Development Plan Overview 2007 - 2010 

The Surrey Golf Partnership have now finalised their countywide Development Plan, which will run from 1^st June 2007 until 31^st May 2010.

 The Development Plan looks at key headings in order to maintain and improve upon the work and support that the county gives to golf development. Although the plan, which will be officially launched in July, looks at initiatives on a global scale, the detail is specific to Surrey, and some of the key actions are as follows.

 Recruitment - Aiming to increase the number of people playing golf in 2010 by 3% (increasing women and girls participation by 5%) - by promoting and running taster sessions and activity days for adults and juniors, targeting School Club Link projects and holiday camps, improving links with non-affiliated facilities, County Sports Partnerships and Local Authorities.

 Retention - In line with the Whole Sport Plan Key Performance Indicator, the partnership aims to get 20% of clubs accredited to GolfMark by 31^st May 2010. In addition, clubs will be encouraged to operate a membership scheme targeting 19-40 year old participants with a tailored package, designed to meet their specific needs. There are other specific schemes tailored to retention issues, such as competition development, links with commercial organisations and encouragement of clubs to become more custom orientated.

 Player Development - The partnership seeks to promote national initiatives at a local level and will evolve accordingly to include Long Term Athlete Development protocol. As well as identifying potential/talent, the plan seeks to retain communication links with players who move away from the area in to full time education.

 Coaching Infrastructure - The partnership is committed to supporting new and existing volunteer and professional coaches within golf to ensure that the County have a co-ordinated network of coaches.

 Resource Management - The partnership aims to offer training, support and recognition to volunteers and teaching professionals with an annual training programme, and the possibility of award scheme and presentation. It aims to secure external funding and/or sponsorship to assist covering the cost of a County Development Officer.

 Good Practice - In order to promote good practice, the partnership will share best practice examples via the partnership website, the possibility of an annual conference and regional GolfMark workshops, as well as provide Child Protection and Equity training. In particular, we wish to highlight good practice in the recruitment and retention of women and girls. An action plan will be produced to enable the Surrey Golf Partnership to look at this important issue.

 Communication and Promotion - The key areas of the communication strategy are a Surrey Golf Partnership website, an electronic mail database, (allowing for direct e-mailings to golf clubs), an Annual Partnership Conference to be launched in June 2007 and liaison with the press to promote partnership activity.

 Facilities and Clubs - The partnership aims to produce a directory of non-affiliated facilities and retain a database of affiliated clubs, supported by the EGU/ELGA biennial golf club membership questionnaire and local requests for information. An intermediate countywide survey will be conducted to obtain more detailed information on membership vacancies, entrance fees, details of facilities and wants and needs of the clubs.

 Monitoring and Evaluation - An annual review process is outlined to measure the effectiveness of the development plan.

 An official executive summary will be produced for the launch in July, and copies of the Development Plan in full will be available on the website (once set up) and by request. We hope you support the Surrey Golf Partnership and we look forward to working with you in order to be the “The driving force behind golf development in Surrey”.