The PGA has launched PGA Play, a new free digital platform that connects golfers looking for lessons – as well as those wanting to take up the game – with their local PGA Professionals in the UK and Ireland, and a number of overseas locations.
Building on the success of the PGA’s Find a Golf Lesson offering – which has delivered more than 100,000 users and thousands of lesson enquiries over the past year alone – PGA Play is now a standalone platform that enables golfers to search for their nearest PGA Professional by location, coaching requirement and several other bespoke filters.
Through PGA Play, the PGA is working collaboratively with other industry bodies to be a call to action for a range of initiatives encouraging people to take up golf. This includes the R&A and its exciting new golf.golf pilot scheme, as well as the home nations.
In addition, PGA Play will also signpost golfers towards existing initiatives and will be embedded in a number of external golf sites to further increase its reach.
Richard Barker, The PGA’s Executive Director for Business Development, commented: “This is a really exciting initiative that is a huge step forward from Find a Golf Lesson. It’s very much a part of a long-term commitment to grow the game, inspire people to play and promote the expertise and services of our PGA Members. We are also delighted to be collaborating with so many industry partners to help make it easier to take that first step towards becoming a golfer.
“Looking ahead, a number of further additions to PGA Play will be made in the coming months, including secondary services such as custom-fitting, retail services and integrated lesson bookings – making the platform a one-stop shop for anyone interested in any aspect of the game.”
PGA Play also contains a range of instruction and game improvement content, from PGA Members and partners, with more being added all the time. This enables Members to market themselves directly to the golfing public and increase their reach. With the creation of so much helpful content, The PGA aspires to make PGA Play the go-to platform for golf coaching, learning and inspiration, reaffirming PGA Professionals as the authority on the game.
PGA Play has been designed to serve the mobile user, with figures showing that two-thirds of people looking for a golf lesson online are doing so using a mobile device. The platform is simple to use on mobile with key interactions such as searching, viewing a PGA Professional’s profile or making an enquiry built specifically to enable easy use on a phone or tablet.
PGA Members are already endorsing the platform, with Anna Smith from London Golf Club commenting: “Setting up my profile was very simple and has allowed me to reach an audience that I wouldn’t have reached without it. Within just a few days of launching I received my first new lesson booking… it’s a great initiative by The PGA.”
Over the coming months, The PGA will be working with a range of stakeholders to raise awareness of PGA Play and drive traffic to the website, with significant investment being made in digital marketing activity to target the tens of thousands of searches for golf lessons and instruction in the UK and Ireland every month.
CLICK HERE to visit PGA Play.