Golf helps improve mental health says R&A chief

R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers has urged golf clubs to be "modern and relevant" to continue attracting more golfers as he believes the sport is helping mental well-being across the country.

Although participation in golf has rocketed since clubs reopened their doors, Slumber wants to see golf clubs take advantage of the number of new golfers to help golf grow even more over the coming months.

“Participation levels in the UK for the quarter are already back level with those of July 2019, despite the fact that we had one month when the numbers went down 100 per cent,” said Slumbers.

“I think we have done a really good job of portraying golf as good for your health, good for your mind, and a sport that you can do in a socially distant and responsible way.

“There’s always been a lot of sport lovers, but if you love team sports, whether you watch or play, that’s going to be a challenge for the foreseeable future, and they are turning to golf.

“Our real challenge now is to make it sustainable. You have heard me talk about people will join golf clubs when golf clubs are selling the product that people want to buy. We’ve still got to do that, and we’ve still got to keep changing and we’ve still got to keep being modern and relevant.

“This could be a real opportunity for the game, if we can grasp it and start showing the game in a positive way. I think that there’s going to be a huge amount more debate about the need for health and the need for mental well-being out of this. It’s been an extraordinary five or six months, and I think golf is right up there. I intend to use my efforts to maximise the value.”

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