Golf courses across the British Isles reopened in May after the end of coronavirus lockdowns, but many revered links face tenuous futures because of their dependence on golf tourists, particularly free-spending Americans.
Unlike private U.S. golf clubs, which place strict limits on guest play, U.K. and Irish courses welcome golf tourists. Visitor spending is the lifeblood of clubs that depend on the tourist trade.
“In the majority of clubs, [tourists account for] at least 50% [of total revenues], and sometimes much more than that,” said Sam Baker, CEO of Haversham & Baker Golfing Expeditions.
That money disappeared when the coronavirus hit, and, sadly, it’s not coming back anytime soon.
“The 2020 season in the British Isles is pretty well done,” said Gordon Dalgleish, co-founder of tour operator PerryGolf. He added that any predictions of a strong rebound for golf tourism in 2021 are “probably being naively optimistic.”
There are some hopeful signs. When in early May Royal County Down, the Northern Ireland course that Golf Digest ranks No. 1 in the world, began accepting deposits for its estimated 10,000-visitor tee times in 2021, Baker said a number of his clients ponied up. And tour operators say that the vast majority of their clients have been willing to bump overseas golf trips to 2021 or 2022.
“That indicates people are assuming they’re going to travel,” Baker said.
That could change, however, if coronavirus fears linger, particularly for older travelers who are more susceptible to the virus.
“Until they can find a vaccine or some type of medication that controls it, the affluent leisure traveler is not getting on an airplane,” Dalgleish said. “That’s just the reality.”
Golf groups traveling overseas typically book the trophy links first: places such as Royal County Down, Royal Dornoch in the Scottish Highlands, or the Old Course in St. Andrews, Scotland, easily the most-coveted tee time in the British Isles. Then they fill in their itineraries with lesser-known links, the so-called hidden gems, in nearby towns.
Across the British Isles, many of the remote villages are corporate towns. Their business just happens to be golf. It’s a lucrative tourism niche. In Ireland, for example, golf tourists account for about 9% of annual visitors, but they spend at least twice as much as other leisure travelers, according to Alison Metcalfe, executive vice president of Tourism Ireland.
“Take Brora [Golf Club, near Royal Dornoch],” said Bill Hogan, CEO of tour operator Pioneer Golf. “The visitors might pay £125 for the green fee and spend £25 on lunch, and the Americans might spend another £100 in the pro shop. Suddenly, that disappears for the entire season. That’s devastating.”
In fact, Brora, now 129 years old, issued an appeal for international support because it is “facing significant financial challenges” and, according to club president Andy Stewart, “might not exist” beyond the pandemic. At Carne Golf Links, a similarly remote but revered course on Ireland’s Atlantic Coast, Hogan said he has been making advance purchases of coupons and pro-shop credits to help the club generate revenue.
“The second-tier small clubs — the Crails [near St. Andrews], the Broras — are going to struggle,” Hogan said. “Will they get through this year? Probably.” But he fears what will happen if the pandemic extends into 2021.
The impact of the coronavirus stretches far beyond the golf courses to small hotels, pubs, coach drivers, and caddies who exist primarily to serve affluent golf tourists.
“Those groups of golfers are buying premium airline tickets. They’re staying in nice hotels, buying big bottles of wine, and taking caddies every day and tipping their caddies well,” Dalgleish said. “That’s not happening.”
The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, golf’s governing body everywhere except the United States and Mexico, announced a £7 million relief package primarily to support golf clubs in Great Britain and Ireland. But uncertainties remain about the virus, a possible vaccine, and government regulations on travel.
Starting on June 8, visitors to the United Kingdom will face mandatory 14-day quarantines, creating another impediment to international travel. That policy will be reviewed every three weeks. As Dalgleish noted, even an intrepid traveler wouldn’t book a one-week golf trip if it meant a two-week quarantine.
As the world tries to emerge from the lockdown, Dalgleish said he sees European authorities moving much more cautiously than their U.S. counterparts.
“In the U.S., the economic argument carries more weight,” he said. “In Europe, the health and welfare argument carries more weight.”
Martin Kaufmann has covered sports for more than two decades, including 16 years as senior editor at Golfweek.
