Leading businesses from the world of golf have come together to show their support for the UK Golf Course Owners Association (UKGCOA), an organisation that promises to introduce comprehensive market data and share best practice to benefit all UK golf courses, professionalising the business.
The organisation was officially launched earlier this month and has corporate backing from some of the sport’s leading businesses, including:
- Golfbreaks.com – Europe’s largest golf travel company, working with 950 golf venues and destinations across the UK, Europe and worldwide
- Jacobsen/EZ-GO – A global supplier of turf care solutions
- Toro – Supplier of premium quality golf maintenance equipment and irrigation solutions
- NFS Hospitality – Provider of technology solutions to the golf and leisure market
- Golf Webworks – A specialist graphic design and web management company based in Surrey, UK
Jerry Kilby, Executive Director of UKGCOA, said: “We would like to welcome our corporate partners to the UKGCOA and thank them for their support. Their assistance and knowledge is invaluable to the continued success of the organisation and will allow us deliver on all our objectives, to the benefit of our members’ businesses.”
The launch of the UKGCOA is the result of two years’ consultation and discussion, with founding members including leading owners and operators Burhill Golf & Leisure, Crown Golf and de Vere.
One of the UKGCOA’s first steps was to team up with IFM Sports Marketing Surveys (SMS) to offer its members exclusive in-depth analysis of the health of the golf course industry. As a result, members of the UKGCOA will be able to access business performance indicators such as the number of rounds being played, green fee yields, membership numbers, annual subscription rates and operating costs of many different types of golf courses and clubs across the country.
Jerry added: “One of the core benefits to course owners joining the UKGCOA is access to this data pooling and the opportunity to benchmark their club against others nationwide. The objective is to develop professional management within the industry, giving owners the opportunity to compare business performance.”
The UKGCOA is an integral part of the European Golf Course Owners Association – www.egcoa.eu – and plays an active role alongside other European golf course owners in pan-European initiatives and programmes. It is open to all UK golf course owners, is backed by the English Golf Union (EGU), and represents the interests of golf course owners in a unified way. The UKGCOA will also organise national and regional conferences to develop the sport.
Membership is open to facilities that are owned by individuals, families, corporations, landowners, municipal authorities, syndicates and club members.
UKGCOA www.ukgcoa.com