The Golf Business Club (GBC) is a not-for-profit association based in Paris grouping some two hundred members of the French golf industry. It was founded a year ago by expatriate Englishman, Richard Wax, following his presentation at the Salon du Golf. Rather than wait for 2018 when the Ryder Cup will be played in France, the Club has decided to bring forward the celebrations and excitement of the event to 2016 by organising events in a number of clubs around France.
“Some years ago I was fortunate to be present at the best golfing get-together I have ever attended. The members of Loch Lomond GC congregated for a team game between Americans and Europeans over the three days of the Ryder Cup which was being held that year in the States. Golf games were enjoyed during the day and dinners in the magnificent rooms of Rossdhu House provided contestants with a memorable evening watching the Ryder Cup drama unfold on large screens.
“Our goal is to generate in France this same ambiance of camaraderie and fun in the build-up to the hosting of the event at the Golf National near Paris in 2018. Without revealing names, we will have exclusive access to some of the inside stories and personalities closely involved in the Ryder Cup”.
The members of GBC are active in many sectors of the golf industry from course owners to architects, from the media to photographers, from event organisers to golf technology experts. Each event will form the basis of individual analysis and format benefitting from the input of the Club’s members.
The objective is to send out a global message that French golf is moving into Ryder Cup mode already and preparing itself to welcome the third most watched sporting event of the calendar with approximately half a billion tele-viewers every day of the three day event. France is the most visited tourist destination in the world so the objective of this Ryder Cup initiative is to link this valuable source of revenue to the French golf industry with a win/win result.
Golf can be a powerful tool to generate media coverage for a region and by promoting its tourist and cultural attractions this leads to the creation of employment opportunities and economic benefits for the area. This has proved the case for both Wales and Scotland after their hosting the Ryder Cup. Wax says “we can draw on the lessons of past Ryder Cups and the positive spinoff which can promote the enjoyment of the game for future generations”.
Wax was the creator of the St Andrews Golf Festival in 2012 and has exciting plans soon to be revealed to bring this event to prestigious destinations worldwide including of course his adopted country of France. He has been involved as consultant in the creation of thirty top quality golf courses in seventeen countries including Kingsbarns Links, The Wisley Golf Club, The Royal Springs in Kashmir and Vidauban in the south of France.
Golf Business Club website (French / English) www.golfbusinessclub.org
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