Top golf designer honoured by tour operators

According to Robert Trent Jones Junior, one of the world’s most successful golf course designers, golf and golf tourism brings stability and encourages serious inward investment into the world’s developing nations.
Trent Jones Junior, who has designed golf courses in some of the world’s most exotic and sometimes unusual destinations was speaking at the annual global gathering for golf tour operators held at Estoril, Portugal.
He was presented with an honorary award for his outstanding contribution to the development of golf across the world, by members of the International Association of Golf Tour Operators (IAGTO) during their Golf Travel Awards ceremony.
After being presented with the award by 2002 Ryder Cup Captain, Sam Torrance, Trent Jones told the audience how a solid basis of tourism can bring non-tourism investment to a country.
He said,: “If you bring tourism to a country and create golf courses, other corporate investors look at the change brought to a non-tourist zones in such places as Moscow and China and they see the lifestyle which tourism attracts which in turn attracts more inward investment from big non golf related companies.”
California based Trent Jones has followed in the footsteps of his very famous father and he has been involved in building and amending golf courses in almost every country in the world.
IAGTO members attending the awards, which are a major part of the annual International Golf Travel Market, gave him a standing ovation following his speech at the Estoril Convention Centre.
Robert Trent Jones II has built some of the most spectacular courses anywhere in the world and a number of individual courses have actually been responsible for turning an unknown location into a recognised golf destination.
Without doubt, the enjoyment that Robert Trent Jones II courses have given to golf travellers and the influence that these courses have had on golf destinations around the world, is second to none and of enormous importance to the global golf tourism industry.
IAGTO www.iagto.com