Jonathan Smith is the Chief Executive of GEO (The Golf Environment Organization) the not-for-profit organization dedicated to working with the golf industry to drive sustainability in and through the sport. Jonathan has worked in the golf industry for…
I hope it is obvious that sustainability should be on top of golf courses' priority list in 2016 and in the future as well. It happens in cases of far-seeing ideas and concepts that we feel like we…
The EIGCA is organizing a conference, which will be held at The Hastings Stormont Hotel in Belfast on Friday 15th April. The topic of the conference will be how technology is impacting on golf. It is a nice…
Although Germany is the #2 golf country in Europe with 639,137 registered golfers (source: KPMG: Golf Participation in Europe 2015), we hardly talk about the country's golf club business. Germany is also the country with one of the…
Did you know that the first organic golf course has been opened at the Kobaldhof (Austria) in 2007? The Austrian golf course is maintained exclusively according to the strict criteria of organic farming. From a sustainability point of view, organic golf courses…
Early this week the Irish golf society and I think the golf world lost a great golfer (4 European Tour victory, 2 Ryder Cup appearance etc.) and golf architect in the person of Christy O'Connor Jnr. Christy O’Connor Jnr…
Last time, my guest writer Rich O'Brien (from Charleston Golf News) wrote about the importance of women's participation in golf. Today, he will discuss the question of the sustainability of the game. I recently interviewed Rand Jerris, Ph.D. the…
It is interesting to find countries, in this case Egypt, that are hardly mentioned in the daily golf business media, but somehow are able to attract such well known golf course architects as Gary Player, Greg Norman and…
In Gleneagles Hotel's example, we could see that it is not a bad business to invest in golf clubs. Diageo sold in July 2015 Gleneagles Hotel to Ennismore for cca. £150m. Now another alcoholic beverage company, the Japanese Asahi…
As part of the 20-year anniversary, Kiva Dunes Golf and Beach Resort is now undergoing a $3.5 million enhancement. As part of the project the Jerry Pate designed golf course will be improved and they will add also a…
Next week will kick off in South England this year's 'To Heath & Links' study tour with 70 leading golf architects (US, Australia, Europe). The study tour is organised by the European Institute of Golf Course Architects and supported by…
After a long list of other professional golfers, Henrik Stenson is ready to try his best in golf course architecture. Will his almost 20 year experience (he became a professional golfer in 1998) be enough to contribute significantly to…
In the last couple of years UAE is among the the Top 10 Fastest Growing Tourism Hotspots in the world. Just in 2013, UAE's golf tourism grew by 10.4%. In 2013, Abu Dhabi and Dubai were the 6th golf tourism…
Yes it is true. It will be the second Robert Trent Jones II signature golf course in Eastern Europe (the other is in Russia). Hungary's 4th wealthiest entrepreneur (according to Forbes Hungary in 2014) Gábor Széles had an…
Assoufid Golf Club recently named ‘Africa’s Best New Golf Course 2014’, has reinforced its growing global reputation by being nominated on the shortlist for The World Golf Awards as ‘Morocco’s Best Golf Course 2015’. It is a little bit…
It is a big challenges for marketers to come up with exclusive content on their Facebook page to achieve high level of engagement. In my previous position at UPC (Hungary's largest cable company) our Facebook page's main topic…
Channels Golf Club is planning to expand its operations by adding a 18-hole golf course at Little Waltham near Chelmsford. The new golf course is planned by Swan Golf Designs. The construction on the course will begin in April…
As countries and companies do not pay sufficient attention to global warming for various reasons and excuses, I was happy to find the Robert Trent Jones II's (RTJ II) green proclamation and water guidelines. If you don't want…
Golf World magazine has recently announced its '100 Classic Golf Holes in the UK and Continental Europe'. The jury included top designers like Martin Hawtree (Trump International Golf Links) and David McLay Kidd, but also well-known golfers like…
Abu Dhabi Golf Club’s maintenance team (Andrew Whittaker and his team; Peter Harradine) has been named “Golf Course Maintenance Team of the Year” at The Middle East Golf Awards (MEGAs), hosted at Jumeirah Emirates Towers, Dubai. This recognition came just in…