Scots Look To Irish

Scotland are looking to total revenues of Stg £67 million, should they succeed in landing the Ryder Cup for 2009. And with Carnoustie, Gleneagles, Loch Lomond, St Andrews and Turnberry accepted as the five bidding venues, the organisers believe that quality could be the key to success.

As part of this strategy, they have chosen a national sporting icon to spearhead the marketing effort. And with the bid document scheduled to be with the Ryder Cup committee by the end of September, Gavin Hastings, the former Scotland rugby captain and record points scorer, projected a very visible presence during the recent British Open at St Andrews.

In his own way, however, Hastings unwittingly characterised a certain naivete about the overall Scottish approach, which may explain why their own media seem to having great difficulty in taking the whole thing seriously. There he was in the media centre, suitably sporting in attire, except that the olive green polo shirt he was wearing happened to carry the name and logo of the Old Head of Kinsale.

Granted, by the time he appeared on television later in the week, Hastings was wearing a royal blue sweatshirt advertising Famous Grouse whisky. But the interesting thing was that he seemed to see nothing odd about the Old Head shirt in the context of promoting the merits of Scottish golf.

Brian Meek, chief sports writer of the Glasgow Herald and chairman of the conservative group on the Edinburgh City Council, wasn't surprised. "To be perfectly frank, I think we're only playing at the whole thing, certainly in comparison to how it was handled in Ireland," he said.

"Go to any major golf tournament these days and you're almost certain to find a Bord Failte presence. When have you last seen anything comparable from Scotland, other than at something like the Open? Frankly I'm very pessimistic about our chances for 2009. I wouldn't be surprised if a Continental country such as Germany or Sweden nipped in ahead of us."

When the Irish Government committed themselves to bringing the Ryder Cup to this country in 2005, they received enthusiastic support from all sections of the media here. And an emphasis on seeing the project through to a successful conclusion was maintained until the official announcement at Valderrama during the matches in September 1997.

By comparison, there was hardly a ripple of reaction in the Scottish media when deputy minister for culture and sport, Rhona Brankin, unveiled the official Scottish Ryder Cup bid logo during British Open week at St Andrews. Local scribes took the view that nothing really newsworthy had emerged.

Highlighting the named candidates as "five of the most prestigious golf venues in the world," the minister said: "Each has a proven record in hosting top golf competitions and each is associated with golf at its highest level.

"I have no doubt that any one of these marvellous courses could successfully host the Ryder Cup in 2009. Scotland has courses that other countries can only dream of - the quality of golf in Scotland will be a key element of our bid."

"It will bring a significant boost to the Scottish economy. For example, in 1997, the Valderrama event generated Stg £58 million and last year's staging in Boston over $150 million, some $50 million more than anticipated.

"An initial economic impact assessment estimates that the Ryder Cup would generate some Stg £44 million in new expenditure in Scotland in the short term and an estimated longer-term investment of a further Stg £23 million.

"Golf was born in Scotland. Given the quality and challenge our courses provide, our professionalism in hosting major golfing events, our commitment to the ongoing development of golf and the propriety we bring to golf, there is no more fitting country to host the 2009 Ryder Cup."

AS keen tourism rivals of the Scots, who were described recently by the Minister for Tourism and Sport, Dr Jim McDaid, as "a sleeping giant on our doorstep", few people in the industry in this country would dispute the quality of the Scottish product. One has only to consider such wonderful golfing locations as St Andrews or Gleneagles.

Then there is the priceless asset of regular stagings of the British Open, which now appears to have only two English courses - Royal Birkdale and Royal Lytham - on its regular rota of eight venues. Other significant promotional advantages were to be seen in the Firth of Forth during Open week when the QE2, in all her magnificent splendour, was berthed close to the charming fishing town of Anstruther.

As an envious Swedish golf official once observed to me about Ireland: "You can't buy tradition." Yet the overall Scottish approach to tourism and related matters, seems to lack conviction, even to their own people.

"Our minister with responsibility for tourism, is largely involved with education," said Meek of Henry McLeish, minister for life long learning in the Scottish parliament. "And with all the talk about support from the private sector, the fact remains that Standard Life, who sponsor the Loch Lomond Invitational, are the only major Scottish company involved in golf at the moment.

"I have publicly told our officials of the crucially different situation in Ireland where Minister McDaid seems to have direct access to vital funds." He concluded: "It seems to me that whether in the public or private sector, we're simply playing at the whole golf business, by comparison."

Indeed the Scots have good reason to be looking to this country. As Hastings acknowledged, the successful bid process for the 2005 staging at The K Club has since been accepted by the Ryder Cup committee - through the European Tour and the PGA - as a blueprint for all future applications.

"We see a healthy competition in golf tourism between our two countries and we don't mind admitting that our current approach has been prompted by Ireland's success," said Hastings. "That is why we are taking the same route, through public and private investment. Indeed our primary focus at the moment is on the private sector."

Though the bidding procedure will be the same as that which applied to Valderrama in 1997 and The K Club, with the initial decision being made regarding the host country, Hastings went on to emphasise that all five applicants are united in their determination to have the Ryder Cup on Scottish soil. In this regard, the 2009 bid is different from the other two in that each individual Spanish and Irish venue effectively went it alone.

Hastings is also conscious of formidable allies in court. Ken Schofield, executive director of the European Tour, happens to be a Scot. And while the 2001 staging is the turn of the PGA at The Belfry, another Scot, Sandy Jones, is their executive director.

Then there is player power. Sam Torrance, European Ryder Cup captain of next year's staging at The Belfry, has been brought on board to lend valuable support to his country's bid. So it is that he is quoted in the official document as saying: "The Ryder Cup means more to a professional golfer than any other event. The chance to play in the Ryder Cup at the home of golf would be the ultimate ambition for any Scottish and, indeed, European golfer. I am confident that a Ryder Cup in Scotland in 2009 would be the best yet."

Another Scot, Colin Montgomerie, has been Europe's leading player for the last seven years. In his view: "The Ryder Cup embodies the spirit and heritage of golf and with over 500 courses Scotland, as the birthplace of golf, would be the perfect location. I warmly applaud the Scottish Executive's efforts to bring the Ryder Cup to Scotland in 2009 and am delighted that five of the best courses in the world have collaborated to ensure that our bid is successful."

Then comes Paul Lawrie, the 1999 British Open champion: "To win the Open in Scotland last year was a dream come true but to win the Ryder Cup in Scotland in 2009 would certainly eclipse even that."

With their bid in place by the end of next month, a decision on the Scottish application is expected by the end of this year. At this stage, it is difficult to imagine any country depriving the Scots of another Ryder Cup, which they staged at Muirfield in 1973.

It seems that all they have to do is to convince their own people.