“Affordable Golf Facility Development: Growing the Game” is a new publication from the R&A.
The R&A supports the development of the game globally and wants to encourage more people to play golf in more places, more often.
The lack of access to affordable and enjoyable facilities available for practice and play is a major barrier to this goal. Facility development must be viable not only for today’s golfing public but also over the long-term to support sustainable development of the sport.
Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A, writes, “Despite some participation decreases in larger golf nations, our sport is continuing to grow worldwide and golf’s return to the programme of Olympic sports in 2016 will undoubtedly boost demand. Too often, however, we hear of golf courses and facilities encountering severe difficulties because what they offer does not match what golfers want or their capability to pay.
“A full round of 18 holes is, and will no doubt continue to be, the norm but our hectic business and family lives often mean less time for recreation. This is where golf facilities offering a less time consuming and costly alternative can be an effective way of introducing new players to our sport and of retaining their interest and participation in the future.”
R&A spokesman Mike Woodcock told GBN.com: “The new booklet sets out the various options that developers have for producing affordable golf facilities and uses case studies from England, Scotland and Sri Lanka to illustrate where this approach has been successful. It is designed to sit alongside the Legacy Guidelines produced by the Golf Environment Organization (GEO).”
“Affordable Golf Facility Development: Growing the Game” is available for free download from the Planning page on the website of the European Institute of Golf Course Architects (EIGCA) http://www.eigca.org/GCPlanning.ink
R&A www.RandA.org
EIGCA www.eigca.org
Golf Environment Organization Legacy ™ www.golfenvironment.org/legacy