By Dean Murphy
New Zealand Golf Chief Executive

With 2019 now complete, we look back on a great year for golf in New Zealand. 

Our participation programmes really got going over the past 12 months leading to a growth in club membership (up 1.05 percent YTD), an increase in rounds played (up 5.8 percent YTD), and for the first time in six years, an increase in junior members (12 percent) and junior rounds played (13 percent).

We are really pleased with the initial stages of our futures (young people) programme. This is a major area of focus for us and we can’t wait to see this programme evolve over the coming years after such a promising first year of operation. We all benefit when more young New Zealanders play golf.

Our existing programmes such as LOVE Golf, She Loves Golf, LOVE Golf Play, LOVE Golf Live Long, Flexiclub and LOVE Membership all continue to provide great value and we look forward to seeing their impact grow over the coming years.

To help us grow the positive profile of golf, the staging of the 100th New Zealand Open Championship was a real highlight. 

Our performance players such as Ryan Fox, Lydia Ko, Danny Lee, Denzel Ieremia and Daniel Hiller provided plenty of inspirational moments and our national tournament programme continues to evolve for the better. 

It was great to see a new Jennian Homes Charles Tour event staged earlier this month and further growth for this tour is planned for 2020 when the Manawatu Golf Club will host the Brian Green Property Group Super 6s. This event will see men and women playing for the same purse in a unique matchplay shoot out format.

Our sector support services were significantly enhanced this year and we hope to take these even further in 2020. 

Underpinned by our world leading handicapping technology system, our golf operations and club support teams continue to be very busy, providing valuable services to the sector. 

In addition to our staff on the ground who work with grass roots clubs every day, we have over 200 support resources available to assist clubs and facilities. Our commitment to sustainability enhanced this year through our partnership with GEO. This will add further value to our work with LiteClub and the NZ Sports Turf Institute.

From the administration side of the game, we have made some great strides in 2019. Our staff are a group of incredibly committed and passionate professionals who give their best each day for our game. 

Our governance group is a dedicated and skilled volunteer group of professionals who contribute significant amounts of time and expertise to our business. This year the New Zealand Golf board became gender balanced (50/50) and now features directors in their 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s and 60s.

Our technology business (DotGolf) continues to grow and in 2020 we will launch operations into the United Kingdom and Ireland which will deliver increased returns and technology functionality to the game here in New Zealand.

While it’s fun to look back at 2019, there is no time to rest and we are excited about the year ahead.

We’ll shortly publish our new strategy for the 2020 to 2025 period – Enriching Lives Through Golf. This is a great piece of work and will guide our operations for the years ahead. 

The staging of the 101st New Zealand Open Championship will soon be upon us and that event will feature our first New Zealand All Abilities Championship and the Make Time, Play 9 final. These are both amazing new initiatives we are incredibly excited about. Soon after the NZ Open, we will launch the new world handicap system in New Zealand which will no doubt generate plenty of clubhouse discussions.

While we’ve had a great year, it is clear there are many challenges in front of us. In our view, it’s crucial that the sport embraces the future and plans effectively to meet the changing needs of participants.

Golf is distinctive from other sports. It is a game that has a unique tradition and history that encompasses a values system that is unrivalled. It is the only sport that can be played competitively and equitably across all facilities in all conditions by participants of all ages and skill levels.

Most importantly, golf is a game that delivers positive and enriching outcomes for participants through inspired performances, increased physical activity, greater social connectedness and enhanced health and wellbeing. 

Positive benefits are not confined to golf participants; the game of golf delivers an increasingly significant number of social, environmental and economic benefits to our country.

We look forward to working with all our partners in the golf sector in 2020 as we continue to Enrich Lives Through Golf.