Suffolk is the first County Golf Partnership (CGP) to benefit from a free website development and management service provided by the England Golf Partnership (EGP).
EGP funding supports many initiatives at county level and one of these has been the offer to all CGPs of a new facility by which they can enhance their website promotion on all things ‘county golf’.
CGPs benefit from having a site which accommodates their local needs but is automatically updated with a wealth of national golf news, information and resources to strengthen content. It also allows each CGP to draw on a national IT support structure for their website and have a consistent brand presence which links more closely with the work of the EGP partners.
Alastair Spink, county development officer for Suffolk, said: “Initially, we were unsure as to whether we wanted to change our website but having attended the training at Woodhall Spa and seen how easy it was to manage the software, we were very keen to move ahead as quickly as possible.
“The new design allows us to create professional looking pages with clear site navigation. With England Golf supplying the national news and initiatives it allows us to concentrate on the local information knowing that the site is always up to date. The ability to change the home page layout and colour scheme with just a click of a button is also a fantastic feature!”
So far, 23 of the 32 CGPs are working towards launching the new website and Suffolk County Golf Partnership’s site is the first to go live (see www.suffolkgolfpartnership.co.uk . Other counties will be completing their updates over the coming weeks.
Richard Flint, Golf Development Manager for the EGU/EWGA, said: “The service we have provided came out of demand. The CGPs have been incredibly focused in joining our vision to ‘Grow the Game’, and rightly wanted the best resources and marketing tools available to them. Hopefully, as more of the CGPs make use of the new website features it will enable them to better communicate to existing golfers and, importantly, reach out to new golfers.”
Thirty-two CGPs have been established and are now aligned with England Golf Partnership’s vision to ‘Grow the Game’, creating a strong network working with the EGP partners – the PGA, English Golf Union, English Women’s Golf Association and supported by the Golf Foundation – for the benefit of both new and existing players at county level.
The website project is part of England Golf Partnership’s ‘Whole Sport Plan’ for golf and is an integral part of England Golf Partnership’s vision to ‘Grow the Game’.