FIELDREPORT National Strategy
With the announcement of Justin Rose and Charley Hull as ambassadors, England Golf hopes to build momentum for its Raising Our Game initiative. Chief executive David Joy outlines why the PGA professional is integral to the strategy’s success.
n the spring of 2002, shortly aſter England Golf ambassador Justin Rose broke into the world’s top 100 for the first time, there were no English golfers in the world’s top 50. Today, Rose is one of six. In 2015, England has provided more European Tour and LET professionals than any other European nation, with eight golfers in the top 25 of the Race to Dubai.
I The upsurge in English golf at a professional
level is a true success story; and in nurturing the likes of Rose, Danny Willett, Chris Wood, Andy Sullivan and more, England Golf deserves its share of the credit. It is, however, one of those quirks that the biggest success for a body representing amateur golf has been felt at professional level. With a 20% decline in club membership between 2004 and 2013, the picture for the amateur game is not nearly so rosy. However there is now, for the first time, a robust plan in place to address it. England Golf was formed in 2012, when the English Golf Union merged with the English Women's Golf Association. Within a year its board appointed David Joy as chief executive of England Golf, and within another 12 months Joy was announcing Raising Our Game – an ambitious strategy designed to halt the decline of English club membership, bring more people into the game and improve its public perception… while keeping those talent lines flourishing. “The status of the amateur game in England
was constantly monitored and understood,” says Joy. “But until Raising Our Game there was not really a strategy. Raising Our Game will
16 SGBGOLF
work within our Whole Sport Plan, which is the vehicle through which we draw public funding into golf. It will be funded through the £13m four-year funding given to us by Sport England, and the strategy will involve a series of collaborations, from the county organisations and golf clubs through to the PGA, Golf Foundation and other industry bodies.” Indeed one Joy’s first actions was to invite PGA chief executive Sandy Jones to join the
board of England Golf. “It is vital we have a strong relationship with the PGA,” he adds, “because the PGA professional is central to growing the game. The pro is oſten the first face a new golfer sees at the club, typically through group taster sessions. The availability of these is vital for recruitment. We are working with 400 clubs, and at each the pro is offering Get into Golf sessions, typically in a group, usually for six weeks and £20-30. It’s really working; we are seeing high numbers take up the deal.” However, Joy concedes that getting people to
try golf is the relatively easy bit; the hard part is keeping them in the game. “We know that getting better in the early stages is a key reason why people either leave or stay in the game, and here again the role of the pro is vital. It’s a role that goes beyond tuition, to helping new golfers along a journey that includes etiquette, further coaching and generally becoming comfortable around the club and the course.” The Raising Our Game initiative offers
recommendations to golf clubs and has set key performance indicators in place – such as club membership numbers. After 10 years of decline there is at last some positive news – 2013’s 5% drop became 4% in 2014, and according to Joy is on course to drop below 2% this year. He is aware, however, that when it comes to increasing a club’s membership, the pro can only do so much. “Club membership is determined by what the club offers,” he argues. “Of the 1,930 clubs in England, 25% of them are in fact growing. These are the ones who have listened to their members and have grasped that there is not one type of member;
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44