Thursday, March 11th, 2010 
scott
Golf showing scars of recession
Nearly 50 per cent of golf courses in Europe, the Middle East and Africa have reported reduced revenues and profitability during the economic downturn, according to a KPMG report.
Carried out by KPMG's Golf Advisory Practice, the report measured the impact of the global recession on golf through the business performance of golf courses in 2009.
It also revealed that two-thirds of clubs said the financial crisis had impacted negatively on their operations.
Half of the golf businesses surveyed - totalling more than 300 across 32 countries - said they had made redundancies or cut staff jobs.
Great Britain and Ireland was among the three worst affected regions, with Western Europe and South Africa also suffering badly.
Andrea Sartori, head of KPMG's Golf Advisory Practice in EMA, said: "While golf course operators, on average, are feeling more positive about their future prospects, two fundamental business factors suggest the way back to the fairway will not be straightforward.
"Nearly half of all the courses surveyed reported a drop in revenues, fuelled in part by one or more of the following: a fall in memberships, green fee revenue, as well as food and beverage spending. While this decline in revenue may not be significant when averaged out it is still worrying that 13 per cent of courses have reported a reduction of more than 20 per cent in the number of rounds played.
"Golf courses - particularly those linked to tourist resorts and the ones operating in mature markets like Great Britain and Ireland - will have to work very hard on their relationship marketing, pricing strategies and service levels to attract new customers or lure back the old ones."
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Murrayshall Golf Club
With only a month to go until the nine automatic positions for the Ryder Cup are decided, competition is really hotting up.
To dispel any confusion over the way things are as far as European Team selection is concerned, here is a breakdown of the situation right now.
After the Johnnie Walker Championship at ... 
