---

At its recent AGM, the Bermuda Golf Association seemed to adopt a motion, albeit an informal not-voted-upon motion, to change.

The lack of formalities matters little.

What matters is that the BGA has finally recognized that it has been failing its members for some time and actually wants to do something about it.

There is not much any of us can do about our pasts, be they good, bad or indifferent, for those stories have already been written. What is important is that we learn from our past, for then we stand a pretty good chance of improving our future.

I don't wish to be overly harsh but the BGA has not performed well for the past several years.

It is, of course, easy to sit on the side lines and criticize.

There are countless arm-chair quarterbacks who can accurately assess a situation after the play has been made.

After all, hindsight is 20-20 vision. However, when an organization is willing to take a step back and examine itself critically, only good can be in its future.

It seems that the BGA has done exactly that. At its AGM, four new board members and a new President were elected to serve, together with six existing board members, for a period of two years each.

I was privileged to be one of the four new Board members and, as part of our first meeting, we were brought up to speed on the business plan that the BGA has been developing and is now planning to implement over the coming months.

As a discouraged member of the BGA, I now have hope that the future of the BGA may in fact be brighter.

The business plan deals with many issues, all of which are important. Implementing the changes will neither be easy nor will it be quick, but the good news is that there now seems to be a real commitment to bring about positive change. With the renewed energy appearing at the administration level, the BGA membership should be able to rest a little easier knowing that their golfing interests are at least being looked after with a bit more interest.

More transparent

That is not to say that every member will be satisfied going forward, for life does not work that way. Suffice to say at this juncture, the BGA is keen to become more transparent and more communicative with its membership. This is a welcome change in itself and should lead to a happier membership generally.

There are many challenges facing the BGA as it looks to bring in change.

The cost of running any organization, especially a non-profit entity like the BGA, is ever increasing and restrictive.

Golf courses are becoming less able to donate tee times to BGA events.

Government is allocating its sponsorship dollars in a much more focused manner. Donations from good corporate citizens are declining. People have less and less time to volunteer their services to help run the BGA and the related golf tournaments.

The tough economic times we find ourselves in and the ever increasing costs of playing golf are threatening to put golf on the endangered sports list. Golf is far too important to any society to cause it to be pushed into a corner to slowly die. Before it is too late, we should all look within ourselves to see what we each can do to help ensure that golf not only survives in Bermuda but in fact prospers.

---