Well it’s about that time again when we’re dusting down our clubs, back on normal tees and getting prepared for the first medal of the year. The 2009 golfing season is here; let’s just hope the weather is better than last year!

On my travels around the North East I have met lots of people thinking “outside of the box” in terms of recruiting and retaining members whilst the country is falling into the recession. South Shields are taking a leaf out of Whitley Bay’s book by running taster memberships to encourage more women and girls to become golf club members. The EGU/EWGA Adult Recruitment and Retention Toolkit is packed with innovative ideas and best practice to help increase membership within your club.

We now have 15 clubs registered for Golf Mark (incorporating Club mark, out of these clubs we have 3 who have gained accreditation with more on the way. One of the main benefits this year of having Golf Mark is the opportunity of tapping into the £800 coaching grant which can help towards junior and adult coaching costs.

I must also stress the importance of liaising with your local County Sports Partnership as they are an invaluable source of knowledge, support, and in some cases, funding. They are there to assist all sports clubs to help increase participation, organising generic workshops for Golf Mark and Club mark and to create an improved coaching infrastructure through their Workforce Development Programme in which they provide 50% funding towards the cost of a Level One qualification. In County Durham they are Durham Sport and Tees Valley Sport.

For any other information regarding club development please contact Jason Budd.