Golf Business Community

Howard Swan
Principal Architect
Swan Golf Designs Limited








FIRSTGOLF has set out its Mission Statement to be pursued in a number of countries including India, China, Mongolia...and South and East Africa … and Brazil together with Europe, in the United Kingdom and on the continent … countries where golf is an established game and where it is without tradition and history …essentially the new frontiers of the game.

Essentially:

• FIRSTGOLF is about opportunity...the creation of the opportunity to bring more people into the game...newcomers of any age, either gender, any background, without discrimination or intimidation.
• FIRSTGOLF is about inclusivity...social integration and development.
  
• FIRSTGOLF is about engagement.
• FIRSTGOLF pursues the intent to demonstrate sustainable development in the spheres of the natural environment, economic reality and social equity.
• FIRSTGOLF brings to the game of golf the chance to link with educational and training initiatives, and with them, the creation of vocational openings, career paths in each and every facet of the game and in the support industries of it.
• FIRSTGOLF, with its ethos of affordability, accessibility and sustainability in the game, is creating the stepping stones from grass roots to more sophisticated golf play by providing facilities of a simple, inexpensive nature designed to encourage more people to join the game either as players or as employees in the golf industry.
• FIRSTGOLF allows wider sections of society to join the game and embrace life skills including personal development, self discipline and respect. Particular emphasis is placed on possible linkage into school curricula and post-school and youth training programmes to include key skills such as numeracy, literacy, ICT citizenship and health and safety inside and outside the classroom.
• FIRSTGOLF maintains the rich heritage of golf, teaching and encouraging good ethics with a particular emphasis on respect for others and their surroundings.
  

This is specifically and particularly reinforced after the decision made by the International Olympic Committee to readmit the game of golf to the 2016 Olympic Games which will be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and will focus the world’s attention on the game, its status and its evolution.

In addition, there are many career opportunities allied to the industry supporting golf and golf development, from construction of sites and facilities, through course maintenance, through caddying, club management, golf equipment, hospitality, leisure and tourism, as well as the development, manufacture and sale of golfing equipment. All of these have a positive socio-economic impact on a country as well as more locally on a region, and may also be transferable skills within the broader sports industry.

• FIRSTGOLF aims to create a multi-stakeholder CSI (corporate social initiative) system to show how India can broaden the base of the game at grass roots level and include communities in need of development.
• FIRSTGOLF is acting as a catalyst in the golf industry throughout the world to create CSI partnerships.  Companies are strongly committed to using their individual expertise with new and innovative approaches to help build mutual opportunities for the future.
  

CSIs have a core value of social responsibility and encourage companies to work cooperatively with suppliers to ensure that responsibility is achieved and demonstrated in the supply chain.

The world is facing serious challenges, such as climate change, poverty, disease and a need for educational development. There is a collective responsibility on the population to address these issues, to create a better-equipped, adaptable society and to maintain the global environment for those who follow

In a coordinated and collaborative manner, FIRSTGOLF can develop and grow the game and contribute to cultural, ethical as well as social progress to support local communities.  It can, through its education and training initiatives, contribute to the development of those local communities also.

It can strive to improve the quality of life, not only for children but all generations regardless of their geographical, political and religious boundaries, or physical ability and help them to maintain and improve their health and human dignity.

FIRSTGOLF is working to provide golf facilities to allow the grass roots of golf in various parts of the world to grow the game by providing:

• A FIRSTGOLF facility which may be a small (3, 6 or 9 hole) compact golf course and needing no more than either an existing area on a golf course or a small space such as on a driving range or on any area which is flattish and grassed.
• A FIRSTGOLF facility which may be as simple as a mown out area on a practice ground at a golf course, prepared by greenkeeping staff; or at a school by the children and their teachers, as part of their PE, land management or technical studies curriculum; or at the community field, township or public open spaces, by volunteer groundsmen or agricultural workers of the locality.
• A FIRSTGOLF course which may also include purpose - designed practice facilities for driving, for short game, for bunker play and for putting.
• The space required may vary from approximately 1 hectare for three holes, 2 to 3 hectares for 6 holes, to 5 hectares for 9 holes.  The smaller, the simpler the course, the less land is needed, given that it must be safely laid out. At the core of the initiative is the link to education and training.  Providing the golf courses, compact as they are, gives the students the opportunity to apply the expertise which they acquire during their vocational skills tuition.
  

Some 40 key skills have been identified associated with the golf game, its industry and FIRSTGOLF, with Government agencies, can develop these to be taught  in modular form.

The framing of these modules will, initially, be in:

• MECHANICS AND MACHINERY
• WATER MANAGEMENT AND IRRIGATION
• TURF, LANDSCAPE AND NATURAL ENVIRONMENT
• FRONT OF HOUSE
• FOOD AND BEVERAGE
• SERVICE
• COACHING
• CADDYING
• RETAIL
• DRAINAGE
• SOILS
• GRASSES
• AND WILL INLCUDE GENERIC MODULES, WHERE APPROPRIATE, IN NUMERACY, LITERACY AND LIFE SKILLS

It is envisaged that each FIRSTGOLF facility would  be operated by professional management and open to the public so that the game will be available to everyone who might wish to take it up and develop their playing skills.

Tuition will be given, particularly to youngsters by professional staff.

FIRSTGOLF is supported by The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St. Andrews, the Federation of European Golf Greenkeepers’ Associations, the Golf Environment Organisation and has Global Industry Partners assisting the facilities and training initiative:

• THE TORO COMPANY
• CALLAWAY GOLF
• RAINBIRD INTERNATIONAL
• RANSOMES JACOBSEN
• BERNHARD AND COMPANY

FIRSTGOLF has its own environmental charter developed specifically for the intiaitve by GEO. It suggests that:

• FIRSTGOLF offers an opportunity to demonstrate how traditional versions of the sport of golf can be adapted to the specific social and environmental challenges and opportunities that are faced in urban and impoverished suburban areas.
• FIRSTGOLF presents a model for accessible golf - a legitimate use of limited and often precious open space.

FIRSTGOLF presents an opportunity for:

• Environmental protection and enhancement;
• Conversion of brown-field and contaminated land;
• Affordable, health enhancing recreation;
• Family participation and enjoyment – its fun for all ages;
• Integration across generations;
• People interacting with green-space;
• Competitive sport;
• Non exclusive use of land;
• Carbon neutral pastime – local people on public transport;
• Builds social equity rather than inequity;
• An acceptable playing surface without use of fertilisers or pesticides;
• Education, skills development and employment.

Key environmental attributes of FIRSTGOLF facilities:

• Use the minimum amount of land required to create a fit for purpose golf course;
• Do not create exclusive use of land – FIRSTGOLF courses can be accessed by other sporting activities and passive forms of recreation;
• Will not be developed on sites of high ecological value;
• Are completely organic – they use no fertilisers or pesticides;
• Do not use potable water supplies, but are irrigated by harvested rainwater, surface runoff and grey waste water;
• Do not use desalinated water, in recognition of the high energy use required in the desalination process;
• Provide cycling facilities and secure lockers for all participants, to facilitate walking and cycling to the facility, particularly by young people;
• Are located close to centres of population to avoid the need for car travel to the facility;
• Strive to be linked to colleges or other forms of tertiary education to facilitate multi skills learning in agronomy, engineering, horticulture, sports club management, construction, irrigation engineering etc;
• Seek to utilize renewable energy as far as possible;
• Separate out all waste streams for re-use and re-cycling;
• Encourage all contractors and suppliers to reduce resource consumption and waste;
• Minimise the area of amenity turf, to that required for the successful and enjoyable playing of the game – rough vegetation is not cut for aesthetic reasons.  This, in recognition of the extra fuel and water consumption required for such areas, and the greenhouse gas emitted.

FIRSTGOLF, wherever it may be in the world, can offer:

• A conceptual design service
• Detailed design and project developmental direction and management
• Operational management advice and consultancy
• Cost planning and programming

FIRSTGOLF – accessible, affordable, sustainable