From left: Elisabeth Esterl, Frau Doktor Petra Bohuslav (Regional Minister for Tourism and Sport), Herr Doktor Klaus Schneeberger (Föhrenwald Golf Club President)

Golfclub Föhrenwald - Wiener Neustadt, Austria - Preliminary official gatherings for the Uniqua Ladies Golf Open in Austrian got underway yesterday, as Dr. Petra Bohuslav (Regional Minister for Tourism and Sport) gave massive official endorsement to golf in the region of Lower Austria.

As part of the Austrian government’s trade and tourism campaign for the region (Niederösterreich hinein ins Leben) golf is an important contributor, as the area also looks forward to hosting the Austrian Golf Open (European Tour) on September 17th near Vienna.

LET player and Scorpio Ambassador Elisabeth Esterl was present as the guest of Föhrenwald GC President Dr Klaus Schneeberger. After having attracted great media attention in Spain with her German national colours shirt (launched by Scorpio Golf in the Summer) at the Spanish Open in July, Esterl naturally drew the Minister’s hearty approval for the Austrian colours she wore on this occasion for the press conference.

Indeed, Miss Esterl has been a major guiding force in the creation of this range of National Flag Shirts from the Dubai-based Scorpio Golf. In collaboration with the label’s business development manager Neil Webb, she has played a key role in developing a range that ultimately will offer colours of every golfing nation in the world.

“Our inspiration for this idea was the late, great Payne Stewart who used to honour the states and counties where he played by wearing the NFL football team colours of the local side,” explains Webb. “As golf grips a growing number of followers and players all over the world we’re very happy indeed to be leading this exciting new fashion… AND doing it from Dubai just as the place itself becomes such a focus for world golf.”

By extraordinary coincidence, the Swedish National Flag Shirt has colours that exactly match the yellow and blue flag of the Lower Austria Land (or region) and so the emerging apparel brand scored twice with this week’s Austrian LET hosts.

39 of Austria’s 143 golf courses are in this region, and the fact that the two international golf tournaments are among Austria’s pre-eminent sporting events are factors that have helped attract this kind of support from such high government levels. Frau Doktor Bohuslav told the press conference that government figures place an advertising value to Austria of the two tournaments in the previous year at €2.6 million. And that buys an awful lot of government attention, which bodes very well for the future of golf in the country as a whole.