Rio 2016: Building the future of golf?
We have waited for this moment for more than 100 years. It was in 1904 in St. Louis when golf was last included in the Olympic Games. Now, less than 4 months before the start of the Rio 2016, everybody is considering what the Olympic Games can bring to the game of golf.
The inclusion of golf in the Olympic Games is a great achievement for the International Golf Federation and those organisations who actively participated in this initiative. But will becoming part of the next Olympic Games help grow the game globally? Since the inclusion of tennis in 2000, the number of active players has grown from 60 to 101 million, can Golf exceed this achievement?
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7th BVGA International Golf Conference – A firework of innovations!
The 7th International Golf Conference of the BVGA was held this month at Schloss Fuschl, near Salzburg, with over 180 guests from across Germany, Austria and Switzerland in attendance.
The conference was filled with many valuable personal encounters, new business contacts, exciting news about market developments and a wealth of experience, for the strategic, economic and operational golf course operation. The conference came just days before the KPMG figures for golf participation were released showing that Germany is poised to overtake the UK as golfs biggest market.
For the full article click here.
Golf is no longer a crime, decrees China’s Communist party
Once rejected as the sport of millionaires by Mao, China now says there is ‘no right or wrong’ about playing golf. Teeing off is not a crime, the Communist party of China has decreed, lifting millions of fairway fanatics out of the rough.
Banned by Mao Zedong – who despised the “sport for millionaires” – golf enjoyed a renaissance during the 80s and 90s only to be outlawed for the party’s 85 million members in 2015 as a result of president Xi Jinping’s anti-corruption drive.
For the full article click here.
The Netherlands Golf Course Owners Association Open Golf Day a huge success
The Netherlands Golf Course Owners Association (NVG), in conjunction with the Netherlands Golf Confederation and the Holland PGA, have hosted a Nationwide Open Golf Day with more than 140 participating golf courses this past weekend.
The day is designed to introduce people who have never even entered a golf course before to take up the game, as well as to offer neighbours the opportunity to get to know their local club.
It offered over 10,000 people the opportunity to play for a reduced price or even for free and has been building in popularity since being introduced 20 years ago. The event took place over the weekend of the 23rd of April.
If you would like to set up a similar event in your own county and would like some guidance on the process please contact Cynthia Dassen at cd@nvg-golf.nl
Norwegian Golf Course Owners Annual Conference shows the way forward
The FNG held their first ever two-day conference this month, a fitting way to celebrate the doubling of the size of the organisation over the last year.
The event was held in Oslo with speakers including Gregg Patterson, General Manager of the famous Beach Club in Los Angeles, discussing the importance of promoting the fun nature of golf course membership, our own Lodewijk Klootwijk also spoke on the development of Vision 2020.
Further to this, a number of workshops were held discussing everything from the distinct nature of the Norwegian Golf market, to how best to further develop the owners association.
The event was full of inspiring ideas and energy and we cannot wait to see what next year brings.
Are the health aspects of Golf pushed by your Club?
We at the EGCOA are currently in the process of further developing our Vision 2020 for the Future of Golf.
If you consider your club ahead of the game, in terms of capturing the environmental and health benefits of the sport to further your business, we would love to hear from you.
To gain recognition for your forward thinking, contact Matthew at me@egcoa.eu or on +31 20 330 61 03
