The Alfred Dunhill Links Championship has become the latest name to sign up to Carnoustie Connect, in a significant boost for the town’s fast-growing digital hub.
The local partnership was formally confirmed last week, and a competition is now live on the app giving users the chance to win a VIP experience at the Old Course on Sunday 4 October, the final day of this year’s Championship.
Carnoustie Connect launched just last week, backed by over 100 local businesses and community groups. Since then, sign-ups have continued to grow, and organisers say a local partner of Dunhill’s standing marks a major step in raising the profile of the platform beyond the town itself.
Katy Air, of Airgonomics, who is leading the project alongside Chris Thornton, said: “To have a partner like the Dunhill Links Championship backing Carnoustie Connect speaks volumes about what we’re building here. It’s a brilliant opportunity for local people to get involved in something world class, right on their doorstep, and it will introduce the app to a whole new audience during Championship week.”
Carnoustie Connect itself grew out of work by the Carnoustie Community Development Trust, which commissioned a study into how to re-energise the town’s high street. That research identified a clear appetite for a shared digital platform linking local businesses, organisations and the community.
The Trust went on to connect with Katy Air and Chris Thornton of Airgonomics, whose consultancy already supported local charities and community groups, to help turn the idea into Carnoustie Connect. The project’s first year has been part-funded by the Carnoustie Golf Links Charitable Trust.
Derek Miller, Chair of Carnoustie Community Development Trust, said: “Partnerships like this show exactly why we backed this project from the start. Carnoustie Connect grew out of work we did to understand how to bring people back to our high street and having a partner of Dunhill’s standing get behind it is a brilliant next step, for the app, and for the town.”
The Championship has also partnered with Love St Andrews, part of a wider commitment to the digital town hubs supporting communities along the coast. Both Carnoustie Connect and Love St Andrews are offering an exclusive package to take in the final day of this year’s landmark Championship on Sunday, October 4. The winner will receive admission to the event and a VIP lunch in the luxurious setting of the Old Course Hotel in St Andrews, where they can watch the unfolding action.
The Carnoustie Connect team will be on site at Carnoustie Links from 1 to 3 October, meeting residents and visitors and handing out flyers to encourage further sign-ups.
Carnoustie Connect is available now to download free on the App Store and Google Play, and at: www.carnoustieconnect.co.uk
