The participants of the Baltic Golf Meeting organised in Binowo Park for the representatives of the golf industry hotly debated the matter.

Why doesn’t it pay off to go into the golf business in Poland? The seminar participants argue that primarily,too few people play golf here. Over 1300 golf players are registered with the Polish Golf Union, but their membership fees are not sufficient to make golf clubs profitable. A visit to Germany proves how few golf players can be found in our country, even though the conditions are ideal here – there are no queues in golf facilities and as a rule, you have the entire golf course to yourself during the weekdays. In contrast, to play a round of golf to the most popular golf clubs on the outskirts of Berlin you need to book the course in advance even during the week.

“Golf in Poland suffers most for media events such as the so-called gambling scandal and the attendant commission of inquiry – such incidents trigger associations with suspicious dealings.” – says Sławomir Piński, Binowo Park director. “On the other hand, becoming an Olympic sport is sure to elevate golf and increase its popularity. Golf will be added to the Olympic games in 2016 and the Polish Golf Union has recently been accepted as a member of Polish Olympic Committee which will help promote the discipline and facilitate co-financing.”

How to improve the financial standing of golf clubs? One way to accomplish it is to rely on the funds from foreign tourism, i.e. golfers from abroad who come to Poland for brief visits and spend their money on games of golf as well as on accommodation and subsistence. Adopting this solution requires however adequate accommodation facilities and attractive location of golf courses, for example in close vicinity of large cities.

Generally, the revenues from leasing and sale of real property and plots of land that surround the golf course are important items in business plans of many golf clubs, even though the  recent global financial downturn seems to have checked investments in real property.

Waldemar Szadny, the president of the management board of Golf Projekt, encourages entities to become involved in such undertakings: “If I were a mayor or a president of a town with one hundred thousand inhabitants, I would adjust the spatial development plan to accommodate a golf course and sell the adjoining plots for a good price to contractors who would build single-family houses and luxury apartments there. EU aid can be attained for such purposes, for instance Rural Development Programme provides subsidies in the amount of one million PLN, which is enough to establish a golf academy (practice area with several holes for beginners – added by the editor). In addition, investors may apply for funds from the Regional Operational Programme and Human Capital Operational Programme.”

As it turns out, finding suitable land for golf-related investments does not seem to be a problem. “Poland has natural areas that are excellent for building golf facilities. When I was driving from Warsaw to Szczecin I saw landscapes and flora very similar to what can be found in Scotland and in Germany, where the oldest and best golf courses are located.” – says Jonathan Davison, golf course architect. “In such situations the right approach is to interfere as little as possible – thus, the golf course can fuse with the surroundings and incidentally, the costs are reduced as well.”
Ryszard Sola, the mayor of Łobez, confirms these words: “In our district we have areas that are similar to those in Binowo and seem ideal for building a golf course. The lake district Pojezierze Drawskie is situated nearby, we have hotels and stud farms as well.

The seminar participants believe that the location of the town of Łobez may prove to be an obstacle for the golf investment, as it is situated almost 100 kilometres from large cities such as Szczecin and Koszalin.

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