The Jeremy Dale Trick Shot Show

We are very pleased to be able to welcome the Jeremy Dale Trick Shot Show to www.press4golf.com  Jeremy Dale is one of the world’s leading trick-shot exponents and his show simply has to be seen to be believed. He is a genuine switch-hitter, able to hit quality golf shots both left and right handed, skills that have entertained golfers in over 20 countries. More about Jeremy and what he does at http://www.jeremydale.com/

We welcome http://www.golfbidder.co.uk/ to www.press4golf.com

Based in South-West London, Golfbidder began life in 1997 as Mashie Niblicks, a shop which specialised in buying and selling used golf clubs.

Golfbidder is now proud to have been appointed The Official Club Exchange of the PGA. We are also proud to be a partner of – and the Official Club Exchange of - the PGAs of Europe.

A big welcome to www.press4golf.com

We would like to welcome two new companies to www.press4golf.com they are: Stewart Golf and Eye Candy Caddies.

Stewart Golf offer a range of trolleys, bags, accessories, clothing and putters and are proud the bulk of their products are manufactured in the UK.

http://www.stewartgolf.co.uk/index.html

Eye Candy Caddies specialise in attending corporate, charity and society golf days throughout the UK, with their specially trained male and female caddies.

http://www.eyecandycaddies.com

ends

The golfing holiday is dead – long live the golfing holiday!

There is no doubt the economic recession has wreaked havoc with the golfing industry. Years of frenzied spending, with borrowed money, had brought a plethora of new golf courses/complexes especially in places like Portugal & Spain – long favourite haunts of Northern Europeans looking for the sun.

They were built on the belief there would be a never ending stream of people willing to buy apartments on those developments, while visitors would happily pay 100+ Euros a round. Those in the UK will certainly remember golfing legend Jack Nicklaus heavily promoting one Spanish developer.

Many warned a bust always follows a boom, but few took any notice as banks fell over themselves to lend money without asking too many questions, while planning permission never seemed to be a problem. On one well known Spanish development is was reported they were selling 20 apartments a day at the height of the property frenzy – could this really go on?

Well today we all know too well the answer was a categorical – NO!

You don’t have to drive too far in Portugal or Spain to see abandoned developments & golf courses which probably will never be finished. With this comes tales of people who paid substantial deposits in good faith, never to see their money again and with the developers going bankrupt or vanishing, little option to any recourse.

With the recession still taking hold throughout Europe then is there any hope things will get back to the heady days of the early noughties? Thankfully the answer is no.

But can a more normal service be resumed, well to that the answer should be yes.

The recession, if somewhat brutally, has brought a grinding halt to the building frenzy that took hold in Portugal and Spain. Several golf courses/resorts have gone to the wall, while many residential developments will never be finished.

So there is every hope that those which remain open and have survived the worst of the recession can continue to do so. The hope is we can move more to a balance between supply and demand. Maybe even more competitive pricing can increase that demand, certainly the low cost carriers such as Ryanair, Easyjet and Jet2 still seem to be happy to operate to Portugal and Spain even though you probably have to pay handsomely to take your golf clubs with you!

Also for those who have to endure a northern European climate there is certainly something very, very appealing about heading south to enjoy sunnier climes.

MOVE OVER ‘COLONEL BLIMP’

It does not seem that long ago when the great game of golf was seen as the preserve of those mainly from a privileged background. The member’s committee tended to be made up of retired Majors and Group Captains and the etiquette of the game was what really mattered - the ‘Colonel Blimp’ age as I heard someone put it.

Thankfully things have changed and the game is now enjoyed by people of all different classes and backgrounds.

What’s more the advent of satellite TV means more golf then ever is being beamed into people’s living rooms bringing the game to an ever wider audience.

But drive by many golf courses these days and you will more than likely see banners up encouraging you to join, often with very tempting offers! Speaking to others in the industry it seems most golf clubs are desperate for members. So why is this?

No doubt there are several reasons, in the ‘Colonel Blimp’ age courses were few and far between and therefore they could be choosy about who they did, and did not, allow to join. However with the plethora of course building in the late 20^th century suddenly there were more and more clubs looking for members.

Clubs it could be argued with a more liberal attitude to members - and who were prepared to welcome the masses.

But this increase in the number of clubs led to a new breed – the nomad golfer! Someone keen on the game but who did not want to be tied down to playing the same old course 52 weeks of the year. Rather why not choose where and when you want to play, try some different courses, go back to the favourites and forget about the rest.

‘Green fees welcome’ became the new mantra. This of course had a knock-on effect on membership levels at clubs which started to decline. One club I was told lost over 40 members last year – or put another way about £35,000!

So what can be done? Well some of the more progressive clubs are offering more options to a straight one year membership. The most popular seems to be a ‘Points System’ where you buy points in advance and then redeem them against rounds of golf. One example is that £300 would buy the equivalent of 20 weekend or 25 mid week rounds – more than enough for many social golfers.

On top of this others are introducing a ‘buddy’ system where new members come under the wing of seasoned members who can play a few rounds with them, do the introductions at the 19^th hole and generally help them to settle in.

Home grown golf talent has never been stronger, holding the numbers one and two players in the world spots; Darren Clarke has just lifted the Claret Jug and Rory McIlroy won the American Open.

Let’s hope this can be used to ensure this great game of ours thrives in the UK.