The R&A has given its significant backing to ‘Commit to junior golf’ ¬ – the Golf Foundation’s new campaign through which all golf club members are being encouraged to add a voluntary £2 donation to their annual subscriptions.
The Golf Foundation is appealing to golf club secretaries and directors of golf by letter and email and to many thousands of club members through the media. The aim is to create an irresistible momentum whereby club members can raise up to £1 million a year for national junior golf initiatives that will impact on their local areas.
The R&A’s support for the campaign is seen as being highly significant. The R&A is golf’s world rules and development body and is the organiser of The Open Championship, working on behalf of an estimated 28 million golfers worldwide. The organisation has long been the largest contributor to the Golf Foundation, a charity committed to the sporting and social development of young people through golf.
Peter Dawson, Chief Executive of The R&A, said, “We totally support this simple mechanism for clubs and club members to give their backing to the Golf Foundation’s important grass-roots initiatives. For just £2 per golf club member, we can make a colossal difference to the future of our game. It’s not much to ask and I urge all golfers to play their part.”
Mike Round, Chief Executive of the Golf Foundation, said, “Given The R&A’s sphere of influence and the respect in which it is held, this is a major endorsement for our campaign and everything we are working to achieve. This should now act as a rallying call for all members of golf clubs who care about the future of the game.”
The ‘Commit to junior golf’ campaign was launched on November 30th and has also recently received backing from Crown Golf, Europe’s largest golf course owner/operator, which is asking all 20,000 of its members to support the scheme.
The Golf Foundation works on behalf of the national golf partnerships in England, Scotland and Wales. It currently helps 500,000 children a year from all backgrounds to experience golf for the first time, creating successful pathways that feed school children into golf clubs, and providing structured learning within golf clubs.
The R&A www.randa.org
Golf Foundation www.golf-foundation.org