A rainy but picturesque Frilford Heath Golf Club provided the location for the launch event for ChairNetwork.golf. Clubs from across the region were joined by key industry stakeholders for a day of thought-provoking discussion, informative presentations and shared challenges.
ChairNetwork.golf is a new networking group for golf club chairmen and women founded by Jane Carter and Eddie Bullock. Both have numerous years’ experience in the golf industry and were delighted to host supporters of this new initiative in the first of three planned events across the UK.
Eddie kicked the day off with an overview of ChairNetwork.golf aims and aspirations before Jane led a session on the latest position of the industry. This covered key findings and highlighted four important ‘planks’ of a successful golf club in the current environment. Both sessions stimulated much discussion around the room and there was some immediate identification of common themes and opportunities for the clubs represented.
The club hosts for the day, Alistair Booth (Chairman) and Russell Stebbings (General Manager), then took centre stage to discuss planning, governance, strategy, the need for buy in across the whole club and implementation. This session highlighted the significant benefits of a club chairman and general manager working in tangent, raising many questions from the floor as clubs considered how this process could apply to them.
The final speaker for the day was Matt Bloor from England Golf. Possibly the liveliest discussion session of the day as Matt covered governance and markets before sparking a very interactive section about golf club volunteers.
The launch event generated positive feedback from attendees, much to the delight of the ChairNetwork.golf founders.
“The response has been fantastic,” said Eddie Bullock. “It’s only the first step but the enthusiasm and comments from the attending chairmen and women indicate this is a tangible and effective way of initiating real change across the golf industry.”
Jane was equally positive, “It’s a good start and the key now is to keep the momentum going. This idea has been four years in the making and it’s a proud moment to see it come to fruition and receive such encouraging comments. We can’t thank today’s attendees enough for their support and the hospitality of Frilford Heath Golf Club has been second to none.”
Bob Williams, CEO of the GCMA, added his thoughts; “The importance of Golf Club Managers and the Golf Club Chair working together cannot be underestimated. I found the session with Alistair and Russell particularly informative and a great blueprint for other clubs to follow.”
The next event for ChairNetwork.golf is at Beeston Fields, Nottingham on Wednesday 20 June.
ChairNetwork.golf www.chairnetwork.golf