Ep 23 | State of the industry address - Golf's return after lockdown

Irish Golfer Podcast

Wednesday, March 24th will mark one-year since golf was first suspended due to the virus known as Covid-19. Since then, golf has opened and closed between lockdowns with players around the country missing out on the best part of six months' golf. Both clubs, and members have suffered through this pandemic but both rely on the support of one another more than ever to come out the other side of a dreadful time for the industry. In that spirit, to help golfers everywhere better understand the current state of the industry and where we go from here, we thought it would be a good idea to invite some representatives from all corners of golf in a special edition of the podcast. We don't know when golf will be officially back, but we manage to answer many of the questions that have been circling social media in recent weeks.

Former GUI CEO, Pat Finn was the man in the hot seat when Covid-19 first hit Irish shores and he explains the challenges the Union faced when coming to terms with this unpredictable pandemic. The Managing Director of Carr Golf Services, Ed Pettit, whose team is charged with the running of 19 golf clubs around the country, discusses the various impacts Covid-19 has had on the industry as a whole. Director of Golf at Ardglass, Paul Vaughan gives us an insight into how the absence of an overseas travel market has hurt operations at the club while Lucan Golf Club General Manager, Mark Ruddy talks about how the domestic market has reacted across the year and the challenge clubs now face to convince members that their loyalty is needed now more than ever. As ever, we hope you enjoy the listen. Let us know what you think.