Gallagher's global inspiration pays off

It was the Thursday night of the 1995 US Masters. Liam Gallagher sat in his living room, an oasis of golfing tranquility, and watched on television as Jose-Maria Olazabal chipped in twice to share the first round lead. "God, another year that I'm not there," thought Gallagher, a handicap golfer at North West Golf Club.

But something else swirled around in his head. A golf-related business idea, and the next day the Derryman went out and started a website called GlobalGolf.com - and, although he wasn't to know it at the time, Gallagher's acumen was to prove every bit as successful as the way in which, two days later, Ben Crenshaw eased his way to an immensely popular Masters win.

Gallagher didn't stand still. In fact, Alan Rooks, the business development and marketing executive at the Derry-based crossborder concern, admits that Gallagher had "the vision and understanding quicker and faster than anyone else." Such words are justified when GlobalGolf's rapid rise to golf's number one portal site, with 3,500 courses including the distinction of being the official website for St Andrews Links, is considered.

Of course, the name that Gallagher gave to his new company was vital. "If I had localised it," he admitted, "it might not have ended up as it has." Although Gallagher developed GlobalGolf as a destination planner and guide originally for Irish courses, the concept expanded to the point that it became the Internet's leading site and now caters for golf and accommodation in Ireland, England, Scotland, Wales, Spain and Portugal as well as the Far East and the top golfing destinations in the United States.

On accessing the GlobalGolf site, golfers get detailed views of courses. They can book tee-times and accommodation online, and have access to tour operators. The site was operated so successfully that it came to the attention of Michael Hanlon, an Irish-American with strong Kilkenny connections, who heads Beverly Hills Ltd.

On a visit to the Orlando Golf Show, which is considered the mecca for all golf-related business activities, Hanlon met Gallagher and discovered all about the Irishman's activities.

Hanlon liked what he saw, wanted it, and acquired GlobalGolf as a subsidiary for his Beverly Hills company which aspires to offering its customers only the very best. The name, too, tied in with his objectives.

And, recently, GlobalGolf stepped into the really big league. Beverly Hills Ltd, a diversified Internet commerce and media company specialising in bringing "upscale merchandise, recreation and sporting goods" to the world wide web, and CNBC Sports, an equity partner in GlobalGolf, announced two weeks ago that David Ciclitira, a powerful player in the worldwide golf marketing industry, had assumed the position of president of GlobalGolf.com.

Four years on, Gallagher's baby has grown into a heavyweight.

To emphasise just how far GlobalGolf has come, it is necessary to understand how big the Beverly Hills corporation is in the scheme of things. The name alone suggests luxury and quality - and Hanlon's Beverly Hills Ltd owns and operates: Beverly Hills Charity Auctions, Beverly Hills Limited (an exclusive online shopping area), GlobalGolf, The Golfer magazine, Golf Shoes Plus (one of the largest online retailers of golf and sporting shoes), Pros Edge, Grand Master Company and Grand Mastercrete.

For example, Beverly Hills Charity Auctions is one of the industry's first web sites to solely auction celebrity events, celebrity memorabilia, travel, merchandise and other items for charities and non-profit organisations around the world. It gives such charities "maximum exposure to a very large target base of potential buyers that would be costly and almost impossible to reach on their own," it claims. Donors supply items or events for auction and people from all around the world participate in the auction via their computers. The highest bidder is the winner, and the majority of the proceeds are automatically sent to the designated charity.

GlobalGolf's elevation to the world's leading online tee time reservation service is set to be enhanced still further by the recent decision of Ciclitira to become President. Ciclitira, who read Law at London University, was responsible (in 1983) for the sale of the majority of Sky Channel to News International and is chief executive officer of CNBC Sports and chairman of Parallel Media Group Internation.

With an estimated audience of more than 100 million households, CNBC plans to provide an international broadcast platform, worldwide advertising (at a cost of $5 million), and equity funding, as well as a variety of promotional tools in a joint effort with Beverly Hills Ltd to create the world's number one Internet golf portal. The GlobalGolf.com site will encompass all facets of upscale golf - clothing, quality merchandising, tee time reservations, travel and hospitality, publishing, golf information and other product links to maximise the quantity and quality of viewers to the site.

"We're excited at the news that David (Ciclitira) will take charge of the joint venture," said Hanlon. "His worldwide leadership in sports broadcasting, marketing and golf promotion will allow us to meet our business objective of being the number one golf e-commerce site."

It all seems a far cry from that April night in 1995 when Gallagher was watching the US Masters on the goggle box and came up with the concept of an internet site and the foresight to give it a global name. Gallagher, the founder of GlobalGolf, didn't just conquer Ireland. From his offices in Derry, he conquered the world. GlobalGolf is now part of a multi-million pound industry. . . . but Gallagher, who conceived the idea, doesn't even blink when he acknowledges its great success. "I always had faith in it," he said. In his case, hindsight doesn't matter.