Saturday, November 8, 2008

Top 10 uses.... another "golf links" failure......

10. A Golf Cart Driver Training Centre for "Snack Cart Girls"....
9. Demo site for trying out your new lawn mower...
8. A National Lawn Bowling site....
7. A Pet Conversion Centre for the hog industry...
6. Paint Ball Park....
5. Meditation Centre for City Councillors...
4. Nine Screen Drive In Theatre Complex...
3. Spring Training Camp for the Leafs...
2. Business Training Centre for Golf Links staff...
and finally the number one use...
A perfect project for your PhD dissertation on the taxpayers tab...


Callaway shuts down golf centre
By David MacDonald
Callaway Golf Canada will no longer operate its golf performance centre at the Brudenell resort, with the company blaming a low turnout for the closure. The performance centre, which was in operation since 2007, was part of an overall agreement Callaway had with Golf Links PEI. Callaway leased the property from the provincial government, and the company has branding rights to the Callaway Golf Divine Nine course in Brudenell, which is operated by the province. The performance centre included club fitting and technical support for golfers provided by a golfing professional. The province spent between $35,000 and $38,000 to renovate the building, which was the former Canadian Golf Academy, in 2006 in preparation for the performance centre’s arrival but spent no other money on it since, said Golf Links PEI general manager Greg Dukart. Chris Walling, director of marketing for Callaway, said the number of customers coming to the performance centre didn't justify keeping the facility open. “It didn’t meet the minimum threshold to cover all of the cost of the physical running of the centre.” Mr Walling would not divulge those numbers but speculated the economy played a role. “In talking to a number of resort properties across the country, not just PEI, they see tourism numbers are down. The reasons for that are the state of the Canadian dollar, and the state of the economy in the US.” Mr Walling emphasized the agreement between Callaway and Golf Links PEI is still in place. He said discussions are being held with Golf Links PEI about using the performance centre site for a different venture, such as a teaching and fitting academy or a junior clinic for younger golfers. But he said it is still very early in the planning process. Mr Dukart said the numbers are Callaway's business, not government's. He said there haven't been any discussions at a government level about what to do with the site.

No comments: