Golf industry stays cautiously optimistic for 2023

SEAPOINT: Leona Maguire watches her tee shot on the 10th during the Flogas Irish Scratch Series at Seapoint Golf Club in Termonfeckin, Louth. Pic: Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Almost two years on from the end of Irish golf’s great Covid shutdown and an industry leader sees reason for cautious optimism for the game here in 2023. Yet as golf clubs across the island go through their membership renewals for the new season, Carr Golf’s Alex Saul is also urging prudence for course owners and committee members as they plot their way through a year in which world events are still having a big impact on the way they must conduct business.

As chief commercial officer of Ireland’s largest golf services provider to golf courses, inbound tour operator and owners of Seapoint Golf Links, Carr Golf’s Saul has a unique insight into the macro- and micro-level decision-making processes that factor into keeping clubs afloat in all the different sectors of the Irish market.