Big interview
The historic January 19 vote on a proposal by the GUI and the ILGU for the formation of One Governing Body for the game here — Golf Ireland — is a watershed moment in the history of Irish golf. The Irish Independent sat down with the two prime movers beh
Pat Finn and Sinead Heraty on Golf Ireland
GOLDEN leaves tumble in the autumnal breeze at Carton House but there’s more going on at Golfing Union of Ireland HQ these days than just the daily administration of men’s amateur golf. In the expansive boardroom, beyond the portrait of the avuncular Joe Carr, picture windows afford the CEOs of the Irish Ladies Golf Union (ILGU) and the GUI enjoy sweeping view of the practice rugby pitch on the far side of the treelined avenue where members of the Irish rugby team are going through their paces.
It’s just a few days since they made history by becoming the first Ireland team to beat the mighty All Blacks on Irish soil and reports abound of record numbers of kids signing up to play the oval ball game.
Ireland is now a world power in rugby, but many wonder why Ireland, with all its recent major winners, is not a worldbeater on the world’s golf tours.
Creating top professionals has never been the remit of the ILGU or the GUI but having spent three years in discussions and consultations to come up with a proposal that will be put to a vote of Ireland’s golf clubs on January 19, Pat Finn and Sinead Heraty see the creation of Golf Ireland as a chance for Irish golf to sing with one voice for the good of all.
While there is some concern at grassroots about how it will all work out when the ILGU (and its five districts) and GUI (and its four provincial branches) are replaced a modern governance structure, the heads of the two organisations promoting the move see a bigger picture.
Before that comes clearly into focus, the GUI needs two-thirds of its clubs to vote in favour of the proposal at a specially convened EGM while ILGU requires a 75% majority to ensure the vote is carried at its AGM.
If it goes their way, golf will no longer be segregated by gender and there will be one body with a mandate to speak for the game as a whole and look to the 21st century and beyond with confidence.
Q. After all your consultations with clubs, how is Golf Ireland perceived among Ireland’s golfers?
Pat Finn (P.F.) — What we met with initially was ‘Why are we even here? Hasn’t this already been decided?’ People were confused why they were being invited to briefings, not realising that while the Proposal has been approved by both boards, clubs still have to vote on it for it to happen.
Q. What are the overriding concerns about this proposal?
Sinead Heraty (S.H.): People come into the room thinking, this is hugely significant, major change. But if you go through the presentation, you can see the lightbulbs going on and people saying, ‘Okay, so this isn’t going to impact how I play the game.’
This is about the governance of the game at national level, or regional level and the way that we are structured as a governing body. There is definitely an appetite in golf clubs to do the right thing and move to a more modern governance structure.
Q. What prompted the GUI and the ILGU to make this proposal in the first place?
P.F. — If you were setting up golf in Ireland today, creating two different organisations is not how you would do it. If you look at other sports within Ireland, you don’t have separate governing bodies for male and female players. So we looked at a snapshot of the environment we are in and felt we should have a conversation about changing that.
S.H. — There has also been a historic attitude or perception, where you have had single-gender organisations governing a sport, that the GUI are actually the governing body. At times, we were actually viewed as the Ladies Committee of the GUI. There is a lot of change that needs to be done in changing that perception worldwide and across sports.
Q. Is it important that this
is simply passed by the minimum or do you want to make an even bigger statement?
P.F. — We’d love it to be carried by over 90%, but if we get our required 75% for the ILGU or two-thirds majority in the GUI, that’s a clear mandate.
S.H. — I am going to nail it. It will be 90% on the ILGU side. That’s what we’d love to see. All the feedback we have got is overwhelming support for the proposal, albeit with concerns about the loss of autonomy in our own game, the female voice within the new organisation, the disproportionality in terms of membership size and all of that. Those concerns have been articulated, and hopefully addressed, in the proposal.
Q. Do you see clubs moving quickly to adopt singlecommittee governance structures?
S.H. — There are clubs where a three committee structure works very well — a men’s, ladies’ and general committee. But it is not going to be a “one-size-fits-all” because golf clubs are not “one-size-fits-all”. If you tell them all, this is the structure you must follow, it won’t work.
Q What’s your vision for Golf Ireland in 2029?
P.F. — We have to reduce this notion of golf being male-dominated. If you were fast forwarding ten years, you’d like to see a golf club run the same way as a tennis club, where gender simply doesn’t come into the equation.
S.H. — I absolutely agree. I am not sure it’s doable within ten years but the social, cultural shift in sport, in general, will contribute hugely to the change of culture in golf clubs as well. Golf Ireland will contribute hugely to changes within golf clubs but so will other factors because we are moving forward as a society.
Q. What about gender quotas in Golf Ireland? Is this going to present challenges?
S.H. — It’s not a gender quota. It’s a minimum gender balance that’s a safety net to ensure we have fair representation of both genders across the organisation. Hopefully, in 10 years it won’t be required because we won’t be thinking in terms of gender.
Q What about falling membership and concerns about underselling of green fees?
P.F. — We hope that by changing some of the perceptions about the game, we will tackle the challenges of participation in golf. Green fees are far more tricky. There is a significant oversupply of golf. Until that corrects itself, it is going to be very difficult to see that changing. I don’t think Golf Ireland is a silver bullet that’s going to solve all those problems.
Q What will be the biggest benefit of Golf Ireland for the average golfer?
S.H. — Apart from the cost saving, the biggest benefit will be speaking as one voice. There will be one strategy. In times past we have competed against each other to sell our side of the business, for want of a better word.
P.F. — There’s also the issue of responsibility for the game. Right now, it’s not clear who is responsible for the game of golf in Ireland. Golf Ireland will have a responsibility that no entity has had to this point. Responsibility and accountability are at the core of this.
Q How will Golf Ireland work with the PGA and what’s the future of Irish golf on the world’s professional tours?
P.F. — Clearly we need a close working relationship with the PGA and club pros. It’s important they feel connected to Golf Ireland. As for young touring pros, our responsibility ends the day they turn pro. But Golf Ireland, as the governing body for golf in Ireland, will have a responsibility towards those players.
S.H. — We are the only sport in the world where we take players at nine or ten years of age, coach them, invest heavily in them and bring them on a journey. But the minute they turn pro, it’s bye-bye, not our responsibility. It makes no sense.
Q Looking out the window here, we can see the Irish rugby team training just a few days after beating the All Blacks. Can we become the All Blacks of golf?
S.H. — I think we want to become what the Irish team is to rugby. We want to be as successful as the Irish rugby team. On the men’s side, we’ve had a taste of that between Pádraig Harrington, Rory McIlroy, Shane Lowry and all those guys competing on a world stage. We have a wonderful opportunity with Leona Maguire and Stephanie Meadow to do the same thing. I think it’s very achievable that Irish golf will compete on a world stage and compete with the best.