GOLF AUSTRALIA – ONEGOLF
COMMUNICATION
Momentum is building around OneGolf as
the administration of golf in Australia moves
towards a more streamlined, cost-effective
model.
Golf Australia chief executive Stephen 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.
OneGolf 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.
Pitt has been travelling the length and
breadth of the country for more than a year
to personally explain the model to as many
of his state counterparts as possible.
And with the benefits of a system that will
allow greater and more precise investment
into golf’s future, Pitt is not surprised to see a
wave of support growing around the country.
“We’re delighted that to this point we have
five states on board in principle, and that’s a
really significant achievement,” Pitt said.
“There’s obviously a lot more work to do with
those states in terms of taking them from
where they are to actually signing off on the
agreement.
“We need to work through the
implementation details and make sure those
boards are comfortable and then we need
a consultation process with their members
to make sure those members will support
their state board in signing the service
agreements.
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“But their support to date confirms our
belief that we’re building a model that has
widespread appeal and benefits.”
Pitt confirmed that OneGolf had reached a
sufficient critical mass that it can and will
operate without complete support from all
corners of Australia.
“We have decided that we will operate a
hybrid system if need be, with five of seven
states and Golf Australia operating under
OneGolf.
“To this point we don’t have support from
either Western Australia or New South Wales,
but we’ll continue to work with those states
and look at how we can get to a position
where we’ve got all seven states and GA
operating as one body.”
The advantages of OneGolf are stark, with
increased pressure from governments and
sponsors to deliver results on investments.
Pitt said the proposal would help maintain
golf’s strong position in a competitive
marketplace against other sports.
“One of the main advantages of OneGolf is that it
will put more money into the game. Independent
expert advice says that through its synergies, we
can expect in the vicinity of $3-4million annually
that we can invest into the sport,” he said.
WINTER EDITION 2017