Time to pull on the green jersey for county and country

In a little over three weeks' time, County Meath will host the biggest sporting spectacle ever to take place in this county when the Killeen Castle golf course hosts the 12th Solheim Cup, the female equivalent of the Ryder Cup, where the finest professional women's golfers from the United States and Europe will do battle for the most prestigious prize in women's golf. Held every two years on either side of the Atlantic, the event has grown to become the biggest international women's professional golf team event. Quite apart from the sporting spectacle which it promises to be, the economic benefits will be considerable - the event is likely to give the greater region a boost of some €35 million, with tens of thousands of visitors from across the country descending on Killeen, outside Dunsany, and an estimated 20,000 overseas visitors flying in for the three-day competition, from the United States and from several different countries in Europe. Up to 200 media personnel will also be here covering the competition. An estimated 4,000 hotel rooms have been booked in Meath and surrounding counties ahead of Solheim - with more than 80 per cent occupancy in local hotels - and in excess of 2,500 special golf holiday packages have been sold on the back of the competition. The overall attendance is estimated at between 80,000 and 100,000 people over the weekend of 23rd to 25th September. The global television audience viewing the Solheim Cup, meanwhile, will be massive and represent the kind of numbers Meath Tourism could, up to now, only dream about. The US Golf Channel will have 30 hours of wall-to-wall coverage from Killeen Castle and Sky Sports will have live coverage each day from the opening ceremony on Thursday 22nd September to the presentation of the cup the following Sunday. Translated into figures, it means the images from County Meath will be beamed into 410 million homes in 140 countries, a potential TV audience of 700 million people. Over the next couple of weeks, the final touches will be put to the Jack Nicklaus-designed golf course where no stone has been left unturned in creating a golfing experience that is among the very best to be found in Europe and beyond. Against a superb natural woodland backdrop, US golf legend Nicklaus has created 18 spectacular golf holes, each with its own unique challenges. Indeed, it was a testament to the quality of the Nicklaus creation at Killeen Castle that the course was awarded the hosting of the 2011 Solheim Cup before a single ball had ever been played on it. Many local organisations have been very active in promoting events to coincide with the Solheim Cup, including Failte Ireland and Meath Tourism. A local steering group has been implementing a number of initiatives which aims to contribute greatly towards the success of the event and local voluntary groups have organised festivals in Dunshaughlin and Trim to coincide with the golf - all with the ultimate aim of keeping visitors in the area 'after sundown', entertaining them and leaving them with great memories of their time in County Meath. With Meath having just been named as Ireland's top heritage county, there has never been a greater opportunity to reinforce that message and make the county a leading destination for overseas visitors in the future. Tourism will be one of the growth sectors in Ireland's economic future and showcasing the local area to such a massive global audience is an opportunity too good to miss. In welcoming visitors to this area for Solheim, it is crucial to ensure they do not experience anything that resembles the type of 'rip-off' culture which threatened to spoil some visitors' experience of the Ryder Cup at the K Club in 2006. To this end, many local businesses have signed up to a charter to provide a value for money offering and to deal with visitors in an appropriate and warm manner. In terms of local and national reputation, the Solheim Cup has the potential create a tangible legacy from which our country and county can benefit, leaving a lasting legacy that could continue to bring economic benefits for years to come. It behoves everybody to be mindful of our national reputation during this time and to ensure every visitor to Meath goes away with a positive impression of this county and its people after the last putt is sunk.