Last week there was an extraordinary general meeting of the Royal Malta Golf Club. As an active member of the club I was at that meeting.

The agenda, or the major part of it, dealt primarily with internal matters of the golf club but there was one particular item – the possible extension of the golf course – that deserves a far greater degree of emphasis.

The presentation by the board of management included a plan of the government’s “concept” for a proposed Marsa Sports Village, to which the granting of additional land for an extension of the golf course is tied.

I am all in favour of the possibility of extending the golf course. Around 15 years ago, as chairman of the Marsa Sports Club, the committee had presented a fairly similar plan. However, in the presentation made during last week’s EGM, there are several serious questions that demand serious answers:

• Why is the possible extension being offered only as an integral part of the Marsa Sports Village project and subject to government finding a developer?

• Does “being a one-off opportunity” mean that the members have to rubber-stamp it?

• The two financial scenarios presented seem to be conditional on the “developer”. In scenario A, the presentation states that the government would acquire (payment in advance) all the “tourist” rounds to support the developer. Would the government or the developer issue a guarantee in favour of the club to the value of the rounds for the full term of the agreement? If the proposal is accepted by the members, this would help in funding the required course improvement.

• What happens to the club’s long-standing relationship with other hotels that have supported the RMGC over the years?

• Does the scenario mean that the club would lose its autonomy in respect of the management of green fees?

There are several other questions that the members would want to ask. In fact I seriously doubt if by extending the length of the course we could increase our capacity for “tourist” rounds to 7,000. I am however convinced, that the EGM that will have to be called before any decision is taken, would deal with the above-mentioned details as well as other points such as financing, members’ rights etc.

The real issue, I believe, is not the extension or otherwise, of the golf course. That is a very necessary tool for the improvement of the sport in Malta. The government and the club should discuss and strive to find a true scenario that would benefit the sport and golf tourism rather than safeguarding an exclusive right to golf green fees in favour of any developer.