Ideas and innovation were in full flow at this year’s love.golf coaches’ conference in Spain, where a dynamic group of coaches welcomed special guests, headlined by former international netballer Pamela Cookey.
love.golf, the on-course group coaching experience supported by Syngenta, has introduced thousands of women to the game since its inception in 2016, and empowers its coaches with latest insights, learning and development during the annual conference.
The action-packed schedule included mind-mapping activities, talks from keynote speakers and small-group sessions to exchange and develop ideas.
Head Coach Alastair Spink, who led the event, said: “This event is all about loading up our coaches with need-to-know insights and providing a platform for them to collaborate and create together which, in our profession, we rarely get the opportunity to do.”
While golf participation remains buoyant, Spink says a significant opportunity remains to appeal to a latent demand of women, including those from underrepresented backgrounds.
“We can see from the rapid growth of golf entertainment destinations that the demand for a branded experience is out there, and we experienced this first-hand last year with the level of interest we received in our Barbie-themed event. If you create the right offer you can appeal to a wider, more diverse customer base,” he added.
During the conference, coaches were tasked with coming up with new ideas and experiences to appeal to this latent demand – with remarkable results.
“In just a short session coaches came up with over a hundred ideas, which illustrates the level of creativity we can achieve when we work together,” said Spink. “It was amazing to see the collective power of a roomful of coaches throwing ideas around,” said George Carroll, a love.golf coach in Leeds who was attending the conference for the first time. “There was so much to learn, and I’ve come back to my club very inspired, motivated and have already been making plans for the year ahead.”
Spink concluded: “We are fortunate to have established a community of forward-thinking coaches who understand that this is not just about coaching women, it’s helping to shape a more equitable, sustainable future for this industry.”