Eight golf courses in West Fife are once again working together to offer great value golf through the First in Fife Golfpass. Due to a highly successful first year, the cost of the Golfpass has been held for 2005 offering three rounds of golf from £45 and five rounds from £75.
Aberdour, Balbirnie Park, Burntisland, Canmore, Dunfermline, Forrester Park Resort, Kirkcaldy and Thornton golf clubs attracted nearly 400 golfers to the Kingdom in 2004. The pass also helped increase the number of overseas visitors to the area with golfers travelling from a wide range of countries including Scandinavia, Belgium, Switzerland, and the USA. Research at the end of the season showed that visitors spent over £500 per head and over 90% of visitors said they would definitely recommend the First in Fife Golfpass to their friends. Comments included: “Pass makes it easier to play more courses for a very good price” and “Golfpass is a great idea – all the arrangements can be made in advance”
The group is aiming to attract even more visitors this year and working on a number of initiatives including a direct mail campaign, competitions and raising awareness to those attending The Open at St Andrews.
Ewen Watt, chairman of the Group, comments, “The clubs have invested both money and faith in this initiative. We have had great support from the Kingdom of Fife Tourist Board and Scottish Enterprise Fife, and lots of positive feedback from golfers looking for Value for Money golf. We offer just that! Our associate hotels have joined in enthusiastically and we believe that with easy travel access and on-the-spot reservations, we can open up a market for more weekday and weekend golf breaks.
“Day visitors are of course very welcome too. Golf is globally competitive and Scotland must keep ahead in the marketplace. For our part, we are aiming to set up on-line tee and hotel bookings next year and provide a “no hassle” facility for golfers of all ages and abilities. The main thing is that people come to West Fife, sample our courses – and enjoy themselves, rain or shine. And the sun shines more here than in many other parts of Scotland!”
The Pass was officially launched at Thornton Golf Club and Mike Watkin, marketing representative, Thornton Golf Club adds, “Thornton Golf Club is very pleased to be a founder member of the Golfpass Group. As a local-members club we like to feel we are able to contribute to the local economy as a consequence of directly promoting our playing and social facilities rather than money being taken out of the game through golfers using booking agents. A symbol of our hospitality is our commitment to providing weekend access to visitors.”
The Golfpass can be purchased by credit card from the Kirkcaldy Tourist Information Centre: Tel: 01592 267775 or Email kirkcaldy@visitfife.com. Passes are also available from any of the 8 participating clubs and eight associate hotels that have joined the scheme. And new for 2005 is the arrival of the groups own website – www.firstinfifegolf.com – which gives details of the participating clubs and hotels -and includes details of special offers for early bookers too.
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