Carnoustie Golf Hotel and Course (Editor's photo)
Angus councillors will be asked this week to plough £50,000 into the Senior Open Golf Championship which is being held at Carnoustie next year.
Members of the local authority's strategic policy committee are being recommended to agree to sponsor the event in light of an anticipated £1.7m benefit to the local community.
The Senior Open Golf Championship is now firmly positioned as the top competition of the senior golf circuit, ensuring the participation of golf's greatest senior players from Europe, the USA and the rest of the world. It's likely to attract over 140 world-class players and bring significant media exposure and positive economic impact on the local and Scottish economies.
Golf is a wealthy sport so does it require council tax cash from the good people of Angus? I can think of many deserving causes which could use £50,000 other than a golf match. On these occasions local authorities provide extra policing and ambulance services, as well as increased pressures on other council services - isn't that enough?
No doubt Angus council will give the nod to this sponsorship but I wonder how many Angus council tax payers would like to be told how their money is to be spent.
Source: Courier
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19 comments:
Tell you what, if Angus don't want it, there's a local authority in the south west just willing to bite their hand to get it.
Rosa, it's the nature of events. It's not about perceived notions of golf as a game for the wealthy. It's the bed nights in hotels, B%B's etcetera, the restaurants, the bars, gift shops etcetera
WV Litichu, sounds like a Pokemon. Spook will know what I'm talking about.
Monty, my point isn't about Angus not wanting it, my point is councils seem such an easy touch for these wealthy events.
Small businesses never get a look in and have to raise their sponsorship by themselves.
It was a scratch golfer who inspired me for the post - he doesn't agree taxpayers' money should be used for events such as these when the large sports businesses are swimming in cash.
I thought it would be controversial though ;)
Cheaper than backing Combover!
Indeed OR, indeed. :)
Subrosa...
I have to agree with Murkin. If you have 100 guests staying at the hotel then just think how much money the people will spend in the local area and they people will have a bit to splash.
I think any council should use money in this way if they have done a buisness case/plan and it proves it will boost the local econemy.
" WV Litichu, sounds like a Pokemon. Spook will know what I'm talking about "
Your right Murkin i ken what your on about, its a cake lol...
I suppose Angus council can afford it Spook. Some people object of course.
The problem is that these sponsorships continue to rise as councils compete with each other for the business.
I didn't think golf would have a problem with sponsorships but it seems councils are an easy touch.
More prize money I suppose.
Oh and Spook, regarding this event, I should think many visitors will be day ones of those left over from the Open at St Andrews. I doubt many will stay in Carnoustie.
subrosa,
You've got to speculate to accumulate. I'll bet if Andy Murray was there with his bat you'd be first in the queue to donate a groat or two.
WV is arize - an omen for Wednesday??
Now now Brownlie, if Andy Murray was there I'd try for a ticket but I wouldn't expect the council to subsidise it. :)
Just an idle thought this sunny afternoon.
Is Gordon Brown really;
C difficile?
Remember, that pernicious bacterial infection that just will not go away.
Crapper difficile
Confused difficile
Contaminated difficile
Compromised difficile
Clown difficile
All other contributions welcome.
Carnoustie. Eh.
Surely this wasn't the place where Diageo had a knees up recently?
Do they have their fingers in the till there too? Just asking. Bearing in mind that those kind of folk are not backward in coming forward with the cap in hand for the subsidies, like.
No I don't think the council should be throwing our money at them.
...but if the club can be persuaded to open it's grounds to some sort of junior competition, perhaps with some local schools or colleges being involved. Or local kids having the chance to partake of some professional tutelage in return for the councils sponsorship then perhaps an agreement may be reached that would be satisfactory to local rate payers.
But to just hand over folk's money without having something back in kind, is not a good idea at all.
The folk of Angus should have something in return and surely Carnoustie golf club should have the community spirit and oblige.
.
Good post Wisnaeme
Golf for the kidz!
What's it got to do with any council how much money is being put into the local economy? Empty the bins, teach the weans etc. End of story.
Oh, and thanks for the work advice last night, really inspired me! :o)
Auch Rab that's what I tend to think.
Glad I inspired you. That's made my day.
Interesting point this. Living in Embra I'm told that the Festivals bring great benefit to the city but as an individual ratepayer I've never seen a reduction in my rates caused by the large amount of cash that's brought to the town. So perhaps those that benefit - the businesses should be asked for the contributions and not the rate payer. I would agree with a some of the other comments regarding seedcorn but once it's up and running, the people and organisations that benefit should be first in with the dosh
BL, don't mention c.diff to me please. I'm a survivor of that and I do mean survivor. It can leave the healthiest person quite ill for the rest of their life.
Wisnaeme, I believe so - that is they were heughing and teughing in Carnoustie recently.
The problem with golf clubs is most think they're 'select' and offer nothing to the local community. The one at Carnoustie is not exception and it too is a private course.
Knowing residents of the town the golf club offers nothing to the community except to moan that the hotel is constantly losing money. It's no wonder, the cost of meals and accommodation is ridiculous. I know, I've eaten there.
My point exactly Dram. Golf is a well-heeled business and shouldn't need council tax money to subsidise it. As I said earlier the council contributes in no mean way with policing services, waste services and many other general services for these events.
My last visit to Carnoustie was for the Open a couple of years ago and I could say nothing better than it was so well run and a pleasure to visit. This obviously makes me want to come back even when there is no golf so the council money may well be a good spend. It's one of the hard things but without the investment it might go somewhere different and you don't get the return visits etc. These days it's not just the well off who go to the likes of Carnoustie and St Andrews, many others just want to say they have played the great courses in Scotland and competition is fierce to attract these people to the courses.
Aye that's true FL. Mind you Carnoustie's never really taken off for golf. The hotel has had serious financial problems and the town perhaps is just that bit too small for it to mirror St Andrews.
I think most fanatical golfers still much prefer St Andrews. It wins every time and it has the daily 'raffle' for a game on the Old Course too.
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