Ballybunion members limit their chances

Ballybunion GC have placed such a severe limit on spectators as to make it impossible to stage the Murphy's Irish Open on their famous links next year. Where the paying public are concerned, the daily attendance would be restricted to 4,000.

"They're not making it easy for us to put in on there," said Murphy's managing director, Padraic Liston, yesterday, with a wry smile. "In fact if they insist on these attendance figures, I can't see it going ahead."

Liston might be expected to take a sympathetic view of the situation, given that he is a native of Ballybunion and a member of the club. And is was clear that his company were prepared to incur significant, additional expense to make such a staging possible.

In a letter to the sponsors, however, the Ballybunion committee informed them that, apart from a ceiling of 4,000 "ordinary" spectators, they would accommodate 2,000 club members and 750 stewards. And they also specified that critical decisions regarding the preparation of the course for the championship would have to rest with their agronomist.

Given the importance of the subject, one has to view this as a serious response from Bally bunion GC. Yet it hardly seems credible that this is the same club which sought to stage the 2005 Ryder Cup and has, through the years, regularly voiced its suitability for major international tournaments.

One can only imagine the sort of response the committee would have got from Ken Schofield, executive director of the European Tour and the effective decision-maker regarding the 2005 Ryder Cup, had they put such a proposal to him. They would hardly have had the words out of their mouths before hearing "next please".

It is admirable that they should be anxious to protect their great links. Yet their reaction to Murphy's sits rather oddly with annual green-fee traffic which delivers in excess of £1 million. Quite apart from the value of the tournament to the local community, estimated at between £5 million and £10 million.

Unlike the shallow duneland of Portmarnock, the majestic undulations of Ballybunion would significantly limit spectator areas. Then there is the continuing problem the club endures with coastal erosion.

But Portmarnock's members recognised that they owed it to the nation to make their facility available for premier events. So it was that 12 Irish Opens were held there from 1976 to 1990, quite apart from such celebrated tournaments as the Canada Cup (1960), Alcan Golfer of the Year (1970) and Walker Cup (1991). And Royal Dublin responded to the call in 1983 to 1985.

It is also a fact that the Irish Open has done much to promote Ireland internationally as a destination for golf tourism. Bally bunion could argue that they did much of their own promoting during the 1980s, with the invaluable endorsement of Tom Watson. But they would still have been beneficiaries of national efforts.

Against that background, the least that could be expected of the club is that they make a realistic response to Murphy's overtures. "Without significant gate receipts, the tournament is simply not viable," explained Liston.

He went on: "On a once-off basis, we are prepared to incur major additional costs to bring the Murphy's Irish Open to Ballybunion for the millennium. From current costs of £1.5 million, we are prepared to go as high as £2.5 million, in other words an increase of £1 million to underwrite the event at Ballybunion, provided the Government came up with £500,000. And I have already approached Government agencies to that effect."

Going to a members' club involves further loss of revenue to the sponsor, in that they would not be paid by a venue for staging the event. This contrasts with the case when Murphy's embarked on sponsorship of the Irish Open at Mount Juliet before going to its present home, Druids Glen, where attendances at the weekend were in excess of 20,000.

So, what would be realistic attendance limits? "Between 10,000 and 12,000," replied Liston. "And even at that, we would have to greatly reduce access to our customers, quite apart from corporate hospitality."

And is Ballybunion, with Tom Watson at club captain, the only millennium game in town? Apparently not. "We are currently in discussion with six venues and we won't be in a position to make any announcement probably until after next month's tournament at Druids Glen."