Tasmania has formally become the first state to join Golf Australia under the One Golf umbrella.

Momentum towards the future of Australian golf administration continues to build with several other states and territories expected to soon move towards the more streamlined, cost-effective model.

Golf Tasmania chairman Tony Bush is delighted to have committed, already hailing the benefits for his state’s existing and potential golfers.

“One Golf enables us to maximise our financial resources into participation whereas previously we had been directing that cash towards administration,” Bush said.

“We previously had fundamental gaps in our pathways, but Golf Australia has not been shy to offer help in areas that we view as critical to the future of Tasmanian golf.

“Through One Golf, we are better able to fund our most important functions. Via the national programs, we have better high performance pathways, particularly for our juniors. We also have greater funding for clubs to attract new golfers through Golf Month and Play-9 promotions, a new ability to involve women through Swing Fit and funding for community golf instructors to help all our clubs.

“It’s exciting for the future of golf in Tasmania and we can already demonstrably see the difference through better use of resources.”

Golf Australia chief executive Stephen Pitt was delighted with the immediate impact of One Golf in Tasmania and forecast similar advantages for other states and territories as they joined.

Pitt confirmed that five of seven states (including the Northern Territory) had now made in-principle commitments to a model that stands to benefit Australian golf by in excess of $3million annually.

One Golf will effectively bring all participating state and territory governing bodies under the Golf Australia umbrella, freeing up funding and resources to tackle the sport’s biggest grass-roots issues.

“We can see great examples already in Tasmania of economies of scale in the national golf industry allowing us to channel funds into areas of need locally,” Pitt said.

“This is precisely why One Golf will be a revolution for the sport in Australia whereby eliminating duplication and having a centralised administrative core will make the game more attractive to potential players and sponsors, allowing us all to better use resources where they’re needed most in local areas.”

Independent analysis of the One Golf model conducted by KPMG, Bastion EBA and Gemba is available at www.golf.org.au/one-golf where a summary of its principles is also listed.

Source: Golf Australia