Golf Vic Vol 60 No 2 2019

Photography: Paul Shire It started with a simple idea. Ali Terai wanted to play golf but had many questions about how to navigate his way in the sport. What if you don't have any friends or family who play golf? What about driving ranges? And playing different courses? So, he created a golf event. That was in July 2014. Future Golf now boasts more than 2200 members across Australia, with 1000 in Victoria. Its mission is simple: to get more people into golf and have a fun time doing it. “A lot of people who play golf have a ‘golf leader’ in their group,“ Ali Terai says. “I started to play that role.“ “We weren't playing much, as we were getting married and having kids. I wanted to find a community of golfers who would enjoy spending time together. Can we create something that is flexible, have variety and play at different courses?“ One lazy Sunday afternoon, Terai wrote down his ideas on a post-it note: · See if we can administer handicaps. · Organise a few events at courses we’d love to play. · Try and negotiate for course discounts. · Get 50 members in the first year. · Give golfers some flexibility and choice. · Create a lively and less ‘old school’ golf experience. He then created a Facebook post asking if any younger golfers wanted to play at some different courses. A few hours later, he woke up to find more than 100 comments. “From there, we set up a really basic website," he says. "Six mates joined up. Then we had a member who joined up who we didn't know. Now we had to run a proper event!“ There was undoubtedly an element of “fake it until you make it“ in those early first few events. They ended up with 30 people attending at The Dunes. The second event, promoted even harder, was less successful – just eight turned up. Terai didn't pack up shop, though. “It was a good learning experience; we had a good time,“ he says. “To do something as a hobby for your first experience in the business world was great. I had no expectations. I remember thinking if we can have 50 members at year-end, make some new mates, and if anything bigger happens later, that is a win.“ Terai would spend his nights reading books on marketing, sales and management, as well as quickly getting himself acquainted with the rules of golf. In those first two years, members did lots of work to help run events and spread the word. Many members still help. And on the Facebook group pages, complete strangers (who are members) started to organise rounds of golf separately too. A community was born. In October 2017, three years after he started the concept, Terai took six months leave from his corporate job and together with Rohan Adams, another member, decided to give GenY Golf his entire focus. And slowly they started to grow beyond Melbourne and Victoria. For Adams, who worked as an accountant, it was an unexpected passion project that turned into a new occupation. “A couple of hours of finance quickly turned into marketing and running events,“ he says. “It's all from a passion for golf, learning and developing these skills. It's something that a start-up business can offer.“ From those uncertain early years as Gen Y Golf, Future Golf has established partner relationships with many of Australia's top courses. In Victoria, the club has agreements with both city and prestigious regional clubs. Once the clubs started seeing the value of getting younger people involved with golf, they gradually jumped on board. More than 600 Future Golf members have signed up to traditional brick-and- mortar clubs. “My pitch to clubs is that we are effectively a lead generator for you, and you can do whatever you want to market to our members,“ Adams says. “The clubs that thrive are the ones that focus on entertainment, and have a bigger picture.“ The concept of Top Golf – an American company that combines quality food, entertainment and innovative golfing facilities – is something that Future Golf thinks has merits with its message too. Madeline Ross, who joined last year as their Communications Manager, spends much of her time listening to what members want. “A lot of the membership options are based on listening to the members,“ she says. “We care about what is being said out there and love getting that data back. It's so valuable and helps us deliver a better product.“ Many golfers find it intimidating to play a new course or a tournament. A lot of work has gone into creating a welcoming, relaxed environment for each event, with members and non-members greeted in the same cheerful way. Future Golf's inclusive philosophy has helped forge new relationships too. David Muspratt moved from Sydney to Adelaide and slowly found himself missing his friends and network. “I was at the point of nearly going home,“ he says. “I was pretty lonely here, starting to get a bit depressed and not happy with where I was or what I was doing. Future Golf has given me something to look forward to and meet some great people.“ After signing up to an event, he now regularly contacts a small group of golfers who have given him a new sense of purpose. “One of the blokes in that first group and I became pretty good friends. A year later, I have about 10-12 guys I can genuinely call mates, and 10 others I can call up and get a game. It's given me a new network down here, something I sorely missed coming from Sydney.“ Golf Victoria 47