Carnoustie is determined to attract the top women golfers in the world after its hosting of a major event was deemed a big success.
Senior figures from Angus Council have vowed to bring the Ricoh Women’s British Open back to the historic links course.
Organisers said they were pleased with the way the championship had panned out.
Forecasts prior to the competition estimated more than 40,000 fans would descend on the town over the course of the five-day event.
The Ladies Golf Union (LGU) has a commitment with Visit Scotland to bring the contest north of the border at least five times in the next 10 years.
With a policy of only using the best championship grade courses, there is a real prospect it may return to Carnoustie within that period.
Spectating at the first tee yesterday, Angus Council leader Bob Myles said the tournament had been a success, but called for organisers, sponsors and the media to do more to maximise opportunities from the women’s game.
“The weather was against us for the first day, but after that it has picked up,” he said. “There has been a lot of comments from visitors impressed at the way the course looks and hopefully, after the competition, golfers will want to come back and play here and the other courses in the county.
“I think we are still learning how to promote the women’s event and bring the crowds in. In the US and in China they are getting full coverage on television whereas here you don’t get quite so much.
“Although a lot of hard work has gone into the event, I think we need to do a better job. It would be nice to see the tournament coming back to Carnoustie again.”
Shona Malcolm, chief executive of the LGU, said Carnoustie had lived up to its reputation of providing a stern test for the golfers.
She added, “As far as coming back to Carnoustie goes there is every possibility. Obviously, having just been here, we wouldn’t be thinking about Carnoustie again for some time.”DisappointmentDisappointingly for local businesses, there were indications many golf fans opted to head straight for the fairways and food tents.
There was a relaxed and friendly atmosphere, with an abundance of older fans taking advantage of reduced price admission for the final session.
Merelyn Dunn, senior marketing officer for Angus Council’s Carnoustie Country golf brand, said she had been “quite pleased” with the response from visitors, adding that efforts would be made to bring top level women’s golf back to the county.
She said, “We have found that a lot of people who we spoke to at last year’s event at Royal Birkdale were coming back to speak to us here in Carnoustie.
“I think the course has looked great all week and the overwhelming response from people has been that they have loved their time here.”
Carnoustie councillor Brian Boyd spent the morning handing out flyers promoting the Carnoustie County brand, but said the number of visitors using the town centre had been fairly limited, with many opting to head straight for the action.
He added, “We are trying to promote the area and what the council has got on offer as well as trying to show that we have more than just a golf course in Carnoustie.
“I would say it has been on a par with the Senior Open in terms of benefit to the economy, but we were expecting it was going to be better.”
Carnoustie Country uses the Championship Course as a hook for tourists, to promote more than 30 smaller courses around Angus, the east of Perthshire, northern Fife and Dundee.
The council has put money into sponsoring Scottish golfer Catriona Matthew to wear branded logo clothing as part of the drive to boost tourism in the county.
There were no problems surrounding the competition in terms of traffic and policing.
Superintendent Ewen West said officers had been pleased with how the event had gone both from a policing and spectating point of view.
The force worked with several partners to ensure everything went as smoothly as possible.”