The PGA and its members play a vital role in developing our sport. Coaching is the essential ingredient in introducing new players and retaining existing players.
In the first of a series of interviews with leading figures in Scottish golf, PGA.info looks at some of the positive steps being taken to grow the sport north of the border. First on the tee is Scottish Golf Development Manager Andy Salmon.
Q. Tell us about your role in Scottish golf?
A. My role covers a very wide range of areas but in a nutshell, I am responsible for increasing participation and supporting affiliated clubs.
Q. And what do you see as the main tasks in your job?
A. On the participation side, maintaining and developing the success of clubgolf and looking at ways to introduce adults to the game via a structured programme. In supporting clubs, the main tasks range from converting nomadic golfers to club membership to a variety of support functions including marketing, legislation and member retention.
Q. What's the hardest thing about your job?
A. Undoubtedly communication. There are a lot of really positive things going on in Scottish golf and one of our biggest challenges is telling people about them.
Q. What's the verdict on the health of Scottish golf at the moment?
A. That depends on your perspective. In men's amateur golf, we are world and European champions and in ladies' golf, we have some really exciting talent emerging not to mention the current Ricoh Women's British Open Champion in Catriona Matthew.
On the other hand, at grass roots level, many golf clubs are struggling to cope with the combination of three consecutive wet summers and a recession. Waiting lists have become rare and many clubs have vacancies for membership. However, proactive clubs right across Scotland have demonstrated that despite these challenging trading circumstances, success can be achieved through innovative management activities. Our collective challenge is to make sure that we are ready for an economic upturn when that eventually arrives.
I am encouraged by the number of clubs that have introduced more flexible membership options for young adults.
Q. What has been the biggest change you have seen in golf in Scotland whilst you have been in post?
A. Probably the biggest change over the last decade has been the introduction of qualified volunteer coaches. This has enabled the impressive outcomes that clubgolf has produced and helps develop a coaching culture within the game. This can only be great news for PGA members as this volunteer workforce is effectively creating pupils and customers of the future.
More recently, I am very encouraged by the number of clubs that have introduced more flexible membership options for young adults in an attempt to soften the financial transition from junior to adult membership.
Q. What are the challenges that lie ahead for Scottish golf?
A. There are several. Better communication underpins everything that we do. The other key challenges right now are developing a sustainable Adult Participation Programme, adding value to golf club membership which in turn retains existing members and attracts new ones and completing our Central Database of Handicaps (CDH) project.
Q. How does working with the PGA help you do your job?
A. The PGA and its members play a vital role in developing our sport. Coaching is the essential ingredient in introducing new players to the game and in retaining existing players. The PGA's Coach Education programmes ensure that we have the right coach in the right place at the right time.
Q. If you could pick anything that you would want PGA pros to help you with, what would it be?
A. I think there are a number of things but here is my top three. First, get involved with clubgolf and in particular as young players move up the player pathway and need the level of coaching only a PGA pro can deliver. Second, engage with our Adult Participation programme once established (we have taken advice from a number of PGA pros and will continue to do so as we develop this concept). Third, get more involved with your club management and committee. The PGA pro has a unique set of skills and experiences and can offer a great deal to clubs.
Q. Tell us about April's Golf Awareness Week.
A. This is one aspect of our campaign to retain and recruit golf club members. Perhaps for the first time in living memory, clubs are facing a shortfall of members and are having to think of ways to retain existing members and this should be their initial focus. Furthermore, many clubs want to recruit additional members. We provide tools and resources for clubs wishing to get involved and GAW is one week of concerted media focus, aimed at the nomadic golfer. The message is simple; if you love golf, you should join a club.
PGA pros have a unique set of skills and experiences to offer and I would love to see them at the heart of a club's plans.
Q. What can PGA pros best do to support it?
A. I would encourage them to talk to the club, agree what the objectives are at that club and look at ways of helping the club meet those objectives. As I have said already, PGA pros have a unique set of skills and experiences to offer and I would love to see them at the heart of a club's plans.
Q. Why is clubgolf so important to the future of the game in Scotland?
A. It is important in so many ways. Already, it has changed part of our golfing culture and I think it will leave a legacy for many years into the future. We often tend to focus on junior golf club membership and whilst this is important, clubgolf is much more about providing the fundamental skills for a lifelong involvement in the game. For some, this will mean playing regularly throughout their life and achieving success as a player. For others, it may mean leaving the game for several years but coming back to golf later in life, equipped with the basic fundamentals to enjoy the game.
Q. What one change do you think would make the biggest impact on the club scene?
A. I think the Single Equality Bill is about to make a large impact on clubs. Building on this, I would like to see clubs doing away with gents and ladies' sections and adopting a more inclusive family orientated policy.
Q. What does golf in Scotland look like to you in 20 years time?
A. To some extent, the answer depends on what we do right now and in coming years. I am optimistic that we will have stronger clubs, a real coaching culture, players achieving real success at the very highest level and most important of all, a game for all and a game for life.
Q. What are the next steps the sport needs to take to ensure you can realise that vision?
A. Recognition of the importance of coaching and of volunteers, a more coordinated approach to facility development and underpinning all of this, professional management of the sport at every level.
I would like to see clubs doing away with gents and ladies' sections and adopting a more inclusive family orientated policy.
Q. What's the best thing about working in golf in Scotland?
A. I love the diversity of what I do and dealing with so many great people.
Q. What's been your best moment on the golf course?
A. Undoubtedly, playing for Wales and beating English opposition!
Q. Pick three people from any walk of life to make up your dream fourball?
A. Catherine Zeta Jones, Nye Bevan and Ben Hogan
Q. And where would you play the match and why?
A. Royal Dornoch because there is nowhere else quite like it.
Q. A wish for the future?
A. Arsenal to win the Premier League and Wales to keep on winning the Grand Slam!?
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03 February, 2010 | The PGA