Meeting News - January 5, 2009 - (Page 44)

Insider Report: Golf Meetings Edited by Terri Hardin terri.hardin@nielsen.com Stronger Dollar Floats Business Overseas But planners should act now to lock in prices; Scotland’s value improves Listen closely and you can almost hear the collective cheer from golfers and planners every time the U.S. dollar climbs in value against other world currencies. In recent months, the U.S. dollar has seen its most broad-based and sustained appreciation since the late 1990s, thereby reducing the pain of holding overseas golf meetings. “The current exchange rate is up 25 percent from last year,” said Dove Jones, president of Golf The new Castle Course is near St. Andrews. Ink in Charleston, SC, an international golf travel marketing and consulting firm. “Whether you choose a destination in Scotland or England with the pound, or in Ireland, Spain, Portugal, or France with the euro, Americans will experience noticeable savings. Better still, many golf courses are holding their 2008 rates in 2009.” Jim Ward, president of Premier Golf in Atlanta, the official travel company of the PGA of America, said the firm’s division that handles events and group travel is seeing an increase in RFPs. “The majority of callers have cited the more favorable exchange rate as the reason for traveling overseas and playing golf,” said Ward, whose company is the official agent for the 2010 Ryder Cup in Wales. St. Andrews, Scotland, the birthplace of golf, and perhaps the most popular spot among American linksters, is suddenly more appealing to budget-conscious groups. “A strengthening dollar makes it more affordable for American visitors,” said Mike Woodcock, a spokesperson for the St. Andrews Links Trust, a portfolio of public courses that includes the Old Course.“While the economic situation can fluctuate quite rapidly, we’re very optimistic for next season.” Beyond Europe and the British Isles, other countries with numerous golf options and where the dollar has strengthened are Mexico and Canada. Also, groups will find bargains Down Under, as the dollar has gained 52 percent in value since July against the Australian dollar. For groups with Scotland firmly in mind, hogging all the recent headlines is the Castle Course, the seventh layout in the St. Andrews Links Trust. Opened in June to rave reviews, the David McLay Kidd design is perched atop rocky cliffs and outcrops, two miles east of the village of St. Andrews. Debuting this summer are Machrihanish Dunes, the first true links course to open in more than a century in western Scotland (on the Kintyre peninsula, a 2.5-hour drive from Glasgow), and Castle Stuart, a tiered and sloped seaside layout sporting 15 holes, six miles east of Inverness. In Aberdeen, Jack Nicklaus is designing a links course set to open in late 2009/early 2010 that will be the centerpiece of a $75 million, 1,500-acre, as-yet-unnamed resort with a hotel, a shooting range, and equestrian facilities. In Balmedie, just north of Aberdeen, Donald Trump recently received final approval to build a $1.5 billion resort with a hotel and two 18-hole courses. —Edward Schmidt, Jr. Upgrades in Carolinas Are Model of Consistency The Carolinas are often overlooked by golfloving groups that race to tropical climates. However, the region offers great value and a varied selection of classic and modern courses. North Carolina has more than 600 courses, and South Carolina has 380. Competition and golf standards are high in both states, where resorts and courses are continuously improving their offerings to win business. At Pinehurst Resort in Pinehurst, NC, the No. 1 course, the oldest of the resort’s eight layouts, recently received a $1.7 million renovation. In addition, the resort opened the 14,000-sf Carolina Hall in December, debuted an 1,800-sf presidential suite, and refurbished 100 guest rooms in the Carolina Hotel and Manor Inn, adding marble bathrooms and plasma TVs. In Myrtle Beach, SC, the Pine Lakes International Country Club—the venerable layout that originally debuted in the late 1920s and is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places—is slated reopen in March. Golf course architect Craig Schreiner is spearheading the transformation highlighted by greens that will double in size, fairways with more movement, and pas palum turf grass, which thrives in sodium-heavy water. In March, the Myrtle Beach Golf Hall of Fame will debut in a special garden adjacent to the Pine Lakes clubhouse. The display commemorates all aspects of the Myrtle Beach-area golf scene, including teaching, playing, course design, and administration. On Hilton Head Island, SC, the Ocean Course at Sea Pines Resort reopened last year following extensive reconstruction. The course was renamed Heron Point by Pete Dye. In Charleston, SC, Wild Dunes Resort has recruited Tom Fazio, the original designer of its Links Course, to restore its famed 18th hole, which last year was turned from a par five to a par three after a portion of the green was washed away by erosion. The hole is scheduled to reopen for play in late spring. H —ES 44 MeetingNews January 5, 2009 www.meetingnews.com http://www.meetingnews.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Meeting News - January 5, 2009

Meeting News - January 5, 2009
Contents
What’s Up @ MeetingNews.com
Inside the Industry
People Making News
Hotels & Resorts
CVBs
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Transportation
Destination Insider
Incentive Report
Insider Report
MN Webcast Report
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Meeting News - January 5, 2009