Dear
Your Club Captain, Chairman and Board have agreed to a request to ask members to support the work of the Golf Foundation through an optional ‘£2 per member’ donation on subscriptions.
The Golf Foundation, founded in 1952, is a nationally recognised charity which is carrying out highly effective work in golf clubs, schools and communities, introducing the sport to a great many boys and girls every year.
Its remit is simple: to make golf and its benefits available to any young person and help them to ‘Start, Learn and Stay’ in the sport.
Golf is a wonderful game for young people and surely it is up to all adult golfers to ‘put something back’ and help bring on the next generation of young players. The Golf Foundation believes there are numerous benefits to playing golf and that for any young person the sport offers ‘Skills for Life’, a game for life and a healthy life.
Working with the development bodies of England, Scotland and Wales the Golf Foundation offered a first try at golf to more than 500,000 young people last year through its national programme ‘HSBC Golf Roots’, creating a player pathway from school and community golf to the golf club and regular play.
This work helped to produce more than 3,600 new junior members in England alone, and is helping to tackle the falling junior membership rates which many clubs have experienced in recent years.
Once at the club, many youngsters are registering for the ‘Junior Golf Passport’, a step-by-step learning programme with the club’s PGA Professional, fully endorsed by the Professional Golfers’ Association.
The Foundation is able to demonstrate that with more funding from golfers much more can be achieved. Targets for 2018 include 50,000 children coming through the gates of our golf clubs during the year, creating 10,000 new regular players.
Eight Golf Foundation Regional Development Officers offer training to PGA Professionals, club volunteers and teachers throughout England, so all money raised nationally will help golf clubs at a local level.
How we can help, easily
The charity cannot hit its targets without the support of more golfers in golf clubs. Captain’s charities used to be a strong source of revenue for the Foundation but the majority of these now raise funds for highly deserving health related good causes. So how can the average club golfer help?
We believe the optional ‘£2 per member’ subscription idea is a genuine winner, being great value for all involved. For the price of a post-round cup of coffee or less than the cost of a golf ball, club members can make a massive difference to junior participation at a stroke; it really is that simple if the will is there.
To achieve our objective in supporting the Golf Foundation this Club will be adding the sum of £2 to the annual member subscription invoice on an opt-in/out basis. It will be entirely at members’ discretion as to whether they make a contribution but in this way we would hope to make a meaningful contribution in support of the Golf Foundation’s future work.