and Carnegie Country trails.

Fife Golf Partnership is found increas-ingly flying the flag for Fife at major cham-pionships such as The Open and the PGA Masters at Wentworth and has this year at-tended the Nordea Masters in Sweden and BMW International Open in Germany.

This is apart from attendance at an-nual business-to-business events such as VisitScotland EXPO and the Interna-

Fife, a short hop across the Forth from Edinburgh, is bursting with golf history and packs a range of affordable courses and golfing challenges into a compact area

geared up to offer the accommodation and food that also make for a good break.

“St Andrews and Kingsbarns are ob-viously marquee courses for Fife,” says Liam Barn, project manager of the Fife Golf Partnership, a destination market-ing organisation whose members include local courses, accommodation providers, places to eat, training providers, and oth-ers. It is supported by national tourism agency VisitScotland and by Fife Council.

“However, the partnership has given us the opportunity to work with a lot of other courses such as Crail, Elie, Bal-birnie Park, Burntisland, Dunfermline Golf Club (aka Pitfirrane) to project their attractions to golfers. You can play really high quality, traditional golf courses — links, heathland, cliff top — on a reason-

able budget, 9-hole or 18-hole, no matter what standard you play at.”

The partnership’s golf guide, available online at visitfifegolf.com, is an important channel for communicating what is on offer. There is also a social media pres-ence on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

“The joined-up approach to market-ing gives courses that maybe do not have large budgets the opportunity to reach a wider audience,” Barn says.

Awareness is on the rise and, he adds, some members report rising business lev-els. In one example of the creativity be-ing applied to spreading the word, Dun-fermline Golf Club is running a Ryder Cup style event in September 2014, when invited guests from America will take part.

It has dug deep into the history of the club to discover that two founding mem-bers, John Reid and Robert Lockhart, are credited with introducing golf to America through a chain of events that led to the creation of a nine-hole course at Yonkers,

The Swilcan Bridge at St Andrews Links Trust’s Old Course

A kingdom for my courseFife offers a diverse and exciting range of options for golfers, says David McWilliams

tional Golf Travel Market. Tourism mar-ket buyers voted Fife winner of the Best Destination Award for the second year running at the April 2014 edition of Vis-itScotland EXPO.

Getting to Fife is easy. Motorway links are good, and rail services regular. Some continental visitors take a North Sea ferry to Newcastle then drive or take the train. Edinburgh and Glasgow airports are within easy transfer time and the increase in direct flights to both from overseas is bringing more foreign golfers to Scotland and Fife.“We are seeing more Scandinavians and Dutch in particular and are now targeting the German mar-ket too,” Barn says.

Golf tour operators offering deals in Fife are listed among the courses on the visitfifegolf.com website.

Other web portals to Fife courses, ac-commodation and offers include First in Fife at firstinfife.com; Links with History at linkswithhistory.com; and East of Scotland Golf Alliance at eastofscotlandgolf.org

Golfer’s guideCourses and driving ranges featured by Fife Gold Partnership include; Aberdour, Anstruther, Auchterderran, Balbirnie Park, Burntisland, Charleton, Cluny, Cowdenbeath, Crail Balcomie, Crail Craighead, Cupar, Drumoig, Dunfermline, Dunnikier Park, Elie, Elmwood, Falkland, For-rester Country Park, Glen-

rothes, Kingarrock, Kinghorn, Kingsbarns, Kinross, Kirkcaldy, Ladybank, Leslie, Leven, Lochgelly, Lochore Meadows, Lundin, Pitreavie, Saline, Scoonie, Scotscraig, St Andrews Links Trust (Balgove and the Eden, Jubilee, Castle, Strathtyrum, Old and New Courses), and The Duke’s Course above St Andrews.

Tuesday August 12 2014 | the times

Business Insight4

Feature

Fore! Look out, Scotland and the rest of the UK. There have always been good reasons to seek out the charms of Wales, even if you live there; but in relatively recent times it has become something of a specialist magnet for discerning golfers, rival-

ling other conspicuous British leaders in the fi eld.

It is not a development that has hap-pened by accident. Golf has been played in Wales since the 1800s and there are more than 200 courses to choose from — not bad for a country just 170 miles long by 60 miles wide; but there has been a pronounced acceleration in interest since the memorably thrilling 2010 Ryder Cup and last month’s Senior Open, held at Royal Porthcawl Golf Club, have put Wales fi rmly on the golfi ng map.

The ball of opportunity had already been teed up more than a decade before, of course, with the tourism agency Visit Wales’ shrewd positioning of golf in the country as “golf as it should be” — which means, as an offi cial explains it, “unhur-ried, unstuffy golf on challenging courses in naturally stunning landscapes at a re-alistic cost and with a genuinely warm welcome at clubs, hotels and other at-tractions”.

All of which has been keenly supported by Visit Wales who are committed to rais-ing the country’s golfi ng profi le domesti-cally and internationally — boosting product improvements such as enhanced customer service at golf clubs and the de-velopment of golf clusters that customers can purchase with just one phone call or website visit.

“Lack of pretension and lots of diver-sity are indeed very strong selling points,” says Euan Gillon, associate director at tour operator Your Golf Travel. “Demand is good from the rest of the UK and while it is increasingly aimed at the upper level of courses — Celtic Manor Resort, the Vale Resort, plus championship links such as Porthcawl, Nefyn, Aberdovey, and Royal St David’s — there is a wide range of availability stretching across the board from pretty, pay-and-play courses for £25.”

Offi cial fi gures confi rm that Wales is moving signifi cantly up the leader board; that increasing numbers of golfers are buying into its unique offerings. Between 2004 and 2013, there was a 40 per cent increase to 195,400 in annual golf visi-tors to Wales as total related expenditure rose 65 per cent to £38.1 million, accord-ing to Visit Wales. Average expenditure on green fees in 2013 was nearly £54 per person. However, the average paid by day-trippers decreased as they sought bargains.

Nick Roberts, head of UK product at tour operator golfbreaks.com, agrees that Wales is really pulling in the golf cus-tom, on a steadily upward trajectory that

would please any long-range golfer. “Last year we sent a record 15,000 golfers to Wales,” he reports, “and we are on track to grow this year by fi ve per cent on the back of this year’s Senior Open at Royal Porthcawl and the continued interest in 2010 Ryder Cup venue, Celtic Manor Re-sort.”

Celtic Manor Resort will be the scene of this year’s ISPS Handa Wales Open — to be televised to 160 million homes worldwide in mid-September.

Its three championship courses, two luxury clubhouses and world-class golf academy continue to draw enthusias-tic players, and perhaps most appreci-ated is the £20m ‘Twenty Ten Course’ set against the beautiful Usk Valley with views across the Severn Estuary.

It was designed specifi cally for the Ryder Cup — before being hailed by US player Phil Mickelson as “wonderful …the holes themselves have a lot of risk/reward”.

Unsurprisingly, Celtic Manor is on the “bucket list” of many golfers keen to pit their skill against the 7,493-yard par-71 course that includes six holes with water features. More details at celtic-manor.com.

Such prestigious venues might attract the speedy boarders, and indeed Emyr Griffi th, managing director of Welsh Rarebits Golf Vacations, says: “Royal Porthcawl and Celtic Manor — which are in the £120 to £150 price range – are favoured by golfers with no budget prob-lems; but other than those, tee times are available 85 per cent of the time at other courses.

“Links courses are the most popular with groups of overseas golfers and fees at many of these are under £60 even at peak times.”

That said, Ian Richardson, chairman of the Wales Golf Holiday Company, the largest inbound tour operator in Wales, suggests that even top prices here are attractive: “Even Royal Porthcawl can be picked up for half the price that you would pay for, say, Royal Birkdale or Roy-al Lytham St Anne’s.

“Another difference from other golf-orientated locations is that there are more than 200 courses in close proximity in Wales, with a population of only three million. So with just a little travel in each area, you can enjoy different types of golf: mountain golf, parkland, heathland, and

traditional links, and with good availability.” But it’s hardly surprising that Wales

boasts so many challenging and inspir-ing links courses, boasting as it does some 870 miles of windswept coastline. From the Open Qualifying Conwy in the north to Royal Porthcawl in the south, the spectacular coast invites links-loving golfers to venture on an unmissable od-yssey, to fi nd along the way the iconic Nefyn & District, at Morfa Nefyn village on the Llyn Peninsula, with “a view of the sea from every tee” and Snowdonia for a backdrop; and the dramatic, rugged to-pography of Royal St David’s at Harlech.

Royal St David’s provides a challenging par-69 (6,629 yards from the champion-ship tees) test of golf in a scenic Snow-donia setting dominated by the brooding presence of 13th century Harlech Castle. It is regarded as one of the fi nest tradi-tional links courses, featuring undulating fairways and fast, true, large greens. The closing fi ve holes loop through dunes in a tremendous fi nish. It features regularly in Top 100 rankings for courses in the UK and Ireland, and for courses outside the US. The UK magazine National Club Golfer ranked it number one among the Top 100 Affordable Courses.

As a host to national and international tournaments, including the Ladies Eu-ropean Tour and the European Seniors

Diversity and a lack of pretension are among the selling points that are swiftly pushing Wales up the leader board for golfers, writes John Powell

A special Welsh welcome for the discerning player

Tour, the venue can get busy. It has its own accommodation at The Dormy, a separate custom-built, fi ve-bedroom house and there is a good range of local providers. Details, fees and booking at royalstdavids.co.uk

Ashburnham near Llanelli is another links course of note. And Machynys Pen-insula Golf & Country Club, also near Llanelli, is the fi rst Jack Nicklaus-de-signed course in Wales. A 7,121-yard mod-ern championship links with fi ve-star facilities including a spa. Other coastal highlights are Pennard’s famous “links in the sky” and the rolling fairways of Ab-erdovey.

At Aberdovey, the traditional, par-71 links course bears the marks of three leg-endary architects of the early 20th cen-tury — Harry Colt, James Braid and Bill Fowler. It features tight lies, undulating approaches, dry-fi rm surfaces and fast greens played amid the sand dunes from elevated tees and greens offering spec-tacular views.

It demands a variety of shots, every club in the bag, and rewards creativity that works with the course rather than against it. Shifting winds, tides and tee di-rections add to the challenge of a design appreciated by members including Welsh great Ian Woosnam. Aberdovey is the usual home of the Welsh National Cham-

Links courses are the most popular with groups of overseas golfers and fees at many are under £60

Business Insightthe times | Tuesday August 12 2014 5

pionship. A bungalow can be rented on the course. Details, fees and booking at aberdoveygolfclub.co.uk.

Some courses have an increasingly cosmopolitan following to add to the visitor experience. This is thanks in no small measure to the success of Celtic Manor’s presentation of the 2010 Ryder Cup which added immeasurably to the country’s confi dence in putting a more intense focus — and growing ambitions — on being a host for more major tour-naments, such as the Ladies European Tour events and the Wales Senior Open won last month by Berhard Langer, fi n-ishing 13 shots ahead of his nearest rival, at Porthcawl.

Royal Porthcawl in South Wales slopes down to the sea, which is visible from every hole thanks to the lack of sand hills. Somerset, Exmoor and the Gower Peninsula are visible across the waters. The combination of winds, tee directions, traps and out-of-bounds make it a testing challenge that nevertheless rewards ver-satility in club choice and skill.

It was rated one of the 12 fi nest courses in the world by the late Tom Scott, editor of Golf Illustrated magazine, and that was before extensive improvements over the years. This is where Gary Wolstenholme won a famous victory over a certain Tiger Woods in the 1995 Walker Cup in which

Great Britain and Ireland beat the US. It has hosted a number of championships down the years. Golf Monthly ranked the course 31st in the UK and Ireland and fi rst in Wales. An on-site Dormy offers accommodation for 12. All details at roy-alporthcawl.com.

The 2014 Senior Open Championship has boosted still further Wales’ visibility among the continent’s golfi ng commu-nity.

“Major overseas markets are the US and Canada and Scandinavia. North Americans like structured tours. Scandi-navians and Dutch like to do their own thing usually using low-cost carriers,” says Emyr Griffi th. “We also have more North American groups combining Ire-land and Wales now, with the gateways being Dublin and Manchester.”

Aside from those better-known courses there are “treasures to be discovered. In

South Wales, for example, these include the Rolls of Monmouth (a championship 6,733-yard course), Newport Links Golf Royal Porthcawl Golf Club .

“There are lots of good, if not quite championship, standard courses that are attractive to play both in terms of the golfi ng challenge and the aesthetics,” says Ian Richardson. “While those 200-plus courses in Wales include 12 to 20 championship courses, there are at least 100 hidden gems that golfers will love. If they complement these with a better-known course at either end of their stay, they go away with a great golfi ng expe-rience and without too much impact on their wallet.”

Inbound tour operators whose long-term relationships with courses and ac-commodation providers allow them to pass on signifi cant discounts to customers are able to offer two-night, three-round

golf breaks from around £150 upwards. Low-cost airlines fl y into Liverpool, Man-chester, Birmingham, Bristol, as well as Cardiff. Ferry routes from Ireland include Rosslare to Pembroke Dock or Fishguard, and Dublin or Dun Laoghaire to Holy-head.

But for those in search of a luxury fi ve-star playing experience, conspicuous among state-of-the-art golfi ng resorts is the Vale Resort near Cardiff — though underlining tour operators’ points about value for money, it has summer offers that include a one-night golf break — bed and breakfast and 36 holes — from £79 per person.

Vale Resort, Cardiff, attracts 13,000 golf visitors during the summer. Most visitors are from Southern England, though the two courses are seeing a steady increase in overseas golfers from Ireland, Nether-lands and Germany. Currently undergo-ing a £1.5 million bedroom and bathroom refurbishment programme, it was theoffi cial players’ base for the Senior Open Championship at Royal Porthcawl, and had some of golf’s most famous names as guests.

Made to US Golf Association standard, its courses are playable all year round and have staged Sky-televised European Tour Events. Strategic placement of blue, white, yellow and red tees mean almost every level of golfer may experience an enjoyable championship challenge.

In other words, here the game is open to everyone — surely a clear refl ec-tion of the welcoming spirit of the golf-promoters of Wales as they join in thechorus celebrating that refreshing “golf as it should be” philosophy. For specifi c golf information on golf in Wales visit golfasitshouldbe.com

A special Welsh welcome for the discerning player

Nefyn and District Golf Club on the Lyn Peninsula, above, and, right, Aberdovey Golf Club

IMAGES: © CROWN COPYRIGHT (2014) VISIT WALES

Stay and play optionsTour operators catering for golfers looking at Wales off er packages to suit every taste and budget from 200 courses and accommodation ranging from comfortable and good value to five-star luxury.

Within Wales, they include: the Wales Golf Holiday Company – walesgolfholidays.com; Wales Golf Vacations – walesgolfvacations.com; and Welsh Rarebits Golf Vacations – rarebits.co.uk. Out-of-Wales opera-tors off ering breaks in the principal-ity include London based Your Golf Travel – yourgolftravel.com; and Windsor-based golfbreaks.com

A good range of accommodation is available in Wales, from luxury hotels to bed and breakfast.

An increasing number of clubs have developed “Dormy” accommo-dation – a self contained detached property situated within the grounds of a golf club – in the last five years and this development is proving popular as more of a budget option.

One reason more UK visitors are opting to stay overnight than in previous years, according to Visit Wales, is that the appeal of “19th Hole” aspects is growing.

“The quality of food and drink has improved dramatically of late throughout Wales and non-golf attractions are plentifu with gardens being a firm favourite with visitors,” says Emyr Griff� iths of Welsh Rare-bits, citing food favourites such as Welsh lamb, and praising local beers served in a range of pubs bursting with character.

Michelin-starred restaurants include The Walnut Tree near Aber-gavenny, Tyddyn Llan near Corwen, and The Checkers, Montgomery.For independent information, see visitwales.com

Tuesday August 12 2014 | the times

Business Insight6

It may have been a trip of just 110 miles, but the journey ‘Old’ Tom Morris made from St Andrews to Prestwick in 1851 would prove a turning point in the development of golf – a defining moment in bring-

ing Scotland’s sport to the world.The man from Fife brought his golf busi-

ness and his expertise to Ayrshire, going on to design and build the course that would host the very first Open Champion-ship in 1860, and becoming a four-time winner of the famous tournament himself.

As one of golf’s greatest innovators, he will forever be associated with the game’s transformation, but the name of this pas-sionate sportsman is also synonymous with heritage, and as such inspired the creation of the award-winning luxury lifestyle brand, Tom Morris.

Tom Morris Ltd was acquired four years ago by the St Andrews Links Trust, the organisation responsible for running and maintaining the seven courses at the Home of Golf, including the world famous Old Course.

The flagship store for Tom Morris is Tom’s own original shop in his hometown of St Andrews, premises that overlook Tom’s beloved Old Course. He opened this shop in 1866, which makes it the oldest golf shop in the world.

The new autumn/winter collection from Tom Morris takes its lead from that 1851 chapter of Tom’s fascinating story, when he left his hometown of St Andrews having already achieved note as a golfer, but returned in some triumph 14 years later.

Not only was he a successful profes-sional, but Tom’s experience at Prestwick ultimately led to another flourishing career designing some of the world’s greatest courses including Prestwick, Muirfield, and the New Course at St Andrews – and beginning the manufacture of the modern golf ball. Tom’s vision, ambition, innova-tion and commitment to quality are the core elements of lifestyle brand Tom Morris, elements that are not, of course, unique to golf. The aim of this brand is to stay true to the creativity and innovation of Tom, but also to produce a lifestyle range that draws inspiration from golfing heritage but does not obviously reflect it. There is an incredible history at its source, but Tom Morris is a fashionable range of wearable clothes with an appeal that goes beyond any sport.

Scottish swimming sensation Michael Jamieson, who won silver in the 200 metres breastroke at last month’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, is enthusiastic about the range, and about its integrity as another homegrown success. “I really like the Tom Morris label,” said the Olympic silver medallist. “It’s relaxed, comfortable and a true heritage brand in every sense of the word. It’s great to see a new Scottish fashion brand too.”

So what makes up brand Tom Morris? This latest collection of knitwear, outer-wear, chinos, shirts and accessories, has been realised in a colourful palette that combines russets, vintage indigos and neu-trals, with the subtle garment washes and soft constructions creating a laid-back vibe.

With more than a nod to Tom’s com-mitment to British design, craftsmanship and innovation, the Tom Morris knitwear features lightweight 14gg merino/cotton, made in Scotland Fair Isle and cashmere cables, and tweed-effect button-shoulder crew necks and heavyweight shawl cardigans. Wools also feature in a quilted

Drawing inspiration from a unique golfing legend

The innovation and commitment to quality of one of golf’s greatest pioneers is evident today in the luxury clothing brand that bears his name

blazer, with a made in England double face peacoat and wool down jacket. Nylons have been used in the reversible quilted vest, and in the tweed-effect waterproof.

Tom himself is recognised as an inspira-tion throughout this collection, and graphic tees feature either his archive image or the vintage St Andrews map, which has also been crafted as an internal print on items such as the cotton field jacket.

“This is now our third collection with Tom Morris and we have not rested on our laurels,” says Danny Campbell, chief executive of Tom Morris. “The remarkable legacy of Tom Morris is always at the fore-front of our minds and our latest collection represents our commitment to creative design as we place British design, heritage, innovation and inspiration at the heart of everything we do in St Andrews and for our customers across the globe.”

This has been another memorable summer for golf, with Justin Rose the victor in the Scottish Open at Royal Aberdeen, and Rory McIlroy triumphing in The Open at Royal Liverpool, and the action switches to Gleneagles, at the end of September, for the Ryder Cup. Next year, however, The Open will return to Scotland, and to St Andrews, for the tournament’s 144th hard-fought contest for the Claret Jug.

Despite the wearability and wide-rang-ing appeal of the Tom Morris collections, there is a pleasing synergy for this brand, rooted as it is in one man’s legacy. The Open will be coming home, just as Old Tom did, 150 years before.The Tom Morris autumn/winter 2014 range is available online at tommorris.com and in Tom’s original shop in St Andrews, 8 The Links.

BUSINESS PROFILE: TOM MORRIS

It’s relaxed, comfortable, and a true heritage brand in every sense of the word

The Tom Morris label is popular with golfers with an appeal that goes beyond sport

Helping with the course workSt Andrews Links Trust, estab-lished in 1974, is a charitable organisation that manages and maintains the Links courses at St Andrews, including the famous Old Course, host of the 2015 Open Championship.

Although the Old Course is at the heart of the Links it is part of a ‘family’ of seven public courses, three of which are well over 100 years old. Around 200,000 rounds of golf a year are played on the Links with its three championship courses, the Old, the New and the Jubilee, two 18 hole courses, the Eden and the Strathtyrum, and the nine-hole

Balgove Course.The Trust also manages additional

facilities including the Links, Eden and Castle Course clubhouses, the Golf Practice Centre and Golf Acad-emy and five shops. Any revenues generated by these facilities goes back into the running of the historic courses.

A seventh course, The Castle Course, was opened in 2008 on a site to the south-east of St Andrews and has already won several international awards. It was named alongside the Old and New courses in the prestigious Golf Digest Top 100 Courses ranking in its first year.

Dark Grey - 19–3803 TPXPurple - 19–3536 TPX

tommorris.com

Tuesday August 12 2014 | the times

Business Insight8

BUSINESS FOCUS

For a place that has seen a storm of controversy, it exudes a sur-prising tranquilllity that begins with the mile-long, well-man-icured drive down off the A90 ten miles north of Aberdeen.

This sweeps down to the smart new mini-clubhouse – with its big dining-room windows looking over the dunes out to sea – before presenting you with the 7,400 yards of Trump International Golf Links that has already won a raft of accolades in its two short years of operation.

Sir Nick Faldo and Scottish Open winner Justin Rose have both described the course as “amazing”; Colin Mont-gomerie calls it “one of the best – if not the best – links courses I’ve ever played”; it hosted visitors from no fewer than 40 countries last year; and Golfweek maga-zine put it right at the top of its 50-strong list of best-designed modern courses, ahead of fi ve St Andrews courses.

It’s a clear picture of success and if the critics and experts have been kinder than some vocal opponents, the weather has been benign too, though it has to be said that this is midsummer. Nonetheless, such a northerly location might seem sus-ceptible to the will of other seasons, and it’s hard to imagine billionaire Donald Trump not taking this into account when he plumped for this area – out of 200 he viewed and considered all over the world.

“The weather gives us very little trouble,” says Christopher Campbell, the course’s Head Professional responsible

for the operation of the golf course. “We can count on one hand the number of times in a year that the haar [cold mist] rolls in from the sea to disrupt the playing programme and it is minimal.”

The surrounding high, marram-grass-spiked dunes could have much to do with that, creating natural shelter as they do. Natural is a key word, too, in terms of the course’s unique character. While it has been defi ned and refi ned by acknowledged expert Martin Hawtree, its design respects the dramatically undulating character of the topography, creating unique hole-by-hole challenges and pace changes. Hawtree himself says: “When you go round it and play you will fi nd it is one of the most extraordinary golf links sites you will have seen or ever will see.”

Donald Trump himself echoes that: “I knew it would be fantastic – and it is. But seeing it in reality surpassed even my imagination – and that’s saying something.”

Which is why there is no signature hole as such, says his relatively local professional who served at Skibo Castle, London and Cyprus before being persuaded to return to Scotland, where he now works closely with links superin-tendent John Bambury. “All the holes are special, because they are framed by these dramatic dunes.

Indeed the peak of one dune is so high – at something like 60 feet – that one American golfer needed reassurance that the dunes weren’t artifi cial; “all as nature

Hosting visitors from 40 countries last year, the course north of Aberdeen has been been hailed by golfers and critics as a landmark achievement, says Alex McDiarmid

Christopher Campbell, Head Professional at

the course, says that its location ensures minimal

weather disruption

intended,” says Mr Campbell. Following the natural surface as they

do, the holes vary considerably in length – from each other – but also from their own tees, as each has six different starting points. “That’s something of a modern twist,” he adds, “but the lie of the land offers such generous fairways and real physical twists so that all the holes are challenging as well as scenic.”

The team at the Menie estate are particularly proud of their accessibil-ity – with an open-to-all system without required membership but real fl exibility in pay-and-play accommodation which means you can turn up at any time and be on the green stuff almost immediately. Accessibility also includes the location being “only 20 minutes from Aberdeen airport, so the UK domestic market can get here very quickly, as can international visitors fl ying in just over an hour from Heathrow or Gatwick”.

Offered on-site accommodation is the handsome on-site MacLeod House and Lodge, a restored 14th-century baronial

mansion. It has 19 rooms and is part of the top Stay & Play price of £425 for overnight accommodation, breakfast and a round of golf on the championship course. The tee time rates, while – depending on seasons and desired options – rates fall steadily to £75 for Aberdeen residents keen to enjoy a round of this new golfi ng experience on their own doorstep.

While the course might not have a signature hole, the guests’ pocket guide gives a special mention to hole 3 (par 3, 108-205 yards) “which produces great anticipation as the player walks towards the green down a sunken grass path, slowly becoming aware of the sound of waves as the magnifi cent North Sea is revealed. The hole is sheltered by the sur-rounding dunes and is the closest point on the course to the sea as it laps against the sandy shoreline just a few feet from the green. Take a moment to truly appreciate the splendour of this fabulous hole.”

It is this splendour that the owner has been anxious to protect and preserve in his drive to make the “magnifi cent” Aberdeenshire course – in his own uncompromising words – “the world’s greatest golf course”.

What’s more, Mr Trump is keeping up the momentum of his ambition to be golf’s greatest human driver by purchasing the Doonberg resort in Ireland and the famous Turnberry resort on the South Ayrshire coast. But the Aberdeenshire exercise remains extra-special for him, with the clue being in his own words: “It’s a different feeling to build your own course rather than acquire one someone else built. I’m a builder and I love the challenge of creating something remarkable.”Tel: 0158 743300. email: bookings@trumpgolfscotland.com

Two years on, the Trump card wins

The surrounding grassy dunes at the course create shelter in a

dramatic natural setting

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Business Insightthe times | Tuesday August 12 2014 11

As 60 per cent of his customers hail from across the pond — following in the footsteps of their legend-ary countrymen Bing Crosby, Bob Hope, Ben Hogan and Tiger Woods

— one energetic Carnoustie host is never going to be short of accommodation on his regular trips to the United States.

“The Americans are unbelievably friendly,” says Colin McLeod, golf opera-tions manager at the Angus centre with the windblown rollercoaster sand dunes that attract the golfi ng fraternity like a magnet. “And when they invite you to look them up over there and stay a few days, they really mean it.”

Accommodating them in return is another matter. As better-heeled repre-sentatives of the golfi ng world who insist on including the classic Carnoustie Golf Links in their itinerary, they tend to ex-pect four- or fi ve-star hotel accommoda-tion, adds Mr McLeod, a former banker who dodged the meltdown fl ak by taking this job 11 years ago.

Now charged with organising, gather-ing up and guiding tour operators’ parties to the fi rst tee, he knows only too well that — while the collaboration of local courses have a compelling story to tell under the banner of Angus Council’s Car-noustie Country initiative — too many golfi ng guests are based in hotel-rich St Andrews 25 miles away.

Not that Carnoustie is unaware of the challenge. It has already risen to such a task with the creation of the handsome, four-star Carnoustie Golf Hotel, that has become an iconic backdrop to the course thanks to its location right on the edge of it. Finished as it was in 1998, few doubt that its opening was catalytic — along with the timely dualling of the nearby A92 — in bringing back the Open to the town, which had been mourning the loss of that championship for 24 years, since Tom Watson grabbed the trophy in 1975.

And the success story goes on. For only last month the Royal and Ancient con-fi rmed that the Open would be returning to Carnoustie in 2018 for the third time in its new era. With the competition draw-ing scores of stars and thousands of spec-tators from all over the world, there can be no doubt about the benefi ts it brings: more than 200 full-time jobs throughout the year while being worth £14.4 million to the Angus economy — of which £11 million is direct spend and £3.4 indirect.

Widely appreciated as it is, that 85-room links hotel — now seen as symbolic of the course and a landmark in itself – can’t be expected to accommodate every-one. With a massive new fi ve-star-hotel-

centred resort development having been proposed and given planning permission at a site only ten minutes away, the new challenge is to fi nd a £60 million investor. So the question is being asked again: who dares to win the relatively immediate Open custom and, over the long term, an ever-growing customer base drawn to the inspiring courses of Carnoustie Country, which is a council-sponsored partnership of 22 clubs in the area?

With more than one course at some clubs within the grouping — the fi rst to be set up in Scotland — there are actu-ally 34 stunning courses in the mix, from championship links perched along Scot-land’s east coast to magnifi cent inland courses that nestle beneath the Angus and Perthshire glens. Specifi cally, the clubs range from Scotscraig in Fife to the south, through nearby Panmure, Moni-fi eth and Downfi eld, then to Montrose in the north, which at 452 years is the world’s fi fth oldest golf course.

“It also features fi ve courses in East Perthshire which include Blairgowrie, im-

portant this year because it is the venue of the 2014 Junior Ryder Cup,” says the council’s marketing offi cer (golf) Jane Taylor, who leads the delivery of this destination marketing campaign. “In es-sence, golfers know no boundaries so we wanted to take in all the courses that are within a 40-minute driving distance of Carnoustie Championship course which is the main attraction.”

But it’s not just course challenges that make Carnoustie Country a golfer’s para-dise. The rolling green countryside of seaside Angus is an attraction in itself and, while Mr McLeod is so accustomed to US guests that he fi nds himself say-ing “rest room” rather than its Scottish alternative, Ms Taylor points out that they come here principally for the golf bit says: “Other neighbouring nationali-ties tend to be interested in the whole ex-perience”.

In describing the appeal of such a more-comprehensive approach, she ac-centuates the positives, particularly re-garding fi ne accommodation: “While

realising that it’s our golfi ng heritage that makes Carnoustie Country a mem-orable sporting experience, we should stress the wonderfully warm Scottish welcome that is also on offer. There’s an abundance of four- and fi ve-star B&B and self-catering options as well as a luxury castle hotel, Kinnettles, just 25 minutes from Carnoustie.

“We produce succulent local produce such as Angus beef, soft fruits, Arbroath smokies, and even our own whisky — Glencaddam. It’s ideal for anyone who wants to taste the true fl avour of Scot-land and its heritage.

“The richness of the whole Car-noustie Country golf package is draw-ing increasing numbers of leisure golf-ers to this area. People used to come here just to follow in the footsteps of the golfi ng greats like Watson, Woods and Hogan. They can still do that, but more and more are coming here, and com-ing back, because of the quality, acces-sibility and affordability of Carnoustie Country golf.”

It’s a new market that promises ex-citing opportunities for Ms Taylor who describes her primary objective as “at-tracting more business from outwith the local area, and particularly Europe”.

Indeed, the current plan aims to capitalise on Carnoustie Country’s close proximity to Europe, taking advantage of new fl ight routes into Edinburgh and Aberdeen, and targeting close Europe-

an neighbours such as Germany, Holland and Scandinavia.

“As part of our European marketing ac-tivity we visited Sweden last year where we were able to promote the region di-rectly to the Swedish consumers and tour operators. As a result of that one visit a new Ben Hogan themed stay-and-play package was developed which hasalready brought over £40,000 of new business to the area.”

Any other measurable results? “We see it in the response to our promotion of the Carnoustie Country Classic, a tourna-ment celebrating its tenth birthday this year. Its fi gures had become a bit static, at around 80 participants, largely UK based. But since our recent European market-ing campaign we increased the number of players by 73 per cent to 144 players in one year with 61 per cent of entrants being from overseas.”

“This higher spend overseas market has helped us to deliver on an estimated economic impact of £210,757.”

Neither are they geographically con-fi ned at home. “Carnoustie Country is a member of the East of Scotland Golf Al-liance which is a marketing collaboration of the fi ve regions – East Lothian, Fife, Perth and Kinross, Carnoustie Country and Aberdeen, which collectively means almost 200 courses – and we work closely with them to promote the area to those key European markets.”

The council believes this broadening of appeal enhances its commitment to Car-noustie as a golf brand. “We very much work in partnership with the businesses that are pleased to enjoy the association with the brand,” says Jane Taylor, adding that “our key aims are to develop products, such as stay-and-play and tournaments; to encourage better collaboration among the businesses, and to drive up quality”.

Any objective observer would say they are certainly making an impressive ap-proach to the green on that one.

Impressive heritage and a huge degree of international success underpins Carnoustie’s claim to be a champion, writes Rick Wilson

Driving for the whole in one

The Carnoustie Golf Hotel, backdrop to a course that hosts the world’s golfi ng greats

So why is it so great? “The Championship Course is a real thinker’s challenge,” says Colin McLeod, golf operations manager at Carnoustie (pictured here, on the right, at the first tee with French professional Jean van de Velde). “Which is one of the reasons it is the second most sought-after course in Britain.”

A golfing innocent might ask: why is that exactly?

He explains: “It’s diff erent from most others in that it has no more than two consecutive holes going in the same direc-tion. So if the wind is blowing,

you actually have to think your way round the circuit. You might find the wind at your back to begin with, then it’s over your shoulder, then it’s into your face; so you’ve got to be thinking about very precise club selection every time, taking the elements into account.

“That is also down also to its natural topography, with the whole challenge being very refreshing — particularly for US clients who back at home might be playing the same courses with the same club selections every day.”

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