From Mr A. Bonello

I read with great interest the article by Charles Flores on the subject of another golf course in Malta (TMIS, 10 July), and once again I despair of more letters appearing in the local media on this subject by people who most of the time have not got a clue what they are talking about!

Like him I am saddened that the countryside around Marsaxlokk had to be ravaged by the building of the power station, but unlike him I do ask myself the question, “Where would we be without it today?” How quickly we forget that if it was not for this power station we would not have any desalination plants; and where would be without these today?

As he says, Malta is a small place and wherever the power station was going to be built would never be the right place – and the same can be said for the infamous golf course.

Tal-Virtu was turned down because it would have taken up precious agriculture land. He now suggests that the Golden Bay proposed site is also turned down because of its scenic properties and garigue.

I suppose a third site would be turned down because it would be prime building land!

It appears that Mr Flores has given us a knee jerk reaction to this proposal and it is very obvious that he has not read the full spec. Had he done so he would see that there is enough land being allocated to this project to ensure that if there are any ecologically sensitive areas within this tract of land these can be retained and a full size course can still be built around them.

Mr Flores admits that his game is soccer but he fails to understand that with golf, unlike any other game, you play against the course. If par for the course is 72 then no matter who one plays with, his competitor is the course as his aim is to see how close to the par he can get. This is the reason why golfers are always on the oneword for more and more courses.

I find his argument about the choice of expert silly to say the least. He objects to a man (Martin Hawtree), who has made his money from the construction of golf courses as having been the wrong choice. I am at a loss here! Is he suggesting that if you have heart problems you go to the butcher? For the sake of accuracy please note that Mr Hawtree is not a course builder, but a third generation member of a family of golf course architects.

He derides the Marsa golf course as an insignificant one. The point he misses is that the Marsa is an oasis in the middle of an industrial estate, a large town and the docks, which, without the benefit of any foreign advertising and very little exposure by the Malta Tourism Authority, still manages to attract a minimum of 7,000 visitors per year. Insignificant?

Which brings me to the question of “Can we afford a new course?” – I am assuming that whoever wins the final tender will pay rent on the land, the same as the Marsa does. From here on in it is the developer who is taking the risk and the point we are all missing is that if it doesn’t work out then the land reverts to its original state, unlike an area where a tourist project is built and then left in an abandoned state or converted into flats!

Judging by the amount of illegal dumping that takes place on the periphery of the Marsa can somebody perhaps tell me what state the area would be in if it was not cared for by the Royal Malta Golf Club?

I put it to Mr Flores that since the British left the island there are only two places that have flourished and are cared for, and these are Castile (for obvious reasons) and the Marsa golf club!

I totally agree with Mr Flores that the building of a second course is not going to be the thing that will turn around the misfortunes of the tourism industry in Malta, but is there any one thing that will do this? Can he not accept that, now that we have the quality hotels, we have to start giving the tourists things to do while they are here?

One final question I would like to put to Mr Flores. Was he so vociferous about the loss of arable land when the building of the football complex at Ta’Qali was being considered?

To all those of your readers who want to be informed about golf and golf courses, may I suggest that before they put pen to paper they contact the Royal Malta Golf Club. I am sure that they will get the answers to help them formulate an informed opinion.

A. Bonello

NAXXAR