A small dedicated team have now gained the award from England Golf - see the certificate here.

The main members of the team were Chris Preston, Charlie Webb & Penny Beckett, with contributions from Alan Roberts and the General Manager.

A huge thanks to them all for the time and effort in helping to achieve this award, especially coming on the back of our SafeGolf award.

What is GolfMark

GolfMark is a national accreditation that has been designed to support all golf clubs, however big or small, to achieve distinct operating standards in four areas of a club’s business activity, within Lancashire currently only 16 clubs have been awarded GolfMark - see GolfMark webpages on England Golf site.

The four areas are:

• Recruitment & Retention
  supporting your club to attract new members and increase the participation of existing members.
• Management & Sustainability
  helping to develop your club through practical business planning.
• Coaching & Competitions
  enhancing coaching and playing opportunities at your club for all golfers.
• Safeguarding
  ensuring your club has appropriate policies and procedures in place. 
   

Golf clubs are asked to meet a number of essential requirements in the four areas which are a set of standards aligned to Sport England’s ClubMark criteria and will be maintained annually by golf clubs supported through an annual action plan.

The 4 sections cover a wide variety of subjects like business planning, first aid provision, coaching programmes, DBS (Discosure & Barring Service) checks, insurance and legal compliance - to name but a few.

GolfMark will also influence how we communicate, not only with the members, but also within the various operating sections of the golf club.

The aim is to have a more cohesive and integrated club, by this we mean that we will have an approved set of operating standards, better internal and external communication and a platform to build on that will help to generate increased revenue streams / membership for the club.

By far the most detailed of these areas is Safeguarding, this section is a key area within GolfMark as it sets up standards for the club in how we treat and deal with children and young adults. A number of the group and professional staff have attended Safeguarding courses, professional staff have undergone DBS checks and signed up to a code of conduct. 
As part of the Safeguarding section check out the GolfMark webpages (on England Golf website) for more details on providing a safe and secure environment.

Preston GC have achieved the SafeGolf Accreditation - awarded by England Golf – which has been successfully renewed for this year.

The documentation has been approved by council and as such certain parts will form part of the bye laws of the club. This is done without the need for submission to the AGM or the need to hold an EGM as it does not affect the club’s constitution.

Chris Preston
PGC Golf Mark co-ordinator