Golf Industry Asia

Credit being given where it is really due.

Honouring the champions behind every golf course: A Global ‘Thank a Superintendent Day’ returns on September 8.

Often a golf course’s unsung and unnoticed custodians, this day celebrates the efforts and inputs of possibly the most vital sector in golf operations.

A Korean hospitality operator is acquiring a network of Japanese golf resorts, and transforming them with a distinctively Korean operational approach.

In a world where golf course conditioning and playability is seen by players (both those who travel and the stay-at-home golfers) in global terms, the reintroduction, by the R&A, of its world-class turf management certification to India is great news for golf on the sub-continent.
The initiative will offer experienced Indian greenkeepers, a structured pathway to elevate both their technical expertise and leadership capabilities, while helping to improve the overall levels of course conditioning in the region.

Many years ago, I had the privilege to play at Sentosa, and although in those days my golf was still reasonable (!), even if it hadn’t been, the setting and course conditioning would have made the trip worthwhile, all on their own. Move forward over three decades, and it would seem that Sentosa’s attractions have not diminished, and its ability to host not one, but three top professional tour events in one year, is testament to the strong management and turf management protocols which must underpin the facility’s operations.

Shades of R.U.R, Karel Čapek’s 1920s play – Rossum’s Universal Robots! However, given the advances with technology and AI, it seems a predictable enough development, and another step in a logical progression. Let’s hope they don’t ‘take-over’ (as happens in Čapek’s storyline!), and on a less ‘dark’, and more fun note – I wonder if, before they disappear into dense rough to look for their players’ golf balls, they will have been programmed to turn and say – I’ll be back!

The two ‘Cs’ – continuous marketing, and continual reinvestment are generally the hallmarks of great golf destinations, and the second of these is clearly evident here, as one of this development’s golf courses reopens after an extensive ‘enhancement’ programme.

The importance of on-ramps to golf’s future, has been a recent theme in BG’s World View discussions, so, notwithstanding the very particular pressure on land in Singapore, the closure of a range facility there, underlines the importance of these types of venues in golf’s development ‘food-chain’.

Talking of teamwork, Vin Pearl has entered into a new strategic alliance with
both the Da Nang Golf Association (DNGA), and the Quang Ngai Golf Association.

Japan’s golf has real concerns, despite the performances of its professional players, both male and female, on various tours, with falling numbers of golfers.

Edward de Bono: “Complacency is the enemy of all progress.” Could this a warning shot across the
game’s collective bows?!

In essence, golf is not a team sport, but to promote a region, as a golf destination, it takes a collective effort from all those entities involved in the game in the area.

In this case, Malayasia has realised that any successful drive to be the premier golf destination in Asia, must be underpinned by regional collaboration.