Have your say: Yorkshire could block proposed union of sexes

The thorny issue of equality in English golf will be voted on next month with the member clubs of the Yorkshire union destined to have a pivotal say.

The English Golf Union and English Women’s Golf Association have drafted a merger proposal that, if approved, will see the governance of the amateur game in this country brought under one umbrella.

But the powerful Yorkshire delegation are being steered towards throwing out the proposal.

Each of the 36 counties is to vote on November 16 to either back the merger or reject it. A vote in favour would not only bring the sport into the 21st century, but would also unlock another £13m of funding from Sport England from 2013 onwards that could enhance junior participation, coaching programmes and boost commercial projects.

A decision against would see Sport England drastically reduce a war chest it first pledged to the sport in 2009. The county with its finger on the trigger is Yorkshire.

The White Rose is the biggest union of the 36 with 192 golf clubs equating to 192 votes, regardless of whether or not the vote is unanimous.

In the EGU/EWGA proposal to count the votes on a poll system, Yorkshire have more clout than the likes of Leicestershire, Lincolnshire, Derbyshire and a host of other smaller counties combined.

There are fears from within the Yorkshire golfing fraternity that the vote from the Broad Acres will be against the merger.

The majority of county unions have consulted their member clubs by inviting them to a briefing, while Yorkshire have alerted their affiliates with an emailed letter, to which they have had only three responses.

In that letter, recipients were presented with the county’s concerns about merging the men’s and women’s governing bodies.

“In the letter we ask the clubs for their opinion,” said Yorkshire Union secretary Keith Dowswell.

“We also highlight one or two points. We would like to know from the EGU a little more detail on the funding and cost savings and we have a little concern about representation on the committees, between men and women. We have not made recommendations to how the clubs should vote and we are very anxious to vote in the best interests of English golf.

“The Yorkshire Union is not against a merger in principle but, having said that, the current situation with men running men and women running women has been pretty successful.

“And golf should live to its means and not go to the government for help.

“We can see the case for a merger and are not against it. We would have appreciated a bigger say in the consultation process. We feel the merger proposal, as drawn up by a steering group on behalf of the English Golf Union and the English Women’s Golf Association, should have been subject to a longer period of consultation.”

Yorkshire’s policy of emailing clubs has met with understanding from the EGU, due to the size of the county.

But, just as the county is worried about perceived half-hearted consultancy on the part of the game’s governing bodies, so those very same institutions are concerned that not enough effort has been made by the Yorkshire Union to convey to its clubs their argument for the merger.

John Petrie, chief executive of the EGU, said: “It’s good that they have written to the clubs, but most other counties have invited clubs to attend briefings into the merger proposal, and that’s the best way.

“I’m a Yorkshireman, I understand the problems of getting representatives from all 192 clubs across a vast county to a briefing. But if you send an email you might not get a response.”

On the issues the Yorkshire Union raised in its correspondence with its member clubs, Petrie added: “This merger proposal was not about pleasing the 36 counties.

“We were never going to put together a proposal to suit everybody, there has to be some compromise.

“For us, this merger is about looking at the big picture and not getting bogged down too much in the minor detail.

“And the big picture is in three parts. Firstly, each club in England apart from less than one per cent of our membership, is inclusive of men, women, boys and girls; so do we want a governing body that mis-represents that?

“Secondly, if we were to start with a blank sheet of paper we would not even contemplate a separate game for men and women.

“And thirdly, the benefits of it would greatly aid the game of golf, through funding in particular. Nobody has yet come to me and given me a reason why a merger would be bad for the game.”

Under the proposal, ladies would be given greater representation than their numbers equate to.

For every woman playing golf there are six men but the merger would see the new authority’s 10-person board divided into six men and four women.

“If we represented women 1-6 there would be no point,” observes Petrie.

The women’s unions are all for the proposal.

The EGWA sent a DVD to all 1,800 ladies sections of golf clubs up and down the country, urging their members to vote in favour.

“It would mean that golf would speak with one voice; for men, women, everybody,” said EGWA spokesperson Lyndsey Hewison.

“By having separate organisations you’re sending out the wrong message. You are talking about a divided sport.”

At a more local level, the Yorkshire Ladies County Golf Association operates independently of the Yorkshire Union and has no voting power on the merger proposal.

However, they held meetings with their club delegates this week to urge them to encourage their respective club committees to vote in favour of the merger.

Of the 192 clubs in Yorkshire, more than 180 have ladies sections which are affiliated to the YLCGA.

“Even though there are points in the proposal we would change,” said Liz Haw, the YLCGA regional representative. “We think it is the way forward.”

Denison earns Tour card after stellar year

One of the most talented graduates of the Yorkshire union system, Danny Denison, is to make his long-awaited bow on the European Tour next season.

The 26-year-old Leeds-born Howley Hall member is currently fourth on the Challenge Tour rankings and certain of being one of the top 20 on the secondary circuit who earn cards for the continent’s big league.

It has been a long journey for Denison, whose career was almost cruelly ended in 2007 when he had to be cut out of a car by fire crews and airlifted to hospital following a crash en route to a tournament in Austria.

After the best part of two years spent on the road to rehabilitation, Denison is now set to take his first steps as a bona fide member of the European elite after a stellar year on the Challenge Tour in which he won in Denmark and finished second at the lower-level St Omer Open on the European Tour.

“This season has exceeded my expectations,” said the former England schoolboy and Yorkshire amateur star.

“I had a good season last year in what was my first full season back from injury and I was really chuffed with that.

“Then this year the tied second in St Omer was the springboard to push on. The win in Denmark came sooner than I thought it would, so overall I’m delighted.

“It’ll be nice playing on Tour next year, and I’ve got a few friends who are already playing – John Parry, who’s a Yorkshire lad, and a few others. It’ll be great to get back playing with them too.”

Denison’s final event on the Challenge Tour is the Grand Final in Italy next month when he will look to build on fourth place.