"Golf is a game whose aim is to hit a very small ball into an even smaller hole, with weapons singularly ill-designed for the purpose."
Despite Winston Churchill's legendary contribution to the anti-golf movement, if he were around today he might find little support for his pithy observation. "Golf" now ranks as the second most popular requested term on the Internet, second only to "sex".
Whatever about the "weapons" employed physically to get the ball into the hole, millions of pounds are being pumped into software artillery that will get golfers online and spending.
A simple Yahoo search returns 8,086 golf sites, compared with just 6,621 sites for football and baseball combined. Because most golf enthusiasts are players themselves, their fascination with self improvement seems limitless. Almost weekly, new golf sites are coming onstream offering up-to-the-minute tournament details, directories and virtual tours of international courses, video lessons, tips, online games, discounted equipment, and - of course - jokes.
Of course the motivation behind all of this online entertainment is materially driven. The golfer is the perfect e-commerce target. Recently Mr Dan Murnan, founder of the comprehensive Cybergolf (www.cybergolf.com) site, told Gold World magazine: "The demographics of the Internet match up so well with those of golfers. The incomes are in the high $50s for both, the percentage of college-educated players and Internet users is in the low 60s, and 30 to 35 per cent travel frequently."
The resultant business opportunities have not gone unnoticed here, where activity is beginning to take place in the online golf arena. Parcom Media, a Dublin-based start-up company, has just been approached by a major international production studio to develop an instructive digital versatile disk (DVD - the next generation CD capable of storing large amounts of digital information) for golfers.
If the deal goes through, Parcom will have a $1 million (€959,233) budget at its disposal to write and film several hours of golf tuition conducted by a leading US tour player. A similar deal is also under way with a top golf equipment manufacturer. Mr Jerry Foley, Parcom managing director, says the company is precluded from disclosing full details until agreements have been concluded.
Parcom, which set up in 1996 with the goal of producing golf instruction CD-Roms, got its major breakthrough last year when it developed a golf tuition CD-Rom in conjunction with Golf Monthly. Featuring Darren Clarke, Colin Montgomery and Constantina Rocca, the CD created 20-30 swing animations for the players that could be viewed frame by frame.
Some 40,000 copies later, Parcom netted only a percentage of the proceeds, but as Mr Foley points out, the accumulation of such valuable content has huge Internet potential. "Once the information goes online you're cutting out the middleman. Golfers are suckers for improving their game and it is now apparent, instruction will be vital in the development of any golf site."
The Internet explosion has galvanised Parcom into action. It was one of 17 Irish companies which pitched to the US venture capital community in Boston last month. Parcom was seeking $2 million to expand into the US and British markets with its golf instruction and virtual reality guides. The process resulted in a valuable introduction to one group of golf enthusiasts with significant funds at its disposal.
Mr Foley believes the virtual reality guide - where enthusiasts can "walk" and "play" their favourite global courses from their desktops - has enormous potential as a revenue stream. Last week, it launched its first virtual guide for Portmarnock Hotel and Golf Links. The system allows prospective visitors to walk the entire complex, showcasing each hole, guest bedrooms, restaurants and meeting facilities. Golfing tips are provided by Darren Clarke.
"Once the bandwidth issue is resolved this is the kind of content that will drive golfers to the Internet. Not only will they view the course in video format, but they can also book tee-times, accommodation and flights in real time," Mr Foley says.
Parcom's primary focus now is to strike virtual guide deals with tournament standard golf courses here, in Britain and eventually in the US. The long-term aim is to continue generating revenue from instruction programmes, and in the interim to forge as many alliances as possible with golfing portals worldwide.
Other players in the Irish market include Derry-based Global Golf (www.global-golf.ie), which is endeavouring to offer an online guide to global golf courses, Golf Ireland (www.golfireland.ie), a tour company for golfing holidays in Ireland, and www.golfdublin.com, a new service allowing tee time bookings on five municipal "pay-and-play" courses.
Meanwhile, an innovative - albeit rather exclusive - service was launched last week by the Minister for Tourism and Sport, Dr McDaid. The Internet Golfers' Exchange Register (www.TIGERegister.com) offers a home exchange club restricted to golf-club members. Through the Internet, club members can exchange their homes with members of exclusive golf clubs worldwide.
More than 120 international clubs have confirmed their interest in the scheme, including Druid's Glen, The European Club, the K Club, Mount Juliet and Lahinch in Ireland. Clubs in England, France, Spain, Portugal, Australia, Mexico and the US are also involved.
The scheme was devised by Mr Kevin McGrath, an Irish engineer, after raising £400,000 from private investors, including Mr Frank Keane, BMW car importer, and Mr Eugene O'Reilly, managing director of Mitsubishi Motors Ireland. Members must have their official club handicap verified by their clubs, and members' homes will be subjected to a rigorous inspection system for exchange on a like-for-like basis.
The website was developed by Weblink Internet Solutions and allows online registration at a cost of $250, and electronic booking of exchange weeks. The annual membership fee is $100, with an exchange fee of $200 for each week of the exchange.
Mr Foley believes that only golf sites which offer real value to the visitor will survive and that over time there will be a reduction in the numbers of novelty golf sites in favour of a few major portals. "It's not about getting people to play golf on their PCs, but about showing serious golfers what they want to pay for. Online live broadcasts of tournaments, and tuition on virtual championship courses will indulge golfers' passions completely."
