Crisis on our golf courses

Understanding the business is a core board responsibility 

Golf Australia is expanding its national governance education program, in partnership with the AICD, following a pilot that trained 775 participants from more than 360 clubs. More than half of the participants said it directly changed governance practices at their club.  

Richard Bialkowski FAICD, a former president and chair of Canberra’s Federal Golf Club, who was part of the pilot, says boards need to understand the business they are governing.  

“That report should be at the top of every golf club’s board agenda at the next meeting – and education of the board should be a priority.  

“If the people sitting around that board table don’t actually have a clear, unequivocal understanding of what their role is, then there’s no way they can actually perform their jobs properly,” he says.   

“It’s all too easy for directors to start telling the general manager how to fix problem X. But then some boards will be too hands-off and delegate too much to the management team. That’s dangerous, because you’re putting yourself in a position of actually not carrying out your legal responsibilities for the role.”  

Five priority recommendations

Alongside the findings, the report identifies five priority recommendations to help clubs strengthen their governance and build long-term capability.

1. Clarify the role of directors: Adopt a board charter and enforce the boundary between governance and management.

2. Build a more capable board: Implement skills-based recruitment, staggered terms, training and succession planning.

3. Strengthen board leadership and accountability: Focus heavily on the effectiveness of the chair.

4. Focus the board on business and strategy: Shift attention away from day-to-day operations.

5. Strengthen long-term planning: Prioritise capital planning frameworks.

Golf club boards are stewards of the whole organisation and “have to recognise that change is necessary or many current clubs will struggle to survive”, says Bialkowski.   

The club constitution might insist on total board renewal from the club membership at each annual general meeting, which can lead to short-term thinking and little long-term planning, he says.  

As most directors are volunteers, it can sometimes become a popularity contest, and some members might seek a position on the board as a status symbol rather than as a privilege to serve.  

“That attitude has to stop, because when you’ve got popular people running it – not people who actually have the business skills – that’s the quickest way for a club to get into significant trouble,” he says. “Change can be hard, but it is essential. Just because we play golf doesn’t mean we know how to govern the business.”  

Bialkowski recommends doing a skills matrix, finding the gaps and then proactively looking for people to fill them. This may involve a change to a club constitution to allow a board to appoint independent directors to fill identified skill gaps.  

“Clubs that want to progress need to review what the future membership will want and expand more broadly to cater for that,” he says. “Updating and modernising with contemporary governance practices is just the beginning.”  

The Golf Australia Club Governance Program, powered by the Australian Institute of Company Directors, provides golf-specific governance, leadership and director development opportunities for current and aspiring club directors, General Managers, administrators, committee and club members.   

Governance Essentials for Golf, delivered as part of the Program, is a self-paced online course that provides practical, easy-to-follow guidance that can be applied in everyday club situations. Registrations are open now.