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New Zealand Golf is leading an initiative to create a stronger community through the sharing of information in case studies from successful golf clubs around the country.

The Case Studies are designed to celebrate innovate thinking and success in clubs and communities around New Zealand.

They are also a key way that clubs, communities and regional sports trusts can learn from each other through effective practice and relevant findings for all golf clubs.

NZ Golf acknowledges that it is a challenging time for golf clubs in this country and will complete this Case Study research on the club’s behalf in the interests of benefiting the game.

The Case Studies are based on the 10 categories of; Membership Modelling, Membership Recruitment, Membership Retention, Participation Programmes, Junior Environment, Female Environment, Family Environment, Outside of Golf, Golf Course Development and Great Customer Service.

NZ Golf National Community Manager Kenny Halliday is excited to share the success stories in these areas and he believes that this information will be hugely beneficial.

He explained “we are all in this together and it is going to be great to be able to celebrate the many success stories in our game.

“The more information we can share with each other, the better equipped our clubs and communities will be to address the challenges of the current golf environment.”

Halliday added that this initiative is in line with NZ Golf’s two strategic pillars of growing and supporting the game.

Halliday believed that the golf clubs – like Manawatu, Pupuke and Akarana – that have offered their success stories in the early Case Studies should be commended and he urged others to follow suit.

He added “we applaud them for sharing this information. We know it is a competitive market out there and that people may be keen to hold their cards close to their chests. We understand that. We hope that golf clubs will see the bigger picture and that is growing the game in New Zealand so it has a sustainable and prosperous future.

“The challenge for clubs is to find their point of difference and maximize it.”

The Golf Clubs who have shared their success stories said it was an easy decision.

Andre White, the Golf Professional at the Manawatu Golf Club, said of his Get Women into Golf Initiative, “we are happy to share our information and experience in the hope that other clubs will take this idea and tweak it to suit their needs. If every club ran a similar or better program all clubs will benefit from more participation and the subsequent beneficial effect on memberships.

“One of the most pleasing aspects we found was how it managed to get members wives and partners out on the course as well as seeing some new male members join after their wife or partner went through the series. We will definitely be running this series again."

Travis Gawler, the Manager of the Akarana Golf Club, said of his Under 35 Initiatives, “the golf industry is struggling and we all need to work together. It is good to be able to share the success stories and things that have worked for clubs around New Zealand, to help grow the game. In our example we had to rethink our strategic direction and our resources to better cater for the next generation.”

Laurie Flynn, the Manager of the Pupuke Golf Club, added of his SNAG Golf NZ Partnership, we are sharing our story with junior participation through SNAG Golf because we need to encourage more young people into the game. The greater number of young kids we have playing golf at a young age then the more likely we will have strong golf memberships going forward in New Zealand.”

Halliday said that for the Case Study initiative to be an effective project the focus must be on it being an ongoing process.

“To have an impact in this space we must be thinking long-term. Our clubs and communities need ongoing support and we are looking for many ways we can facilitate relevant research and discussion to promote the goal of more New Zealanders playing golf.”

New Zealand Golf has completed the first three Case Studies and will release a further three Case Studies in the various categories every month.

Every Case Study will outline; the Project Overview, the Challenges that the project attempted to overcome, the Solution that was created, the Results that were achieved and how they measured them and the key lessons learnt in a Summary.

To encourage participation in the Case Studies, New Zealand Golf is running a competition.

The best success story (as judged by the community golf team) will win a pair of PUMA golf shoes, Magnetic Socks and a LOVE Golf T Shirt (Value $249.99) every month.

Click here to view the Female Environment: Innovative Ways of Creating a Female Friendly Environment - Manawatu Golf Club case study.

Click here to view the Membership Recruitment: Innovative Approaches to attracting new members - Akarana Golf Club case study.

Click here to view the Membership Recruitment: Innovative ways of creating a great junior environment case study.

8th November 2012 - NEW ZEALAND GOLF ENDORSES PROJECT LITEFOOT'S LITECLUB

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