46 It isn’t hard to see why that initial spike happened. Golf was one of the first leisure activities to be allowed to reopen after the first round of pandemic lockdowns; its outdoor nature, its huge playing field and its essentially socially distanced nature made it an obvious way of getting out of doors and having fun at a time when both were difficult to achieve. According to the NGF’s 2020 survey, 67 per cent of golfers explained their increased play by saying they had ‘fewer alternative ways to spend leisure time’. The following year, though, 56 per cent of respondents said that golf was ‘more of a priority’. “Golf was given a rebirth during Covid, especially in the younger demographic,” says architect Phil Smith. “What was once seen as a waste of time – a four-hour game – is now seen as a valuable way to get a break from phones and computer screens. I attribute some of that to the psychological effects of Covid and people realised what was important to them after being locked up for a year or so in front of their computer screens.” This change has to be good news for those in the golf industry. It may not be the case worldwide – British architect and course owner Adrian Stiff says the pandemic “probably increased demand by 25 per cent, but it’s fading a bit now, maybe at six or seven per cent a year.” There are certainly some regions where new activity is minimal. Swedish architect Christian Lundin says very clearly: “There is no boom here.” But the belief of many golfers, that if more people were exposed to the game, they would enjoy it enough to keep playing, seems to have some legs. In most of the golfing world, the boom in participation is very real indeed. And, inevitably, that is resulting in more work for golf course architects. “We are as busy as we have been since the early/mid 2000s,” says Jeremy Slessor, chief executive of European Golf Design. “The first two months of Covid – March/ April 2020 – were fairly concerning, but since then it has been crazy.” Slessor says that the spike in architecture work began very quickly, way before any boom in participation had become clear, and was led by the renovation market, with forwardthinking owners realising that, if their facilities were going to be closed or empty for a substantial time, it was a good opportunity to make necessary improvements. “For renovation projects, especially where there was a hotel involved, people decided early on that INDUSTRY GROWTH Photo: EGD Jeremy Slessor of European Golf Design says the firm is as busy as they have been since the early/mid 2000s. Current projects include a total renovation of La Grande Mare in Guernsey “ It’s definitely best for the top guys, but it’s still pretty good for most architects – there still seems to be a lot of work out there”
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NzQ1NTk=