Norman Fletcher
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I hadn’t realised, during the last Golfmagic golf day, when I went over to greet longtime acquaintances, Norman Fletcher of the PGA and Paul Baxter, secretary of the English Golf Union in the Woodhall Spa dining room, that I’d interrupted a golf summit.
No wonder the pair and their colleagues appeared a little surprised and tight-lipped because under discussion among the cutlery, crockery and bacon and cheese bake was the game’s future - a vision for golf until 2020.
It now appears that along with the English Ladies' Golf Association, an umbrella England Golf Partnership has been formed to draw up a blueprint for taking golf to the next level. It has also won the government’s backing in a new development initiative funded by Sport England, as one of the nation’s top ten sports.
The new venture is solely concerned with the development of a national Sport Plan for golf and Fletcher, its chairman as well as deputy chief executive of the PGA, explained: "This is the start of a new era for golf in England and the chance to increase and widen participation levels. We will create a framework that other nations will follow through a strategic approach and with consultation with all of golf’s stakeholders."
Main thrust of the campaign will be on providing more opportunities for participants to start, stay and succeed in the game. Its image will be scrutinised with the need for golf to be seen as ‘cool’, its perception of being expensive and time consuming overcome and the values of club membership will also be included in a bid to reduce ‘clubless’ players.
Publication of the Sport Plan for Golf is expected by the end of the year.
Tell us on the forum what will your vision be of golf in 2020.
