World Golf Foundation CEO to contribute to The Golf Business

One of the most powerful people in global golf has agreed to provide regular editorial contributions to The Golf Business.

Steve Mona, CEO of the World Golf Foundation (WGF), will pen a quarterly column for the magazine kicking off later this year on hot trends and topics, such as global participation, golf in the Olympics, economic data and the general state of the game.

“World Golf Foundation focuses on a variety of initiatives to grow and celebrate the game around the globe,” said Mona. “I look forward to providing insights and perspective for an audience in the United Kingdom, where golf has a total economic impact of £10.3 billion.”

Steve Mona. Photo by Stan Badz/PGA TOUR

He joins the likes of Blane Dodds, CEO of Scottish Golf, Richard Dixon, CEO of the Golf Union of Wales and Jim Croxton, CEO of the British and International Golf Greenkeepers Association (BIGGA), who also provide perspective to the magazine.

Based in St. Augustine, Florida, WGF owns and operates the World Golf Hall of Fame at World Golf Village and is the leading global organisation for development and support of initiatives that positively impact lives through the game. It oversees The First Tee, which has introduced more than 10 million young people to the game, and its GOLF 20/20 initiative pursues programmes to ensure golf’s continued growth and vitality.

This column by Blane Dodds, CEO of Scottish Golf, is similar to what Steve Mona will be contributing

The WGF is also a forum for golf’s leading organisations to collaborate on initiatives of mutual importance. Its Board features: Martin Slumbers, CEO of The R&A; Keith Pelley, CEO of the European Tour; Will Jones, executive director of The Masters; Jay Monahan, Commissioner of the PGA TOUR, Michael Whan, Commissioner of the LPGA; Mike Davis, executive director and CEO of the USGA; and Pete Bevacqua, CEO of the PGA of America.

Mona, the former CEO of the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America, has served in his current role with WGF since 2008. In 2016, Golf Inc. put Mona on its ‘Most Powerful People in Golf’ list for the 16th consecutive year.

The Golf Business is posted to more than 97 percent of United Kingdom golf clubs and has more than 10,000 industry subscribers to its weekly newsletter. It was launched this April to replace Golf Club Management, which had been published since 1935. Last month its editor, Alistair Dunsmuir, appeared on BBC Radio 4 to discuss the state of the UK golf industry.