Backing for golf course study

The Courier, 14 August 2003

A call for the provision of a special economic impact study as part of the planning process or the new seventh golf course planned by St Andrews Links Trust has been backed by a leading figure in the local golf industry.

Yesterday David Scott, director of golf at Kingsbarns - a course now acclaimed as one of the top 50 in the world - said that he also wanted to call into question the need for another public St Andrews course.

He made his comments as debate grows over the proposed new non-links course planned for land at Kinkell Braes to the east of the town.

The trust, however, responded by stating that it “flew in the face of reality” for people to deny that growth in play and in local demand is still taking place.

The body has already stated that the new course is necessary to meet local demand at a time when the existing courses are “teetering on the brink of capacity.”

The idea of an economic impact study was floated by the general manager of the Old Course Hotel, Golf Resort and Spa, Jonathan Stapleton, who highlighted a drop in visitor numbers, emerging golf destinations elsewhere in the world, and the fact that other private courses in the area are working well under capacity.

He also said that there should be an independent study among local golfers to gauge how much use the new course would attract.

Mr Scott said yesterday that the trust’s use of 1995 as a base year for statistical comparison is not realistic.

He said that 1995 was an Open Championship year when no golf had been played around the time of the event because the courses were closed, and the number of rounds played was thus greatly reduced.

“Comparing instead the statistics supplied by the links trust from 1997 through to 2002, the in crease in total rounds played by local and yearly ticket holders has risen by only 1.1%.

"Total rounds played by all segments of golfer for the same period increased by 1.3%. This gives a much more realistic reflection on the increase in rounds played.

"‘I would welcome an independent economic impact study being carried out prior to any planning permission being given.

“Should the study prove that another course is needed, then I would support the project 100%,” he said.

Yesterday, however, links trust spokesman Peter Mason said that denying growth has taken place, and continues to take place, “flies in the face of reality.”

He said that the growth figures used include two Open Championship years, 1995 and 2000, with play between them going up by 17% and local play alone going up by more than 19%.

It is this growth in local play, he said, that is driving the need for Course No 7.