Bunhill: Money fron golf

As a job-creation exercise, the Government could do a lot worse than staging a few more golf tournaments. Last week's Scottish Open at Gleneagles attracted more than 100,000 spectators, cost Bell's Whisky pounds 2m in sponsorship and injected a similar amount of money into the local economy.

More surprisingly, this curtain-raiser for the British Open 100 miles away at Muirfield created 3,000 part-time jobs. Among these were the 'Shushers', who hold up paddles bearing the words 'Quiet Please' just as one of the stars is about to exhibit his expertise.

The only downside for the economy would be the loss of productivity from the number of executives keeping the corporate hospitality industry alive.