A YEAR or so ago, after a few post-game beers, a group of us convinced a young friend of ours to throw his hat into the ring and have a go at becoming president of our golf club.
He’d been a member since his junior days, had blossomed into a fine golfer and, more relevantly, was an astute businessman. Now in his mid-30s and retaining a bit of the larrikinism of his youth, he was a qualified accountant and an entrepreneur whose business acumen had made him a multi-millionaire.
After signing an appropriate form he was politely told that nominations had closed at 5pm the previous day and he was not able to contest the election. I had no problem with that. After a lifetime in the newspaper industry, I’ve come to know and understand the integrity of deadlines.
But I couldn’t help but think what a wonderful leader this young man would have made, and what a positive difference he might have made to our club.
A few weeks later I attended our Annual General Meeting, at which the election results were announced and important motions were discussed and voted upon. As I gazed around at the 120-odd attendees, I whispered to my 62-year-old friend sitting next to me: “Mate, I reckon you’re the youngest person here.”
It’s as if any member under the age of, say, 65 feels unqualified to have any say in the running of the club, or even to attend an AGM.
In recent times, golf clubs around the country have benefited from an injection of comparatively youthful general managers, and a welcome increase in the number of female GMs.
But, in general terms, we’ve not seen the same generational – or gender – change at board level.
Part of the reason, I believe, is that younger members are daunted by the sheer number of hours worked by many golf club directors, presidents and captains. Some seem to be at the clubhouse nearly every day, involving themselves in all sorts of hands-on management activities.
To my mind – and I’ve had considerable experience on golf club and other boards – they are usually wasting their time. Worse, they are interfering with the work and responsibilities of the professional team that the club pays to operate and manage the club’s affairs.
A board should provide advice and guidance, evaluate the ideas brought forward by the staff and directors, make decisions and set policy – then get out of the way and let the employees get on with the job they’re paid to do.
Instead, they’re all too often sending out emails to club members, organising functions and events, sitting on panels to employ comparatively junior staff – even making decisions on what sort of fertiliser should be used on fairways.
Golf club directors are frequently people – usually men – who had busy, important roles in business before their retirement. And I often wonder whether they’re not working these protracted hours, and feeling the need to make unnecessary decisions, to fill some sort of vacuum in their own lives.
I recently read of a 30-year-old being elected to the board of Southport Golf Club, on Queensland’s Gold Coast, his appointment a welcome testament to the club’s ‘next generation’ commitment to inclusiveness and the empowerment of young members.
Three years ago, Southport set up a ‘next generation committee’ made up of a dozen or so members aged 30 to 45. They hold monthly meetings hosted by the club’s newest director, who then takes the group’s ideas, feelings and suggestions to the board.
They have been responsible for a range of new events and promotions, and the club is increasingly turning to this committee for advice on everything from event planning to specialised merchandise.
By involving younger members in decision-making and giving them a voice, golf clubs can foster a sense of unity within their membership, bridge generational gaps, grasp new opportunities and ensure a vibrant future for their own club and for the game of golf.
And that’s the key issue here.
At clubs like mine, there is a vast, virtually untapped reservoir of talent, enthusiasm and knowhow in the increasingly significant proportion of young men and women who have been attracted to golf in recent times.
Let’s make use of it.
Elderly males, who still represent the majority of golf club directors across the country, historically did a good job overseeing golf events, purchasing equipment, engaging staff and making sure the operations of the club rolled on.
But times are changing, things are getting more difficult and the responsibilities of governance are becoming more onerous. Clubs need directors with the vision to develop new income streams, the desire to promote inclusiveness, and the ability to understand and harness new technology.
They’ll find them within the ranks of their membership – if only they’re prepared to look.
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