Golf clubs all over the island of Ireland have seen plenty of the rough for the past few years as the economic crisis and subsequent austerity drive has hit club memberships, green fees and retail turnover.

According to the Golfing Union of Ireland, club memberships peaked at 177,149 in 2004 but in the following seven years those memberships plummeted 13.5 per cent to 153,278.

Of course, there is an obvious knock-on effect, fewer people playing means less retail turnover, fewer pints over the bar in the clubhouse and it is no surprise then that clubs have been struggling.

In a tourist county like Fermanagh it also means fewer visitors, fewer green fees and fewer hotel bookings.

With 100 new courses built in Ireland between 1995 and 2010, it is clear that supply has also outstripped demand which tends to push prices down.

Local clubs in Fermanagh have tried to entice new members and former members back with reduced rates for the first couple of years but it is hard to cut prices across the board especially given the cost of course maintenance.

In basic economics terms, the focus has to be on creating a greater demand for the product and the key now has to be keeping the players you have, to get former players back playing, to get new players taking up the game and producing the right standard of coaching at youth level to make the game as appealing as possible in a highly competitive youth market. Ironically, all this is coming at a time when the game is enjoying halcyon days in the province with Rory McIlroy the world number one and the Irish Open scheduled to come to Lough Erne Resort in 2017.

The next few years should be good especially in Fermanagh and it may be a good time to get golf clubs back out of the rough and into the middle of their lush green fairways, so to speak.

One club trying to buck the trend is Enniskillen and they have just set up the first golf simulator replete with large screen and shot tracker in Northern Ireland. Some clubs have the technology but not the screen.

It’s bit like the shot centre on Sky, so move over Dennis Pugh and welcome Liam McCool.

A PGA professional since 1992 and having worked at the Slieve Russell and the Belfry, Liam McCool, who has been based at Enniskillen for almost five years, explained: “It’s from Foresights Sports and its a GC2 Simulator, the main focus of the machine would be for custom fitting, tuition, and then the final asset would be golf simulation where you can play a course like the Belfry. This is the only course on it so far, over the next few months we would look to add another four or five world class courses. Courses that people are associated with, know well and would love to play. This is the technology that the leading manufacturers also use, so it is cuttung edge stuff.” Liam added: “Primarily custom fitting would be the main asset as 75 per cent of golfers are using clubs that don’t suit them, so it is about getting the right goods to the individual. Players can bring their own clubs in here try out their current set and I will give other options and with use of the GC2 Simulator we can draw comparisons. This means we can get what is best for the player.” Happy golfers play more often and Liam also reckons it can help revolutionise what they do at the club.

“One of our aims with the installation of this machine is to develop our junior programme, so over next few months structured training programmes can be carried out to help grow junior membership and at the same time, grow the standard of play. It is also appealing to the kids who play computer games but this is with real balls and real clubs, it’s trendy and the feedback so far has been a major plus.

“There has been a good reaction from members as well, especially over the winter months as you can come and play golf no matter what the weather and obviously Enniskillen has a thriving senior category and because of the weather they may not always play in winter but this allows them to keep swinging over the winter months. I must thank all the members who have been so supportive and helped with the installation and building the room for it.” Liam also hopes that the uniqueness of the product will attract people into the county.

“It is the first GC2 Simulator at a golf club in Northern Ireland and that gives us an opportunity to attract more people to the area, improve the standard within the club and also to get people to the club and create a bit of a buzz.

“Over last four to five years memberships have been affected, rounds of golf have been affected, so it is very important that we retain memberships and make it enticing for people to join the club. So the more facilities you have the better and this is unique, so it is a good selling point to bring in more customers. It will be vital in the coming years to grow numbers in golf, and the GC2 Simulator can help from the initial stages of going out to schools, lady beginner packages, men’s novice beginners and seniors night. The fact that this is a facility that can be used all day means you can go after certain markets.” Crucially it is also allowing amateur golfers to avail of technology that would previously been the preserve of the professional.

Liam sees the GC2 simulator as part of an overall rethink on how to get more people playing the game.

“The challenge most clubs are facing is retaining members while there is a category between the ages of 20 - 45 where commitments to family and other sports impact on the ability to play. So it is really being about being able to offer some kind of membership packages which will give those golfers more flexibility given their restrictions.

“The county has a lot of good courses and packages together with local hotels to attract more people will also be important.” The retail end of the business is also very competitive with the online market driving down margins but it is an area where you have to be competitive.

Liam adds: “It is important to be part of the increasing trend of online sales and you need a good website. 90 per cent of our sales are UK based but we also sell to Portugal and Spain, a part of the business that is growing. We feel our site is good but whether is it is the shop or online, good customer service is paramount to retain customers and get them back.” And so, the golfing industry is in state of flux, it is adapting to changed times and remains an important part of the Fermanagh economy.

To survive and thrive, it needs to innovate to regenerate whilst shedding some antiquated ways of operating so as to be once more a major player in a competitive sports market.

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