Golf Club Talk UK

Leighton is joined by Gavin Dear from Shot Scope.  Gavin, hailing from Scotland, is a former European Tour and Challenge Tour player and has been with Shot Scope for nearly 10 years.  Shot Scope are an innovative, forward thinking company who assist Golfers with game improving shot tracking.  Gavin talks through how the technology can help Golfers but also how it can help clubs make better decisio...

Leighton and Eddie catch up for their monthly chat and this includes some information on the upcoming "Management Field Trip" - March 26th, 27th at Royal Cinque Ports and Prince's Golf Clubs.  See information below. Eddie is then joined by Jonathan Gaunt, Golf Course Architect.  Jonathan has been plying his trade in the UK and internationally for many years now and has gained an excellent reputati...

On our latest Trending Topics with England Golf, we explore two key areas of its operations, Championships where we're joined by James Crampton and Rules, with Sam Barker-Sabido. England Golf run many Championships throughout the year at all levels.  James talks about what's involved in applying for an event, hosting an event and the benefits and positive side-effects that can come with hosting on...

Episode 104 is a spotlight on a club that is doing things very well.  Stoneham Golf Club, near Southampton in Hampshire is an excellent club with a Willie Park Jnr designed course.  It's seen some rapid evolution over the last 5-10 years with a state-of-the-art practice facility designed and built, much work completed on the course and now a water storage reservoir being constructed.  Othe plans m...

Episode 103 is the second part of our "state of the industry" round table chat with 6 industry experts from different fields.  It was an extensive discussion and covered a wide range of crucial and relevant topics.  This is part 2 and features discussion on; communication to your members, financial planning and sustainability, investment in your facilities, industry challenges, collaboration in ou...

It's the last of a series of four episodes on the recently launched - Advanced Management Programme, an exciting new education programme from the GCMA.  Leighton is joined by Tom Brooke for a quick introduction before we hear about the two certificate modules in this Award, and why people working in the Golf industry need to get involved.  The AMP can be complimentary to other forms of education a...

Episode 102 features a fascinating "state of the industry" round table chat with 6 industry experts from different fields.  It was an extensive discussion and covered a wide range of crucial topics.  Due to the recording lasting 2 hours, we are splitting the recording into two parts.  This is part 1 and features discussion on; the use of data for revenue generation, enhancing service standards in...

It's the third of a series of four episodes on the recently launched - Advanced Management Programme, an exciting new education programme from the GCMA.  Leighton is joined by Gareth Morgan for a quick introduction before we hear about two of the three certificate modules in this Award, and why people working in the Golf industry need to get involved.  The AMP can be complimentary to other forms o...

It's the second of a series of four episodes on the recently launched - Advanced Management Programme, an exciting new education programme from the GCMA.  Leighton is joined by Gareth Morgan for a quick introduction before we hear about the two certificate modules in this Award, and why people working in the Golf industry need to get involved.  The AMP can be complimentary to other forms of educat...

Leighton provides a brief update on what's happening at Golf Club Talk UK, including it's expansion into more podcast episodes, hosting and presenting and the upcoming Educational Filed Trips for Managers.  These field trips will include two days of education, networking and a look at the Golf Course and the first one is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 26th and Thursday 27th March 2025 at Pri...

It's the first of a series of four episodes on the recently launched - Advanced Management Programme, an exciting new education programme from the GCMA.  Leighton is joined by Tom Brooke for a quick introduction before we hear about the four certificate modules in this Award, and why people working in the Golf industry need to get involved.  The AMP can be complimentary to other forms of education...

The latest episode of Trending Topics focuses on Sustainability but we do it through the lense of the recent England Golf Sustainability conference at Woodhall Spa. Owen James and Caitlin Mcmillan rolled out a great day's education and thought leadership which included some key figures in the industry and this particular space. The event broke sustainabililty down into four main areas: Biodiversit...

We've reached 100!!  It's our 100th episode of GCTUK.   After Leighton & Eddie catch up and look back at 100 episodes, Leighton is joined by Michael Herd, Head of International Search & Consulting - Kopplin, Kuebler & Wallace - our new show partner.  Michael talks us through what's happening at KK&W, but also some current trends in recruitment including what recruiters should be thinking about, bu...

The GCMA's new Advanced Management Program aimed at educating and developing Golf Club Managers - is on the verge of launching.  Leighton is joined by Tom Brooke who talks about the motivations behind the program, what it is and why managers should take part.  Gareth Morgan, who recently started in his role as Professional Development Manager, also joins the episode.  The program has been in the m...

Leighton & Eddie welcome Monique Landman-Bovenkamp of "Unchain People and Change" to the show.  It's a warm and open discussion on Leaders bringing "heart and empathy" to their roles and clubs.  Monique has worked inside and outside of Golf and has long pushed for heart in the boardroom with a view that we can't achieve the best results as organisations without it.   Is it time to move away from t...

Trending Topics with England Golf is back and on this episode we're talking about the Respect in Golf Campaign with Matt Draper, Ben White - Comms Director and Toni Shelbourn - Brand and Campaigns Manager.  This is a great initiative being led by England Golf and one that looks to improve the image of Golf through showing that Golf belongs to everyone.  How do we make Golf a welcoming environment...

A thought provoking, inspiring and relevant discussion this week where Leighton is joined by 5 women from different sectors of the Golf Industry: Natalie McColl - Membership Services Manager - GCMA Nicole Wheatley - Owner Medi8 Candi Watkins - General Manager - Sharpley Golf Club Karen Drake - General Manager - Clevedon Golf Club Claire Docker - Ganerel Manager - Robin Hood Golf Club   The discuss...

Two interviews on episode 98 with Eddie talking to Matt Nicholson, owner and author at Golf News.  Golf News is a dedicated Golf Newspaper in the UK and was started in 1994 by Matt. The publication continues to bring an unrivalled mix of club news, course reviews, exclusive player interviews, equipment reviews, travel features and competitions that has proved such a hit with golfers for the last 3...

A recent workforce survey was carried out by Sporting Insights on the state of the Golf industry workforce.  The survey, commissioned and supported by GCMA, R&A, BIGGA, England Golf, Wales Golf, Golf Ireland and Scottish Golf - provides a valuable insight and measure into the health of the workforce across multiple areas. This information is key to employers, Golfing bodies and employees alike and...

Leighton is joined by Emma Ballard for a catch up on what's happening at Women & Golf and her take on Golf generally.  Emma always has some insightful thoughts on the game and industry and she will also be up at the AIG Women's Open in late August for the last major of the year!  Rob Saunders then joins from our new show partner - Toptracer!  Toptracer is revolutionising practice and game play on...

On this month's Trending Topics with England Golf, we welcome back Matt Draper and Gavin Anderson for a deep dive into their DNA report which was recently released.   The DNA report is a collection of statistics across many of the key areas of England Golf's remit and the landscape of Golf.   The data is being collected on the ground via Club Support Officers as well as the central admin team.   I...

We're joined by the Director of Sustainable Golf from the R&A, Daniel Lightfoot.  Daniel who has an impressive resume from the Golf industry and greenkeeping, is currently at the forefront of promoting the R&A's vision for sustainable Golf.  Working his way through the five pillars of sustainability for the R&A, Daniel breaks down the aims into simple terms. On the eve of the Open Championship at...

In this episode we explore and celebrate the R&A Women in Golf Leadership programme.   Leighton and Eddie are joined by four women from the industry who are either driving, mentoring or participating in the programme.   Jackie Davidson – Director of Golf Development at R&A Vicky Cuming – Mentor/Coach Bee Craft – Golfbreaks.com and delegate from previous cohort Giulia Ferroni – Leeds Golf Design an...

A really interesting conversation this week with Anna McLean (Crieff GC), David Gemmell (Brora GC) and David MacFarlane of Caddie Marketing.  Crieff is located near Gleneagles and Brora near Royal Dornoch.  The chat explores the benefits, downsides and opportunities of being located near a big Golfing venue which attracts a lot of tourist play.  Over recent times, we've seen many courses across th...

In our first episode of Trending Topics, we welcome Matt Draper - Club, County, and Membership  Director, Gavin Anderson - Club, County and Membership Operations Manager and Jeremy Tomlinson - CEO Jeremy gives us his view on where England Golf sees itself currently as well as his thoughts on where the Golf industry sits.  He also talks about the "Respect in Golf" campaign.   The team then introduc...