Golf course study urged

Gordon Berry, The Courier, 5 August 2003

The general manager of one of the biggest and most prestigious hotel complexes in Scotland has called on Fife Council to seek a special economic impact study as part of the planning process for the St Andrews Links Trust’s proposed new seventh course.

The plea has come from Jonathan Stapleton, of the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, who is also a leading member of the new tourism vision group which is looking at the entire St Andrews product.

Speaking exclusively to The Courier, Mr Stapleton has expressed certain reservations over whether the time is right for another course, and also about the possible knock-on effects for other private courses in the area that are already operating well under capacity.

He said that this year’s visitor figures are already down on last year, and there is still insufficient evidence to suggest that they will improve significantly next year over 2002.

“In fact, we need to remain somewhat cautious and not overoptimistic about visitor numbers increasing significantly over the next three to five years,” be said.

It would not be unreasonable to predict, he said, that the opening of a tenth course for the town - there are already five and a half public and four private courses - would take thousands of visitor rounds away from the existing courses.

He said that there is already an “ever competitive worldwide market” with equally outstanding courses being constructed in every part of the globe.

“St Andrews has more and more to compete with on the world stage, with emerging golf destinations such as Ireland and South Africa, not to mention the USA where new investment is seeing not only new and spectacular complexes, but also existing ones being redeveloped to satisfy the American golfer at home.

“Whilst no one can doubt that the £6-7 million course would be a fabulous addition to golf in St Andrews and one which we would all want to play at some point, one does have to ask if this is the right time to be building a tenth course in the town.

“There are already nine outstanding courses, with no less than four PGA championship courses having been built since 1995.”

He asked if all other options have been investigated, especially ones that could potentially satisfy the Links Trust’s forecasted increase in local demand, which is the reason being given as the sole need to build another public course.

It has been stated, he said, that the seventh course is needed to relieve pressure for local tee times on the existing links courses. It would, therefore, not be needed for visitors.

“Yet the business plan being presented by the trust shows that, in order to make the seventh course commercially viable, they will need 40% of the available tee times to be sold to visitors at a proposed green fee of some £50.”

Mr Stapleton said that visitor demand could be more than easily accommodated on the two courses at St Andrews Bay and at Kingsbarns and the Duke’s, and he has also suggested that an independent survey of local golfers could be carried out to see just how much and how often they would possibly play the trust’s seventh course.

“How popular will the non-links seventh course really be with locals who for centuries have enjoyed the simplicity of access to some of the most memorable and special holes in golf?

“The uniqueness associated with the current links courses is something every local is happy to repeat year in and year out, because however often they play these courses the feeling is always one of great history and tradition.

“Whilst we at the Old Course Hotel would most positively welcome a tenth great golf course in St Andrews, we want simply for everyone to be 100% sure that 2006 is the right time.

“This can be done by first of all ensuring that an economic impact survey has been effectively commissioned and the results made known. We need to consider all of the facts, not just the ones being presented to us.”

Mr Stapleton said that this year many locals may have ended up playing far more golf than they would have first anticipated due to the greater availability of tee times on the links courses.

Giving an example, he said that in the case of his own hotel 90% of residents had been successful in the Old Course ballot as opposed to approximately 60-65% in previous years.

“We need to know whether a seventh course will have economic benefits for St Andrews and Fife as a whole, and to fully understand when these economic benefits might begin to become apparent,” he said.

Yesterday, Nick Brian, Fife Council’s East Area development control team leader, said that no formal planning application has been lodged with Fife Council, as planning authority, for the proposed golf course at the present time.

As and when such an application is received, he said, the applicants would be required to provide supporting information which addressed the justification for constructing an additional golf course.

“This would need to examine issues such as the relationship with the existing courses operated by the applicants and why the extra course may be needed in terms of existing and proposed capacity.

“This can be illustrated, in part, by figures for the number of rounds played and projections of predicted demand, and clearly a wider view of the overall golf provision in St Andrews is helpful in undertaking this assessment.

“The economic impact of such a proposal would be an important consideration in the determination of any planning application for a further golf course,” added Mr Brian.