GA making the game of golf ‘modern and progressive’

By James Sutherland

GOLF is big. Golf is getting bigger. Golf is different. 

These are the 10 words I unashamedly repeat every single day. 

Why? Because as an industry, golf is enjoying huge positive momentum, and I want everyone to understand the potential of our game. 

For Golf Australia, our purpose was laid bare in the recently developed industry-wide Australian Golf Strategy – quite simply, we want more Australians playing more golf. 

The 2022 Participation Report shows that we have sustained the upward trend line. For the first time since 1994, club member numbers nationally have increased in three consecutive years.

This follows 2021, when the number of playing members increased by 6.4% – the largest ever increase on record. 

After decades of general contraction, the tide has turned, and the industry has wind in its sails. Outside of club membership, new National Golf Foundation research commissioned by Golf Australia revealed the national membership number of 427,000 is just one component of the total on-course participation number of 1.5 million people who played golf on-course last year. A further 1.2 million people only played off-course – like at the driving range, at simulator venues, via virtual golf, or mini-golf.

Around 10 per cent of our national population participated in golf one way or another in the last 12 months. These participation numbers are huge and give an insight into the important role golf plays in the way of life of so many Australians – but also the scale of the golf’s impact on our economy. 

Golf is big, and it’s getting bigger. 

Golf Australia has a leadership role in encouraging participation and supporting key parts of the golf ecosystem so that every dimension of our sport is connected. 

There are more than 1600 clubs and facilities across Australia. More than half of these are volunteer run – with no paid administration or PGA professional.  We have an important role to support them and their role in the local community.

Working closely with the PGA and our clubs and facilities, we want great customer experiences – thereby attracting newcomers to our sport and, at the same time, improving service levels for existing golfers. 

That includes investing in junior participation programs, working with clubs and facilities to improve the local golfer experience, getting closer to gender equality through initiatives such as the Women in Golf Charter, using innovative digital solutions to improve player engagement, delivering the national handicapping system, and advocating for our sport at every level of government. 

Simply put, we have a responsibility to ensure the industry we lead is equipped to take the game forward.  

Furthermore, the weight of the decisions we make – and the path we choose to follow – is made heavier with the knowledge that we are not among the handful of national sports that receive vast sums of revenue through multi-million-dollar media rights deals. Golf is different. 

Not only is golf one of the biggest participation sports in the country, it has unique characteristics as a sport for all ages – a sport for life. 

Finding the optimal allocation from a limited resource base is an important and difficult challenge. There will always be opinions as to where we should invest our money, but first and foremost, growing participation in our clubs and facilities is where our priorities lie. 

Hand in glove, our high-performance team and the PGA’s men’s and women’s tours have an enormous responsibility in turning the best young golfers in the country into world-class golfers, who in-turn inspire the next generation. 

You only need to look at Cameron Smith, Minjee Lee and the impact their success at majors had on MyGolf hitting record numbers. 

It’s clear that in the world we now live in, golf has captured people’s imagination in a new way. But if we aren’t investing to make our sport modern and progressive – any sport that chooses to, will gleefully eat up a piece of our pie. 

In the modern age, good service is expected to come with digital assets and services that will innovate and enhance the customer experience. Golf is no different – and this is an important part of Golf Australia’s role. 

Last month, we announced that our 18-month search for a technology partner had concluded, with DotGolf chosen to deliver expanded technology services, including a new handicapping and club management platform. 

When all elements of this exciting project are delivered by March 2025, Australia will have cutting-edge digital services that will make it easier than ever before for golfers to participate in our game however they choose and in all its forms.  

This project will be a significant focus for the team at Golf Australia – and the opportunities they can unlock are endless. 

As custodians of the sport, this is Golf Australia’s job – to leave this game in better shape than we found it.

And we’re committed to do the work, often away from the spotlight, so that our unique game is bigger and stronger in the years to come.