Howley Hall Golf Club is the first golf club in Yorkshire to be awarded the latest GolfMark accreditation from England Golf and Sport England’s ClubMark award.
GolfMark is a national certification recently updated and enhanced to better meet golf club requirements in today’s challenging commercial landscape.
Club president Stephen Bestwick said: “Howley Hall Golf Club is committed to making the great game of golf accessible to the local community. We have invested heavily in recent years and believe that we now have a course and supporting facilities comparable to any in the area.
Our aim is to grow the club’s profile and encourage membership in all categories with particular emphasis on attracting families, ladies and juniors to Howley Hall Golf Club.
“To receive this endorsement reflects our commitment to promoting the game and delivering the best possible experience to our loyal members and our visitors. Everyone is welcome to come and see what our family friendly club has to offer. I would also like to recognise the work of the Board and particularly past captain Colin Roberts who led us through the GolfMark process.”
Colin Roberts said: “Howley Hall Golf Club and the team here worked very hard to become the first club in Yorkshire to achieve England Golf’s new GolfMark accreditation. I was delighted when the news came through confirming that we had met all the accreditation criteria and demonstrated that the club has the correct vision, plans, policies, facilities and management structure necessary to deliver excellence to its membership and visitors.”
GolfMark supports the delivery of England Golf’s strategic plan 2014-17 and is designed to support all golf clubs, however big or small to achieve distinct operating standards in four areas of a club’s business activity;
- Recruitment & Retention– helping clubs to attract new members and increase the participation of existing members
- Management & Sustainability– helping to develop golf clubs through practical business planning
- Coaching & Competitions– enhancing coaching and playing opportunities for all golfers
- Safeguarding– ensuring clubs have appropriate policies and procedures in place
“I am really pleased and proud that Howley Hall has achieved GolfMark, showing a real commitment to improving their club. GolfMark really helps a club to identify improvements in their current processes and attract and retain members, through best practices and case studies.
“Throughout the whole process it was clear to see that Howley Hall is a welcoming and friendly club, with great facilities and effective coaching practices for all age ranges and abilities,” said Yorkshire County Development Officer Tom Freeland.
Located on the south side of Leeds, Howley Hall is the permanent home of the Yorkshire Open where the county’s best professionals and amateurs compete against each other and which will be played on September 3rd with a pro-am on the preceding day.
The course which is over one hundred years old has undergone a significant refurbishment programme over the last three years and has laid claim to having the best last four holes in the county, prompting the introduction of the ‘Last Four Holes Challenge’ where net par on 3 of the last 4 holes earns those successful a free and well-earned drink in the bar.
The club is also engaging with England Golf and Leeds Disability Sports to explore ways that it can help people with disabilities and their families participate in golf.
Howley Hall’s team of fully qualified teaching PGA Professionals is already providing regular coaching sessions to children in a number of local schools. The team offers several attractive coaching packages designed to introduce non golfers of all ages and abilities into golf.
Howley Hall Golf Club www.howleyhall.co.uk
GolfMark www.golfmark.org
ClubMark www.clubmark.org.uk
Read more stories about Golf Management Topics and latest list of Most-read stories