Golf Ireland has launched its first Inclusion Policy alongside a new Club Toolkit designed to help affiliated clubs make the game more accessible and welcoming to a broader range of people and communities.
The policy was launched at Clontarf Golf and Bowling Club and is built around three pillars — Advocate, Engage and Support — setting out how Golf Ireland intends to embed inclusion across the sport.
A particular focus will be placed on reaching new and minoritised communities, identifying barriers to participation and helping clubs create environments in which people from all backgrounds, identities and orientations feel welcome.
The accompanying Club Toolkit is intended to turn the policy into practical action.
Clubs will be able to use it to assess how inclusive and accessible they currently are by looking at their structures, operations, and culture, before identifying areas for improvement.
It includes guidance on equitable club structures, engaging with new communities and creating a more open and accessible club environment.
Golf Ireland CEO Mark Kennelly said the launch represented an important step but stressed that its value would ultimately be measured by what happens within clubs.
“We want golf to be a sport where everyone feels welcome, and this policy sets out how we aim to work towards that,” he said.
“There is already a lot of good work taking place across our clubs, but we know there is more we can do. The toolkit gives clubs support to look at where they are, where there may be barriers and what they can do to make their club more welcoming and accessible.”
The initiative forms part of Golf Ireland’s wider ambition to develop golf as an accessible, inclusive, collaborative and progressive sport.
Sport Ireland Equality, Diversity and Inclusion Manager Ciarán Murphy welcomed the launch, describing the policy as “clear, comprehensive” and reflective of a genuine commitment to creating a more inclusive sport.
Sport NI Interim CEO Richard Archibald also highlighted the importance of embedding inclusion across participation, governance, education and club development. Sport NI supported development of the initiative through its National Lottery-funded Sports System Investment programme.
Clontarf Showing Inclusion in Practice
The choice of Clontarf Golf and Bowling Club as the launch venue also provided a practical example of what greater accessibility can look like.
For the past six years, the club has operated Friday Friends, a structured golf programme for adults with intellectual disabilities.
Working alongside St Michael’s House, Praxis and Prosper Fingal, the programme runs between April and October and now caters for more than 100 participants.
Clontarf President Ray Maguire said hosting the launch represented an endorsement of the direction the club has taken.
“We in Clontarf regard this as a very positive statement of intent by our sport and an endorsement of the path we have been following here at Clontarf, with the support of Golf Ireland,” he said.
Sport for Business Perspective
Strategies around equality, diversity and inclusion increasingly need to be translated into practical changes at the point where people actually experience sport.
In golf, that means the clubhouse, membership structures, communications, introductory programmes, and the welcome someone receives when walking into a club for the first time.
Providing clubs with a framework to examine those areas gives Golf Ireland an opportunity to move inclusion from an organisational commitment into something measurable at local level.
The Friday Friends programme at Clontarf also demonstrates that broadening access to golf need not sit apart from everyday club activity. Done well, it can become part of what a modern golf club represents within its community.
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Image Credit: Shannon Airport
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