The question often arises why Ukraine remains one of
the last countries in the region without a golf project.
Russia, Poland, Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, the Czech
Republic, Slovakia, Hungary and even Moldova already have
one or more golf courses apiece and have a combined total
of some 61 courses. Meanwhile, Ukraine, which has the
best land and the biggest golf tourism potential of all
these countries, has none. This situation cannot be attributed
to lack of desire. Such notable figures as Former . Prime
Minister Viktor Yushchenko, Kyiv Mayor Oleksandr Omelchenko,
Former Health Minister Yury Spizhenko, and businessmen
Ihor Bakai, Hryhory Surkis and Ihor Didenko, not to speak
of many Westerners, have all been involved in attempts
to establish Ukraine's first golf club. Some have come
close and some (like the author of this article) are still
at it, but tne results remain to be seen.
Bureaucracy and corruption are said to be the main reasons
why golf is not yet a reality in Ukraine, but lack of
leadership, lack of rules and land laws, and lack of serious
investment have all played their part. Another unfortunate
aspect of the golf business in Ukraine is that it is still
viewed erroneously as a game for the very rich and not
as a venue for attracting investments. All over the world,
golf is viewed both as a sport and as a serious place
for businesspeople to gather for private discussions,
conversations, meetings and dealings. The seriousness
of golf as an institution can be appreciated by looking
at the great number of world political and business leaders
who play. The game's standing as a serious sport will
soon be enhanced when it becomes an Olympic event.
Some embassies reportedly view countries without golf
facilities as "hardship" areas. Far from being humorous,
this statement shows what important social concepts golf
and the golf-club atmosphere have, become. Many corporations,
embassies and businesspeople in Ukraine complain about
the lack of golf facilities, but complaints can only accomplish
so much.
Unless Ukraine comes to terms with all these considerations
and provides the means necessary to make golf a reality,
it will not only lose the opportunity to develop the next
generation of Olympic hopefuls, it will also lose out
on many investment opportunities from countries and corporations
that view golf availability as a necessity for conducting
business and that wish to provide their management with
the opportunity to enjoy this most important pastime.
Waller Prochorenko has been working for the past seven
years to introduce golf into Ukraine. He previously worked
on golf projects in Japan, Vietnam, Korea, Guam, the Philippines,
Saipan, Rota and UAE.
