Governance

The way in which sport as a whole is governed has significantly evolved in recent years with greater expectation falling on National Governing Bodies to have solid foundations in place to govern their sports.
 
The majority of Golf Clubs have also progressed in the area of Governance, to aid the effectiveness of management committees and assist club operations.
 
Golf Clubs are recognising the important role that governance has in ensuring future sustainability in an ever changing economic and sporting environment. Good governance is enabled within a framework of accountability, high standards and transparency to build trust and belief within existing and future members as well as other stakeholders.
 
Even with great momentum behind it, it’s not uncommon for clubs to feel that Governance is a daunting topic, therefore in this section aims to provide a range of guidance documentation and templates that should support your club to begin or continue your Governance journey.
 
Governance Guide
The Golf Ireland Governance Guide is designed to help you understand and improve governance in your club. It is hoped that by reading this guide and using the toolkit provided your club will feel empowered to make the necessary changes to ensure good structures are in place. 

How Golf Ireland can help your club?

Golf Ireland will be able support your club in the following ways:
·       Offer advisory support in relation to any areas covered in this guidance document 
·       Provide sample templates that clubs can amend to suit their individual needs
·       Facilitate Governance Subcommittee Meetings
·       Facilitate Club Planning Subcommittee Meetings 
·       Regional workshops/seminars on Governance 

Contact development@golfireland.ie or your local support officer for more information

In addition, Golf Ireland has created a Club Governance self-assessment checklist that focuses on all the areas covered across the 9 holes outlined in the Governance Guide for Clubs. Clubs are encouraged to download and complete the checklist but please do not see it as a “tick-box” exercise.

The checklist can help identify what clubs are doing well, and areas in which they can improve their overall governance. The checklist can also be used as a start point in the creation of a governance action plan for a club and a sample action plan has also been downloaded.