2008 Revisited

At this time of year, it is customary to review the past year’s local golf activities, but as regular readers will have noticed, the recession has already been felt. Having adopted an optimistic approach to the fortunes of the Costa del Golf during the past two years, I have to come clean and admit that all is not as well as it might be.  Hardly surprising, when one considers that the decline in the global economy is literally affecting everyone, weak and strong alike. To those who play for fun, golf is a luxury and as such, is one of the first to take a backseat when the chips are down.  However, to those who rely on golf for a living, ways have to be found to encourage golfers to view their winter golf break as essential and afordable, rather than something to be sacrificed. Sadly, there were few signs during 2008 that our golf clubs have the will or the means to tempt back the missing golfers. On the plus side, several clubs have drastically reduced their green fees, Sta Clara being a commendable example, with very positive results. However, golf tourism inevitably involves more than one golf course during a seven day visit, so it is disappointing to report that several courses have felt it appropriate to increase their green fees substantially. While a few wealthy golfers may continue to patronise the more expensive golf clubs, they will certainly find themselves missing from economic “crisis” packages designed to attract the average visitor, on whom the coast relies for success in the good times, but for mere survival during the difficult times which are forecast for 2009 and possibly beyond.

However, there is good news for those who live on the coast and like to play golf regularly.  More golf clubs are now seeing membership as a means of attracting more players, which means that there are now plenty of opportunities to join a golf club and play regularly.  I’ll be exploring this situation during the coming weeks, so watch this “page” for further news.

Notwithstanding the above, we at Golf Leisure Breaks sincerely wish you all a Happy New Year!

Tags: Golf activities, golf clubs, Golf Leisure Breaks, New Year, readers, Sur in English