The UK golf industry is attracting serious overseas capital, a new venue is reimagining what a golf course can be and a landmark report has handed clubs one of the most powerful marketing tools they’ve ever had.
Foreign investors are looking at UK golf resorts and liking what they see
A clear signal that international capital views UK golf as a serious long-term asset has come as Dubai-based Select Group has acquired three English golf resorts in a single deal. Breadsall Priory, St Pierre and Tudor Park have become part of a portfolio that’s gone from no UK golf resorts to five in just one year.
The group’s CEO described UK golf resorts as a compelling long-term asset class, citing strong locations, established brands and loyal guest bases as the foundation for value creation. The resorts will see a programme of operational and guest experience investment.
Some new venues are offering more than just golf
A new venue, Mad Swans in the South Downs, is opening this month and it says something instructive about where new golf development is heading. Alongside 12 holes of golf, the site will offer padel and pickleball courts, eco-cabin stays, two restaurants, darts, shuffleboard and a woodland tipi. The course itself has been built for flexibility – golfers can play six, 12 or 18 holes.
There could be a lesson for anyone thinking about a new golf development here: Some of the venues getting built are investing heavily in golf, but also giving people additional reasons to visit.
Golf clubs have been handed a powerful marketing tool
A new report from The R&A has made the most comprehensive case to date for golf as a health-enhancing activity: Golfers live on average five years longer than non-golfers, golf can help prevent and treat more than 40 major chronic diseases and 72 percent of golfers in Britain and Ireland consider themselves to be in good health, compared with 51 percent of the general population.
The research also shows that golfers aged 65 to 79 demonstrate better strength and balance than non-golfers of the same age, and that golf delivers all three components associated with good mental wellbeing: physical activity, social interaction and time in nature.
These are not niche findings. They are peer-reviewed statistics that any club could put in front of its local community. Clubs that make health and longevity a central part of how they talk about what they offer may well be best placed to see security in their long-term futures.
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