Golf in Turkey

Former soccer executive becomes Turkey’s golf boss

Turkish Golf Federation Chairman Ahmet Ağaoğlu
Golf is attracting growing attention among people in Turkey. This particular sport can be traced back 250 years and has been played in Turkey for about two decades.







Undoubtedly, Turkish Golf Federation Chairman Ahmet Ağaoğlu has played the greatest role in the promotion of this sport in Turkey. Ağaoğlu initiated the opening of large golf courses and attracted the attention of renowned golfers. One of the courses that he helped found in the resort town of Belek in Antalya province has received a number of significant awards.
Many famous women golfers are Antalya for the ongoing May 8-11 Turkish leg of the 2008 European LPGA Golf Tour. Despite his tight schedule, Ağaoğlu spared some time to talk to Sunday’s Zaman on the situation of golf in Turkey and the debates over the level of harm done to the environment to establish golf courses.

Why did you leave behind your position as a soccer executive and become interested in golf?

I like this sport. I did so because I thought I could have a different kind of success with this. And I made some remarkable progress. Besides, every single contribution I make to golf excites me.

You made a lot of sacrifices for golf. Do you think the state’s contribution to amateur sports is sufficient?

I did not insist on becoming the chairman of this federation. For a long time, my own company sponsored golf because I liked this sport. It would be wrong to expect the state to do everything for amateur sports. We already represent the state, which sponsors all federations. No federation has the right to complain about this. The state would invest money in particular sports if it were possible. The federation chairs should act responsibly where the resources are limited to resolve problems in sports. I would not stay here a minute longer if I did not make any contribution to the resolution of problems. I would just leave in such a situation. There are certain federations that have all their needs met by the state. We, however, need to be able to stand on our own feet.

What is the current status of the youngsters from Silivri who you have been training for a decade?

A lot of good players have been trained in our pilot region of Silivri. They include Hamza, Mustafa, Gencer and Tarık. Twenty-two of these players are at university owing to golf. They are incomparable to other athletes in terms of cultural and social level. Hopefully, some of them will be ranked in the top 50 in the world by the end of this year. In the later stages, these players will become professional golfers. We have been training these players to see them become professionals. But they have some problems such as lack of a role model.

What other troubles do they have?

Troubles related to their age; for instance, Hamza, one of our best players, injured his knee playing soccer. A golfer would not engage in any other sports that could cause serious injury. He should be even more careful if he is considering becoming a professional golfer. On the other hand, the others learned a lesson from this incident. We were really upset about this. Professor Ömer Taşer, one of the best doctors in Turkey, will take care of him. He performed a successful surgery. The player will resume playing golf this month.

In which tournaments will these players compete before becoming professional golfers?

We used to say we would be successful in the 2005 Mediterranean Games, but nobody believed us. Now, we are determined to achieve great things at the 2009 Mediterranean Games; hopefully, our players will win medals in these games.

Is one practice session a month with newly appointed national team trainer David Kearney sufficient?

David is a famous swing trainer in Europe; we hired him for a three-year period. He comes to Turkey once a month, but the players focus when he is here. The practices and actions of the players in the remaining three weeks are recorded. The trainer reviews these videos to analyze the shortcomings and gives instructions accordingly. He also undertakes groundwork activities. Currently we have four qualified Turkish trainers. Adnan Salmanlı from Klassis Golf Club and Şenol Bay from Kemel Golf Club serve as the assistants of the Irish coach.

The salaries in golf are quite high. Golfers are at the top of the list of athletes with the largest revenues. Golf tourism is also growing. How profitable is golf in Turkey?

Golf is a field where a lot of money should be spent on the players and the facilities. Tiger Woods has been cited for three consecutive years as the player who earned the most. Formula One pilot Michael Schumacher ranked second, whereas another golfer followed him. Overall, world tourism has grown by 2 percent whereas golf tourism has expanded by 8 percent. We are talking about great tournaments and huge sums of money. Spain makes $6 billion from golf tourism. For this reason, there are 6,200 golf courses in 17 countries. The figures in our country are not good. We estimate that the total revenue in connection with golf tourism next year will be around $250 million. The tourists who come here for golf spend more money than regular tourists because they are usually from the wealthier classes.

Is it right to destroy such a large number of trees for the sake of golfing?

Our federation was founded in 1996. We were the only federation that has not had facilities since our foundation. It is argued that there is a great risk in the allocation of forest areas to golf courses and destroying already limited forestry areas; some also argue that the chemicals used on golf courses will contaminate the groundwater. Some people in Turkey really do not know what they are talking about. It will take at least three decades to clarify these matters. I will not exhaust my energy explaining such things further. People will understand what I am saying when the time is right. At the beginning, I was prone to respond to the allegations and criticisms. We even held a scientific panel. But some people just do not get it no matter how you try to explain your case. The state authorities focusing on forestry monitor our activities all the time. People do not understand the difference between forest and commercial tree plantations.

There is a growing tendency in sports to hold promotional events and tournaments; what have you done in this regard for golf?

We organized the European Champion Clubs Tournament in 2005. We will be hosting this tournament in 2008 and 2009. The Gloria Classic, which is being organized as part of the European Seniors Tour, will remain on the schedule. Recently, the National Golf Club signed an agreement to hold one leg of the Ladies European Golf Tour in Antalya. Our application for candidacy for the World Amateur Golf Championship, which attracts more than 100 countries as participants, was accepted. Turkey will compete with Italy and Austria for this huge event. The Turkish Golf Federation has already started its lobbying activities, which will last through election day. We deserve to hold this event because of our facilities and accomplishments in the sport.