Scottish link in Tobago golf

TOBAGO is set to position itself as one of the most desirable destinations for golfers during the upcoming Caribbean Amateur Golf Championships from August 3 to 10.

It will be a dream come true for Scotsman Chris Patey, who for the past four years has been Director of Golf at the prestigious Plantations Beach and Golf Resort at Lowlands. The Edinburgh-born Patey hopes that after the Caribbean Championships, better known as the Hoerman Cup, Plantations Beach and Golf Resort would at least establish itself among the top five courses in the Caribbean. Late last week, Patey was the host of a tour of the top-class facility, the driving force of the multi-million dollar development of Plantations, a prime 750-acre property with two and a half miles of coastline and natural lagoon co-owned by Guardian Life of the Caribbean Limited and  rum distillers Angostura Limited, both based in Trinidad.

Patey, 43, has previously worked on ambitious golf projects around the world and just before coming to the sister isle was heavily involved in the construction of the Pyramid Golf and Country Club in Cairo, Egypt. He said conceptualising the Plantations course posed its own unique challenges but is now happy to report that the 18-hole championship course has been built at a fraction of the cost of any comparable facility in this part of the world. The golf course is the jewel of the Plantations Beach and Golf Resort and the driving force of the mega community project with other phases of development which already emcompass luxury residential properties, and will soon add a yacht club, marina, health spa and fitness centre. However Patey’s focus is on the golf and the preparations for the Caribbean Championships which the new and untested Plantations Beach and Golf Resort snatched from under the noses of the traditional venue at St Andrew’s Golf Club at Moka in Maraval. “It would have been wrong had Plantations been denied the opportunity not to host the Caribbean Championships,” insisted Patey in his thick Irish brogue. His argument is that the club has the necessary infrastructure to successfully host the 10-nation competition which is rotated every ten years among member countries.

Patey, who is married and a father of a two-year-old boy born in Trinidad, believes that his hardworking and committed staff is more than able to put their highly specialised training to the test when the tournament gets underway. They aim to produce the best environment for the golfers to perform at the highest levels. “We have everything in place like the excellent course, practice range, hotel acommodation and transportation system set up to effectively produce a smooth running tournament,” said Patey. He said the club staff have been given a taste of what is required with the staging of the recent Seniors tournament which attracted some of the biggest names of the sport of yesteryear. “We are encouraged by the positive feedback we have been having. It shows that we have been making great progress in a little time,” said Patey. Throughout the past six months Plantations have been hosting a series of tournaments, almost on a weekly basis, giving local golfers the opportunity to get acclimatised to the course which has been described as “windy” and “tricky.” The 7,000 yard, 18-hole par 72 course was designed by noted Englishman Bob Hunte along the lines of a traditional Irish course linking the land and the sea. However Hunte has been careful to embody the natural lay of the land into the uniqueness of the Plantations course. Hence at Lowlands, there are windswept coastline holes hugging the ocean, while other holes snake through natural mangrove, past towering palm trees and natural lakes and wetlands.

Patey is quick to point out that the natural lakes are on the left of the fairways and greens giving the advantage to the golfers while the bunkers, always a serious preposition and to be avoided,  have been filled with special sand imported from Guyana. The Bermuda grass, an unhealthy brown several months ago are now lush green, after the heavy showers of the past few weeks and is in prime condition to welcome the golfers in 14 days. Patey said the course is yet to asume its own unique character, and despite being visually intimidating is widely expected to play on the conservative side. Water contiues to be a serious problem in the sister isle and its unavailability is posing another  challenge to Patey and his Green Keepers who are required to maintain the course in top condition despite the vagaries of the weather. He said a course of Plantations’ standard needs at least 100,000 gallons of water a day but manages currently on 15,000 gallons daily.  This however is expected to change with the commissioning of a desalination plant shortly which will meet the shortfall. Patey is especially proud of his staff who he says recognise the sport in Trinidad and Tobago has the potential to grow into an industry highlighted by the fact that the Millenium Project in Trincity which in just over a year will create another course of international standard. “The people we have in training here seem committed and will make a career in services related to golf. We have that confidence based on the small percentage of turnovers,” said Patey. He also declared that the age-old debate of servitude against service which has bogged the hospitality industry here since time immemorial is a thing of the past. “You can judge this by the enthusiasm of the employees who embrace their job on a daily basis with renewed excitement which definitely has an effect on our guests at the club. This can only rebound to the benefit of the country,” said Patey.

He said the administration has been doing their best to offer the best packages for golfers, and currently, through his research on the internet, has come up with the lowest rates per hole for any comparable course in the region. Apart fom being less regimental than the golf clubs in the United States, Plantations offers a flavour of the Tobago lifesyle and is not presented as a stereotyped product. Attracting more golfers is of serious concern, especially in the present world economic climate still reeling from the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York and Washington in the US. Patey suggests that at least one direct flight from London, England a week will go a long way to making the Plantations Golf Club a financially viable prospect. This, coupled with high-profiled advertising in reputable and widely circulated golf magazines and other publications will give added impetus to the industry and bring it on par with other neighbouring countries who aggressively market their tourism product, unlike what obtains locally. Patey will get an opportunity to interface personally with the major players in this highly competitive field at the International Golf Tour Operators Association meeting this December in the Dominican Republic. By then, Plantations Beach and Golf Resort would be firmly entrenched in the sports tourism landscape.