Rapid rise of children getting into golf in New Zealand

Golf New Zealand have been working with The R&A on their national development programme for ten years, looking to increase the positive profile of golf, grow participation and support golf clubs and facilities.?

Focusing on a number of groups that are under-represented in golf, they have seen positive results across the board, but nowhere more than junior golf, where members have nearly doubled in the last five years.?

Dean Murphy is Group Chief Executive at Golf New Zealand, where membership levels, rounds played and participation of females and young people are increasing. We spoke to Dean about the Futures programme that began before the Covid-19 pandemic in 2018…?

What is Golf New Zealand’s role??

“We've really focused the last ten years on being a game development agent and getting ourselves busy with development programmes. We have also increased the profile and the perception of golf in the country and also run development programmes through our regions, our clubs or through our own direct staff. Whether it be She Loves Golf for women and girls, our All Abilities programme for players with disabilities or our LOVE Golf programme to change perceptions, we run a whole bunch of development programmes and initiatives to try and grow the game.”?

What impact is the national development programme having in New Zealand??

“There's lots of cool and exciting things going on in golf in New Zealand. Right now, we're in this amazing growth phase that we've been in for quite some time. We were growing well going into the pandemic, but certainly through the pandemic and out the other side, the growth in energy we're seeing in golf is quite staggering.??

“The development programme that we've been running across a range of initiatives is really accelerating some of that growth and, in particular, we've been quite focused on the areas that are under-represented. Whether it be young people, women and girls, people with disabilities, people from different backgrounds, the growth we're seeing in golf and the attractiveness of people to want to engage in golf and be introduced to the game is at levels we've not quite seen before.?

“Every single day, we're setting a new record for the number of golf club members, we've got more rounds of golf being played and we've had double the number of young people join the game. There's a huge amount of momentum in golf right now and the energy we've got is really awesome. It's really driving a whole lot of positivity around golf and it's wonderful.”?

Which areas do your different initiatives focus on??

“Our Futures programme is our young people programme, and that's about the future of golf, the future of our country, the future of sport – just trying to enrich the lives of young people through golf, help them fall in love with it, so they can have a lifelong association with the game.??

“Get Into Golf is an adult introductory programme for those not engaged in golf; She Loves Golf for women and girls; Make Time, Play 9 for busy people looking for shorter experiences; and All Abilities, which is the disability programme. They are the key ones that The R&A are helping and supporting us with, and we've been quite conscious to work with them on those that are under-represented in golf.”?

Which has been your most successful initiative??

“The one we're most proud of, and the one that's had the biggest impact, is our Futures programme for young people. It's nearly doubled the number of young golfers engaged in the game since the programme started in 2018. From a metrics perspective, it's been off the charts, but we're most proud of it because the most important thing for us is to regenerate the number of golfers and to get young people playing the game. It hadn't been going that well, but we got this programme developed and spent a long time putting it together.??

“It was quite difficult to land where we landed, but we're really proud of where it finished. It feels like it's only just starting and yet already we've doubled the number of young golfers in New Zealand, so we want to keep doubling every five years - we've committed to having it in place for 15 years. We want to have a really solid effort about trying to reshape what golf looks like for young people in New Zealand. The R&A gave us some investment support to help us get it underway and advice to help us learn from other countries – what they’ve done, what’s worked, what hasn’t.”?

Why has Futures had such a big impact??

“The key success was about an approach for young people and helping them play golf their way and focus on their experience. It hasn't been prescriptive around programme delivery and it lets each facility or venue - mini golf or driving range or golf club - engage in a way that's appropriate for them. Most national programmes for young people are, “do these three sessions”, “go to this school”, “go to this club”, they're very prescriptive on what happens.??

“But this lets young people play their way and have their experience in a way that suits the facility. I think that's helped, because it's let everyone engage but be part of something bigger, which I’d say is a key driver of why it's been so successful.”?

What plans do Golf New Zealand have for the future??

“We're really interested in doubling down on the youth space and the customer journey and the experience of young people and golf. Our future will be more of the same in trying to ensure that every part of the participant pathway is covered with the right kind of programmes in place to help people get introduced to the game.??

“There are some other things we're trying to dream up around the family unit, how we can engage families to play golf, what that looks like across different golf facilities and how we can use technology. Our focus is to continue to look at that whole pathway and provide products and experiences that help golfers stick with the sport.”?

View the full story in Issue 2 of Developing Golf magazine, The R&A’s new online publication for affiliated national associations for sharing best practice across the sport.?