In their own words: Scottish Golf CEO Blane Dodds

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir July 16, 2017 10:59 Updated

The chief executive for Scottish Golf writes exclusively for The Golf Business about the consultation exercise his organisation has been running with golf clubs

It proved to be a busy month for me in June, given I was out on the road meeting clubs across the country as part of our club consultation process.

The senior management team and I started at Inverness Golf Club in the Highlands at the start of the month, before moving to Haggs Castle, Newmachar, Auchterarder, Kirkcaldy, Ratho Park, Argyll, Dumfries & County and Hilton Park to reach as many clubs as possible.

Following up on Scottish Golf’s consultations with our ‘Areas and Counties’ earlier this year and also stakeholders at our annual general meeting in March, we have been holding a series of club meetings as part of our work to develop the priorities within a new four-year strategic plan for the sport in Scotland.

Blane Dodds / Kenny Smith Photography

I’ve been presenting to key club representatives, such as managers and secretaries, on our new vision, with a focus on growth and investment, inviting stakeholders to feedback on how we can work better in partnership with clubs to shape the game’s future development.

It’s been great to meet so many people working at the coalface of the Scottish game at club level, learning of their challenges and listening to feedback on our future plans. We all want a strong future for the game at the ‘Home of Golf’, and it is part of my work to ensure that is the case.

I want to ensure this great game continues to be at the heart of communities across Scotland and as a governing body we continue to work hard to build the partnerships needed to achieve that, putting down strong foundations for future generations of golfers.

Priority areas presented and discussed during the club consultations included new ways of supporting clubs, innovative ideas on growing membership and maximising resources to developing winning golfers.

Among the topics on the agenda were community club development; plans for new resources via national and international affiliation; and customer relationship management (CRM), as we look to maximise the collective strength of our 211,000 club members.

Having taken over my new role last August, I’ve been keen to harness input from the 587 affiliated clubs to help shape the strategic plan, having already gained valuable insights from our meetings with Area and County delegates.

We have been working to a one-year plan this year, but now need to ensure we have a robust longer term plan in place for 2018 – 2022. This timeframe was designed to allow us greater consultation and input with Areas, Counties, clubs and partners into the strategic direction and priority areas.

There is no doubt that collectively we need to take a fresh look at our priorities and deliver more innovative solutions that will source greater investment in the game and deliver growth that we can all benefit from.

It was therefore good to get the appropriate feedback and discussion from our clubs in seeking input to help shape our four-year strategic vision for the organisation.

To find out more on how Scottish Golf can support your club, visit scottishgolf.org/club-services

 

Alistair Dunsmuir
By Alistair Dunsmuir July 16, 2017 10:59 Updated
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3 Comments

  1. VC July 30, 17:10

    As I think has been made clear by members of South Of Scotland golf clubs in Dumfries and Galloway this strategy consultation is not good for smaller clubs and as a member of Dalbeattie ( 9 hole course) and also of Southerness – obviously a bigger club – I feel it is the wrong way forward and a lot of clubs will not accept this and may investigate whether it would be better to affiliate to England which seems a much cheaper option for smaller clubs and clubs in our region.

    Reply to this comment
  2. James July 19, 14:39

    Stop Councils closing Public Golf Courses which are essential for grass roots, beginners, the Young and the elderly!

    Reply to this comment
  3. James Davies July 16, 17:52

    Stop Councils closing Public Golf courses which are essential for grass roots and for beginners to the game as well as the elderly!

    Reply to this comment
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