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Jeremy Tomlinson was appointed chief executive officer of England Golf on Jan. 6. It wasn't long thereafter that the COVID-19 situation shut golf down throughout the United Kingdom. Tomlinson spoke to Global Golf Post about the health of England Golf and what the rest of 2020 looks like.
GGP: What was the state of England Golf before the pandemic, and how does that compare to where it is now?
Tomlinson: I inherited a lot to be proud of when I started as CEO in January – both on and off the course. In 2019, five of our six England squads won the Home Internationals and there were notable individual successes in both the men’s and women’s game. It was particularly pleasing to see Emily Toy win the Women’s Amateur at Royal County Down and Alice Hewson be crowned European Ladies’ champion at Parkstone Golf Club. They both act as great role models as we look to drive participation levels for women and girls.
From a business sense, we re-structured our club support network to ensure we were well placed to focus on supporting clubs going forward. From an income of £8.7 million, £8.3 million was re-invested in the game through development, performance, championships and governance.
When I arrived at England Golf, I had no way of anticipating the outbreak of COVID-19 and the restrictions that would follow. There is no doubt we are living in unique and challenging times. The decision to close courses on 23 March following a statement from the prime minister was the responsible and correct approach as we joined the national drive to protect the NHS and save lives during the COVID-19 outbreak.
Now my message is to keep the faith and stay strong in the knowledge that our actions are making a contribution to the health of the nation and when it is right for golf to return it can do so safely. No-one is pretending the fightback from this will be easy, but I have been struck by the enthusiasm and passion for the game that has become self-evident in these times of hardship. Harnessing this and building on a deep love of the game shown by so many people can help golf play a leading role in the nation’s sporting recovery.
England Golf remains here to serve our community of golfers, clubs and counties at a time of need with strong leadership, support, advice and guidance. This week, for example, we have delivered a “Play Safe, Stay Safe” message and distributed guidelines to golfers, clubs and counties in preparation for when the government allows the game to return.
GGP: What are your current plans for the 2020 schedule?
Tomlinson: We felt it was our duty and responsibility to revise the schedule and provisionally plan for a positive scenario which would allow our championships to start up again week commencing 27 July. We strongly believed in offering a light at the end of the tunnel for many of our golfers – both for elite and handicap competitions – and this approach has been warmly received.
We have provisionally re-arranged 24 of our events covering juniors, seniors, men, women and taking into account golfers in our hugely popular members’ and captains’ programmes.
If the circumstances allow it, we aim to start back with a week of golf that will make history and help showcase the best of English talent.
For the first time we aim to stage the English Men’s and Women’s Amateur Championships at the same time at the same location – Woodhall Spa Golf Club (near the cathedral city of Lincoln, 130 miles north of London). This would be a true celebration of all that’s good about the amateur game.
Our clubs and counties have been tremendous in supporting our attempts to carry on with a programme for the latter half of the season.
Our prestigious County Finals remain on the roster with new formats in place to ensure that these flagship events have a chance to be staged and potentially bring down the curtain on what would be a uniquely challenging season for England Golf.
GGP: How many clubs are members, how many golfers does this cover, and how is your revenue generated – what is the model?
Tomlinson: Around 640,000 golfers and 1,820 clubs are affiliated to England Golf. Each golf club member pays a £9.50 annual affiliation fee collected at the same time as their golf club subscription.
As a not-for-profit national governing body, around 70 percent of our income comes from these affiliation fees with the majority of the balance coming from Sport England funding.
GGP: In your estimation, how will amateur golf look different on the other side of the pandemic?
Tomlinson: In the short term, when golf returns it is likely that social distancing will change the way we play the game and ongoing issues around travel may have a knock-on effect for the fields in some championships.
But the fundamentals of our great game will remain. I have been struck by how much golf means to the people of this country and that fills me with optimism.
It’s true – you don’t know how much you care about something until it’s taken away from you.
GGP: Is your staff working from home? Have you had to furlough any staff?
Tomlinson: We moved quickly to not only protect the well-being of our staff, but also safeguard their jobs during a huge period of uncertainty. On Monday 16 March, when the government encouraged people to work from home to limit the transmission of the virus, we quickly put the wheels in motion. Within two days all staff were able to work remotely from home and by (that) Friday our office at Woodhall Spa was closed.
We carefully worked to a structured plan that made sure our club support officers and other key staff were on hand to help golf clubs through the very difficult first few weeks of lockdown and then on 9 April the majority of our staff were furloughed through the government’s job retention scheme. This remains the situation, but in retaining our leadership team we are able to not only handle the essential workload but continue to champion golf’s prominent role in the nation’s sporting recovery. By working with industry partners and the government we can help to bring about a scenario where the conditions are in place to allow a safe return to playing the game.