There are concerns from golf clubs, particularly in rural areas, that the new iGolf initiative will have a detrimental effect on clubs’ ability to attract members from the intermediate age group leading to a potential age gap that could have a negative impact into the future.
Golf Ireland launched its independent golfer programme — iGolf — last week, meaning that you no longer have to be a member of a golf club to obtain a handicap.
For the first time, non-club members in Ireland can subscribe to iGolf and gain a Handicap Index under the World Handicap System for an annual subscription fee of €65 in the Republic of Ireland and £55 in Northern Ireland.
The scheme has also been used England, Scotland, Wales and New Zealand for several years with significant success in encouraging increased participation and ultimately transitioning many independent golfers into club membership.
The iGolf scheme was hailed as a huge success in England with 10,000 players transitioning on to golf club membership. However, some Irish clubs feel that the iGolf model is not suited to fit the needs of the much more competitive club golf environment in Ireland, despite the possibility of the initiative having similar results here.
“The model is based off something that England are doing but golf in Ireland is different. We have competitions every week in every golf club, England mainly have medals and majors for them,” said Eddie Farrell, General Manager of Malahide Golf Club.
Other golf clubs across the country have also voiced concern about the impact iGolf will have on the intermediate membership group.
Looking back at the Covid-19 lockdown, golf was one of the first sports to be allowed resume in the summer of 2020 and the sport experienced a booming period. A bonus impact of this was that people of other sporting backgrounds (GAA, soccer, rugby etc) either took up golf or joined/rejoined golf clubs with many continuing their membership to this day.
Clubs now fear missing out on the opportunity to encourage younger people into golf and embed them into their clubs because they feel it will be easier and cheaper for them to obtain an iGolf handicap rather than paying a club membership subscription, despite the various offers that are available for different age categories.
“I can see it hurting our intermediate age group. Because people are looking at their income when they take up golf at that age,” said Farrell.
“It will be an advantage to younger golfers taking up golf but it will hurt a lot of the countryside golf clubs.”
A club in County Meath also expressed its concern over potentially losing out on enticing younger people from a huge catchment area of other sports to the game of golf.
“The young people who we are trying to start in the club from other backgrounds and embed them in the club, they’re the ones that are going to be very much enticed by this offer,” said a general manager.
“It’s only when you get a settled golfer in their 40s when they are at an age where they can devote more time to themselves, so you are going to have a gap there that will negatively impact members golf clubs.”
There are rumours of a cohort of fourteen North Leinster clubs who are opposed to the iGolf scheme and are in the process of forming a ‘resistance’ to the programme following a meeting with Golf Ireland in Westmanstown in July.
From these clubs, one has become very prominent and has arranged for a meeting with Golf Ireland in the presence of the other thirteen clubs with a view to discussing what they can do in relation to iGolf.
Part of their resistance could be to charge iGolf players a larger entry fee to play in open competitions for example, but they appreciate that it is crucial that clubs present a united front.
“If an arrangement is made to charge an iGolfer a larger fee to enter open competitions then everybody does the same. You can’t have one not doing it because all the iGolfers will be playing in other clubs. We have to act as one club,” said a member of one of the North Leinster clubs.
The fact that Golf Ireland have extended the term to a three year hiatus between leaving a golf club and obtaining an iGolf handicap is a huge indicator that this scheme isn’t targeted at existing club members and will likely prevent immediate harm to golf clubs.
Despite the disapproval from some clubs, there are obvious benefits to the iGolf scheme. It offers an affordable route for people to take up the game, or perhaps return to the game who could not justify paying a club membership fee in the past.
This will be the case for the intermediate age group especially, and also “city golfers.” An age group where people are having to balance college fees, careers and other aspects of life and there is no doubt that iGolf will be a very attractive model for them.
“In Malahide we have a lot of golfers in the 20-30 age bracket who are just starting or thinking of getting started or might be in societies. They may consider staying where they are because they have college courses, careers, starting families,” added Farrell.
The ultimate goal, according to Golf Ireland, is to help grow the game and with an estimated 300,000 golfers who don’t hold any form of membership but play a full, 18-hole round at least once a year potentially taking it up, that’s a sizeable chunk who may be tempted to fork out €65 to have a handicap and a membership of sorts.
iGolf could also bring an additional €20 million in potential revenue to golf clubs (300,000x€65). It will also extend to F&B, the pro shop, other golf shops and general spend around the game too, so it looks like a hugely positive move on that front.
Like every new initiative there is always resistance to the change and while clubs have been assured that iGolf handicaps will all be checked, there are concerns that existing resentment over the current World Handicap System will only increase with iGolf handicaps coming in to compete in open competitions.
WHS is a constant issue in terms of regulating handicaps correctly and clubs fear their own members will avoid playing in club open competitions if iGolfers are allowed to enter, with particular concern for team competitions from one club.
Golf Clubs also mentioned that they would also like Golf Ireland to give clarification on how robust the scheme will prove when it comes to making sure former club members are following the rules by waiting the three-year period.
“Unless Golf Ireland have some sort of cross referencing system, anyone can ring up and say they weren’t a member of a golf club. So how do they check this? Are the floodgates going to open with applications for iGolf handicaps? It’s going to be very difficult to police the three year step down.”
