The chief executive of England Golf has suggested that, for the first time ever, this year golfers who are not members of golf clubs will be offered a handicap.
This comes just six months after the organisation appeared to shelve plans to create handicaps for golfers in England who are not members of golf clubs.
England has between 1.2 and 1.8 million people who play golf regularly but are not members of clubs, said Jeremy Tomlinson.
Talking to the National Club Golfer, he stated that ‘England Golf will offer nomad players an official handicap this year’ after agreeing a proposal last month, and is planning to create a national platform that would connect independent golfers, and hopes that a business model will be rolled out in the first half of this year. This has been driven by The R&A, which wants ‘all golfers to be offered a handicap’.
Tomlinson implied that the introduction of the World Handicap System has made it easier to introduce a scheme like this.
“It’s members of golf clubs who pay their affiliation fees to England Golf. Quite rightly we should look to prioritise them and we do,” he said.
“But if we are to truly look after the health and wellbeing of our golf clubs, we need to make sure that we have members that we inspire and educate all members from other communities.
“There is a huge community of independent golfers that we really must reach out to. Now out of the new World Handicap System, as that was launched in November, The R&A spoke to me about their core strategies.
“Part of their core strategies, that they know happens, is that when you give anybody in any sport a measuring tool with regards to their own ability, it invariably leads to them wanting to do that sport more.
“The R&A are certainly there and, so therefore, as part of the new World Handicap System, they want all golfers to be able to be offered a handicap.”
Some county unions and golf club managers are likely to be opposed to the proposal; one county secretary argued in 2019 that handicaps for non-members could “very quickly lead to an erosion of the trust in official handicapping”.
Some club managers also expressed concern that their members would quit their clubs to join the scheme.
“Access to a recognised handicap which can be used to play competitively, measure performance and compete against others remains a key reason for golfers to join clubs and retain their memberships,” wrote one county secretary.
“Of course there are other benefits to their membership, but we believe there would be strong resistance to allowing non-members access to competitions and creating a virtual membership option, whilst leaving the club member as the main source of the funds which are essential to maintaining the courses and other facilities which the sport needs to operate.
“The outcome is almost universally against the concept from clubs at every level of the game.”
However, Tomlinson said he did not believe the new proposals were a threat to clubs, as the attractiveness of membership is due to the lure of the golf club, he stated.
“Ultimately, when you look at it, why would a member who’s enjoying their membership at a good golf club look to leave – to then a pay a fee to have a handicap and then have to pay green fees every time they play?
“I’ve been playing golf for circa 47 years and I’ve never known anybody leave a good golf club. I’ve known people leave a bad golf club, unfortunately, but I’ve never known anybody leave a good golf club.
“And I’ve certainly never known anybody join a golf club just to get a handicap. So, for me, golf clubs need to continually look at their value proposition of membership.
“While they are doing that, we are going to, in turn, is to try to create a platform at a national level that prioritises opportunities and options for golf clubs to be able to connect with these independent golfers.
“To be able to attract them in some way, whether that is just to golf days, whether it’s to use their facilities – there might be conference facilities – or it might be to invite them to play in competitions.
“It might be to invite them to play in their own club competitions. But, either way, we want to be able to give all golf clubs that choice of whether or not they want to connect with that community of golfers.
“We’ve never done it in the past. And I think that it’s not only a real shame, but I think we’re not looking after our future well enough if we’re not connecting with all golfers,” he said.
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