With my final blog of 2023 before our Christmas break, I thought I’d catch up with some news items that could have a bearing on the future of our industry, in terms of wellbeing and satisfaction.
Golf for example will be endorsing a major change in the history of the game by changing the specification and design of the golf ball. Big hitters are apparently likely to see the distance they can drive tee shots shortened by around 15 yards after the R&A and United States Golf Association announced changes to rules surrounding ball specifications, reported the BBC recently.
The report says that, “All players will be affected, but officials estimate that recreational golfers, incapable of generating the rapid swing speeds of pros, will suffer a reduction of fewer than five yards to their longest shots.
“There has been opposition from golf manufacturers and leading tours during a protracted period of consultation before this announcement. One manufacturer described previous proposals as 'solution seeking a problem'."
The report goes on to quote R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers who says, "Golf courses are growing ever longer and we need to have a responsibility about protecting the integrity of golf courses, protecting the balance of skills and technology, and how the game is played.
"But also the sport has to take its responsibility and be cognisant of our environmental and sustainability impacts. Making golf courses ever longer, we start to run out of property, and it is not environmentally responsible."
As ex greenkeeper I am fully aware of the progress modern golf technologies have brought to the game. Golf club design and ball size have for many years helped advance the sport. However, it is perhaps time we did limit the distance we can physically hit a ball.
As mentioned above, we have seen many golf courses dramatically changed and lengthened to accommodate the need to increase the length of holes. However, this will and can have a dramatic effect on the balance and nature of the course, and can come at a great cost.
It would seem to me that we must work hard on all fronts to save the integrity of the game and, more importantly, retain the historical layout of the golf course. Many golf courses in the UK were probably built pre 1950s.
Based on research we can say that there are around just under 3000 golf courses in the UK and Ireland.
We must preserve the original concept and design of these golf courses - that’s what’s makes them unique depending on their age, construction, and the topography of the course.
I am all for making them more consistent in playability and, over time, ensuring they are playable 365 days a year, but to spend hundreds of thousands of pounds lengthening them to accommodate new golf technologies such as the ball and club is not the way forward. We should be investing in the appropriate maintenance of the course to keep its integrity and sustainability.
Council crisis
Another worry for me is the plight of local councils. We recently heard of Nottingham City Council declaring itself bankrupt and serving a 114 notice. It follows on from Labour-led Birmingham council declaring bankruptcy and Conservative-led Croydon council in south London declaring bankruptcy three times in two years, Thurrock in Essex becoming the largest bankruptcy in local government history last year, and a string of others including Slough, Woking, and Northumbria County Council.
My particular worry is that we will see further cuts to the maintenance of our parks and public open spaces, which for many years have been on a downward spiral. I see this first hand in my role of a Green Flag judge, where falling standards are unfortunately commonplace.
I read with interest an article published by Birmingham City Council that provides evidence on the true value of our parks and public open spaces.
You can read the report in full here, but the value of parks and green estate in Birmingham, in terms of what they offer to all aspects of life in the city, has been calculated as £11billion!
I am sure the other 400 plus local authorities around the country could provide similar findings, illustrating the overall value of what our urban greenspaces provide. And that’s without even considering the social and wildlife benefits these green spaces bring to the table.
For me and my working colleagues who have spent their whole careers managing public open spaces, it is time the government finally listened to these key influential parks managers and committed the appropriate funds to manage and maintain these vital community assets.
We have enough evidence on the value of these parks, coming from sources such as:
It is really time that the government saw the potential of encouraging young people to come and work in this diverse landscape industry. We would then be in a better position to maintain these valuable assets.
If, for example, the government were to divert the astronomical cash figures away from schemes that the High Court declares unlawful, some of that money could be spent on looking after our own valuable parks assets and maybe provide a career for our younger next generation of parks managers.
Finally, I’d just like to take the opportunity to wishing all our readers a Happy Christmas and a prosperous New Year and I’ll be back with you when our next TurPro arrives in your inbox on January 8th.
