Interview: Jerry Sarvadi, businessman

It's not as if we don’t have enough as it is. That was the opinion of US businessman Jerry Sarvadi, at least, when it was first suggested he might like to relocate from oil-rich Houston, Texas, to golf-rich Dirleton, East Lothian.

Of course, the profusion of already excellent facilities in this part of the world hasn't exactly stopped Donald Trump in his tracks, but Sarvadi (handicap: seven) shrugged it off and didn't think much more about it.

The 63-year-old had studied accounting at university and spent his life working in oil and gas. But, as part of the Romanian diaspora (“my grandfather on my father's side came to the US around 1900, through Ellis Island, and my grandfather on my mother’s side came over a few years later), he was part of a large extended family scattered all over the States. “I have five brothers and three sisters and 20 years ago my father said, 'We never get together so we're going to do this once a year. Let's go somewhere and play golf.'” And so the Sarvadi Invitational was born.

In 2002 the family were playing Pinehurst, North Carolina. “We brought our friends,” says Sarvadi, “and there were about 20 people there that year. One of them, Don Lewis – whose father-in-law was Jack Nicklaus's mentor in Columbus, Ohio – somewhat jokingly asked, 'You want to build a golf course in Scotland?' We looked at him as if to say, 'You're an idiot, there's a golf course on every corner.'”

One of the selling points of the particular spot of land Lewis had in mind was the fact that only a stone wall separated it from the revered greens at Muirfield. But nothing more might have happened unless, a few months later, Sarvadi hadn’t been invited to play Muirfield as a corporate guest.

“It was just before the Open Championship in 2002 and it was what I now know to be a typical day. We landed at the airport and it was raining. Half-way around the bypass the rain stopped and by the time we got out here to East Lothian the sun was out – it was bright and beautiful.”

It wasn’t the first time he’d played a Scottish course – he’d visited Turnberry in 1985 – but he was clearly smitten. He met trustees of the land that was for sale in the first of many, many meetings. “I must have visited Edinburgh around 20 times. Finally, we went through all summer waiting for detailed planning permission and nothing much happened so I basically called up the director of planning at East Lothian Council and said, ‘Can we have a coffee?' I went into his office and said, ‘Peter, it's time,' and he said, ‘You're right, you'll have your approval by the end of the year.' On 21 December we got the letter.”

By this stage the entire family – brothers, sisters, in-laws and, of course, Sarvadi’s wife Donna – was involved.

“One of the themes of what we're doing here is family values,” he says. “This has brought all our brothers and sisters much closer together. Now they all come here for the Invitational.” Though it’s not always easy to get the entire family together. “My mother is now 87 and she has 94 direct descendants. There's a wedding in April in Washington DC so we'll see how many show up for that.”

The Renaissance Club course and accommodation opened in 2006, and the family is now adding two spectacular new holes on land overlooking the Forth, as well as a clubhouse. They are due to be completed in time for the Open Championship next year.

“We think we've had a great course but now, with the new holes, it's going to make it even greater,” says Sarvadi. “It's going to become really well known. Proof of that is we've already heard from Joe Passov who runs Golf Magazine's top 100 in the world. He’s predicted we'll get into the top 100 this year.”

Proof, if it were needed, that if you build it, they really will come. n

• The Renaissance Club, Dirleton 01620 850 901 click here to visit www.trcaa.com