The New Mission, Vision And Value Statements Of British Columbia Golf And Why They Matter
by David Atkinson, British Columbia Golf
British Columbia Golf Past President David Atkinson has been a major part of a process to revitalize the Association and re-align its mission, vision and values to be in keeping with the needs of all the province’s golfers.
In today’s world, healthy organizations understand the need to revisit their Mission, Vision and Values on a regular basis. Further, if their environment is undergoing unanticipated change, they are aware that this should be done even more frequently.
And it is fair to say that BC Golf, in fact the entire golf industry, finds itself in an environment that has undergone, and is still undergoing, tremendous change.
In 1950, associations conducted Provincial and National Championships and oversaw the Rules and Handicapping but had minimal day to day impact or involvement with the game or the golfer. Some 95% of Canadian golfers belonged to a club and consequently were automatically members of golf associations. There was little in the way of public play facilities.
Today, the landscape is tremendously different. Just 5% of Canadian golfers belong to a club. The vast majority of golfers play recreationally at publicly accessible clubs and are not necessarily members at any club nor members of a golf association.
This has been tough for us to accept; that today our association is not seen as relevant by the majority of the golfing public, and that as a consequence, it is difficult for them to see value in joining our Association.
If we are to become relevant again to that majority of golfers, if we are to achieve our vision of representing all golfers, it is clear that changes are necessary.
To embrace change we will all be challenged to have the confidence in ourselves and the trust in our colleagues that will allow us to take that first terrifying step away from the status quo. We all know that we cannot expect different results if we continue to do what we’ve been doing for the past many years.
In particular, we need to learn what products and services are valued by golfers and golf facilities, and provide those in a way that creates a membership model that is attractive to all.
Toward that goal, we’ve revisited the Mission, Vision and Values of our Association – and now they are aligned to embrace ALL golfers.
This is an important step, because all our strategic and operational planning for the next few years will be guided by the Mission and Vision framework. Every objective we set; every goal we set; will be tested against this framework.
On a very positive note, it has been amazing to see Golf Canada and all the Provincial Associations come together in the face of this common challenge, working cooperatively to reach consensus on a way forward, all sharing the possible risks and potential rewards.
The result is over the next three years, British Columbia Golf will be moving forward with all our provincial partners and with Golf Canada to embrace all golfers as part of that common vision.
In simple terms, if it contributes to us achieving our vision, we’ll do it. Anything else is a distraction and a diversion of energy and resources and will not be supported.
The next step is the development of a supporting strategy that will guide us over the next few years in achieving this vision and we encourage your input into that process.
Sincerely
David Atkinson
President, British Columbia Golf