Not so far away from The 147th Open (was held at Carnoustie Golf Links; winner: Francesco Molinari), I thought to share with you the latest success of Carnoustie Golf Links.
Carnoustie Golf Links won for the second time (first time it was in 2016) the Best Golf Course over £100 category Scottish Golf Tourism Awards.
In addition to this recognition, Pat Sawers, Chairman of Carnoustie Golf Links Management Company (CGLMC) received a Special Recognition Award for Services to Golf Tourism in Scotland for her outstanding service and commitment to the Scottish golf tourism industry.
2018 was a very good year for Carnoustie Golf Links:
- in January Carnoustie Golf Links was awarded Environmental Golf Course of the Year at The Golf Environment Awards;
- in April the new £6million facility Links House, featuring The Rookery Bar & Restaurant and seven state-of-the-art golf simulators and situated next to the 1st tee, was opened.
- in July hosted the 147th Open (over 157,000 visitors).
Carnoustie Golf Links & the latest golf club trends
If we exam closely the latest developments and investments at Carnoustie Golf Links then we can easily recognize that the club is following the latest golf club trends.
Yes, we can say that more and more golf clubs are becoming more environmentally conscious and to be GEO Certified is really beneficial. Carnoustie Golf Links was the second Open Championship venue to be GEO Certified (in 2014).
In 2016, they received the prestigious Operation Pollinator Award at the annual Golf Environmental Awards held by STRI (Sports Turf Research Institute).
Operation Pollinator is a program initiated by Syngenta and supported by the Sports Turf Research Institute (STRI) to promote sustainable management of grassland and wildflower habitats for pollinating insects across golf courses and sports-related turfgrass facilities.
The results of the Syngenta-commissioned Player Survey show that most of us welcome natural looking golf courses where we can enjoy wildlife and birds. Even the support for environmental protection steps is significant.
Another smart recognition of Carnoustie Golf Links is that for people golf is more than just a sport it is also a social occasion where they can also eat and drink well.
There are several studies, but here I will highlight Global Golf Advisors’ findings from 2016.
It shows very well that the quality of food & beverage services has a high impact on the business performance of golf clubs.
As I went through the menu of The Rookery Restaurant, I found some very positive signs.
In the last couple of years, I saw that the following five elements are gaining momentum:
- local produce —> they are using local ingredients. Some golf clubs (e.g. Medinah Country Club) today have built their own garden to grow vegetables and fruits for themselves.
- craft beer,
- “fine-casual“,
- creative use of waste food,
- high-end non-alcoholic drinks (e.g. Salted Lemon-Ginger Spritzer)
- menu transparency + truth-in-menu. This is more of a moral and ethical obligation. So many people are sensitive to various ingredients (e.g. milk, gluten, etc.) that we simply cannot afford not to consider them. –> in this area they need to improve.
What I also missed are the greens (e.g. living green wall).