Opinion: Charlotte nowhere near golf destination status

CHARLOTTE, N.C. -- When it comes to promoting Charlotte as a golf destination, Mayor Pat McCrory hit it right in the sweet spot when saying the city was "doing a little bit of it now."

He couldn't have been more right. Charlotte and Mecklenburg County do next to nothing to promote the Metrolina region as a golf destination. Information on golf packages and courses is buried so deep at the Convention and Visitors Bureau Web site (charlottecvb.org) you'd need two spotters to find it. And once you do, all of two packages are offered.

Golf hits you over the top of the head at the Jacksonville, Fla. and Scottsdale, Ariz. CVB Web sites -- two cities McCrory highlighted as key competitors for Charlotte's business development and tourism dollars.

Is it any surprise that the overwhelming majority of play at the region's 80 plus courses is local? Or that business travelers -- and they are legion in this town -- don't even think about lugging clubs unless staying at the Ballantyne Resort in South Charlotte.

So what to do?

Leaving golf in the hands of a CVB is tenuous at best. A CVB's main goal (and rightfully so) is to bring massive amounts of suits into town to fill cavernous meeting halls and convention centers. Not fairways. Local golf courses are too concerned with pleasing members and filling tee sheets with coupon carrying locals. And Charlotte's hotel industry can't be expected to lead the way, what with much bigger fish to fry.

If Charlotte is to position itself alongside Jacksonville, Houston, and Phoenix as a legitimate golf destination, a "golf-only" promotional arm must emerge. Call it an authority, association, or whatever you want. But the Queen City is in dire need of an agency to unite its hotels and golf courses and market them as one heckuva enticing alternative to the board room.

March 25, 2004