Golf in Russia

The first mention of golf in Russia dates back to the reign of Nicholas II. It is said that the tsarist family often took mini-golf lessons when they stayed in their summer residence in Virolakhti.

The first 18-hole golf course appeared in the suburban area of Nakhabino located near Moscow only in 1994, it remained the only one in the country for a long time.

Golf in Russia had not been widespread up to 2006 (the period when active construction of golf clubs began in the country).

Now there are 32 golf courses in Russia. The distinctive feature of Russian courses is that most of them are the work of the best world architects, they are perfectly manicured and harmoniously match the rich nature of Russia. Now golf is gaining its popularity, children's and adult golf schools are opening, international tournaments are being held.

The world community learned that there is golf in Russia when Russian golfer Maria Verchenova was among the participants of the 2016 Olympic Games. In the 4th round Maria made hole-in-one and set a record of the Olympic course, showing the best round among men and women.[1][2] A contender for the 2020 Olympic Games is Nina Pegova (PGA status), in 2019 she entered the top-10 female golfers of the LETAS tournament.

The golf season in Russia is not as short as it may seem. It lasts from April to the end of October, and in winter snow golf is popular. The active development of the tourist golf destination in our country began after the FIFA World Cup in 2018. Russia has become more open to tourists, which has allowed to significantly expand the boundaries of the golf industry and reach an international audience.

The Russian Golf Association is responsible for the development of this sport in our country.

The ANCO "International Center of Golf Tourism" (Golf in Russia) deals with increasing the recognition on the world stage and raising the number of inbound golf tourists in the country.[3]

History

The first golf course in the Russian Empire appeared in 1891 in village Murino, Saint Petersburg Governarate, at the place where "Devyatkino" railway station, named after the 9-hole course of the same name, is now located.[4]

Interesting fact: The first golf club on the southern coast of France, Cannes Mandelieu Golf Club (modern Club Old Course Golf Cannes-Mandelieu) was founded in the 19th century by Grand Duke Mikhail Mikhailovich Romanov.[5]

After the revolution of 1917 this sport was forgotten for a long time.

A new stage of the development of golf in Russia began of the establishment the first Golf Club in Moscow. On 15 September 1987, the first stone of the first Golf Club was solemnly placed by famous Swedish hockey player, former world champion Sven Tumba. That marked the beginning of the construction of the first golf course in the USSR. On the same day famous athletes, Pelé, Mike Tyson, Sven Tumba and Alexander Ragulin made symbolic strokes with golf clubs.

In 1988, the Golf Club Tumba Moscow was founded on Dovzhenko Street Street (in the mid-2000s it was renamed as the Moscow City Golf Club – MСGС). This is the place where the first driving range was opened. A little later the first golf division in the Moscow City Department for the Physical Culture and Sport was opened here. More than 100 children from surrounding areas started golfing. The USSR National Team was formed from them and successfully performed at international competitions.

In 1990 a 9-hole golf course was opened for play on Dovzhenko street.

In 1992, the Russian Golf Association was created on the basis of the MCGC. It is recognized by the Russian Olympic Committee, the European Golf Association, and the supreme authority of golf – the Golf Club of St Andrews. Anatoly Kovalev took over the leadership of the Association and remained its President for 11 years. Khristenko Boris Viktorovich has been the current President since 2015.

The organization is engaged in the development and maintenance of golf in Russia. It represents Russian golf internationally and contributes to the education of future Russian champions.

In 1994, the second golf course in Russia was built − the Moscow Country Club. In accordance with the ideas of the founders of the club, it became a highly-recognized golf course, and was the only 18-hole championship course in Russia for more than a decade.

Later on golf has developed in other regions of the Russian Federation. The following golf clubs were built: the Dunes Golf Club (it is closed as of 2020) near St. Petersburg, the Starooskolsky Golf Club in the Belgorod Region, the Don Golf & Country Club in the Rostov Region and the Eagle Hills Golf Club in Krasnoyarsk.

Such a type of golf as Pitch and Patt has also developed.

Active construction of 18-hole golf courses began in 2004–2006, thus marking the next stage of golf development in Russia.

The first of them to open 18 years later on 1 May 2004 was the Golf Club in the Krylatskoe area near Serebryany Bor (park). The design of the infrastructure was carried out by the English company RMJM, which became known worldwide thanks to golf courses in the USA and Europe. Russian architects, Tobalevsky and Mazurin, also made a great contribution to the creation of the Krylatskoe golf club course[6] Course Style: Links

In 2006 the Pestovo Golf & Yacht Club was opened in the Moscow Region, and immediately won over Russian golfers. The course was created by architects Dave Thomas and Paul Thomas. It lets its guests feel the taste of real Russian aristocracy and luxury. Course Style: Parkland

In the summer of 2008 the third golf course in Russia was opened in the Dmitrov district. The private Tseleevo Golf and Polo Club was closed for a long time. The course was designed by architect Jack Nicklaus.[7] Course Style: Parkland

In the same year the "Sviyazhskie Hills" Golf Club was opened on the territory of the resort city of the same name. It is the only and largest golf club in the Volga region, in Kazan. The golf course design belongs to the Swiss company "Harradine Golf AG". The architect was Peter Harradin.[8] Course Style: Heathland

In 2010 the private Golf Country Club Agalarov was opened in the Istra District of the Moscow Region as part of the Agalarov Estate country complex. The golf course was created by architect Cal Olson. Course Style: Parkland

In 2012 the Zavidovo PGA National was opened by the side of the Volga in Tver, between Moscow and St. Petersburg. It is the only golf club in Russia that is licensed by the oldest and most authoritative Association of Professional Golfers of Great Britain and Ireland (PGA). The golf course was developed by architects of the international bureau European Golf Design[9] Course Style: Links

In May 2013 the first open-type suburban golf club in Russia, "Forest Hills", was opened in the Dmitrov District in the North of Moscow. The golf course was designed by the architect bureau "Hills & Forest International Golf Course Architects", by architects Steve Forest and Arthur Hill. The course is hidden in majestic forests on a protected area, whose landscape was created during the Ice Age.[10] In 2018 and 2019 the Russian Golf Championship was held here.[11][12] In January 2020 the club opened a ski and biathlon complex on its territory.[13] Course Style: Parkland

In the same year the opening of the first and only world-class golf resort in the Ural Pine Creek Golf Resort, near Yekaterinburg, took place. In 2015 the golf course was included in the register of facilities of the Ministry of Sports of the Russian Federation.[14] Course Style: Parkland

2014 was marked by the opening of four new golf clubs.

In the metropolitan area a golf club closest to the center of Moscow was opened - "Skolkovo".[15] The golf course was designed by Jack Nicklaus. The architect of the club house is Shigeru Ban. In 2015 the "Skolkovo" golf club became the venue for the European professional golf tour M2M RUSSIAN OPEN.[16] Course Style: Parkland

In May the Links National Golf Resort started operating. It is 60 kilometers away from Moscow along the Rogachevsky Highway. The architect of the course is world famomous John Flynn.[17] Course Style: Links

In the North-West region the first golf club of the Leningrad region, Gorki Golf & Resort, was opened. The architect of the golf course is Lassi Pekka Tilander. First, 9 holes were opened and a year later there were all 18 holes.[18] Course Style: Inland Links

In autumn the golf project "Strawberry Fields" was presented and the opening of the driving range took place close to town Lomonosov, near St. Petersburg. The first 9 holes were opened in the middle of the 2015 season, and the club house and the other nine holes appeared in 2018. The golf course was designed by architect Jari Rasinkangas.[19] Course Style: Parkland

In June 2017 the Peterhof Golf Club was opened in St. Petersburg: it is the only golf course within the city. The club is located in Peterhof, next to Alexandria Park. The first 9 holes were built according to the project by Greg Norman, and the other 9 holes were built by Steve Forest.[20] In 2018 the Peterhof Golf Club became the venue for the Roscongress Cup golf tournament, which was included in the state program as part of SPIEF (St. Petersburg International Economic Forum) 2018 for the first time ever.[21] Course Style: Links

In 2018 the MillCreek golf club was opened in town Vsevolozhsk. The project was developed by the largest international architectural bureaus – WATG and EGD. The landscape was designed by architect Ross McMurray (European Golf Design). The course was built in accordance with the Kaleidoscope Golf technology.[22] Course Style: Links

In May 2019 the first golf resort "Gelendzhik Golf Resort" in southern Russia started operating. The golf course project was developed by Dave Thomas Ltd. This is the only golf club in Russia that is open 365 days a year.[23] Course Style: Links

In 2020 Raevo Golf and Country Club was opened. It's a new golf club in the Odintsovo district in the Moscow region. The club is managed by IMG, the largest sports and events promotion company in the world.[24] Course Style: Parkland

In 2019 the "Golf in Russia" project appeared, created by the Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization "International Center of Golf Tourism" to attract foreign golf groups, and help golf tour operators choose the best golf clubs, hotels, restaurants, transport companies, and excursion tours.[25]

The mission of the non-commercial organization is to combine the tourism industry with the golf industry to increase golf tourism in Russia.

Features of Golf in Russia

As of 2020, there are 17 professional 18-hole golf courses in Russia. They are divided into 2 types: open and closed.

What does it take to master this world-popular game? Nothing special. You just need to book tee-time in advance and come to the golf club you like.

All golf courses are equipped with various infrastructure for a good rest: parking lots, restaurants, playgrounds, storage rooms, golf club hire, electric cars. There is an opportunity to make use a caddy's services. Therefore, even if you come here with a small child or guest, who does not want to train yet, they will always have something to do during your lesson.

Children from the age of 7 are already allowed to train. Most golf courses are easily accessible from large cities, so you can always combine your golf trip with a rich cultural program, gastronomic tour, family trip or business trip.[26]

Features of Golf courses in Russia

Packed European golf courses make Russia a new destination for travelling golfers. Russia ranks 23rd in the rating of European countries in terms of the number of registered golf courses (R & A data for 2019). The same study shows that 1 golf course is intended for 86 golfers.

As a comparison, in the Netherlands (first place) these are 1179 golfers, the second place goes to Switzerland – 783 golfers, bronze for Sweden – 732 golfers. Finland (728 golfers) and Luxembourg (678 golfers) round out the top five. In sunny Spain 1 golf course is aimed at 615 golfers, in Germany – 612.

According to estimates, Russian golf courses are less occupied, which contributes to a more leisurely game, lack of traffic at the start and interfering with other flights on the course.

Annual Fam-trip «Golf in Russia»

The first Fam trip in Russia, "Golf in Russia", started on 30 August 2019, in Moscow and ended on 7 September 2019, in St. Petersburg.

The owners of travel agencies from seven countries of the world – Slovenia, Hungary, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Vietnam and China – visited Russia for the first time to get acquainted with the new tourist destination "Golf in Russia," created in 2019 by the Autonomous non-profit Organization "International Center for Golf Tourism."

Foreign experts highly praised the tourist opportunities of the country and marked advantages for the development of the new promising destination.[27]

Annual Tournament

Golf in Russia is rapidly developing, new golf courses are appearing in different regions. Thus, the geography of all-Russian tournaments is growing: in 2017 competitions were held in 5 regions, in 2018 – 6, in 2019 – 7.

Official all-Russian tournaments
  • Russian Championship[28]
  • Russian Competition[29]
  • Russian Cup[30]

Business tournaments
  • Roscongress Golf Cup[31]
  • Innoprom Golf Challenge[32]
  • AmCham Golf Tournament[33]
  • Turkish Airlines World Golf Cup[34]

Children's Championships

«School golf»

On 28 February 2015, the opening of a golf school in the sports center took place in Zhukovka.[35] The project "School Golf" is aimed at developing the sport at schools and covers more than 200 schools in 19 regions of the Russian Federation.

The program has the status of "recommended" by the Expert Council of the Ministry of Education and Science of the Russian Federation for improving the system of physical education in educational institutions of the Russian Federation to apply in the educational process of general education institutions.[36]

The "School Golf" project also provides a chain of competitions "All-Russian School Golf League" for school children, organized by the Russian Golf Association with the support of the "Olympic Country" ROC program.

More than 15,000 children learn to play golf as part of the project "School golf". 52 juniors are included in the All-Russian National Rating: the 12 top-rank juniors were awarded a grant from the Russian Golf Association and formed the Dream Team.

Junior All-Russian Tournaments
  • Children's and youth tournaments (they usually consist of 5 stages per season, golfers aged 10–18 years old take part in them)[37]
  • AGR (Association of Golf in Russia) President's Cup is part of the Dream Team project. The composition of the team for the next season is determined according to the results of the tournament.[38]

A list of golf clubs in Russia

According to rusgolf.ru

Belgorod region
  • Stary Oskol Golf Club (9 holes)

Kaluga region
  • Golf club "Vyrka" (6 holes)

Krasnodar region
  • Golf Club Gelendzhik (18 holes)
  • Golf Club Raevsky (9 holes)

Krasnoyarsk region
  • Golf Club Eagle Hills (9 holes)

Moscow and Moscow region
  • Moscow City Golf Club (9 holes)
  • Moscow Country Club (18 holes)
  • Golf and Yacht Club Pestovo (18 holes)
  • Golf Club Skolkovo (18 holes)
  • Golf Club Pirogovo (9 holes)
  • Agalarov Golf and Country Club (18 holes)
  • Golf course of the Moscow Golf School
  • Golf Club Tseleevo (18 holes)
  • Rowing Canal Golf Club
  • Links National Golf Club (18 holes)
  • Forest Hills Golf Club (Moscow) – 18 holes
  • Golf Club Dmitrov Golf Resort (9 holes)
  • Golf Plaza "Korean House"
  • GOLF CENTER – indoor golf center with simulators and infrastructure
  • Multisport Golf
  • Krylatsky Golf Club (18 holes)
  • Tiger Golf Club (6 holes)
  • Raevo Golf Country Club (18 holes)

Republic of Ossetia
  • Ossetian Golf Club (5 holes)

Republic of Tatarstan
  • Sviyazhsky Hills Golf Club (18 holes)

Rostov region
  • Golf country club "Don" (9 holes)

Saint Petersburg and Leningrad region

Sverdlovsk region
  • Pine Creek Golf Club (18 holes)

Tver region
  • PGA national Zavidovo (18 holes)
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References
  1. "Rio 2016: Russian makes ace, breaks Olympics golf course record". CBSSports.com. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  2. "Maria Verchenova | Russian Golf Association". rusgolf.ru. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  3. "ГОЛЬФ.РУ: новости, турниры, гольф клубы, оборудование, правила, техника и много другое". golf.ru. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  4. "Мурино – родина российского гольфа!". xn----7sbapuabb4afggnvekrx7c1l.xn—p1ai. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  5. "Golf de Cannes Mandelieu Old Course – Top 100 Golf Courses of France". top100golfcourses.com. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  6. Крылатское, Район (1 February 2020). "Описание Гольф Клуба в Крылатском: адрес, официальный сайт, режим работы, услуги". Новости Крылатского (in Russian). Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  7. "ГОЛЬФ.РУ: новости, турниры, гольф клубы, оборудование, правила, техника и много другое". golf.ru. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  8. "https://russia.travel/objects/313411/". russia.travel (in Russian). Retrieved 3 July 2020. External link in |title= (help)
  9. "ГОЛЬФ.РУ: новости, турниры, гольф клубы, оборудование, правила, техника и много другое". golf.ru. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  10. "Directory". Типичная Москва (in Russian). 2 May 2020. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  11. "Чемпионат России (2018) | Ассоциация Гольфа России". rusgolf.ru. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  12. "Чемпионат России | Ассоциация Гольфа России". rusgolf.ru. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  13. "Открытие нового многофункциональ-ного лыжного центра Forest Hills". skisport.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  14. Urale, Sima (2017), "Sima Urale: They knew I was naughty", The Best of e-Tangata, Bridget Williams Books, ISBN 978-0-947518-45-5, retrieved 3 July 2020
  15. "Главный российский гольф-турнир Russian Open пройдет в Сколково". РИА Новости (in Russian). 2 February 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  16. "Европейский гольф-турнир в Сколково". euromag.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  17. "Гольф-курорт Links National Golf Resort". tourportal.dgrechko.wi6.ru (in Russian). Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  18. "26 сентября в гольф-клубе GORKI откроются все 18 лунок чемпионского поля". press-release.ru. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  19. "Strawberry Fields Golf Club – новое гольф поле под Санкт Петербургом". golfmir.ru. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  20. "ГОЛЬФ.РУ: новости, турниры, гольф клубы, оборудование, правила, техника и много другое". golf.ru. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  21. "Спортивная программа". forumspb.com. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  22. "В Мельничном Ручье открылся гольф клуб Mill Creek". NSP.ru. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  23. "В Геленджике открылся первый на юге России гольф-курорт". РЭНБИ (in Russian). Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  24. "ГОЛЬФ.РУ: новости, турниры, гольф клубы, оборудование, правила, техника и много другое". golf.ru. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  25. "ГОЛЬФ.РУ: новости, турниры, гольф клубы, оборудование, правила, техника и много другое". golf.ru. Retrieved 3 July 2020.
  26. "https://russia.travel/journals/338434/". russia.travel (in Russian). Retrieved 30 June 2020. External link in |title= (help)
  27. "ГОЛЬФ.РУ: новости, турниры, гольф клубы, оборудование, правила, техника и много другое". golf.ru. Retrieved 30 June 2020.
  28. "Чемпионат России 2020 | Ассоциация Гольфа России". rusgolf.ru. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  29. "Первенство России 2020 | Ассоциация Гольфа России". rusgolf.ru. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  30. "Кубок России 2020 | Ассоциация Гольфа России". rusgolf.ru. Retrieved 26 June 2020.
  31. "Спортивная программа". forumspb.com. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  32. "INNOPROM GOLF CHALLENGE 2020". innopromgolfchallenge.ru. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  33. "AmCham Russia / Events / AmCham Golf Tournament". amchamrussia.ru. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  34. "ГОЛЬФ.РУ: новости, турниры, гольф клубы, оборудование, правила, техника и много другое". golf.ru. Retrieved 17 June 2020.
  35. "ГОЛЬФ.РУ: новости, турниры, гольф клубы, оборудование, правила, техника и много другое". golf.ru. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  36. "О проекте Школьный гольф | Ассоциация Гольфа России". rusgolf.ru. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  37. "Детско-Юношеский Тур 2020 | Ассоциация Гольфа России". rusgolf.ru. Retrieved 2 July 2020.
  38. "Кубок президента АГР | Ассоциация Гольфа России". rusgolf.ru. Retrieved 2 July 2020.

References

References
  • The development of golf in Russia. Almanac № 1. 2000
  • All winners of the President's Cup. GOLF DIGEST. N 4 (28). June 2001.
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