Scottish Golf has dropped plans to vote on its controversial new strategy in December and will “extend a period of consultation” until March.
The governing body had set a Special General Meeting on December 2 to vote on recommendations for the next four years, which included doubling the annual affiliation fee (or levy) paid by all golf club members to £24 to pay for a customer management system and mandatory centralised tee booking system.
However those proposals have been met with a hostile reaction from Scottish Golf’s area associations and many golf clubs, and the strategy seemed to have hit the buffers last week when SG chief executive Blane Dodds – the man charged with convincing the various stakeholders in the plan – dramatically quit to take up a similar post with Tennis Scotland.
Initially SG chair Eleanor Cannon stressed that the board of the governing body would press on with the plan, but now the SGM has been scrapped and will be replaced by an “open forum” with “a view to creating a collaborative set of proposals for the governing body’s Annual General Meeting in March 2018.”
A statement from SG yesterday said that the original recommendations remained their “core strategic objectives” but the board wanted the immediate priority to be securing Dodd’s successor as chief executive.
“In the interests of transparency, the December meeting will be a public event to bring some of the many private conversations that take place about the future of the game to a wider audience.
“The Board is pleased that the proposed strategic plan has created wide-ranging discussion among all those who care passionately about our sport.
“Critical to this consultation period is listening to our members, which is why we believe the date already scheduled in the diary for the SGM should be utilised to provide a platform for debate.”
The Board added that they would use Scottish Golf’s exisiting reserves to bridge the immediate funding gap of between £250,000 and £300,000 they faced as a result of a cut in funding from central government, the motivation behind the ambitious strategic plan.
“This is not a long-term approach and we will seek to rebuild those reserves in the coming years,” said the board statement.
“We want to engage golfers in debate and discussion on a number of subjects. These include the key trends and challenges facing golf in Scotland and the potential impact of these on club revenue and membership fees; what members increasingly value and demand for their membership fee; addressing our ageing demographic profile and low uptake of membership amongst young people and women; embracing digital and technology capability to enhance the experience for all golfers; reviewing governance and structure; and engaging our communities to grow club revenue.
“It is essential that we hear as many perspectives as possible as we look to address significant challenges now impacting the game in Scotland.”
COMMENT: Scottish Golf Board canvassing for alternatives
Scottish Golf have at least abandoned the entirely unrealistic aim of getting their strategic plan approved by December 2 in deciding to extend consultation until the scheduled AGM in March next year.
But they don’t seem to have abandoned the strategic plan itself. It’s now impossible, of course, that all elements – if any – of the plan will be approved, but Scottish Golf have effectively tossed the grenade back at the clubs and the associations.
The statement can maybe be simply edited to “Fine. You hate our plan. Have you got any better ideas?”
Because by listing what they feel are the issues the strategic plan was drawn up to address, the SG board want attention focused on what they call the “key trends and challenges”, not least the appalling demographic of the game in Scotland which threatens to turn a national sport into an exclusive, elite pursuit almost entirely pursued by men over the age of 50.
The “open forum” on December 2 will still act as a strong measurement. If relatively few “stakeholders” choose to attend, and any alternative strategy fails to excite a membership that seems to need convincing that there is even a problem, where do Scottish Golf go then?
