Why all the fuss about golf?
TravelMole’s Graham McKenzie explores where cost is not the issue:
So the Ryder Cup is over for another two years. The Europeans fly, or in Luke Donald’s case drives (he lives in Chicago), home and the USA licks its wounds after a tournament with extra emotion, nerve, skill, tactics and pure drama.
What is the impact on local tourism? This Ryder Cup was held at Medinah Country Club which is about half an hour away from downtown Chicago in Illinois and the convention and visitor bureau estimate a plus figure of $160million.
This is about the same figure as for the recent NATO defence convention but without the associated security costs. So it all sounds good and no wonder destinations scramble to hold the event. This mid-west region of America is really Ryder Cup country with the 1999 and 2004 events being held in nearby Michigan. Next time it’s held in the USA, Hazeltine in Minnesota will be used and four years after that Whistling Straits in Wisconsin will be the hosts. With an estimated 45,000 people attending each day (about 2,000 media) including practice it’s a tournament any right minded golf region would go a long way to secure.
Many of the benefits of hosting a large golf tournament, and especially the Ryder Cup with its almost guaranteed drama, accumulate years before the actual day when first tee nerves take over and spectators need to be aware of hooks and slices. First press release I received on Monday morning was from Visit Scotland extolling the virtues of a golf break in Perthshire where Gleneagles hosts of the 2014 Cup is located.
So why the fuss? Well golfers spend money !! They repeat visit and brag to their pals back home. An academic study by *Priestley way back in 1995, but recently verified, concluded that ‘dedicated golfers seem to want a golfing holiday where cost is not the major issue’. Music to the ears of travel agents, tourist boards or tour operators around the world!
I was lucky enough to visit Medinah two weeks ago and the planning for Hazeltine in 2016 has already started. The PGA of America will begin the process of taking over the golf course, setting out the media schedules, signing sponsorship agreements, drawing the plans for corporate entertainment, sorting marketing arrangements with the local tourist board and of course selling merchandise. I have to say it works – I bought a Gleneagles 2014 jumper in 2009!!!!
In order to celebrate the Ryder cup region of the USA my hosts during my visit, Great LakesUSA (www.facebook.com/GreatLakesUSA ), have on offer 4 x 2012 Ryder cup shirts as prizes for people who answer this question correctly – ‘Name 6 courses in Illinois that have held a major championship’ and say why you would like to play a Ryder Cup Course? Email answers to [email protected]
* Priestley, G. (1995). Sports tourism: The case of golf. In G. J. Ashworth & A. G. J. Dietvorst(Eds.), Tourism and spatial transformations: Implications for policy and planning (pp. 205-223).Wallingford, UK: CAB International
Diane
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