Nial,
With all respect, what are you talking about? NO remote overseas links golf destination, built recently in the U.K., has a prayer without the American golf visitor. If you don't believe that, nothing more needs to be said. I recall Brian Keating( the original visionary for MD, who I spent time with and like) making a great effort to put a good spin on the toxic plummet, when it began to spill out from the U.S., speaking about the project's intent to draw heavily on non-American players from Europe and elsewhere for the course. How's that one working out for them? He's been rendered a small player in the endeavor, which is a shame, as he had the major vision for it and drove it to reality.
The Scottish government certainly has provided some significant money for that project. Advertising and marketing funding to be sure. In fact, I helped put together and stuff envelopes, with an employee there, of early promotional material that was going out to tour operators and travel companies, when I was over in 2008. If the rest is right, it's money well spent.
There was also an investment funding-match scheme, with the Scottish government matching a portion of what the private investors put forward. I don't know the exact scope or time-frame of that arrangement, but it was certainly in play during the early days of the project.
As to caddies being neither here nor there, did you not read Mr. Holt's (who plays off a solid, traveling 4 handicap) assessment...the man who was JUST THERE and actually played the place TWICE? Very few golfers have played the quality and variety of links courses he has, and his read is DEAD ON!! His first comment on his current group trip to Mach Dunes, complete with plea for proper caddies making a HUGE difference there, is on our original , first-timer to Scotland caddie saga thread. He grew up in Scotland and gets it.
Southworth, an American company, has gradually become a bigger stakeholder in MD and certainly has spent money, but they've neglected some basic essentials. ANY player in the world would have great difficulty on that golf course unaided! The same could be said for many links courses. North Berwick or Dornoch first time, on your own in a three club wind....good luck.
Sadly, as Simon stated, "It was all a bit of a shambles." That is down to internal confusion on properly presenting their golf experience and their marketing. That part IS flawed. The course, given its parameters from the start, is quite good, several toasted greens and some tweaks excepted. Blindness alone, so long as it isn't excessive and one isn't unaided, doesn't equate to flawed. Having walked the course extensively and in fact videoed the entire layout, I looked at it again today. With some nominal tee elevation and slight lowering of non-compromising playing areas, without environmentally-invasive grading, most of the "total mystery" shots could be minimized to an acceptable number. Some great couses have blindness; it just shouldn't be excessive.
I find great humor in the "go it alone" responders on this site. I would pay good money to see you folks play the courses mentioned your first time, in the often stiff conditions present, unaided! You'd get your tails kicked. Maybe you find that enjoyable. I've worked with, and seen standing within feet of, some of the finest professional players in the world getting annihilated on easier to play tracks THAT THEY KNEW, in tough conditions. You have greatly inflated ideas of your talents or you can't admit the truth. Take your pick.
The Mull of Kintyre is special. I hope at they tidy up the loose ends at Mach Dunes!
Cheers,
Kris
