Tag Archives: golf

News

American Golf ‘reset’ leads to impressive £5.7m upswing

A ‘reset’ for American Golf, the UK’s leading golf retailer, has led to an impressive upswing in EBITDA – one year after the appointment of CEO Nigel Oddy.

At the start of FY 2023/24, American Golf took action to control costs and improve margin – which contributed to putting the company back into profit with a £4.3m EBITDA – up £5.7m from the previous year.

This allowed American Golf to maintain one third of the golf retail market share.

CEO Nigel Oddy, marking the end of a successful first year at American Golf, said: “There is no doubt that 2023 was challenging for all retailers, including golf retail, as global and national factors impacted consumer spend and confidence.

“We listened to our customers and their feedback has helped inform our strategy for the years ahead. Due to the continued cost of living pressures, customers told us they were reducing their non-essential golf spend last year, but we were able to take action to leverage our core strengths: focusing on data, our own brand products, our omni-channel offering, and our relationship with third parties.

“American Golf has refocused on core retail, including our 88 nationwide stores, to put us in a strong position for FY 2024/25, with exciting plans for this year and onwards. We have a vision to become the ultimate one-stop destination for everything a golfer requires.”

Warrington-based American Golf introduced new services in FY 2023/24 including personalised golf products and gifts through the ‘My American Golf’ personalisation service, golf insurance with exclusive offers for American Golf Club Card members; and a free Winter Game Review to keep golfers engaged, practising and connected with the game during the winter months.

Using customer insight, a series of targeted campaigns ran over the year to reward core, loyal customers and engage with lapsed customers. This delivered record numbers of reactivated customers, up 19 per cent against the previous year, and retention rate returned to a pre-Covid average.

The implementation of the new strategy saw sales increase by seven per cent in Q4 2023 vs Q4 2022. The online sales business also grew by more than four per cent for the full year.

This performance is in line with American Golf’s growth target of £8m+ EBITDA over the next three years.

Nigel said: “We expect the golf market to continue to be challenging – however we’re optimistic that we can continue to increase American Golf’s share of that market by focusing on our core strengths. Our reset has put us in a strong position as we make ambitious plans for the future of the business.

“We believe in a truly omnichannel business to best connect with our customers – providing flexibility and convenience for a seamless shopping experience. We look forward to rolling out our new app and web experience, along with refurbishments across our existing estate and the opening of new stores in the next few months.”

News

Golfer is fairway to achieving pro dream with backing of leading finance firm

A TALENTED golfer is a fairway to achieving his sporting dream with the support of an acclaimed finance firm.

FFP Solutions, based in St Asaph, is the new sponsor of up-and-coming North Wales star, Caolan Burford.

Having made waves as a junior player, the 18 year-old, from Rhyl, is already hitting the headlines in the men’s game.

A member of Rhuddlan Golf Club, Caolan – a former pupil at Christ the Word School – is now an important part of Wales’ Euro Nations Cup team and has one eye on Walker Cup selection for Great Britain and Ireland vs the USA at St Andrews in September.

He was the first Welshman since 2013 to win the Welsh Men’s Open Strokeplay, picking up the trophy last Spring, and wowed fans to reach the semi finals of the Spanish Amateur in March.

Caolan also tied for ninth place at the 128th Amateur Championship at Hillside just weeks ago.

FFP Solutions directors Richard Lloyd-Jones and Rich Pape – themselves members at Rhuddlan Golf Club – congratulated Caolan on his success.

“Caolan has got off to an incredible start in his career, he’s definitely one to watch and has a bright future in the sport,” said Richard.

Rich added: “We are pleased to be able to sponsor Caolan as he is now in a position where the tournaments come thick and fast, there is a lot of overseas travel and the opportunities get bigger, so as a company FFP Solutions is glad to be able to support him with that.”

In past months, Caolan has journeyed to Ecuador, Portugal and Spain, with upcoming appearances pencilled in at competitions in the US and Belgium.

Currently number 33 in the European Golf Rankings (www.europeangolfrankings.com), he thanked FFP Solutions for getting behind him at a key stage in his golfing career.

“This is my first season in men’s golf and there are a lot of tournaments so to have their support is fantastic,” said Caolan.

“I am still eligible to play junior events in the US so that is giving me more experience as I build up my name and keep working hard on the UK circuit.

“I’m practising every day and will keep working hard to achieve my ultimate ambition of becoming a professional golfer.”

FFP Solutions specialise in all types of Commercial and Property Finance. For more information visit the website www.ffp-solutions.co.uk or email admin@ffp-solutions.co.uk.

News

Conservationists and golf greenkeepers putt sustainability in focus at college summit

GREENKEEPERS, conservation groups and employers in the horticulture industry went a fairway to becoming more sustainable at a summit to mark World Habitat Day.

More than 50 people attended an event at Coleg Cambria’s £1.2m education hub in Llysfasi, where speakers from across the region led on a variety of topics, from beekeeping to healthy, locally produced food and drink.

Among them were Ramblers Cymru, Snowdonia National Park, South Clwyd Beekeepers’ Association, Ecological Land Management, Nefyn Golf Club, the National Trust, Wales Golf, local authorities, and the Business Environment Network.

College students and staff were also on hand to find out more on how to utilise space at the institution’s sites in Wrexham, Northop, Deeside and Llysfasi.

Following the success of the day, Cambria’s Work-based Learning Manager Kate Muddiman said it could now become a biannual event.

“The turnout was fantastic so I would like to thank everyone who came along,” she added.

“The main theme was around ways to improve habitats with greenkeeping at the crux of that, looking at ways to create natural areas of wildlife around golf courses, by creating wildflower meadows and encouraging more natural wildlife and a more sustainable environment.

“As well as employers we also had students, apprentices and even local residents, with everyone
wanting to be more sustainable and looking to be inspired in where to start.

“The atmosphere was fantastic, the audience got truly involved, asking questions, offering further suggestions and giving people ideas to take away.

Among the speakers was Matt Alexander, General Manager of Ial Restaurant at Coleg Cambria Yale, who discussed the ‘farm to fork’ initiative and use of local ingredients and suppliers, as well as education and training opportunities.

Also presenting was Eleri Turner, who explained her apprenticeship with Cambria and the Carneddau Landscape Partnership, a five-year National Heritage Lottery-funded scheme conserving an area of northern Snowdonia.

Eleri has been working alongside National Trust Cymru Ranger Abbie Edwards, and the two of them – who both hail from Bethesda – featured in an episode of the flagship BBC programme Countryfile earlier this year.

Later, Jonathan Hulson from North Wales Wildlife Trust gave an inspirational talk on how they are working to restore resilience to Welsh woodlands, while Local Nature Partnerships Coordinator Julieanne Quinlan explained how we can all make small steps to help in sustainability by planting a wildflower meadow or installing swift boxes to help create habitats.

Kate said: “A wide range of subjects were discussed and given the response we’ve had we will look to run similar events once or twice a year on different themes, bringing businesses, the college and the community under one roof to work together and discuss the best ways we can all do more for the environment.”

Visit www.cambria.ac.uk for more news and information from Coleg Cambria.

News

Young golfers receive boost from Clarion Wealth Planning

A financial planning firm is investing in Cheshire’s top young golfers with a three-year sponsorship of a professional junior coaching programme.

Clarion Wealth Planning is supporting the Cheshire Union of Golf Clubs as it looks to develop the county’s next generation of golfing aces.

Cheshire is the fourth largest golfing county in England and nearly 100 clubs are affiliated to the Union.

Clarion’s sponsorship means that the most promising 11-13-year-olds drawn from affiliated clubs will be offered regular coaching lessons with a professional. The programme starts this month and will be run by Mark Johnson, PGA professional at Styal Golf Club.

Sessions will take place at Styal, Marton Meadows, Mottram Hall and Formby Hall and will provide practical coaching in putting, pitching and wedge shots, trajectory and distance control, as well as areas including match preparation and the importance of nutrition and hydration.

Putting coaching will be provided by a representative from Phil Kenyon Putting Academy. Phil is renowned as a top putting coach and his team has worked with some of the world’s best golfers, including Rory McIlroy.

David Horsey, the north west golfer who plays on the European Tour, will also attend a number of coaching sessions during the programme cycle.

David Durling, chairman of CUGC, said: “Thanks to the sponsorship provided by Clarion, there are many young golfers who will have the opportunity to go through this programme.

“Previously, we have focused on the 14-18s age bracket, but we recognise by that time they need to be better if we are to compete against other counties and produce future world-class stars.

“By offering this opportunity to 11-13-year-olds, they will be on the right track working with some top coaches from an earlier age.

“Few young players make it to Tour, but learning to play golf well gives lifelong value. It teaches self-discipline, concentration, connections, social skills, and a love of fresh air.

“It is a great leveller; I can enjoy a great game with a decent county player – even at my age – with the handicap system.”

Clarion chairman Keith Thompson said: “Investing as early as possible in young players will give them the springboard to the best possible future. Clarion is committed to the concept of supporting young people early on in life so they can reap the rewards of their hard work as they progress.”

Clarion, which is based in Alderley Edge, provides lifelong financial planning to business owners and families across the north west and beyond.