New Zealand Golf recently hosted a new industry body at Royal Auckland. New Zealand Golf Industry Council (NZGIC)was launched with the purpose to unite the industry on agreed industry-wide initiatives. A cross section of New Zealand’s Golf industry was invited to attend including manufacturers, distributors, publishers, and association and club managers.

The body is based on the highly successful Australian industry model. New Zealand Golf has taken the lead for this initiative with objectives to bring together all key sectors of the New Zealand Golf Industry to work in a coordinated way to grow, support and promote the game of golf. Dean Murphy New Zealand Golf CEO commented, “we are pleased the NZGIC initiative has launched and hope that it will bring the industry closer. For some time we have believed that a more united and aligned sector can only be beneficial for us all and I do hope we will make some good progress in 2016’.

Several guest speakers addressed the group. Paul Marriott-Lloyd from Auckland City Council spoke that golf was important to their social and recreational outcomes. A significant investor in Auckland based golf courses; the council was engaged with research and outcomes. Mr Marriot- Lloyd gave some insights into golf modelling of the future, engaging the wider community with walking tracks, cafes, driving ranges.

Sarah Dunning from Sport NZ presented a paper on the “Future of Sport in NZ” Sarah highlighted trends in Aging population, Ethnicity, rapid uptake of technology and projected growth of Auckland in proportion to the rest of the country.

The group was invited to participate in group workshops in discussing and presenting ideas on themes such as;

What could we be doing to better understand the preferences of different types of golfers?

What skills are needed in the golf workforce to embrace a stronger consumer‐led golf offering?

Ryan Brandenburg from NZ Golf Tourism spoke about Australia, China and North America being emerging markets for NZ International Golf Tourism. According to 2012 data the International golf Industry and associated providers was worth $210m.

New Zealand has positioned itself has a unique Golfing destination, which has seen the introduction of a Golf trails to cater for all short term and long term stays. Mr Brandenburg said “where else could you play golf in a volcanic environment and the splendour of the Southern Alps!”

The inaugural meeting concluded with all stakeholders agreeing the industry themes and workshop sessions were beneficial for the Golf industry. Further communication and next steps will be advised in the new year.