Masters Thesis on Golf..( am i mad!)

BINKY NIPPER

Looking for a few tips from all you golf boardsies
I intend on doing a golf masters dissertation with the title

'In current ecomonic hard times, Is Ireland exploiting its competitive advantage within the golf industry in Ireland'
Suppose i don't want this to be too wide as i could write forever on the subject but at the same time i'm looking to fill the guts of 200 pages! Golf is something i'm passionate about and i thought why not do something that interests me... So here i am !!
Initial thoughts by me on the areas i should maybe look at:
· Tourism - what are the powers that be doing to attract more numbers to our shores espcially with the superb links product that we have to offer in Ireland.
· Women in Golf - amount of women playing the game in Ireland relative to lets say some other european country like sweden. What can we be doing to attract more women to play the game on the back of Solheim Cup etc.
Would welcome all thoughts and any other ideas on where you think i should be zoning in on?.
I also need to do a minimum of 10 face to face interviews - welcome ideas on who i should maybe interview?
Initially I'm thinking government official , someone from Bord Failte maybe , 4 club presidents from 4 different provinces , a female perspective on golf ...other thoughts welcome?.
I have 12 months or so to do this and i really want to do this project justice. Might post a few surveys / questionnaires on here as i go along if thats ok with Mods.
Any issues with above Mods then please let me know, Thanks.
Thanks

BINKY

PRAF

Best of luck with your thesis! There are so many angles to go at, it must be hard to narrow them down. A few other ideas for you which you could explore:
- Trends in the market post Celtic Tiger (which clubs have been worst effected, what clubs are bucking the trend, etc.)
- Responses of clubs to a challenging market, which clubs have succeeded, which have failed, what are the most effective responses (cut costs, win more market share, lower green fees, more flexible memberships, etc.)
- Effect of Nama on the golf market in Ireland (if any)

If I were you, I'd get in touch with the GUI and also the main golf correspondents for the Indo, Times, etc. It will probably take some time to narrow down your list of topics. These guys should show you where research is most needed.

I'd also look to interview someone like Pat Ruddy from the European Club. Any interview I've read from him is always interesting. He seems to be a fairly well connected guy as well

foxyboxer

Perhaps an interesting theme would be driven from the beginnings of the golfing industry in Ireland culminating with a peak in interest with the Ryder Cup in 2006 (which coincided with the peak of the celtic tiger) and the subsequent drop in the Golf industry/Economy.

mike12

· Tourism - what are the powers that be doing to attract more numbers to our shores espcially with the superb links product that we have to offer in Ireland.

This is one thing i cannot understand tourists don't want to come here to play parkland courses they want to play links golf. Having a European tour event on a links course here every year should be a priority for the tourism board/Government 4 days advertising the beautiful links courses we have here is surely work a couple of million add by the government to the prize fund. Portrush this year was about as good an advertisement you could get for people to come and play golf here but next year they are off to Carton house just does not make sense to me.
Mike

MP62

Anyone signing off using their internet SN cannot be taken seriously imo, for that reason I'm out.

foxyboxer

mike12 wrote: »

· Tourism - what are the powers that be doing to attract more numbers to our shores espcially with the superb links product that we have to offer in Ireland.

This is one thing i cannot understand tourists don't want to come here to play parkland courses they want to play links golf. Having a European tour event on a links course here every year should be a priority for the tourism board/Government 4 days advertising the beautiful links courses we have here is surely work a couple of million add by the government to the prize fund. Portrush this year was about as good an advertisement you could get for people to come and play golf here but next year they are off to Carton house just does not make sense to me.
Mike

My guess is that it's a question of infrastructure. Sure, we've had the irish open at ballybunnion and portmarnock in recent years but would they be willing to endure the upheaval that hosting a tour event entails?

The question is are the links courses (say, a waterville or a lahinch) capable of (a) holding an event and (b) willing to invest in the infrastructure.

GreeBo

anyone who sounds like Duncan banatine cannot be taken seriously IMO.

MP62 wrote: »

Anyone signing off using their internet SN cannot be taken seriously imo, for that reason I'm out.

BINKY NIPPER

PRAF wrote: »

Best of luck with your thesis! There are so many angles to go at, it must be hard to narrow them down. A few other ideas for you which you could explore:
- Trends in the market post Celtic Tiger (which clubs have been worst effected, what clubs are bucking the trend, etc.)
- Responses of clubs to a challenging market, which clubs have succeeded, which have failed, what are the most effective responses (cut costs, win more market share, lower green fees, more flexible memberships, etc.)
- Effect of Nama on the golf market in Ireland (if any)

If I were you, I'd get in touch with the GUI and also the main golf correspondents for the Indo, Times, etc. It will probably take some time to narrow down your list of topics. These guys should show you where research is most needed.

I'd also look to interview someone like Pat Ruddy from the European Club. Any interview I've read from him is always interesting. He seems to be a fairly well connected guy as well

Thanks for taking the time Praf to respond , plenty of food for thought there. My biggest problem here as you said will be narrowing down the angles. Some nice ideas , thanks again

foxyboxer wrote: »

My guess is that it's a question of infrastructure. Sure, we've had the irish open at ballybunnion and portmarnock in recent years but would they be willing to endure the upheaval that hosting a tour event entails?

The question is are the links courses (say, a waterville or a lahinch) capable of (a) holding an event and (b) willing to invest in the infrastructure.

Foxyboxer you are spot on , infrastructure is key.

Golfgraffix

If you would like an insight from a commercial point of view we have lots of data comparing different approaches to golf marketing for about 20 countries.

There would be an NDA envolved but we have helped other students in the past

J

BINKY NIPPER

Golfgraffix wrote: »

If you would like an insight from a commercial point of view we have lots of data comparing different approaches to golf marketing for about 20 countries.

There would be an NDA envolved but we have helped other students in the past

J

PM sent , Thanks.

PARlance

Best of luck Binky, interesting topic.

The Accountancy firm FGS did a interesting survey back in Summer 2010 that may be of use, or that may help you narrow down your subject matter.
I found it here.
www.carrgolfservices.com/media/Ian_Duffy.pptx

From reading it, I'd be interested in finding out more about:

Sustainability levels of Irish Golf Courses at present and what can be done to assist this in terms of a greater uptake of golf among women, junior members and attracting additional tourists.

BigGrayKettle

Check out the Tourism Ireland corporate website for market insights and figures, including individual market profiles which detail the percentage of inbound tourists who play golf whilst visiting the Island of Ireland.

BINKY NIPPER

ajcurry123 wrote: »

Best of luck Binky, interesting topic.

The Accountancy firm FGS did a interesting survey back in Summer 2010 that may be of use, or that may help you narrow down your subject matter.
I found it here.
www.carrgolfservices.com/media/Ian_Duffy.pptx

From reading it, I'd be interested in finding out more about:

Sustainability levels of Irish Golf Courses at present and what can be done to assist this in terms of a greater uptake of golf among women, junior members and attracting additional tourists.

Cheers for that AJ, Yeah i came across the above information a number of months ago , hope to use some of this. Interesting stuff. Thanks again though for the heads up , Much appreciated.

BINKY NIPPER

Thanks to all who have contributed to date , to those who haven't as yet i'd be very interested in your thoughts and ideas.