gmé | issuu 16

GolfGolfManagementE u r o p e

NATURAL SUCCESSGolf course owners aren’t renowned

for being passionate conservationists.Mark Mackaness, therefore, has

probably broken the mould withRudding Park GC

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EDITORJohn VinicombeEDITORIAL DIRECTORDavid BowersASSOCIATE EDITORAlister MarshallSTAFF WRITERSColin Cameron Andy FordPeter Simm

PUBLISHERMichael LenihanDESIGN & PRODUCTIONAngus DayACCOUNT EXECUTIVEThomas WardADMINISTRATIONSharon O’ConnellPRINTColourspeed Printers

GOLF MANAGEMENT EUROPEIS PUBLISHED BI-MONTHLY BYPORTMAN PUBLISHING &COMMUNICATIONS LIMITED

GOLF MANAGEMENT EUROPE24 HIGHCROFT BUSINESS ESTATEENTERPRISE ROADWATERLOOVILLEHAMPSHIRE PO8 0BTUNITED KINGDOM

TELEPHONE(44) 023 9242 5000FACSIMILE(44) 023 9242 [email protected]

WEBSITEWWW.PORTMAN.UK.COM

ISSN1368-7727

SUBSCRIPTIONSUK (6 issues) £21Europe (6 issues) £27Rest of World (6 issues) £36BACK ISSUES/SINGLE COPIESUK & Europe £5.00Rest of World £7.50

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. NO PART OF THIS PUBLICATIONMAY BE REPRODUCED ORTRANSMITTED IN ANY FORMWITHOUT WRITTEN PERMISSIONFROM THE PUBLISHER.WHILE DUE CARE IS TAKEN TOENSURE THAT THE CONTENT OF

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' PORTMAN PUBLISHING & COMMUNICATIONS LTD 2000

GolfGolfManagementE u r o p e

AUGUST 2000 ! GOLF MANAGEMENT EUROPE 3

ContentsContentsGOLF MANAGEMENT EUROPE

Cover StoryLet Clitheroe-basedUltraframe extend

your clubhousewith the installation

of a majestic conservatory

Page 7

AUGUST 2000Issue Sixteen

Designed by Karl Litten and managed by GleneaglesGolf Developments, the Riffa Golf Club is Bahrain’s first

all-grass course. Water comes into play at eight holes,including the eighth which features an island green.

Story on page 10

inside

GolfGolfManagementE u ro p e

Yung LovePeople who have

seen it believe it tobe one of the bestcourses around -but they are fewand far between

Page 8

Link to PastIt’s in Ireland, it’s alinks course and it’s

a delight to play. Theyoung Portmarnock

Hotel and GolfLinks is making an

impact

Page 23

Mark TimeMark Mackaness isin no rush to add anine-hole extension

to Rudding Parkalthough he believes

it is essential

1

PremiŁre golf 2000gathers pace

Première Golf 2000 - a newall encompassing trade show -will be held at the MarbellaCongress Palace, Marbella,Spain from November 14-17.Organised by Reed Exhibitions,the same company responsiblefor the PGA Merchandise andPGA International Shows in theUnited States, the new exhibitionaims to attract pro’s and buyers to

one of Europe’s leading resorts.Commenting on the exhibition,

event director Robert Fairbairn said:“I believe that the Marbella area willinspire visitors to come to PremièreGolf 2000 and give them somethingto really look forward to at the end ofthe season.

“Added to this, the climate allowsus to offer exhibitors the opportunityto demonstrate their products ongood quality practice grounds local-ly”.

newsnews

4 GOLF MANAGEMENT EUROPE ! AUGUST 2000

The Golf Union of Ireland, inconjunction with the Irish LadiesGolf Union, has awarded the

contract for a countrywide internet-based, central handicapping system, tothe Baron Corporation and its tradingdivision, Smart Golf and Leisure.

The system will be piloted inSeptember with a ‘roll-out’ target ofApril 2001.

All 240,000 members at the coun-try’s 380 golf clubs will be issued witha smart card to store individual handi-caps.

Baron will develop the softwareand database to ensure automaticupdate after each club competition.

Extensive reporting facilities will beavailable to Golf Union officials, clubofficials and members via a securepassword system.

Smart Golf and Leisure’s managingdirector, Charles O’Neill, said: “The

system will be the first inEurope to cater for bothmen’s and ladies’ golfingunions.

“Smart Golf andLeisure is also in a positionto offer clubs productsthat use smart-card tech-nology, such as competition entry;scores entry; epos for bar and restau-rant; access control systems and inter-net terminal access.

“All Irish clubs will also be providedwith their own web sites and beoffered tee-reservation facilities usingBaron Corporation’s Golf Agent,internet tee-reservation system.”

Teresa Thompson, secretary of theIrish Ladies Golfing Union, said: “Wewill work closely with the GolfingUnion of Ireland to ensure that thecentral handicapping system will beimplemented in all affiliated clubs.”

With thanks to ourhonourable friend

With a Who’s Who listing thatmentions “poor golf”, itmight come as a surprise

that former Calder Valley MP SirDonald Thompson, has donated a golfprize to his local club, Brighouse’sWillow Valley

He presented the Thompson Cup -open to boys and girls under the ageof 18 - to club captain GeoffHaithwaite, in the presence of anumber of potential participants.

“I’ve never been able to improveon a handicap of 18, but I’ve enjoyedevery minute of my golf and havebeen lucky enough to play on some ofthe country’s greatest courses: StAndrews, Sunningdale, Muirfield,Carnoustie and of course, WillowValley,” said the former Governmentminister.

The David Williams-designedCaversham Heath Golf Club isbelieved to be the first new 18-holecourse to open for play in theBritish Isles this millennium.The7,151-yard, par-73, heathlandcourse was built for theMapledurham Estate on theoutskirts of Reading, on theOxfordshire/Berkshire border, andopened in April. Williams also hasongoing projects at Chapel-en-le-Frith GC and The New Mills GC,both in Derbyshire.

Baron Secures National Dealwith Golf Union of Ireland

Greenkeeping teams fromClubhaus PLC have recently receivedextensive training in the operation ofturf maintenance equipment courtesyof Textron.

Clubhaus, which owns 14 golfcourses in the UK and six in Europe,has sent 80 members of staff toTextron’s international headquarters atIpswich, where they were instructed inall aspects of equipment includinggeneral operation, safe use, routinemaintenance and trouble shooting.

At the conclusion of each of six,two-day courses - for 12-14 peopleper course - staff sat a written test,

with each successful candidate receiv-ing a certificate.

The two delegates attaining thehighest pass mark will receive an allexpenses-paid trip to next year’sGCSAA conference.

Turn over your papers now...


Fernfell Golf and Country Club, near Cranfield, Surrey is expected to raisebetween £2.2 and £2.5m after being put on the market by owner Max Alsem.

The property, which includes a large clubhouse, developed from two large tradi-tional Sussex barns (pictured), a health and fitness club, an 18-hole 5,894-yard golf

course, driving range, and tennis courts, is for sale through FPD Savills.

club with a difference up for sale

Nick nets newweb retail role

Six-times Major winner NickFaldo is the latest industryprofessional to join

EighteenGlobal, the internet golfretailer.

A statement from the companyread: “EighteenGlobal will be Faldo’sexclusive e-commerce partner for thenext ten years and he will act as anambassador for the company in itsdealings with golfing communitiesaround the world”.

Faldo said: “Most internet golfretailers or retail superstores drivemoney away from the green grassenvironment. EighteenGlobal isputting money back into golf, whereit belongs.”

The company has also appointedsports entrepreneur John Simpson tothe post of non-executive director.Simpson pioneered the expansion ofMark McCormack’s IMG Group intoEurope and he was also formerly themanager of Olympic athlete-turnedMP Sebastian Coe.

Norman�s course is snail and heartyIn one corner, a miniscule mollusc. In the other, a great white shark! Not a

fair contest one might argue. However, the tiny vertigo angustior species of snail,has earned a creditable draw against the formidable Greg Norman.

Environmentalists had succeeded in holding up work on the Norman-designedcourse at Doonbeg, County Clare, Ireland, for several months, in an effort topreserve the home of the rare creature. They had even taken the case toBrussels where they succeeded in stopping an Irish Government grant.

However, work on the IR£12.5m project, which also includes 80 holidayhomes, an hotel and leisure centre, was recommenced after protestors receivedwritten assurances from the developers that the habitat would be protected. Thecourse is expected to open for limited play in the summer of 2001.

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Comment


CommentLEAD EDITORIAL

Mark James is an intelligent and articulate man,therefore it is hard to believe his assertion thathe was surprised by the reaction to his newbook.

However, it would not be unfair to describe the furorewhich surrounded the serialisation of Into the Bear Pit as‘over the top’.

Players and officials were bound to take offence atsome of the content, but the book wouldn’t sell if it didn’tcontain controversy.

And what did it really tell us? James was upset withTom Lehman over the scenes at Brookline’s 17th hole;the captain and the excluded Nick Faldo had a disagree-ment prior to the competition; and subsequently we find‘some of the game’s top players are believed to be upsetby the revelations.’ It’s hardly ground-breaking stuff.

Describing the normally affable Tom Lehman as ‘thebeast of Brookline’, may have been unadvisable, but theAmerican has come under fire from several other quar-ters, and would have done well to remember what upsetJames initially before retorting: “I think he (James) oughtto be proud that he’s dragging the Ryder Cup through themuck.”

Again, it is hard to believe Nick Faldo was not alreadyaware that his pre-competition, good-luck note had beenconsigned to the recycling centre.

James maintains, despite the controversy, he would dothe same thing again. That merely supports the view thatthe former captain can be a stubborn and proud man.That should not make him public enemy number one.

Former England football boss Glenn Hoddle wasinvolved in a similar ‘scandal’ after the 1998 World Cup,but his tome did not bring about his downfall even thoughhe was still in charge at the time. Subsequent ill-conceivedcomments guaranteed that.

James’ position as vice-captain to Sam Torrance nextyear may be untenable, but he has had his say and stokedup interest for next year’s 34th competition to feverpitch. Nobody came out of this slanging match with much

credit and James in particu-lar would do well to mend afew bridges.

But, following all the pre-publication hype, interest inthe competition should besuch that come 2001, bothhe and the European PGAwill be laughing all the wayto the Belfrey.

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Analysis


AnalysisLARRY YUNG

The fair county of Sussexcan boast some of thefinest golf courses inEngland ranging from

the dune-girt links at Rye, to majesticRoyal Ashdown Forest and theimmaculately groomed West Sussex,amid the silver-sanded woods aroundPulborough.

All are exclusive private members�clubs with long waiting lists andunashamedly pillars of the establish-ment. Visitors are allowed only byinvitation and on production of anintroductory letter at weekends.

On the other five days, the cours-es, except Rye, are still private play-grounds, but prohibitive green feesact in a predetermined manner.

But at least you can get on to playproviding a handicap certificate pass-es scrutiny and a jacket and tie isworn in the clubhouse. Golf is verymuch a rules game and long may itbe so.SELECT BANDYet only a couple of miles away fromRoyal Ashdown Forest are 18 holeswhere nobody may play except theowner and his select band of friendsand guests.

For the most part they make upthe creme de la creme of the world ofinternational finance. In the land ofthe high rollers, the rules are made byMr Larry Yung.

The man who is indeed lord of allhe surveys at Birch Grove House golfcourse at Chelwood Gate has earneda reputation as one of the few main-land-born Chinese businessmen tomaster the art of Western moneymaking.

A billionaire who arrived in HongKong in 1978, he learned Englishand was a small investor until becom-ing head of citic Pacific a decade ago.

Such are the self-imposeddemands on his time, Yung, who is inhis late 50s, only plays at Birch GroveHouse two or three times a year atmost. BIRCH GROVEThe charting of his unheraldedarrival in Sussex is a matter of greatsecrecy, although his purchase ofBirch Grove, the house and estate offormer Prime Minister HaroldMacmillan in 1993, was a matter ofpublic record.

Not that Yung�s aversion to thelimelight means he has anything tohide; fabulously wealthy people arefamous for wanting to shroud them-selves in a cocoon of privacy. It wassix years ago he started to turn aquarter of the 1,000-acre Birch Groveestate into a golf course and commis-sioned architect Donald Steel to builda masterpiece.

It is set in the grounds whereSupermac once entertained worldleaders and the price for Yung�s occa-sional country retreat was reckonedto be around £5.5m, which to himwas no more than loose change.

The actual sale of the estate wentthrough in 1989 to Settling, a HongKong company, and sold byMacmillan�s son, Alexander.

When Yung received permissionto build the course in November1993, one of the conditions was thatno commercial or charitable eventswould be allowed without theapproval of the local council.

JOHN VINICOMBEeditor

When is a golf course not a golf course? When the county union deemsit not to exist. Editor John Vinicombe investigates the story behind a

golf course which might well be the most exclusive in the UK.

A rare picture (above) of billionaire Larry Yung

fairway toHeaven


AnalysisAnalysisLARRY YUNG

When planning approval wasgiven for the par-72 course, there wasa proviso that a limited number ofgolf days be given over with no morethan 40 players taking part, with theobject of raising money for charity.

So Yung had his en-suite golfcourse and historic 14-bedroomedhouse that was built in 1926 for theparents of Macmillan and was hishome for 60 years until his death in1986. The only concession to thepublic is two footpaths crossing theestate.

One of the very few to haveplayed the course, which measures aformidable 6,804 yards from the backtees, described the one-off experience:

�Without doubt it is the finestcourse for many, many miles around.It is undulating with plenty of beauti-ful trees and water hazards and, need-less to say, in immaculate condition.

�The greens are on the slow side,but if they were allowed to becomefast, they would be quite impossibleto play. The fairways are virtuallyvirgin; you won�t see a divot oranything out of place. It must havecost thousands to build and thou-sands to maintain.

�Each hole has a special name andhow Mr Yung, who is a keen anduseful golfer, restricts himself to acouple of visits a year and stays awayfor such long periods, is a mystery.

�If I owned my own course, and itwas as good as this, I would play itevery day. During part of the summerthere is no play at all. I suppose thatis to give it a break - but it doesn�tneed it. You can hardly say that it isover-golfed.HEAVEN�It is not uncommon that when MrYung�s friends have the courtesy ofthe course, they are followed roundby a refreshments cart bearing every-thing from the finest smoked salmonto a full drinks bar. It is what mostgolfers would regard as the equivalentof going to heaven.�

There is no clubhouse; insteadguests change in a luxuriouslyfurnished and appointed farmhouse.The card of the course indicates twotees for men and another for women.

So far as the Sussex County GolfUnion, the body responsible for clubaffiliations is concerned, Birch GroveHouse does not exist. And only abrief glimpse of two or three fairwaysand greens in a long shallow valley

may be had from the A275 on theway from Lewes to East Grinstead.

Larry Yung has so many strings tohis bow it is difficult to know whereto begin. He is founder and chairmanof citic Pacific, China�s principalHong Kong investment vehicle.

Apart from golf, Yung owns race-horses and is a steward of the HongKong Jockey Club. One of his greatinterests is hunting and he likes toshoot pheasant when on his birchGrove estate. Significantly, he is avalued supporter of the CountrysideAlliance.

Yet, if we are to believe some ofthe column inches written aboutYung, he was forced into hard labouras a child after his family fell out offavour with the communists and hisstudent days were spent in penury. TWISTS AND TURNSGiven the astonishing twists andturns of Chinese politics, it has doneYung no harm to be the eldest son ofRong Yiren, former vice-president ofthe People�s Republic.

In China�s more tumultuous yearsit was hard to say if Yung was red-chip or blue. Very few of his remarkshave made a way into the printmedia, but he is on record as saying:�I was an engineer in China, not abusinessman.

�I never did business in China. Idon�t mind people calling me a redchip or a blue chip. They can call meany colour. Only my earnings pershare matter.�

Yung�s infrequent visits with fami-ly and friends to Birch Grove are byhelicopter - what else - and he treatsit as a holiday home away from hisHong Kong base.

As head of China�s most powerfulconglomerate, citic Pacific, Yung�sbusiness empire is multi-faceted withstakes in many major financial institu-tions and companies such as airlinesand industries. On his home ground,Yung is president of Hong KongGolf Club, so here is a colossus whobestrides east and west at work and atplay.

He enjoys a good name amongthe Chelwood Gate locals. To themhe is a new-style lord of the manorand creates jobs.

Building the golf course, andrunning it, means work, and thosewho hunt with hounds look upon himas a man possessing real clout thatmay be valuable in times to come.

A local cricket club received£5,000 from him to help with apavilion, so you won�t hear a wordagainst the Chinaman who suddenlyappeared one day and bought the oldPrime Minister�s house.

Much moremay be heard ofYung as thebattle hots up inthe govern-ment�s clashwith supportersof hunting. MrYung is believedto be one of the heavyweights behindthe protest movement.

So far he only plays golf and iscontent at just that involvement.There are no burning issues in thegame, compared to the huntinglobby, for him to spend precious timeon.RETIREFew men of his huge financial stand-ing - he is reputed to be one of therichest men in the world - ever retire.But, with a 60th birthday looming,he may just decide to ease the throttleand spend a little more time at BirchGrove.

There is a sizeable part of LarryYung there. Take the 406-yard fifthhole, for instance. It is called Larry�sLeaps. But with a fitting sense oftradition, the 14th speaks volumes forhis respect for the former owner -Wind of Change.

When Macmillan made his famousspeech about the emergence of Africainto the modern world he littledreamed that a red capitalist wouldcome along and buy Birch Grovelock, stock and barrel, and build themost wonderful golf course there.

It is what most golfers would

regard as the equivalent of going

to heaven.”“

newsnewsThe far-reaching influence of the

internet will enable trainingexpertise to be shared with

greenkeepers worldwide after anagreement reached in England.

A total of 24 delegates from 12countries - Belgium, Canada,Germany, Iceland, Ireland, Italy,Netherlands, Norway, Russia,Switzerland, the UK and the US -decided on the initiative at the firstWorld Conference on GolfGreenkeeper Education and Trainingat the headquarters of the British andInternational Golf GreenkeepersAssociation (BIGGA) at Aldwark, nearYork in April.

The delegates represented green-keeping associations and educationproviders who are responsible for thetraining needs for more than 100,000greenkeepers/superintendents acrossthe world.

A number of other initiatives wereagreed at the conference, which wasthemed Communication,Cooperation, Commitment.

They included the standardisationof greenkeeping job specifications andimproving the status of greenkeepingas a career, all with the ultimate objec-tive of improving the quality of playingsurfaces for golfers.

BIGGA chairman Elliott Small said:“The conference proved to be awonderful opportunity to share thevast knowledge that exists on thesubject of greenkeeping education allover the world and the benefits whichwill come from such a gathering will befar reaching.”

Log on forgreens advice

Bahrain’s Prime Minister, SheikKhalifa bin Sulman al-Khalifa inaugu-rated the country’s first all-grass, 18-hole course, the Riffa GC, in April.

The Karl Litten-designed, 6,817-yard, par-72 course, which cost in theregion of 7.5m dinar (£1.6m), is ownedby Bahraini investors and managed byScotland’s Gleneagles Hotel.

The grass used was paspalum vagi-natum for the fairways and tifdwarf onthe greens - both species being highlytolerant of water with high salinity.

The course, just 20 minutes fromthe centre of the nation’s capital,Manama, features five lakes, more

than 70 bunkers and over 500 datepalms and specimen trees.

It also includes a 250m floodlitdriving range, a short-game area andthe country’s only golf academy.


Send us yournewsletters

Does your club produce anewsletter or magazine foryour members? If so, drop us

a copy here at Golf ManagementEurope for possible inclusion in aforthcoming issue.

The feature will advise on contentand production and will highlightsome of the better examples fromaround the continent.

Send your worthy tomes to ournews editor David Bowers, at theaddress on page three.

look no sands - a first for bahrain

Nine-hole course on Le market

Inter-Franc (Golf) Co. Ltd is selling the par-35 Golf de Rimaison, just outsidePontivy, Brittany, through FPDSavills. Located in the historic Blavet Valley, thecourse, which includes a barn-conversion clubhouse, a pair of semi-detached

cottages, a farmhouse and driving range, has a guide price of £550,000.In addition, there is further land for another nine-hole course subject to plan-

ning permission. The area has also in the past been zoned for 95 houses and a50 bedroom hotel.

Commenting on the course, Sarah Payne of FPDSavills said: “This attractiveand historical property provides an ideal opportunity for expansion of an existinggolf facility with potential for development.”

Hawkstone Park Golf Course and Hotel inShropshire has been bought by 29-year-oldentrepreneur Mark Boler for an undisclosedsum. Boler, who already owns the Mere Golfand Country Club in Cheshire, acquiredHawkstone Park from Ellerman Investments Ltd.Hawkstone Park comprises two eighteen holecourses in addition to six academy holes, plus a65-bedroom hotel, historic park and follies.

Textron Turf Care has revealed anew marketing strategy clearly definingtheir turf mowing products into specif-ic market sectors.

Jacobsen becomes the golf mowerbrand, resulting in Ransomes productschanging colour, from green to orangeas well as changing name.

Similarly, Ransomes will becomethe brand dedicated to municipalmowers.

Commenting on the new initiative,Harold Pinto, managing director atTextron Turf Care explained: “Whenwe looked at our position in themarket sector, it became clear that the

Textron brands were not as clearlydefined as we thought.

“We decided to use our in-housebrand names to segment our businessinto clearly defined market sectors.”

textron introduce dedicated branding


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Cup to the Manor borne?

The First Secretary of the recentlydevolved Welsh Assembly hasbacked an application for the

country to play host to the 2009Ryder Cup.

Rhodri Morgan has written to theProfessional Golfers Association with aformal request for the tournament tomake its debut in the valleys.

Although the bid is representativeof a whole country, the venue, shouldthe request be sanctioned, wouldundoubtedly be Celtic Manor’sWentwood Hills course, site of theWelsh Open, at Newport.

Two years ago in an exclusive inter-view, Celtic Manor owner TerryMatthews told Golf ManagementEurope: “We have a fighting chance ofbringing the Ryder Cup here.”

And his ambition could reap enor-mous rewards if the PGA concurs.

After Morgan’s request was madepublic, Matthews said: “This is a startfor us. Rhodri Morgan and I want tobring this event to Wales.”

The country would need to raisearound £10m to win the right to stagethe competition, a figure which hasalready been sanctioned by a similarScottish application.

The Welsh bid has received supportfrom eight-times participant IanWoosnam and former captain SeveBallesteros, who commented: “I’vesaid it should move around Europe andgo to different countries, and it’s neverbeen to Wales, so why not?”

A decision on the venue will not bemade until 2001, and Celtic Manoralso has to fight off a bid fromSweden.

newsnews

We�re On erode to nowhere

The effect of global climate changeon the golf courses of Scotland is to beresearched after the new £50m StAndrews Bay golf resort agreed tofund experiments by the University ofSt Andrews.

A team of university geoscientistshas been given unlimited access to theSt Andrews Bay site, in Fife, wherethe construction of two golf courses iscurrently underway.

Dr Richard Bates, from theUniversity of St Andrews SedimentarySystems Research Group, said:“Today, the pressure to maintainquality courses despite rising numberof players, changes in course condi-tions and changes in nature is greaterthan at any other time in the history ofgolf.

“Many of Scotland’s courses, inparticular some of our most ancientones, are in highly vulnerable coastallocations.

“Being able to monitor theprogress of the golf courses being builtat St Andrews Bay will help greatlywith our research into the overallproblem.”

Eight courses in the Merseysideregion of England have signed upto a new on-line booking service

provided by a local information andcommunication project.

Adapt 2000 is a European-fundediniative, formed by public, private andvoluntary organisations, to introducesmall-to-medium enterprises to internettechnology.

Using Baron Corporation’s GolfAgent software, golfers can now book

tee times around the clock at some ofthe area’s top courses - Royal Birkdale,Formby, Southport and Ainsdale,Hillside, Hesketh, Formby Hall, WestLancs and Formby Ladies.

Visitors can access informationfrom courses and facilities to dresscode and can book the tee time oftheir choice.

Secretaries have been offered train-ing to manage the system andmaximise profitablity.

Booking cross the Mersey

The new Perkins-enginedLandini ‘Ghibli’ range of

tractors will be displayed ata range of shows thissummer, by the sole

importer, Motokov UK Ltd.The unusual name means

“desert wind”, and the rangeconsists initially of three

4WD models at 78, 88 and93 horsepower.

Robert Trent JonesSnr. - a tribute

Legendary golf course designerRobert Trent Jones Snr. died at hishome in Fort Lauderdale, Florida theday before last month’s centenaryUS Open started.

He designed more than 400 golfcourses in 34 countries during acareer that spanned a remarkableseven decades.

Nicknamed the ‘Open Doctor’after reworking some of the USA’smost prestigious major courses,Jones was also responsible, withBobby Jones, for creating thepicturesque 16th at AugustaNational.

Although born in England, heemigrated to the United States at theage of five and later adopted thename Trent, after the English river,to avoid confusion with partnerBobby.

His best-known creation inEurope is probably Valderrama,Spain, formerly host to the 1997Ryder Cup.


The De Vere Belfrey, home for next year’s Ryder Cup contest, has taken deliv-ery of a specially-liveried 19th hole refreshment centre from Abingdon-based GolfCar UK. It is the only vehicle allowed on the recently-renovated Brabazon Course

and will deliver food and drink to the fifth hole. It can also be visited at the ninthand between the 12th and 13th.

exclusive meals on wheels at the belfry

The Guinness family-ownedBurhill Estates Company has

appointed David Cook as generalmanager at the Burhill GC,Walton-on-Thames, Surrey.

Readers of Golf Digest, theUS golf magazine, voted Jack

Nicklaus the all-time top golfer in arecent poll.

Liz Monaghan has beenappointed public relations managerto the Scottish Golf Union and the

Scottish National Golf Centre.

American Golf (UK) hasacquired the Ridge GC, near

Maidstone, Kent. The companyexpects to land around six more

clubs this year.

The 547-yard, par-five,18thand signature hole on the first Ernie

Els-designed course - at WhiskeyCreek, Washington, USA - features

the grey-brick ruins of an old farmhouse.

tap ins...

Golf and the Spirit, the latestbook from US author M. ScottPeck, celebrates the lessons

that the sport can teach.Peck is an author, psychiatrist and

lecturer on the relationship betweenreligion and psychology. He is authorof The Road Less Travelled, whichspent more than 12 years on TheNew York Times’ best-seller list.

He first took up golf in 1967 andgrew to realise the game was a spiritu-al discipline - an opportunity to learnabout himself, his journey through lifeand one of “the most wonderful,maddening, rewarding and inspiringgames created by man”.

In Golf and the Spirit, Peck takesthe reader around an imaginary courseof his own devising - comprised ofmany of the world’s greatest fairways- while exploring the history, lore andskills required in golf.

He also explores the deeper issuesbehind the game, issues that colourand influence everyone’s life.

The book discuss-es the physical andexternal challenges ofgolf on the frontnine holes, while theback nine addressesthe internal,psychological andspiritual challenges.

Publisher Simon &Schuster has kindly supplied threehardback copies of Golf and theSpirit, to be won by readers of GolfManagement Europe.

Entries on a postcard please to theaddress at the bottom of page three.Entries will be drawn out of a hat andthe editor’s decision is final.

The lucky recipients of Eurostylefleeces, on offer in the last issue ofGolf Management Europe werePaul Gayler from Camberley, PeterBaker from Merston, Sheena Smith ofInsch GC, Farquhar MacGregor fromCaithness and Lyn Black fromGlasgow.

Golf and the Spirit - three copiesup for grabs!

�Open trench and trenchless land drainage forall situations where the highest standards of

workmanship are imperative�

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Golf Course Architects

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FeatureFeatureLOCKER ROOMS

It is a standing joke in my fami-ly that my aunt should write abook about the toilets of

Europe.She and her husband have spent

years visiting the towns and cities ofthe continent, first while running asuccessful business, and then, inretirement, for pleasure.

However, whenever she returnsfrom such a jaunt, the first thing shewill comment on will be the stan-dards of the toilets; in hotels,theatres, restaurants and variouspublic buildings.

I�m sure she has enoughresearch material now, towrite �Washrooms of theWorld�, and, all jokingaside, I�m sure it would sellwell, because such impres-sions last.

Therefore, it is important,if you want to attract returnbusiness, that such places areclean, practical and aesthticallypleasing.

They may not need be so pristineas to have my Aunt Jane cooing: �Icould eat my dinner off the floor inthere� - but the concept is not a badone.

It is important for a golf club tohave a changing and washroom areathat creates a good impression forvisitors and members alike. After all,golfers are hardly likely to be encour-aged to spend time in the bar if theycouldn�t wait to get out of a cramped,damp and decidedly unsavoury lockerroom.

Whether building a new facilityor refurbishing an existing one, abalance should be achieved betweendesign and character, and practicality.

DURABLEIt could be argued, for instance, thata purely pay-and-play facility requiresa more durable locker room. Sadly,human nature dictates that individu-als are less likely to treat kindly alocker that is in the public domain asopposed to one that is solely for theiruse as a member.

So the first step is to ascertainwho will be using the facility. Andonce that has been ascertained - and ifit takes too long to decide perhapsgolf club management isn�t the careerfor you - consult the experts. ➧

roomschanging

I

article by DAVID BOWERS


LOCKER ROOMSFeatureFeature

It is a specialised field but thereare more than a few companies whocan offer expert advice on design,construction and installation. And allwill be keen to help.MANUFACTURECraftsmen Quality Lockers (CQL)has supplied more than 30 golf clubsin the UK in the last ten years. Theseinclude The Belfry, Celtic Manor,Gleneagles, Royal Portrush andRoyal Lytham & St Annes.

Throw in a similar amount ofhotel and leisure clients - includingMarriott Hotels and Swallow Hotels- and it is not difficult to see whyCQL are one of the market leaders inwooden golf lockers.

Managing director John Gibbsexplained: �Our philosophy is that wedon�t make lockers, we create fittedchanging rooms that stand the test oftime. We don�t compromise on thequality of locks and hinges, nor ourglued or dowelled joints.

�Our superb design and style willbe carried seamlessly through to vani-ty units and ancilliary furniture. Ourdesign expertise and experienceallows us to recommend the opti-mum number of lockers for yourfacility. We won�t oversell lockerrequirements.�

But is it possible, for a purelypay-and-play facility to obtain ahappy medium between aestheticallypleasing, durable and high security?Apparently so.

Creative Pipe Inc.is a USA-basedmanufacturer and distributor to avariety of industries worldwide. Theydistribute Tufftec polyethylene andMultispace wardrobe lockers acrossthe world.

The Tufftec lockers are guaranteed100 per cent rustproof and are,claims the company, : �...more resis-tant to corrosion, mildew, odours,stains and graffiti than lockers manu-factured from other materials.�

The lockers have proved popularin many diverse industries, from highschool locker rooms and train stationsto country clubs and spas.

The Multispace range is aimed at�the higher end of the market� andcan be seen in some of the finestcountry clubs in the world. Availablein hardwood, hardwood veneer orplastic laminate, they are a finecomplement to the hard-wearingTufftec.

Another USA-based companystrong in the field, is Fortress LockerSystems, which specialises in provid-ing durable, rust-proof and water-resistant lockers to various industries.

Manufactured in polypropylene,the company claims they will last inexcess of 15 years due to the all-weld-ed construction and durable hingedesign.

The company also supplies insteel or wood and promises qualitythroughout.QUALITYIf you are looking for a touch of class,then wood will probably be thenatural choice. Suffolk-based Helms-man has recently supplied the presti-gious Forum Health Club and Spa atCeltic Manor resort, with woodenlockers and vanity units.

The hand-crafted solid wood waschosen to produce a luxurious chang-ing room environment for what isthought to be one of the largesthealth clubs in the UK.

The changing area serves awhirlpool that seats 50 people,

plunge pools, a hair and beauty salon,16 treatment rooms and a 54-stationgym.

IMPORTANT AREALeisure director Ian Philipscommented: �The Forum�s changingarea is one of the most importantareas for the club. It is central to allactivities and the place where peoplespend a considerable amount of time.

We chose cherry wood for the

changing area because it’s warm

and welcoming.“

”

�So we wanted to make sure wegot the atmosphere just right. Wechose cherry wood for the changingarea because it�s warm and welcoming.

�There are plenty of cold chang-ing environments around and that�snot what we wanted. The lockers aregenerous in size, to accommodatepersonal possessions and valuablesand each includes a handy hangerrail.�

He added: �We have an interna-tional reputation to live up to and wemust make sure that every last detailis covered, from offering the rightfacilities to making sure the back-upservices are all in place.�

That is a sentiment held by mostresort managers, but according toPhilips, Helmsman provided theanswer, at least when it came to thechanging area.

�It was sometimes difficult strik-ing a balance between quality andprice, but we found exactly what weneeded within Helmsman�s executivewooden locker range.�VARIETYThe company is one of the marketleaders in lockers, but can also supplycubicles, bench seating, wall-mounted

hanging rails and wardrobes in addi-tion to a complete design service toco-ordinate all elements of the chang-ing room.

And among the locking optionsare swipe card and keyless electronic,both designed to fit in with a modernlocker-room image. For more tradi-tional security it can be supplied witha heavy-duty brass camlock, coin lockor card lock.

If your budget won�t stretch tothe luxury of solid oak or cherrywood, there are still possibilities.

North Shields-based Grange offersits cutom-made lockers in a widerange of finishes and colours.Included in the standard range aresolid wood doors finished in lightoak, ash or acacia.

Alternatively, vinyl-wrapped doorsprovide value for money and easymaintenance combined with acontemporary look. And for thetightest budget the MFC door rangecan accomodate the tightest budgetrequirements while retaining a practi-cal yet aesthetically-pleasing finish. ➧


FeatureFeatureLOCKER ROOMS


LOCKER ROOMSFeatureFeature

The company�s CAD/CAMservice offers a full site survey andproduces floor plans and photo-realis-tic 3D views of the entire lockerroom.

The options available from thevarious manufacturers should ensurethat there is a design out there to suitevery taste and budget - attractivewithout being impractical; durableand secure without taking on theappearance of a detention centre; andcost effective without necessarilylooking cheap.

It�s all about maintaining the rightbalance. Get it wrong and your visitorswon�t return, but get it right and evenmy Aunt June might come round toeat her lunch of your carpet!

When Longcliffe Golf Club embarkedon a £200,000 refurbishment of itsclubhouse and locker rooms, theylooked for a company that could offernot only quality and craftsmanship, butan effective service from designthrough to installation.

As an EGU Championship Course,Longcliffe, near Loughborough, hasover 650 members.

Both the members and managementfelt that the look of the club did notreflect its first class reputation, andthat a new image was needed for theyear 2000, when the club would behosting both the County Championshipand the England Under 14 Boys ReidTrophy.

Paul Keeling, club secretary, comments:“We talked to a number of manufactur-ers and designers, but we were impres-sed by Antone as they take a long termview. We also needed someone whowould take away the hassle by provid-ing a complete and seamless service.

“While the structural changes to thelocker rooms were relatively minimal,we would consider using Antone formore major projects that may berequired in the future.”

Ten weeks after taking the brief on site,Antone Leisure had completed a fullmakeover of the locker room, includ-ing the fitting of larger oak lockers andstylish vanity units.

The club was consulted throughout theprocess, from the presentation of thefirst drawings and costings through tothe final installation.

The Antone Leisure team even createda dummy locker and a detailedconcept board to present to the clubmembers for their final approval priorto manufacture and installation.And Keeling is delighted with theresults: “We were particularly pleasedthat Antone completed the job in thetimescale they had promised.

“The oak lockers look really smart, andmembers are very happy with thembecause they are much bigger thanbefore with coat hooks for their clothesand lots of room for their bags.”

For further informationplease contact DavidSteven of Eric StevenGrange for InteriorsBird StreetNorth ShieldsNE30 1DHTel: 0191 259 2228Fax: 0191 296 2751e-mail:[email protected]

If you are lookingfor quality and value for money you should be looking at Grange for Interiors

Established for 21 years in the contract furniture marketGrange for Interiors offer a widerange of locker styles and finishesto suit any requirement.

Tailored to the customers needseach installation is surveyed and planned including Cad-Cam designs.

Using the latest materials and the most up to date CNCmachinery the standard of buildand finish are of the highest level.

Our dedicated team of fittersprovide a first class installationservice, so completing ourpersonal involvement in any project.

G R A N G Efor

I N T E R I O R S

A N TO N El e i s u r e

N

Today’s golfers expect the very best facilities - on and off the course

Whether you are building a new club house or refurbishing, our 13 yearsexperience in the golf industry will help you to create the highest qualityenvironment, maximise the return on your investment and provide anattractive secure area where members can relax. Our personalised service and enviable reputation for design, effectiveproject management and manufacture ensures a seamless and cost effective programme with minimal disruption to the club.

For further information, contact Lindsay HowardKey House, Wanstead Road, Leicester LE3 1TR

Telephone: 0116 232 4700 Facsimile: 0116 232 4707

Please visit our web site at www.toro.com for more information

When it comes to large scale cutting coverage, no one offers solutions likeToro. With 8 Reelmaster® fairway mowers from which to choose, you’ll beassured the right machine for your climate and grass type.

Backed by more than 80 years of experience, Toro offers the perfect combination of precision performancein an easy-to-use machine. Our provenreliability will keep productivity at its

peak and ensure quality of cut with theresults you need.

And only Toro can bring you TotalSolutions, our customized programoffering a complete range of products,services and irrigation, individuallydesigned to meet the specific needs ofyour course.

Toro. When you demand quality, precision and reliability.

“The turf conditions on Pinehurst’s courses have been enhanced by Toro for many years. We’re confident Toro’s innovation and leadership will provide the best turf solutions for the

1999 U.S. Open and beyond.”–Brad G. Kocher,

Director of Golf Course Maintenancefor Pinehurst Resort and Country Club

Pinehurst Resort and Country Club

Profile


ProfileSTEVE BRADDOCK

It is ironic given the successachieved over the past few yearsby Manchester United that theclub�s playing surface has recently

been one of the worst on display atsenior clubs across the continent.

When the club re-layed the play-ing surface in January, it was thesixth time in just over two years thatthe bulldozers had been called in.

The last few league games prior tothe lifting of the surface had criticscomparing the Old Trafford pitchwith the infamous Baseball Groundquagmire of the mid-1970s.

But rather than hiding a wrysmile, groundsmen everywhere wereprobably just grateful their cherishedsurface had not gone the same way.

And as football moves kicking anddiving into the 21st century, the needfor a top quality playing surface hasnever been so essential.

Now, not only are supportersdemanding a decent surface toenhance the quality of play, but play-ers, managers and even tv companiesare putting pressure on groundstaff tobring the turf up to scratch.

It is credit to Manchester United�splayers that they remain in the drivingseat for a successful defence of thePremiership title while last term�snearest rivals Arsenal had the bestplaying surface, courtesy of headgroundsman Steve Braddock and histwo assistants.

Braddock (36), led the NorthLondon club to the title of thePremiership�s best playing surface forthe second year in succession, whichhe admitted was a surprise �because itnormally goes up north the year aftera southern club wins it!�BAPTISM OF FIREHe joined the club in 1987, afterworking at the Royal VeterinaryCollege University. His was abaptism of fire, of sorts, as aroundthis time the Highbury pitch was in avery poor state.

He explained: �The pitch effec-tively collapsed in 1989 and causedus tremendous problems - every timea player went in for a tackle, a divotflew out.

�So in the summer of 1989 we re-layed the pitch with Hewitt�s andafter a couple of years, allowing it tosettle in we were very pleased withthe condition.

�But it doesn�t last forever and weare just starting to think we may haveto do something to it quite shortly.We need to make sure we don�t takea chance by thinking it�s OK andleaving it until it�s too late.

�The important thing is to ensurethe seed can develop in the soil. Mostof the variety of grass seed availablefor football pitches are very similar inmy opinion - some are merely adver-tised better than others.RENOVATION�Some people place a lot of emphasison different types of seed but I don�tfeel that way. Ours is actually one ofthe oldest re-constructed pitches outthere, but we do so much renovationon it in the summer months that wedon�t have to do a great deal on itduring the season.

�The pitch has been down nowfor 11 years whereas many otherpitches require work every three orfour years. The secret is to have anefficient drainage system. The basicshave got be in place for the pitch tobe successful.�

Braddock�s deputy Paul Burgess,one of Arsenal�s shrewdest transferacquisitions when he moved fromNationwide League Blackpool, nowhas day-to-day control of the pitch,while the former spends more time atthe Gunners� London Colney train-ing base.

The secret is to

have an efficient

drainage system

Groundsmanship - be itgolf or football - can

share certain similarities.David Bowers talks to Arsenal’sheadgroundsman Steve Braddockto see how a premiership footballclub tackles routine groundscare.

The Fine Art ofSURFACING

“

“

The Highbury surface, whichmeasures 110 x 73 yards, incorpo-rates a sand band system whichprovides swift transportation of rain-fall to the drainage system. It�s not,Braddock points out, the same as a�sand-slit� system - �as they have atendency to cap over!�

The club uses a Toro 690 irriga-tion system. It comprises ten pop-upsprinklers around the pitch whichspray to a radius of approximately30m.

It is used with two portable sprin-klers and turf risers, the risers allow-ing Braddock, Burgess and their teamto water until the players emerge fortheir first warm-up, around 40minutes before kick-off.

Said Braddock: �If we simply usedthe portable system for that part ofthe pitch, in the warmer monthswhen we had removed them twohours prior to kick-off, the pitchwould have dried out considerably bykick-off time.

�If you can keep it moist whenthey are playing on it, it helps thesurface remain stable.�VERSATILEThe Highbury team uses DennisPremier cylinder mowers and acouple of FT 610�s, which they findextremely versatile as Braddockexplained: �One day we can becutting with the cylinder, the nextbrushing and the following day usingthe verti-cut unit.�

They also use a Hayter Harrier forrotary cutting. �We have two rotarycutters which we use quite a lot. Theyenable us to cut the grass in thesummer months.�

Like a lot of clubs, the Gunners�groundstaff do not use a specialistroller, preferring instead to utilise theDennis without the cutters.

�There are times when we have todo some light rolling, but we would-n�t do it week-in, week-out.�

Modestly, Braddock attributes thesuccess of the Highbury surface to acombination of factors - the drainage,the summer renovation, the quality ofhis staff, and even a quietly spokenFrenchman, whose qualifications atfirst seem rooted in other directions.

�Arsene Wenger has helped. Heprobably knows more about pitchesthan I do,� smiled Braddock.

�He believes that if you havespent a lot of money on a player then

you need a quality playing surface tobring the best out of him. He�s veryaware of the uses the pitch gets and ifhe is unhappy about something hewould try and stop it.

�He switched reserve matches fromHighbury to Boreham Wood betweenNovember and March.

�But now the reserve team manag-er, knowing he may have to play hismatches at Boreham Wood, tries to fitall his home games in at Highbury atthe beginning and end of the season,�laughed the affable Braddock.

�We have been lucky in that theChampions� League matches havebeen played at Wembley which obvi-ously reduces wear and tear, not onlyfrom the match itself, but from thefull-scale training session the nightbefore.REDEVELOPED�We are also quite lucky with theamount of windfill and light we getin the winter months, unlike some ofthe newer and massively redevelopedstadia around. The North Bank standwas redeveloped in 1993 but all fourcorners have been left open.

�And of course the renovation wecarry out at the end of each seasonalso contributes. It has been knownfor some people to see a good pitchat the end of the season and decidethey don�t need to do anything to it.

�However, although the pitchmight look good it still needs strin-gent renovation to ensure it comes upto the same standard the followingseason.�

If Braddock could offer advice toyoung groundstaff out there, it wouldbe simply this: �Keep your chin upand don�t take criticism of the playingsurface personally.

�More often than not, it�s not thegroundsman�s fault. Take the badpress about Manchester United�spitch for example. Those who are notwell-informed probably think it�s thegroundsman�s fault, but it�s not.

�I experienced a similar thing in1989 when the media were saying ifArsenal don�t win the title it will bebecause of the state of the pitch.Again people would think it was thegroundsman�s fault, but nobodyactually bothered to ask me why thepitch was in such a diabolical state.

�As it happened it was down tothe drainage system we had at thetime failing - the under-soil heatingpipes hadn�t been laid down deepenough - and we couldn�t doanything about that during theseason.�

As a youngster Braddock was adyed-in-the-wool Gooner, but para-doxically, his important role at theclub has affected his approach to thegame.BE ALL AND END ALL�I used to go to all the games homeand away, but now the job is the beall and end all. I want them to getknocked out of the cup at an earlystage or get drawn away because itmeans fewer matches on the surface!�he said, with tongue placed firmly incheek.


ProfileProfileSTEVE BRADDOCK

More often than not, it’s not thegroundsman’s

fault

“ “


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Club InsightPORTMARNOCK LINKS

No wonder Irish eyes are smil-ing. The country possesses aplethora of beautiful and

demanding golf courses, but the landjust keeps on inviting the construc-tion of more.

The 1990�s saw the birth of the KClub, which has already struck theright notes to such accord that it hasbeen awarded the right to host theRyder Cup in 2005, the first time thelegendary competition will have beenheld in the Emerald Isle.

And in 1996, the much vauntedPortmarnock course, eight milesnorth of Dublin, found itself with anew, but none-the-less attractive andpopular neighbour - the Portmar-nock Golf Links, linked to thePortmarnock hotel.

The new kid on the block hascreated quite a stir too. Designed byBernhard Langer, in conjunctionwith Stan Eby at European GolfDesign, it utilises the same piece ofcoastline as its elder neighbour.

Course construction started in1993. Before that the land was

owned by a farmer and was used as acar park when the Irish Open orWalker Cup were played at the adja-cent Portmarnock old course.

Langer�s involvement was obvi-ously limited by his playing schedule,but Eby, the project designer forEGD, explained that the formerMasters� champion took great interestin the construction.

�He was very keen on it. At theoutset we walked every bit of the landand took two days to do it. He alsowent through everything,� said Eby.CONSTRUCTION�He came out during construction tosee if things were turning out how heenvisaged and he was there towardsthe end to take a good look at it.�

The course was built over a periodof two years and its opening was heldup for a further year while legalcomplications were ironed out. ButEby believes the wait was worthwhile.

�It plays very much like a tradition-al links course. The location and theeffect of the wind all add up to give ita pure links feel. The greens are set up

to receive shots you play on a linkscourse and there�s plenty of undulationon the greens and the fairways.�

Eby, who is currently working ona new 18-hole course at SportingClub Berlin, maintains the designteam did not feel any extra pressuredespite the famous Portmarnockcourse�s location literally butting onto the far reach of the new course. ➧

Butting up against the famous old Portmarnockcourse, the Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Linksutilises the same terrain. It could well becomeas famous as its neighbour.

Written by David Bowers

The former home of the Jameson family (top) isnow a hotel and provides a majestic backdrop to the

course

After failing to break 100 on the challenging course,the rooms provide welcome luxury (above)

IIrriisshhCharm

IIrriisshhCharmtthhee

�We didn�t really think about itlike that. If we had been buildingnext to a council course our attitudewould have been the same - to makeour course the best it could be.

�It was more a case of there are sovery, very few pieces of land of thatcharacter available in the world, thatit was a unique opportunity. A privi-lege you might say.�

Its accessability has ensured tee-time requests increase year on year.Attached as it is to a deluxe four-starhotel, the course proves too much of atemptation for the thousands of trav-ellers from across the globe who visitthis delightful part of the country.

The course itself is 6,773-yards -6,195 metres as it is measured here -

off the back tees and is a dauntingchallenge for the high handicapper.

Touring pro is Darren Clarke, whoafter winning the 2000 AndersenConsulting World Matchplay title,admitted that he was in discussion withthe company to extend his contract atthe club.

He said: �It�s great to have anaffiliation with one of the top coursesin Ireland and I would love for it tocontinue. I�m a lover of links coursesand Portmarnock Hotel and GolfLinks is one of the best, albeit that it�svery new.

�The course is getting better andbetter each year and it�s a really sterntest. It will continue to be tougher asit develops and matures. I like the jobBernhard Langer did in his design ofthe course. You have to position yourtee shots carefully to set up for thenext shot and I enjoy playing thereevery chance I get.�

He added: �After the AndersenConsulting, I got e-mails, letters andphone calls from all over the place,but it was a bit special to hear fromall the staff at the links.�

And Clarke�s patronage is of nolittle benefit to the hotel as director ofgolf Moira Cassidy explained.

�Darren is very relaxed withpeople when he�s here. He�s a niceguy and interacts with the staff soeverybody knows him and everybodyis thrilled for his success.

�It�s been a great boost beingassociated with Darren and the factthat his big win came in America andhe beat the top Americans is goodfrom our point of view with regard tothe American market.�

Cassidy is no slouch herself. Aformer Irish junior champion, shenow plays off an eight handicap, buteveryone at the club will warn you:�Don�t play Moira for money!�

Fortunately for me, poor Moirawas suffering back problems duringmy visit and took a rain check on ourround. For the present at least, mypunts are safe.

Cassidy is a microcosm ofPortmarnock Hotel and Golf Links -attractive, hospitable, affable andgood company, but thoroughlyprofessional in outlook.

The course itself is no less daunt-ing than its famous neighbour,according to Cassidy, who has experi-enced tournament golf on both.

�As a golfer I think it�s a verygood course. Everybody can getsomething out of it. It�s challenging,but it�s not that long. It becomesmore difficult after the eighth when

you get in among the dunes, that�sthe more typical links terrain.

�The first seven holes are verygood as well. The first three gentlyget you into the game as they are notthat demanding or taxing.

�Portmarnock was built onJameson land originally so it�s the sameterrain and this course compares veryfavourably with the old Portmarnockcourse. There�s not as much room asPortmarnock, so it�s a tighter courseand still a traditional links course.�

She added: �We have a very goodworking relationship with Portmar-nock. Initially there was confusionwith the two names and taxi driversused to take people straight down tothe old course.

�We always double check whenwe are taking bookings. We alwaysensure when clients book that theyare aware we are a completely sepa-rate course.�

The family atmosphere atPortmarnock is heightened by theamount of local staff employed at thehotel and course. For example, lockerroom supervisor Robert Kenny, withwhom I played a thoroughly enjoy-able 18 holes, was actually born andraised in a cottage located in an areanow covered by the golf course.

�My mother sold some land sheowned there for £10 when £10 was alot of money,� he smiled, as he execut-ed another admirable approach shot.

Typically he is not bitter at miss-ing out on his share of a smallfortune. �Ah, it�s a grand course and Ilove working here. The people arewonderful.�

The 200-acre course is always inpristine condition thanks to green-keeper Finton Brennan, another local,and a Toro graduate who was votedEuropean Greenkeeper of the Year in1997. He even worked on the con-struction of the course.

Like Cassidy they epitomise theethos at Portmarnock Hotel and GolfLinks. But the geniality and hospitali-ty do not exist at the expense ofsound business sense.

The club is an IMG/PGA-ownedcourse and offers corporate member-ship only. All other golf revenue ispay and play, mainly from guests atthe hotel, where the largest market,around 30 per cent, is from the USA.

There would be little point in pos-sessing a championship-standard course

Club Insight


Club InsightPORTMARNOCK LINKS


Club InsightClub InsightPORTMARNOCK LINKS

if the hotel did not come up to scratch,but there was little chance of that.

The hotel, which was originallythe home of the Jameson whiskeyfamily and was voted Irish golf hotelof the year in 1999, offers almosteverything even the most demandingbusiness traveller could want.

Prior to the development in themid-nineties, the hotel, originallybuilt in the 1800s, was a three-star,19-bedroom affair. It now boasts 103rooms and a four-star deluxe rating.

To complete the luxury touch, it isreassuring to note that the hotel chefis the current holder of the World�sBest Irish Coffee title.

Its hall of fame includes a framedpicture and letter from the World

Cup-winning Australian rugby teamwho acclaimed it as the best hotelthey had stayed in. It beats havingMichael Winner singing your praises!

Other sporting advocates includeLeicester City and Glasgow Celticfootball clubs and the Turkish nationalsquad, all of whom enjoyed their stay.

Cassidy added: �Our aim is tocontinually imporove our standards,not just to sit there and say �we�vedone it; we�ve made it�. We want toget people back so that people feelthey have to visit here if they are visit-ing Ireland.

�We want to be the number onedestination on the east coast.�

It would be fair to assume thatgiven the venue�s close proximity tothe K Club, 2005 should be a goodyear for Portmarnock Hotel and GolfLinks.

�It will be a boom time for us. Iwould imagine everywhere in Dublinwill be packed out. We�re close to theairport and only about 45 minutesaway from the K Club itself and we�reclose to the motorway,� said Cassidy.

�You can stay here and play golfand if you�re visiting for the Ryder

Cup, chances are you will have theurge to play a round.�

The Ryder Cup may be out ofreach for a few decades yet, but thecourse certainly appears good enoughto host a major event of some kind,although no plans have yet beenmade.

�Logistically, we might be able tohost say an Irish Open, but it�s ayoung course and it needs to mature.We have held the Irish SouthernPGA Championship here and theOmagh pro-am was here in 1998which featured some top players.

�Certainly the course is up to it; itwould just be down to the infrastruc-ture with regard to crowds. We don�thave an abundance of room out there.�

Cassidy�s personal favourite on thecourse is the 18th hole, a naturalamphitheatre with the majestic hotelas a backdrop.

She said: �It�s a really good drivinghole and you�re surrounded by dunesand high hills on either side. It�s possiblythe most �linksy� hole on the course.�

She can afford to enjoy it. By thatstage she�s already pocketed herwinnings.

Greenkeeper Finton Brennan and the only treeon the course

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Useful web-siteaddresses:

Listed below are some useful URLs, if you are interested in finding outmore about tee-time managementsystems.The list is not definitive, nor do thecompanies therein necessarily offerthe same sort of package.There are other companies offeringtee-time management systems and alisting below does not constitute arecommendation.

! www.baron.co.uk! www.book-a-tee.com! www.book4golf.com! www.club2000.co.uk! www.clubminder.com! www.eteetime.com! www.ezlinksgolf.com! www.fairway.com! www.globalgolf.com! www.golfagent.co.uk! www.golfquotes.com! www.golfersguide.com! www.greens.com! www.ibookings.com! www.netfairway.com! www.readygolfers.com! www.teemaster.com! www.teematic.com! www.teetimesource.com! www.thegolfer.com

If the name Bill Gates meansnothing to you, then you havesome catching up to do. Loweryour quill and smell the coffee.There is little excuse for notembracing the computer age,

even in golf.Very few of the operations within

a golf club can not be managed by ITequipment - from handicappingthrough to irrigation.

But perhaps the biggest innova-tion of all, as far as golfing revenue isconcerned, is the ability to book teetimes 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week, 52 weeks-a-year.

�Why would you want to?� I hearyou cry. Green fees are the

lifeblood of a golf courseand if your club reliesheavily on visitors,24x7x52 tee-time book-ing is an obvious advan-

tage. If a Stateside golfer wants

to visit your course during atwo-week stay in Europe,for example, he or she doesnot have to worry aboutrising from the bed in themiddle of the night to guar-antee a tee-time.WORRYNor do you, the golf club,have to worry about staffinglevels. On-line tee-time book-ing does away with all that.

Try it for yourself. If you haveinternet access, visit www.dncgh.com.If you access during normal workinghours, the club will, understandablygiven the time difference, be closed.Yet you can still arrange a tee-time.Get the idea?STATESIDEUS-based eTeeTime produces soft-ware which has been used in privateand daily-fee facilities in the Statessince 1997.

It is now installed at nearly 500facilities and, in addition, is also beingdistributed worldwide as the tee-sheetmanagement software used byClubCorp, owners of such prestigiousclubs as Pinehurst - the venue for the1999 US Open - and Barton Creek.

Executive vice-president MichaelStone was delighted to have theopportunity to talk about the productrecently.

He said: �eTeeTime software wasdeveloped specifically to enhance andmaximise pro-shop operations. Itaugments the supply of green feesthrough a unique non-exclusive inter-net strategy.

�It allows staff to spend moretime engaing in customer service andthe eTeeTime internet interface is aseamless conduit from internet to teesheet. eTeeTime.com began first andforemeost as a tee-sheet softwarecompany - managing tee sheets is ourexpertise. ➧


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�Many of our competitors beganas internet companies that wanted tomarket tee times without full knowl-edge of the golf pro shop. Oursystem was designed in the trenches,by golf professionals.

�Much of the software out therehas to be housed at a central server,so if the internet goes down, the golfcourses must have their tee sheetsfaxed to them, which means no book-ings or tee times until the connectionis restored.

�eTeeTime.com member courseswould never lose access to their teesheets; it would remain fully func-tional.�

He added: �Our technology re-quires as little as a 28k connection tobe fully functioning whereas somerequire a minimumn 128k frame relayor ISDN connection. eTeeTime hasremained non-exclusive.

�We believe courses should not berestricted from any means possible topromote and sell their tee times.NON-EXCLUSIVE�This non-exclusive approach has

allowed our member courses to reachan exponential number of potentialgolfers and transactions.

�We offer a complete systemincorporating electronic tee sheets,internet interface, internet bookingengine, pos, web-site developmentand an internet affiliate network.

�There are no upfront costs, nohidden charges, no minimums andeteeTime gets paid only when a teetime is booked via the internet. Weonly make money when courses do.�

The nuts and bolts of the opera-tion from the golfer�s perspective arequite simple. Browsing, or surfing,the internet for information on cours-es, the golfer would access an infor-mation site, golf guide or individualcourse web site and would be linkedto eTeeTime�s �booking engine�.

The user can book a tee timewithout the need for a user name or

password, simply by choosing a dayand time and filling in relevant play-ers� names and credit card details viaVerisign, a secure service.

The golfer then receives a confir-mation which should be producedupon arrival at the course beforeenjoying a pre-paid round. Simplicityitself for the visiting golfer, and high-ly profitable for the club.

So, it goes without saying that ifeTeeTime is prospering as a company,its clients must be benefiting byvirtue of increased green-fee revenue.GOLF AGENTThe Baron Corporation will be offer-ing its tee-time booking system, GolfAgent, to all Irish clubs following theGolf Union of Ireland�s decision toappoint the company as supplier of acentral handicapping system (seenews on page 4).

Golf Agent is currently installed inclubs across Europe and Baron hasrecently consolidated its position asone of the industry�s major players bysigning agreements with several othercompanies across the globe.

Baron is now partnered withWebennovate in Canada, Golfspain,First Golf Holdings in South Africa,e2e Golf Solutions in America andClub Systems International in theUK.

These agreements come on theback of several notable acquisitionsincluding US-based Pelican HillHoldings and the Irish companySmart Golf, which gave Baron an 85per cent market share in Ireland, evenbefore the deal with the national golfunion.

The Golf Agent internet offeringfrom Baron combines a free internetconnection as well as an applicationssuite.

The suite includes a fully-featuredclubhouse tee-time booking applica-tion to enable clubs to automate andmanage all tee-time sales and book-ings and an internet tee-time bookingsystem to attract visiting players on aworld-wide basis.

Using this feature, clubs can optto make selected tee times availablefor sale, with payment taken as asecure on-line credit card transaction.

But the company is not merely aninternett tee-time provider, as Baron�smanaging director, Terry MacDon-ald, explained.

He said: �We can provide thewhole package for a cashless environ-ment - smart cards for access, barpayment etc., not just tee-time book-ing through Golf Agent.

�Indeed, many clubs currentlyusing our package are not actually online with tee times yet. However,given time I expect to see it.�

Time is a concept which is raisedagain and again in conversation withMacDonald.

�We have to look at this as a long-term investment. And it�s dynamic sothe technology keeps advancing andyou have to change with it. PREVELANT�Tee-time booking is prevalent in theUS because they have a supply anddemand problem in that they havemore clubs and tee times than theyhave available golfers.

�In the UK, it�s different becausesome of the members clubs wouldrather see the course empty than runas a more profitable business concern.

�But I believe it will change giventime and I believe that within 12months, with the partnerships we areforging, we will be seeing around onemillion hits per week on the GolfAgent site.�

Currently there are around 200clubs utilising the Golf Agent on-linebooking system, and the site averagesaround 100,000 hits per week - a lotof people who are just interested ingolf.

But the company is expandingweek on week by signing partnershipagreements with contemporaries inother countries which then offer GolfAgent to their database of clubs.

Golf Agent is in use across the globe.

Clubminder’s homepage

The internet enables golfers from across the worldto book a tee-time at your club.



Recent arrangements havecovered Spain, USA, Canada andAsia - the last two seen by Baron ashaving huge potential.PERSONAL ZENITHBy the time MacDonald achieves hispersonal zenith of one million hitsper week, the company should beable to offer tee times at over 700clubs worldwide.

Like the Baron Corporation, theGolf Agent site is not just about tee-time bookings. It offers lessons, holi-days, insurance, golf games and, ofcourse, tee-time reservations. It is, ineffect, a one-stop shop for the golfingenthusiast.

MacDonald added: �We are oneof the few tee-time booking supplierswho can actually carry out the wholething on line. ONE HIT�With some of them, you get to acertain stage and get prompted to e-mail, but not with Golf Agent. Youcould actually book tee times at threeor four clubs in one hit.

�And the future is very interest-ing. The technology is there forpeople with palm-top computers ormobile phones to find out which

courses in a certain area can offer teetimes at a certain time. But you needto have the clubs on board and youneed to drive the traffic to it.�SLOW INFLUX MacDonald does admit to having a�slow influx� of new clients everyweek, but the mere fact that the rateof newcomers is not slowing down,indicates a gradual acceptance of thenew technology inside the golf indus-try.

Slowly but surely, has been theethos of the sport for severalcenturies. However, the indicationsare that the pace of golfing life isquickening and now is probably notthe time to remain a pedestrian.

The LiteSite Solution comprising of:

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For more information visit our website built using LiteSite @

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Our team of programmers have dealt with all the technical aspects ofbuilding a web site for you, now all you need to do is add the content.

Furthermore you are able to change/update the look, feel and contentof your site as often as you wish without incurring additional web

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You have the ability to add new products or services, notify visitors ofspecial offers or news at the touch of a button.

You can create a few or as many web pages as you wish within yourweb hosting space, including your text, pictures, photographs, logos,

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All you need to use the LiteSite solution is a computer with internetaccess and Internet Explorer 5.0.

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the possibilities are endlessthe possibilities are endless

Euro Systems Projects Ltd has recentlylaunched book-a-tee.com, a websitefor tee-time reservations and manyother golf related services. ESPprovide a PC, printer and softwarewhich allows you to advertise yourcourse and sell green fees to golfersworld-wide on the web. Using book-a-tee, your clubs has totalcontrol of your tee-sheet includingmembers times, societies, medals,maintenance time and visitors greenfees. Book-a-tee is a 24-hour serviceand allows members and visitors tointeract with your course or club fromthe comfort of their home or office. Unlike the other tee-time bookingsystems on the market, ESP’s systemworks in real time meaning that youdo not have to give up tee-times tothe Internet. It simply works alongside your own booking routines,maximising revenue opportunitieswhilst leaving you in full control ofyour tee-sheet.Clubs decide the parameters withinwhich they wish to accept bookingsfrom the Internet, provide a copy oftheir terms and conditions; i.e. dresscode, refund policy etc and ESP willdesign their very own page, completewith photographs and course/club-house descriptions.

Membership & AdministrationBooking & Green Fees

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InterviewInterviewMARK MACKANESS

TThere is an old adage in the UKoften quoted by successfulbusinessmen: �Nice guys finish

last.�And it contains a certain element

of truth. Many men and woman whohave fought their way to the top oftheir profession and now sit in a seatof power, at least in their own organ-isation, have displayed a degree ofruthlessness while climbing thecorporate ladder.

Ten minutes in their companyand it is usually easy to see why; egoslarger than their pay-packets and askin as thick as a rhino�s.

Fortunately, there are not toomany like that in the world of golf.But on the other hand, there aren�ttoo many as pleasant as MarkMackaness either.

The owner of the beautifulRudding Park - and I am notashamed to admit the 6,871-yard,par-72 course is one of my personalfavourites - is as quite and unassum-ing as John McCrirrick isn�t!

He has pioneered many newinitiatives at the Yorkshire course inan attempt to break free from theage-old conception of golf as a�wealthy man�s sport�.OUT OF STEP�I looked at the anachronistic rulesand regulations that prevail in golfclubs and questioned their existence.In fact, in some cases, I quite simplyset out to change the rules because Ifelt they were out of step with today�ssociety,� he said.

He had targeted women andjuniors, core markets excludedfrom full rights by many otherclubs. Women have equalmembership status and the club

and hotel are run by a largely-female management team and joiningfees were abolished. ➧

Upon a visit to one of his favourite overnight stops, David Bowers spoke over a cup of coffee with proprietor Mark Mackaness, who discussed his plans, his ethos and all things Rudding Park.

Mackaness lets nature

take its course

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��JohnGreasleyJohnGreasley

Ashfield House1154 Melton RoadSyston Leicester LE7 2HB

Telephone: 0116 269 6766Mobile: 0836 553899

Fax: 0116 269 6866

JOHN GREASLEY LIMITED

•

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Hole 14 Rudding Park

T

Interview


InterviewMARK MACKANESS

It has paid off. His foresight hasenabled the family-owned RuddingPark to expand on the hotel side,with the golf set to follow.

He explained: �We have planningpermission for a nine-hole extensionand almost certainly I will be askingto look at that in due course.

�It�s something we think is veryimportant because the marketplacehas changed a lot. When we firstimagined a golf course it was at atime when it had to be long and diffi-cult - a so-called championshipcourse. MISTAKES�It took several years to get planningpermission and when we did get it,the market had changed and courseswere getting shorter. If any mistakeswere made with the original course, itwas possibly that we haven�t got twoloops of nine.

�I think the marketplace haschanged yet again and one loop ofnine, in other words a 27-holecourse, is absolutely vital. Thatcaptures part of the market segment,ie the chap who wants to play afterwork and also for the ladies forwhom the 18-hole course may be toolong given the walk from green totee.

�We�ve got a wonderful teachingacademy here but there is not a natur-al progression from teaching holes.They have to go somewhere else togain confidence.�

But those of you expecting to turnup next summer and face 27-holes ofdelightful Yorkshire countryside areto be disappointed. Mackaness doesnot rush things and even basicgroundwork will not start for anotheryear.

�There will be quite a disruption,it will be a good thing from thecourse construction point of viewbecause we will be able to build quitea lot of the course and let it grow infor a longer time than one normallywould.

�We would then have to elect touse some of the new holes while wealter holes on the existing course. Itwill be more like a three-year plan.

�But it fits in well with our overallplans here at Rudding Park. Youmake less revenue on a nine-holecourse, but players will eat and drinkthe same amount, or possibly theywill feel more inclined to eat or drinkafter nine holes.�

The hotel has been extended inthe last year and Mackaness believesthere will be another phase of expan-sion there before turning attention tothe golf course.

�All we say to people is that sincewe purchased Rudding Park in 1972it hasn�t stood still. Everything has aright time. We want to make sure wehave everything in place.

�We�re not golf course operatorsor hoteliers by tradition, so we justlearn as we go along. We employgood staff to make sure its right.EXPANSION�Rudding is fast becoming a resortand that is what we are eventuallyaiming for. And because of thestrengths we have, we hope peoplewill come and stay and be happy tostay within the confines of thecomplex instead of going out for theday.

�It will happen but perhaps not asquickly as if it was a Hilton property.We try and do everything within ourown resources. We�re not a hugemulti-national corporation. Thingsgo slower here but we hope they�redone the right way. �NATIONAL TRUSTThey will have to be. When the origi-nal 18-hole course was designed byMartin Hawtree, it was in consulta-tion with the National Trust andEnglish Heritage, who would notallow bunkers in the beautiful park-land area.

The picturesque bridge near the 4th


InterviewInterviewMARK MACKANESS

�They were concerned about theviews from the house and theybelieved that bunkers were somethingthat should never exist even, I wouldbelieve from the way they talk, on thecoast,� smiled Mackaness.

�They were very insistent we hadno sandtraps or bunkers on thecourse visible within the parkland. Sowe only put six in, all in the wood-land, with four on one hole. Golfershave the perception you have to havebunkers on a golf course and it�s veryhard to drive that perception away.�

One has the suspicion, however,that the 48-year-old Mackaness, apassionate conservationist, wouldhave approved of the demands.

He said: �There are a lot ofhazards anyway. I think perhaps thelocal planners, having seen the waywe have developed the property,might be inclined to think about it, incertain parts of the course, but therewould definitely be areas they wouldnot consider it.

�I think it would be odd to havemaybe 14 holes with bunkers andfour without. There�s a consistencynow, with bunkers only on the wood-land holes. If you took away thecourse furniture and just let it growfor a couple of weeks you wouldn�tknow there was a golf course here.

�In earth-moving terms, it was justa case of raising up greens or tees. Itwas if it had been designed by thegood Lord and Martin Hawtreesimply had to design tees and greens -although obviously he wouldn�t lookupon it that way,� laughed Mackaness.

The affable chartered surveyor setsgreat stall in loyalty, and it would bea brave man who would bet againstHawtree and course constructor JohnGreasley getting the nod again for thenew extension.

�We have some preliminarydesigns for the nine-hole course andwe will probably be asking Martin tohave a look at it.

�I asked Aspen Brown, a localagricultural college with a greenkeep-ing department, if they would like toset the design as a project for thestudents.

�They came up with somewonderful ideas which - I�m notsaying a professional wouldn�t do -but I certainly wouldn�t have thoughtof. Pretty radical some of them, andperhaps that what we needed, a freshview.

�One of them wanted to have atee off the island in the lake, whichwould be jolly good, but it�s a ques-tion of getting people there and back.They had the idea of a motorisedpunt which would be similar to thehole at Brockett Hall.�

He continued: �We have got tohave an 18-hole course starting andfinishing at the clubhouse and we�vegot to have a nine-hole course start-ing and finishing at the clubhouse.

�So, how ever Martin tries towork it out, he�s not going to getaway from that.

�There are only four avenues youcan go down - or come back up - soone way or another he has to usethem. And if one works on the basisthat the 18th green has to be in frontof the clubhouse, he�s limited evenfurther.�

As for the man who constructedthe original course in 1995...

�I�ve got a great deal of time forJohn Greasley and he will almostcertainly be awarded the job for thenine-hole course. He is one of themost down-to-earth and sensiblepeople I�ve ever met.

�He hasn�t got aspirations to be abig corporation and he certainlywouldn�t take on a job he couldn�t dohimself.

�He works from the back of hisDiscovery with his wife as a back-upso when he turns up you knowyou�ve got the whole resources.

�He�s not afraid to tell you whereyou can make a short cut and savemoney, or where, in his opinion, itmight be better to do something adifferent way - even if it�s a moreexpensive way. And all of this will bebacked up with a sound and well-rounded argument.�

Mackaness is not short on soundjudgement himself. Perhaps it takesthe view of an outsider to really tailora club to the demands of the 21stcentury. OUTSIDER�For that is what he is, an outsider.He enjoys game shooting but doesnot play or even watch golf.

�I don�t play golf. I�ve neverplayed a round in my life. I�m terri-fied I might like it. If I did like itI�d do even less work than I doalready.

�I did play five holes when wefirst opened. Two holes one day andthree the next...�KNACKOne also gets the impression MarkMackaness would be rather good atthe sport. He seems to have a knackfor getting things right.

We’re not a huge multi-national

corporation. Things go slower here but

we hope they are done the right way

“”

PortfolioPortfolioPRODUCT INFORMATION

PGA SIGNS UP WITH TEXTRON

! (44) 01473 270000

PGA European Tour CoursesPLC has signed an exclusivethree-year deal with Textron.E-Z-Go cars will be the officialgolf car at PGA EuropeanTour Courses, with the agree-ment being signed by PaulKimberley (left) PGA’s salesand marketing manager andand Peter Bell, Textron’s newsales director.

BRAVO FOR THE BRAVA

! (44) 01858 434011

Euromec Limited will beexhibiting an improved versionof its highly popular, pedestri-an sweeper range - the Brava -at next month’s SALTEX.Compact in design and with animproved performance rating,the new Brava range is suitablefor industrial, urban, leisureand commercial cleaning appli-cations.

FURTHER STAFF FOR TEXTRON

! (44) 01473 270000

Tim Lansdell has joinedTextron as product managerresponsible for product devel-opment and promotion of theRansomes, Jacobsen, Cushmanand Ryan turf care ranges.After obtaining a degree inAgricultural Engineering fromSilsoe College, Tim spent 16years at Ford Tractors, prior tojoining Textron.

WRIGLEY’S WINNING LINE-UP

! (44) 01752 701107

Golf shops across the UK arebenefiting from additional salesand profits by stocking Wrigley’schewing gum. Clubs are capital-ising on the popularity of gumby providing golfers with theopportunity to buy a key rangeof the company’s products.Twenty million people in the UKcurrently chew gum, and thenumbers continue to rise.

NEW FACE AT TEXTRON

! (44) 01473 270000

Selina Flynn has been appointedcommunications and promo-tions manager at TextronTurfcare. Responsible for theimplementation of Textron’smarketing activities throughoutEurope, the Middle East andAfrica, Selina joins Textronfrom Wavetek, a US-ownedelectronics company based inEast Anglia.

UNRIVALLED PRINTING RANGE

! (44) 01707 276100

The unrivalled range of videocopy processors from MitsubishiElectric provides high qualityprinted images from all types ofvideo source. The CP710 fullcolour dye sublimination printeroffers high picture quality at 308dpi and can accept video ouputfrom any camera or videosystem. The CP710 will print topaper, transparency and stickers.

CHARGE FOR THE GOLF BRIGADE

! (44) 0161 786 3333

Sonnenschein’s dryfit golf batter-ies - available exclusively in theUK from Exide - are speciallydesigned to cope with thedemands of regular recharging,vibration, hilly terrain and vary-ing temperatures. All Sonnens-chein dryfit 12V batteriescontain a unique gel electrolytewhich provides the deep cyclecapabilities needed at golf clubs.

KAWASAKI PLAN BUMPER SALTEX

! (44) 01628 856750

Kawasaki is planning a farbigger presence than ever atSeptember’s SALTEX with thelaunch of the FE400D. Thenew arrival is at the top-end ofKawasaki’s four stroke, hori-zontal shaft, air-cooled enginefamily, and has been designedspecifically for agricultural,industrial, professional turfcareand construction applications


act now...

Stakeholder For Life

act nnooww......In April 2001 it will become a legal requirement for all organisationswith five or more employees to nominate a stakeholder pensionprovider.

Through our partnership with the Prudential, e-com-life are at the fore-front of the stakeholder revolution. We enable our members to securetheir financial future whilst focusing on their chosen career. Ourscheme is tailored specifically towards the sports, fitness and leisureindustry and is just one of the many benefits of e-com-life membership.

Stakeholder For Life

Stakeholder

For more information on SFL membership and benefits log onto

www.sfl.co.uk e-com-lifeAmpfield Golf Club, Ampfield SO51 9BQ · Tel: 08700 735583 · Fax: 08700 735329 · E-mail: [email protected]

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