Golf Business Community

Duncan Weir
R&A Director of Golf Development









What is the R&A?
The R&A Group of companies was formed in 2004 and takes its name from the Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews, a private members’ club, but is now a distinct organization. The R&A administers the Rules of Golf worldwide, with the exception of the USA and Mexico, where the USGA is the governing body. The R&A also organizes The Open Championship, golf’s oldest major championship.

Explain the R&A’s role in golf development?
The R&A seeks to engage in and support activities that benefit the game of golf. As the Open Championship generates revenues and profit each year, we are in a position to be able to help and have approximately €6 million to spend on golf development around the world.

How do you do this?
In our capacity as governing body for golf outside the USA and Mexico, we work with 141 golf organizations involved in the amateur and professional game in 126 countries throughout Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas. So we have strong relationships with affiliate organizations and we work with these bodies, such as national golf associations, to support projects they are managing. For example, these projects could be in places as diverse as Indonesia, Zimbabwe, Panama or Turkey.

So the R&A doesn’t have a single golf development program it is rolling out around the world?
The way it works is that we assess requests from affiliate organizations and are warm to projects that support more participation. We have a development committee and a coaching panel, and the sort of projects we might consider are wide-ranging. For example, we help send golf equipment, which we purchase from TaylorMade, all over the world; we send greenkeeping machinery all over the world and are supporting the training of greenkeepers in India; we are looking at a public golf course project in Venezuela; we are involved with a significant program with HSBC to develop junior golf in China; and we have just agreed to support current Open Champion Louis Oosthuizen’s junior academy in South Africa.

You’ve mentioned some emerging markets. What impact will the reintroduction of golf into the Olympics make, do you think?
We see the Olympics as potentially very important to the game’s growth. In many of the countries where golf is played, it is not recognized by the national government as a proper sport, but rather a past time for the affluent of society. However, if golf is treated as an Olympic sport in those countries, it has the potential to open up revenue streams that don’t currently exist, which in turn may help to fund opportunities and develop the game. The reality is that it is difficult for golf to develop in those countries without money.

Is China an example of this?
The China Golf Association has a junior program run in association with HSBC and we have supported this since 2008 with annual grants of more than €100,000. This is now a nationwide project that has visited numerous cities and thousands of juniors have been exposed to golf. We have supported greenkeeper education in China for over a decade working alongside Elmwood College and have contributed toward the training of referees in recent years. In addition, we have supported the Faldo Series, which visits China and, of course, we are heavily involved along with Augusta National and the Asia-Pacific Golf Confederation in staging the first Asian Amateur Championship played at Mission Hills a year ago. However, it is obviously a huge country and in relative terms it will need ongoing encouragement to reach its potential.

One of the issues in China – and many emerging markets – is that golf is being targeted and positioned as a game for the affluent. Will this perception of golf as an elitist game hold back its development?
Take Scotland, where we are. There is a plentiful supply of golf courses of all levels, from championship courses to short courses, plus driving ranges. Golf has never been difficult to access in Scotland, nor has it been expensive. However, Scotland is the exception and in many countries it is unlikely people will be introduced to golf unless one of their parents play. More widely in Britain, there has been the perception that golf can be elitist, but in my experience the perception is far worse than the reality. Many UK clubs are increasingly flexible in their membership offerings and not so many have waiting lists or entry fees. So economics and simple supply and demand are opening golf up.

We talk about growth in emerging markets, but what about where golf is already established?
Clearly, it is equally important to retain people in developed markets as it is to attract new players in new markets. Participation will not jump up exponentially, certainly not in the UK and Ireland. Golf will have to work hard to maintain its current level. There are fewer people joining golf clubs and that means they are less loyal to the game and are contributing less through subscriptions usually paid to the county and national union. The fact is that people who join golf clubs are more likely to remain in golf.

What is going to help stimulate demand?
Well, to take another sport, it’s interesting that more kids are playing tennis in Britain because of Andy Murray’s success. In the golfing world, you would expect that Columbia’s Camilo Villegas might inspire youngsters in South America to take up golf, equally rising stars Martin Kaymer and Rory McIlroy can help in Europe. Golf needs a pull from the top as well as a push from the bottom.

Is junior golf the key to the development of the game?
There is a huge emphasis on junior golf, and this is clearly important, but golf is a game that can be played by people of any age and ability and this is sometimes overlooked. This year at The Open Championship here in St Andrews, we expanded what was previously a junior specific golf centre into a ‘Swing Zone’ facility which allowed us to offer lessons for adults for the first time. This proved hugely popular and attracted families and it is our intention to repeat this at Royal St George’s in 2011.

So what is the key to the development of golf, in your opinion?
Well, we’ve talked about the development of golf – but perhaps we should think about it in terms of encouraging more play. Golf is a wonderful game that can be enjoyed by all and unlike many other sports its handicapping system enables players of differing standards to compete equally against each other. So ultimately, our role is to facilitate more people, playing more golf, in more places, more often.

The R&A: www.randa.org