What has this new golf course got to offer that others lack, both in Bulgaria and regionally?

I think here in Bulgaria and potentially regionally as well, in particular, Peter Harradine designs golf courses, I think, for the masses to play golf.

There has been a trend, I think, with golf courses getting harder, getting longer, taking longer for people to get a full round in and to the point where, maybe, it was getting a little bit not enjoyable.

And I think what Peter is very good at and what has been achieved here and what we’ll try to do is … it isn’t the longest golf course in the world but it’s still a very challenging and enjoyable one from the longest tees. But it’s going to be reasonably good for people to get round and enjoy and I think that is a big change where courses have been getting bigger and longer and harder. This here I think is going to be a resort golf course. And it doesn’t apologise for that. That is exactly what it is. It’s for people to come and enjoy. It will still challenge the good people. So, I think that is a very big step that the owners work with Peter. It is undoubtedly true that some of the other architects are getting longer and harder and it’s making golf less enjoyable. Golf has to be enjoyable.

There is also the Academy here. We are trying to encourage as many people to play golf as possible. The Academy is a big differentiating factor.

Again the owners have supported us when we are saying - This is golf for all. Come even if you’ve never played golf at all. Come, we have our own clinics for beginners. We’ll get big groups together, people who’ve never picked up golf clubs before. I think these people are just as important as perhaps the people who play golf more fluently.

In some ways it’s the approach that we are trying to achieve that is maybe different rather than the facilities. But I do think that the facilities are designed in a very golfer-friendly and enjoyable way as well.

How do prices compare with other European golf courses and others in Bulgaria?

Compared to others in Bulgaria, there aren’t a lot to compare to, we are pretty reasonably priced. It is certainly less expensive than two of the three projects on the Black Sea coast – Thracian cliffs and BlackSeaRama are real five-star signature projects. They need to charge that an amount of money. I think our memberships are coming in reasonably priced. There are many opportunities whether it is free clinics for young kids, the students here in Pravets getting to play at certain times. We are very keen on getting as many people to play as possible.

We’ll also have our peak rates during the weekends. At certain times it’s going to be more expensive. It’s pretty comparable with most places in Europe, it is competitive but at the same time we have the blessing of the owner.

Golf courses can operate from 7 o’clock in the morning to 7 o’clock at night, there are certain times that are peak, certain times that are off-peak. The off-peak times are when we’re going to have the juniors, that’s when we are going to offer the lower cost because we want to fill this golf course.

The more people come to play golf, they enjoy food and beverage facilities, they buy retail.

It’s very important for us to drive volume here. That allows us to be quite innovative with pricing at times. But even our headline prices are very reasonable for Bulgaria compared to the other golf courses.

Golf is perceived as an expensive sport. It is not the cheapest sport. We have got to find ways of allowing people to come in at a lower price, and we’ll try to do that if we can.

Golf is still regarded as a sport for the rich in Bulgaria.

It is, but not only in Bulgaria. That perception is still there in many countries and I guess most countries, to start building golf courses, often need affluent people. And that is seen also here in Bulgaria. Affluent people have built the golf courses.

If you build high-end golf courses, high specifications, they cost a lot to maintain. That’s where the economic difficulty comes in. But here with a driving range that is accessible by anybody you can come in for a few lev and start to play golf.

That’s different from some of the other golf courses which don’t want to encourage that, we very much want to encourage that. Because that’s the future of the game. We are talking about a generation before golf becomes more played, becomes more accepted. We have to start somewhere. And that we think we are starting here in Pravets.

Who are you aiming to attract?

I definitely think that the Bulgarian market and also the tourism that is already coming into Bulgaria is where we would start. We are trying to work very hard with RIU and Terra Tour Services to make sure that golf is part of the attraction when they are selling.

But we see certainly the Bulgarian market, we see regional markets from here – Romania. Braemar Golf has a large project that is currently under construction near Moscow, so we see the Russian market as an opportunity because of the Russians travelling here. But we would also definitely like to see some of the big travellers in Europe which are the North Europeans, the Scandinavians, the Germans, the Austrians, the British, the French etc.

And maybe for them the package is that will allow them to travel to Pravets for two days but then go to the Black Sea coast and play on undoubtedly what is one of the most spectacular courses in Europe, that is Thracian Cliffs.  

It is important because the international traveller likes to play more than one golf course. That is where we have to work with our golf friends here in Bulgaria and put packages together.

What does it take to make a successful golf course? And how well is Pravets Golf Club poised to become one?

One, I think, a great location before you start helps. I think we have a beautiful setting with the mountains, the lake side, it is beautiful. We are only 45 minutes from Sofia which I think is a big benefit for Pravets.

Having population close by is very important. And obviously it is the economic heart of the country, it is the biggest population centre.
People will argue that a golf course on the coast might be more spectacular. But commercially, I would much rather be near a population centre near the economic hub because golf needs volume of people to come and play.

And the fact as well that golf is here with a resort such as Pravets with casino, with spa, with night club, with conference facilities. It is definitely becoming a unique place for the Sofia market to come to and that’s very beneficial as well.

And then it is about the golf facilities. As I said Peter has designed what I think is a very playable, enjoyable resort course, not awfully difficult. I think having an academy and the facilities are international quality.

The location, some of the demographics, the quality of facilities.

How about infrastructure? Is it a setback?

The facilities at Pravets are fantastic. It really sets a benchmark in Bulgaria which maybe has a bad reputation of not having the best infrastructure. But the route here from Sofia is 45 minutes from the airport, the highway is very good.

The accessibility from Sofia plays a big part in the success. I think the projects on the Black Sea coast have a bigger challenge in terms of infrastructure because accessibility is very seasonal. That’s why for me Pravets is one of the most exciting projects in Bulgaria and I thought that the first day I came here. This project has better opportunities commercial-wise to grow the game, to get more people to be involved.