2024 PGA Members' Survey has now been sent out

The 2024 PGA Member Survey has now been sent out and we invite PGA Members to check their inbox and take part. The survey should take no longer than 15 minutes and here, Tristan Crew, Executive Director – Membership, explains the importance of the survey and why it’s vital that you take the opportunity to share information on your role, interests and activities.

The PGA last issued a Members’ survey back in 2017 – and the response to it was remarkable, with almost half of the Membership completing it. This level of engagement gave us the confidence to make a number of significant changes to the Association, including the creation of the three distinct categories of membership - PGA Professional, PGA Coach and PGA Manager – and enabling all Members to use the PGA brand, in addition to using the PGA crest.  

Seven years later, it is our hope that the 2024 survey will once again provide the necessary insight on our diverse Membership to enable us to support you, whatever your role within the golf industry. 

The survey was sent on Wednesday 13th November. Please check your inbox and take part.

A Changing Landscape  

Since 2017, there have been a number of significant global events, including COVID-19 and a financial crisis. These events fundamentally changed the landscape of golf and whilst we are anecdotally aware of shifts in Member behaviour it is essential for us to be acting from a position of certainty. As an organisation, we will then be able to analyse these changes and adapt our education, services and support to better meet the requirements of an evolving membership.

For the 2024 survey we have once again partnered with leading sports market research company, Sporting Insights (previously known in the industry as Sports Marketing Surveys). This iteration differs from the 2017 version in two major ways; 

1. It has a focus on what Members are doing and where, rather than enquiring about future services that you would like to receive.
2. The responses are confidential but not anonymous - a bespoke survey to you allows us to capture individual information to update our Member database and personalise our support. 

We are very aware of the sensitivities around personal data, specifically salary information. I can assure you that The PGA and Sporting Insights are extremely conscious of our responsibility to protect data and will continue to ensure that it is stored securely in a way that is fully compliant with all GDPR regulations. Furthermore, individual information such as salaries will be held by Sporting Insights, will not be accessible by PGA staff and will be safely destroyed following the survey. 

Why are we taking this approach? 

As a Membership body it is essential that we are able to represent you effectively.  In order to do this, we need a comprehensive data set surrounding your activity so that we understand your role and the challenges you face. Below I will highlight a number of ways that this data will allow us to represent and serve you better. 

1. PGA Managers. The 2017 survey identified that around 25% of PGA Members were working in management roles. Anecdotally, we believe this number has increased, as a result of two main factors; 

i) Members - seeking greater security in their employment following Covid - have assumed golf club manager roles as opposed to the self-employed, retained model of a traditional PGA Professional role.

ii) Many golf clubs have transitioned from having a traditional club secretary to a golf club manager, who is often viewed as the most senior employed person in the club. Our PGA Members, having recognised this, and in the knowledge that they have many of the prerequisite skills, are looking to assume these positions. 

We need to ensure that we can accurately quantify the number of managers in our ranks so that we can provide the most appropriate resources to support this growing group. 

2. Media and Communications. Better understanding of our Members is critical for the segmentation of our many and varied audience groups. At the moment we are unable to adequately personalise our outputs according to each individual Members’ areas of interest or specialism - an updated database will allow us to deliver more relevant and useful content and communications.

3. PGA Coaches. Over recent years there has been inferences from certain quarters that there is a shortage of golf coaches, which is limiting overall participation.  Understanding which Members are coaching and the distribution of this activity will allow us to demonstrate spare capacity and provide evidence to challenge any future concept of amateurs coaching for money.

4. Tournaments. Understanding the Membership’s views on tournaments (including formats) will ensure that the playing schedule remains relevant to those that compete or have aspirations to compete. Included within this is an understanding of which venues would like to support future PGA tournament activity.

5. Sustainability. Understanding preferences for paper diaries and views on electronic membership cards will allow The PGA to meet their sustainability commitments.

6. Charity. The survey will allow us to quantify and promote the incredible work that many of you undertake to support charitable causes and your communities.

The next correspondence that you will receive regarding this will be sent by Sporting Insights on Wednesday November 13th - so please look out for your unique link to the survey. You will be provided with a secure log-in and the survey should take less than 15 minutes to complete.  

I hope that you will see the value in the survey and I thank you in advance for your time and for helping us to deliver the best possible service to our Members. 

Tristan Crew MBE, Executive Director – Member Services 

If you are unable to access the survey via email, please follow this link to complete the 2024 Membership Survey. Your login details are as follows:

• Username: Your email address
• Password: Your Membership number (please use your full 7-digit Membership number, including any zeros at the start)