Golf England starts trawl for £1m sponsors
Golf England, the joint venture between the Automobile Association, the English Golf Union and technology company AdvancedWave, is seeking sponsors for a range of golfing initiatives worth more than &£1m.
The company, which is creating a national golfing network through the country’s golf clubs, has created a Golf England Team comprising three of England’s young professionals – Justin Rose, Luke Donald and Nick Dougherty.
It is looking for a sponsor for the team, along with a sponsor for a new National Handicap Championship for amateurs, also being created by Golf England.
The company says there are other opportunities to develop sponsorship or promotional links with the golf clubs that are part of Golf England. It hopes to sign three-quarters of England’s 1,900 golf clubs by the end of this year, representing about 1 million golfers.
Golf England is looking for either several sponsors or one sponsor to take the whole package. Sponsorship of the Golf England Team will involve the use of the players in advertising and promotional activity, opportunities to play golf with the players and possible equipment branding.
Sponsorship is being managed by sports agency IMG, which also represents the players individually.
Golf England is developing a smart card for golfers which will allow them to play golf at any club registered with Golf England. The scheme will also pool golf clubs’ buying power to give them discounts on products and equipment.
