Golf Club as an Attribute of a Capital City

Below is The Day's interview with Pavlo Kryvonis, head of the Kyiv Administration's department for services to foreign representatives.

The Day: Why golf of all things? This sport is little known in Ukraine.

P. K.: All civilized capitals have golf clubs. This is only natural, like a television or refrigerator in every family. A golf club is a must in a capital city, a requisite of any country. It's part of today's lifestyle. In the West, golf is mostly associated with prominant and affluent people. They use the game to discuss business and politics, to make important deals. Remarkably, the atmosphere proves more favorable for coming to terms than any round table talks. We conceived the golf club idea over six years ago. We studied Moscow's experience, visited other capitals, and prepared dozens of draft projects for Kyiv.

The Day: Where is the golf course to be located?

P. K.: We offered our Norwegian colleagues several options (they are recognized experts in the field). We all know that Kyiv has many scenic locales. We would take them to different sites and they admired them all, but when they saw the Obolon Urochyshche boundary area they were speechless with delight. They said there is no such landscape anywhere else in Europe. Imagine an oak grove overlooking the Dnipro and pleasantly diversified environs, each distinction harmoniously blending with the next. And all this within the city limits! The site meets every international standard.

The Day: And public opinion? This sport is new here.

P. K.: When we came up with the project at the City Council some of the deputies were outraged. What do you mean? Taking so much of the land away from Kyivans and giving it to the bloody capitalists (the project takes 127 hectares)? We said sorry, but not a single resident can get to the site normally, for access on one side is blocked by the Dovzhenko Film Studios and on the other by an empty lot frequented by homeless people. In a word, the place is not used by anyone and the city budget has not received a cent from or for it, yet there turned up quite a few opponents of the project. Why? Because most Ukrainians know little about golf. Many thought we were trying to push through another stupid idea and that the place should be left municipal property, so residents could use it as a beach. Well, we have beaches, more than any other capital anywhere in the world. Take Trukhaniv Island! In other words, we are not taking anything away from anybody. The project costs a great deal and the place will look much better than it does now.

The Day: And the municipal budget will benefit too, won't it?

P. K.: Of course it will, but I would like to stress that we are not building a supermarket or garages. Our project means investment in the first place. One has to remember that that golf club means people flying from abroad to play, making hotel reservations, visiting cafes and gift shops. Of course, there will be money for the city budget from the land rental charges and golf club proceeds. In addition, our Norwegian partners plans to reinvest their revenues in Ukraine.

The Day: What made you choose the Norwegians?

P. K.: There are very many golf clubs in Norway and their climate is like what we have here in Kyiv. Our Norwegian partners have attracted to our project topnotch golfers from Austria, Great Britain, and the United States.

The Day: There aren't such expert players in Ukraine, are there?

P. K.: Yes, at least that we could find after circulating special questionnaires. There are those that have visited other countries and taken up golf. They would like to continue playing here. And one can already buy golf equipment and gear in Kyiv stores. What we lack is a real golf course.

The Day: How many holes will the golf course have?

P. K.: Eighteen. This year there will be only nine. And the place will have tennis courts, bungalows, bars, restaurants, a car rental, a beautiful landscape park - the works. The project's next round envisions a small hotel.

The Day: Who will make up the bulk of your customers?

P. K.: Diplomats. The first thing they ask about arriving in Kyiv is whether we have a golf club. Our questionnaires show that this is their lifestyle. It is their place for meeting guests and conducting talks. We are also planning children's playgrounds and here Moscow's experience comes in handy. When they built the first golf club the project was at first opposed by the people and local bureaucrats. They were afraid that construction teams would come and start chopping down trees, ruining the environment. But then the golf club started functioning and formed a junior team from among homeless and problem family children. Now they are Russia's hopefuls in this sport. We want follow their example, so our children will know about golf not only from books and television.