PGA support helps McDonald create golfing menu for the ladies and girls

Advice from Danielle Thomas, a PGA Business Relationship Officer (BRO), has resulted in females of all ages being receptive to Kirsty McDonald’s initiatives to get them into golf.

That includes members of the Women’s Institute, an organisation synonymous with various activities and initiatives, but not necessarily golf.  

However, for McDonald, a PGA Professional who works out of Wollaton Park Golf Club in Nottinghamshire, its 200,000 members is potentailly a fertile source of new golfers.

To that end, she has persuaded the county’s WI to encourage its members to get into golf.

“I had a meeting with Nottinghamshire WI earlier this month,” she explained, “They were really keen and agreed to leaflet their local branches about my golf taster sessions for women.”

McDonald, who had freelanced as a coach for 14 years following the births of her two children and has worked for The PGA training its Assistants since 2000, started the sessions in May after being given the go-ahead by the club’s general manager, Steve Sayers.

“I knew Steve from way back,” she recalled. “He’s a forward-thinking PGA pro who’s keen to grow the game. So, when I heard he’d got the job at Wollaton earlier this year I approached him with the idea of running coaching sessions for ladies, kids and girls.”

The initial sessions were staged for the club’s female members and, three months on, the results have been spectacular.

“I started with a short game lesson for a group and it was fully subscribed within three hours of advertising it,” McDonald continued.

“So, I had to put on two more and filled them all. The club has 50 to 60 female members and almost half of them have enrolled for the sessions. Others, who have been unable to attend the group lessons, have signed up for individual ones. It’s been really busy and the ladies have been very supportive.”

So much so that the programme of long game sessions McDonald will hold later this month are sell-outs.

As a result, McDonald must look beyond the confines of the club which, boasting a picturesque and challenging course populated by a herd of 200-plus deer, is just two miles distant from Nottingham city centre.

After a session at the club in April got the ball rolling, McDonald contacted the city’s school sports organiser and plans are in hand for a Tri-Golf festival, a secondary event on the club’s par-three course and more taster sessions.

“We’re targeting potential and existing golfers aged from six to sixty-plus,” she said.

All of which calls for a variety of marketing and communication techniques to ensure the message hits the target. Whereas WI members may respond to leafleting, for example, younger people are engaged by social media.  

“You’ve got to do different things for different age groups,” McDonald explained. “When I was coaching before, social media wasn’t that active but it’s hugely important now. 

"Danielle Thomas, a PGA business relationship officer, has helped me enormously with that. I’ve also got a website which I’m using to advertise the coaching.

“I’ve learned the best way to make social media work for you is to post regularly. You’ve got to post a few times a day, which can be time-consuming, but you get into the habit of it. 

"I have to remember to take videos and photos of my sessions to upload to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. 

“It’s been interesting because the lady members actually prefer it when I contact them. So being around at the club is particularly important on ladies day.

“It gives me the chance to interact with them. I also think when it comes to the ladies, the social side is very important.

“The new sessions I’m doing are an hour-and-a-half and will include socialising. We’ll sit down for a coffee, cake and a chat - I think the social side is really important for the women.”

Having got non-members interested in golf, the next step is to encourage them to continue playing and possibly join the club.

“In that respect, Steve has also been very helpful in encouraging newcomers to get involved,” McDonald confirmed. 

“They can come and practise here if they’re not members. Also, there’s a trial membership period of three months which means they don’t have to make a big financial commitment until they’re absolutely sure.

“I think we’ve got a good pathway here - we’re beginning to draw new people.”