England Golf is the
governing body for male and female amateur
golf in
England. It represents over 1,900 golf clubs with over 740,000 members and is affiliated to
The R&A, the joint global governing body of golf. It was formed in 2012 as a merger between the English Golf Union, the governing body for men, and the
English Women's Golf Association, the equivalent body for women.
England Golf is a member of
Council of National Golf Unions (CONGU).
History
The English Golf Union was founded in 1924 and is based at the
National Golf Centre in
Woodhall Spa,
Lincolnshire. It was run as a non-profit-making organisation and is funded mainly by affiliation fees paid by golfers as part of their club membership fee. The English Women's Golf Association was founded in 1952 as an offshoot of the
Ladies Golf Union (LGU), and handled local events, the handicapping system and liaised with
golf clubs. The EWGA was also responsible for promoting golf to girls and women in England.
The two organisations decided to merge in 2011, in order to better promote the game in England, increase the commercial appeal of the amateur game, and increase equality in the sport.
County unions of both organisations overwhelmingly voted in favour of the merger, which took effect from the beginning of 2012. The move also allowed
Sport England to provide £13 million of annual funding from 2013, which can be used to increase participation.
England Golf continues to be run as a non-profit organisation, funded from affiliation fees and government grants.
Responsibilities
England Golf is responsible for the general promotion and administration of amateur golf within England. It organises individual and team championships for all age groups, and has inherited the running of the premier events from the male and female unions, including the
English Amateur Championship (a
match play event), and the English Open Amateur
Stroke Play
Stroke play, also known as medal play, is a scoring system in the sport of golf in which the total number of strokes is counted over one or more rounds of 18 holes. In stroke play, the winner is the player who has taken the fewest strokes over the ...
Championship (
Brabazon Trophy). The larger all-Britain and Ireland events for men and women remain run by The R&A and the Ladies Golf Union respectively. It also administers the
handicapping
Handicapping, in sport and games, is the practice of assigning advantage through scoring compensation or other advantage given to different contestants to equalize the chances of winning. The word also applies to the various methods by which th ...
system for golf in England and works to increase the interest and participation in golf among adults and juniors.
See also
*
The Professional Golfers' Association
References
External links
Official site
{{Authority control
Golf associations
Amateur golf
1924 establishments in England
Golf Union
Organisations based in Lincolnshire
Sports organizations established in 1924
Women's golf in the United Kingdom
National members of the European Golf Association