Rio 2016 Represents Huge Opportunity for England Golf, Says CEO

By Christian Radnedge

Golf’s reintroduction to the Olympic Games next year in Rio de Janeiro will provide a huge boost to the sport, particularly the women’s profile, according to England Golf ceo David Joy.

Joy was speaking to iSportconnect almost a year away from when the world’s best golfers will descend on Rio to take part in Olympic competition for the first time since the 1904 Games in St. Louis.

It was back in 2009 that the International Olympic Committee decided to reintroduce the sport into the Olympic programme. It will also be in the Tokyo 2020 Games too.

But it’s the first time that the competition will feature women golfers – and that is something that Joy believes will be the biggest benefit of next year’s event.

“The Olympics for men and women will give golf a different and bigger profile,” Joy told iSportconnect. “Men’s golf is on TV all the time, on pay-per-view and such, but the women’s game less so. So I think the profile the women’s game will get is going to be greater than anything else we’ve ever had.

“The fact is it’s in at least the next two Olympic cycles is great. In the men’s game the world’s best players will be there, so the exposure will be great.”

The Olympic competition will take place in the Barra da Tijuca zone in Rio, alongside the main Olympic Park.

Although there have been delays to the construction of the course, Joy was fully confident it would be ready on time for the start of competition on August 11 2016.

“It will be [ready]” he said. “I’ve received reports – there’s grass on the course now and it will be ready.”

Role models

Joy also recognises the impact that having a role model can have on the game and at the moment the star of women’s golf in England is 19-year-old Charley Hull who last year won her first professional title at the Lalla Meryem Cup on the European Tour.

Hull and Justin Rose have been named ambassadors of England Golf to support the governing body’s ‘Raising our Game’ strategy 2015-2017. The strategy is designed to shift the perception of golf and increase membership and participation.

England Golf wants to increase the number of people that play golf regularly by March 2017.

He said: “I think figureheads and role models are really important and Charley came through in Kettering she was there every day through summer holidays play 36 holes a week – she came through a golf club through the country structures and then has really pushed on so it does just show what’s possible.

“But again there’s a big story; it’s interesting, there’s a perception that there is not many women playing golf but there are 100,000 women members of golf clubs. There are more women who are members of a golf club than there are women who are members of a netball club. So the numbers are huge.”

But Joy did admit that the figures did not compare favourably across the continent: “It’s 15% of our membership and in Europe the percentage is greater so of course there’s work to be done.”

Participation challenges

As well as providing a boost to women’s golf, Joy is hoping for a bigger boost overall, particularly in line with England Golf’s strategy to grow the game nationwide.

Despite reports of golf not being as popular as it once was in the UK, recent figures have shown that participation has stabilised where it was declining before.

Research by Sports Marketing Surveys Inc. for instance showed that in 2014, adults who played on a full-length golf course was around the 3.3 million mark.

Part of the concern though is infrequent golfers, people who may not be members of clubs and are unwilling to make the commitment to be.

Joy said they were working in partnership with golf clubs to make memberships more attractive most of all by making them flexible.

“People who play golf most often are club members so our strategy is encouraging people to take up golf membership” he said. “So that’s based on communicating with them engaging with them, connecting with them, making sure they’re aware of the offers in golf clubs but also about changing the offering of golf clubs to be much more customer focused.

“So instead of a single one-off membership take it or leave it, it’s about what do people want now. And that’s different kinds of membership models, different price models, play ten times a year for £300; you know, join a club for £100 and then get a handicap and pay on top.

“So flexible membership models make a much more friendly culture, a welcoming culture, a coffee culture, and a family-friendly culture and we’re now seeing growth in 25 per cent of clubs in England and the 25 per cent that are growing have made these changes.

“So all the things we need to do to bring around these changes is already happening we just need to scale it up.”

Scaling that up will no doubt help with being attached to the Olympic brand next year, being watched on the BBC and being allied to a summery feel-good factor that usually accompanies a Games.

“We just need to significantly scale it,” Joy explains. “The beauty of it is the opportunity is there. We’ve got the plans in place. We anticipate a real difference in next three to four years.”