Here’s the top three things I learnt while editing Golf Club Management in July

If you want to get children into golf use a top British golfer

Two extraordinary stories this month. As Andrew ‘The Beef’ Johnston was on his way to finishing eighth at the Open, he appeared in The R&A SwingZone in Royal Troon’s spectator village, played a special ‘Tri-Golf Challenge’ against local youngsters from the area and took part in the ‘Open Tri-Golf Challenge’.

But even more impressive was Eddie Pepperell, who gave his sponsorship money to Frilford Heath Golf Club in Oxfordshire to invest in junior golf, which resulted in 51 children joining the club.

Golf clubs in particular are being targeted by fraudsters

“Sports clubs make ideal targets. It sounds as though this was a targeted attack, and I say that because most large organisations have already been attacked, and so have taken the necessary precautions to protect themselves.

“They are therefore much, much harder to hit, and it has forced hackers to go for the low-lying fruit, as it were – the golf clubs. The biggest weakness is people. People like to be helpful and scammers exploit that. They will phone businesses, as well as individuals, saying they’re from the bank and could they have account numbers and passwords.”

That was the view of the managing director of a digital security company following the revelation that Hull Golf Club in Yorkshire’s account has had nearly £300,000 taken out by fraudsters. A spokesman has admitted the club is unlikely to get most of it back.

This was the month golf proudly became a member of modern society

And it was only two months after the dreaded Muirfield vote that banned women from becoming members. First, Royal Troon, prior to hosting the Open, allowed women to become members, and then both England Golf and the Golf Union of Wales said that there has been a surge in participation by women in golf following initiatives from both unions to market the game to women and girls. As for Muirfield – that club is going to have another vote before the end of the year to overturn its ban.