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The England Golf Partnership (EGP) is backing Community Golf to offer more opportunities for disadvantaged and disabled people to play the game in Surrey and parts of Sussex, Kent and London.

Community Golf was founded three years ago by PGA professional Richard Shaw who, with his team, believe that golf is a game that everyone should have the opportunity to play and be involved in.

They offer programmes to inspire and engage people of all ages, abilities and backgrounds and have developed links with schools for children with special needs and with community organisations reaching out to the lonely and socially isolated.

Community Golf runs outreach and club based programmes and has partnered with four golf clubs so far, to offer follow-on sessions, events and holiday camps: Epsom GC; Selsdon Park GC, near Croydon; Milford GC, near Guildford; and The Oaks GC, near Sutton. Currently 320 people are involved in weekly golf, with many more being given a taste of the game, and it wants to involve more clubs and volunteers to increase the work that they can do.

The new partnership will give support to Community Golf from England Golf and Golf Foundation officers and links with County Sports Partnerships. Richard Shaw (pictured) commented: “I am really excited about this. We all share the same ambition to grow the game and this will help us to reach new groups and new people who haven’t had access to golf before.”

Jamie Blair, England Golf’s Disability Manager, said: “The England Golf Partnership recognise the work of Community Golf in getting more disabled people active through the sport in their local setting.”

“By working more closely together we will create stronger links to more golf facilities so that disabled people get the opportunity, if they would like it, to move on to playing within these facilities. We want to combine the strengths of local deliverers who can activate the community and clubs who want to create stronger links within their locality.”

The Community Golf approach is creating many enthusiasts. Anne, 54, who joined a session at the Surrey Choices Woking Resource Centre, commented: “This is really addictive”. While Molly, a 14-year-old pupil at St Catherine’s Girls School, confessed: “I hate golf – but this was fun!”

Meanwhile, Bailey, a 12-year-old schoolboy, has made a real difference to older people in Crawley, West Sussex. He was challenged by his school to raise money for a charity and, with cake sales and sponsored activities, made £330 which he gave to Age UK Crawley.

The charity used the money to treat their members to play in the Community Golf Spring League and, said Richard Shaw: “They are now enjoying the health and social benefits that the sport has to offer and unbelievably the average age of the group is 83.6!”

Click here to find out more about Community Golf activities and opportunities to join its team as an activator or volunteer.

The England Golf Partnership brings together the amateur governing body, England Golf, and the Professional Golfers’ Association to grow the game with the support of the Golf Foundation and Sport England National Lottery funding. The Partnership’s Whole Sport Plan for golf aims to increase and widen participation in golf, from grass roots to elite level.

A debate is to take place in the House of Commons on the value of golf to the UK economy this week.

The Adjournment Debate, which will take place in the Commons Chamber on the evening of Wednesday 13 April, was applied for by Lincoln MP and Chairman of the All-Party Parliamentary Golf Group Karl McCartney.

The Debate follows an independent report published by Sheffield Hallam University, commissioned by The R&A, that shows in detail how much the sport of golf adds to the UK economy.

Nearly 74,500 people work in the UK golf industry with a third employed directly by nearly 3,000 clubs. Golfers spent £4.3 billion on their sport in 2014, half of which was channelled through clubs, and accounted for 14% of all consumer spending on sport. Golf paid £990 million in taxes to the Government over the same period.

The overall outcome is that golf’s gross value add to the UK economy is calculated at £2 billion or 7% of GVA attributed to all sport in the United Kingdom and after accounting for indirect and induced economic impact effects, the turnover of the UK golf industry is estimated at £10.3 billion for 2014.

In calling for the debate, Karl McCartney said “after seeing just how much golf does for the UK in terms of revenue generated, tax paid and people employed, it is only right that a sport of this scale is debated in the House of Commons chamber and the details placed on public record. Golf is one of the UK’s biggest industries and as the home of golf, we can use this data to ensure more is done to encourage people to become involved.”

The Sports Minister, David Evennett, will most likely respond to points raised in the Debate on behalf of the Government.

Accountants Hiller Hopkins polled 100 clubs and found the following.

5% of the clubs were operating at a loss. 56% said they were growing. 84% of clubs said they were renovating their clubhouses.There has been a big decline in membership numbers, particularly the younger age group, with 61% are over the age of 50.

Many clubs are abolishing joining fees and looking to credit based flexible memberships. There is more availability for non members.

97% of clubs still retain a dress code. This is claimed to be a disincentive for women to join the sport.70% of playing members are adult males. Less than 50% said that female membership was rising. 6% have no women members.

Less than 38% bring in revenues of more than £150,000 in hospitality, showing a big decline in bar and restaurant spend.

The younger generation are turning to Top Golf and avoiding golf clubs as a social destination, indicating that the growth of the game is in serious decline.

Surrey’s David Boote, 21, played an important role in the European Team which won the Bonallack Trophy this week,. The team of top European amateurs played the best amateurs from the Asia-Pacific region and won 21.5 to 21.5 at the Vidago Palace Golf Club, Portugal. Every member of the European team contributed at least 2 points.

David’s results were impressive. He won his singles match 4 and 3 and also scored two wins in each of the foursomes matches, by one hole and an outstanding 5 and 4 win with his partner Jack Hume from Ireland.

Welsh international David is in his final year at Stanford University, California where he is a human sciences major. He is a member of both Walton Heath and Kingswood golf clubs in Surrey.

This year he has finished 4th in the South American Amateur Championship and won last year’s Welsh Amateur Championship. He intends to turn professional after he graduates.

The Bonallack Trophy is named after the former secretary of the Royal and Ancient, Sir Michael Bonallack who was British Amateur Champion five times and played in the Walker Cup Matches against the United States nine times. Competitors from Europe are chosen for the team on the basis of their position in the World Amateur Rankings with special attention given to their results in match play events.

The Chinese owners of one of Britain’s most prestigious golf clubs have shelved plans to reduce the number of members by hugely increasing fees.
The Beijing-based Reignwood group wanted to cut membership at Wentworth in Surrey from 4,000 to 900 to make it the most exclusive club in the world.
It was to charge existing members a £100,000 debenture and increase annual subscriptions from £8,000 to £16,000.
Now the club has said existing members will not have to pay the new debenture.
Residents of the neighbouring Wentworth Estate, where houses can cost many millions, will also get reduced rates.
The club announced in October it would be charging existing members £100,000 and new joiners £125,000.
The planned charges led to a bitter dispute between golfers and Reignwood, who bought the club for £135m in 2014.

Club members and Wentworth Estate residents threatened legal action against the proposals which they said would fundamentally change its nature and character.
Residents also threatened to block roads during the European Tour’s PGA championship, held at the course every year.
Eric Leon, from Wentworth Residents’ Association, said local people, who own the estate’s private roads and verges, were not all multi-millionaires and could not afford the inflated fees.
Wentworth Club said the “membership update” followed a number of meetings between members, residents and Songhua Ni, president of Reignwood.
He said: “We have listened to a variety of differing interests from members and estate residents.
“We are continuing to make every effort to accommodate those, whilst focusing on our vision of making Wentworth Club the world’s premier golf and country club.”
Reignwood said it would be investing £20m into the club and golf courses by December 2018, with the first stage of the upgrade beginning in June after this year’s PGA Championship.

On Tuesday he was playing with a White Mountain jigsaw set.

New Direct Golf owner Mike Ashley has been ordered to face MPs on 7 June and has been warned that if he does not he could face parliamentary censure.

The Commons Business, Innovation and Skills committee wants to speak to Mr. Ashley regarding his treatment of workers. Ashley has been criticised for his use of zero hour contracts – which are not illegal – and the poor working conditions of staff.

A spokesman said: “At its meeting this morning, the Business Committee decided to issue a summon to Mike Ashley to give evidence to it on Tuesday 7 June 2016 at the Palace of Westminster.

As indicated in the Chair’s previous letter, should Mr Ashley not agree to appear on 7 June, the Committee reserves the right to take the matter further, including seeking the support of the House of Commons in respect of any complaint of contempt.”

Ashley previously accused MPs of creating a ‘media circus’ and invited them to visit his factories, an offer which they declined.

Speaking in the Commons last week, the shadow leader of the house Chris Bryant said the House could, “force him to attend. He may be the 22nd richest man in Britain but he is running a modern-day sweatshop and this House will get to the truth.”

Direct Golf came under the ownership of Mike Ashley when the business and assets of Direct Golf UK were subsequently sold to an entity controlled by Sports Direct for £299,994 on 19 October after Direct Golf UK and its parent company, Powerhouse Golf, had been put into administration following the discovery of alleged accounting irregularities which meant that the business was insolvent.

PGA Commissioner Tim Finchem has again opened up the discussion about a world tour that has been going on for at least the past twenty five years. He has recently said that he considers it in the best interests of the game to bring together the leading tours into one consolidated body to govern the whole sport.

“What is in the paramount best interests of mens and womens professional golf is coming under one unified organisation with a genuine global brand and being able to compete in global markets like football” (Commissioner Finchem actually said soccer, but as we all know soccer’s proper name is football).

“There aren’t many sports that are active on virtually every continent as golf is. We should be taking advantage of this”.

Chief Executive of the European Tour Keith Pelley is strengthening his tour by bringing about a merger with the Asian tour. This will change the global golf dynamics and will tap into latent revenue streams. The US PGA Tour are strengthening their ties with the ladies LPGA Tour. Pelley said he had no wish to endorse the Commissioner’s remarks. His players first policy means it will be at every stage his members who decide. To state that the European Tour should stand aside for a global tour is not something he would agree to.

“I believe we will have tremendous opportunities to show growth to players. Every decision we take will always be players first. What I have learnt since taking office is our diversity is our strength.

We are golf’s global tour.

We play in 26 countries on 5 continents, including the United States. We are in the process of making our tour a viable alternative to the tour in the United States. To do that we shall have to be aggressive. We are in the midst of rebuilding our commercial value for our potential and current partners”.

So that told them. Commissioner Finchem has been in post 20 years and has just said today that he may sign an extension to his current contract when it expires in June to help out Jay Monahan, who is expected to be his successor.

Merging the tours would bring an end to the Ryder Cup, and if the United States lose at Hazeltine later this year, it might be an option they would push for. As for the Europeans, their merging with the Asian tour might lead to calls for a Eurasian team.

We live in fascinating times for golf. Everything is a changing tide against some in golf who would keep everything the same even though it isn’t in the best interests of the game.