Knee deep in it

Golf clubs have been forced to work harder and think smarter to avoid being swallowed whole by the recession. Some top-end clubs may not survive but those that can will be all the better for it. Tony Leen, Charlie Mulqueen, Therese O’Callaghan and Donal Hughes look at the state of the Irish golf industry.

IT’S the breakfast table conversation no self-respecting husband wants to stomach. The second car may go, perhaps the autumn golf-buddy trip to Portugal. But forsaking membership of the golf club, the Sunday morning haven from the world’s ills?

For many, it has come to that. In fact, golf’s governing bodies in Ireland, the GUI and ILGU are so concerned about the number of golfers dropping their club membership – with the consequential fall-off in the number playing the game – that they have published a booklet offering advice in how they might best cope with the situation.