Founded in 1922, the NGCAA provides legal advice and governance support to golf clubs throughout Great Britain. The not-for-profit body traces its roots to four clubs that decided to pool resources rather than seek separate legal advice on the same issues, a model it continues to operate today while providing guidance on everything from employment law and governance to equality issues and data protection.
But one issue now dominates the advisory workload. Alistair Smith, the NGCAA’s chief executive and a former employment solicitor, says disciplinary matters involving members have become the organisation’s most common area of work. Complaints range from etiquette and pace of play disputes through to WhatsApp groups and social media.
(Image: Damian Shields)
What are the prevailing reasons that clubs contact you for advice?
Managing member conduct and disciplinary issues is overwhelmingly the most common reason they reach out today. Otherwise, there are always large numbers of enquiries on employment law, AGMs, voting and governance matters, as well as equality, buggies, errant balls and GDPR.
What’s the scale of the disciplinary problem?
We handle over 1,600 queries annually from both proprietary and private members’ clubs across Great Britain. Previously, member discipline was just a minority of those calls. Today, it has completely flipped, it now makes up the overwhelming majority of our caseload.
Member misconduct has been on the rise since we returned to playing golf after the Covid lockdowns, but this year the volume of cases has been higher than ever.
Who are the offenders?
This year is the very first time we’ve seen a spike of this scale. It cannot be put down solely to people who are new to golf who took it up during Covid restrictions, since the misconduct we have seen involves a range of members from young to old and those who have been established club members for decades.
Perhaps it is an adverse reaction by society in general after having been restricted by government in 2020 and 2021.
Inappropriate behaviour within golf clubs is playing out digitally across WhatsApp group and social media (Image: PA)
Are there any particular “hotspots”?
This isn’t localised to any one region. The surge in disciplinary matters is a trend across the board, and Scottish clubs are experiencing the exact same patterns as the rest of Great Britain.
What types of cases are clubs having to deal with?
We’re seeing a wide spectrum. Cases range from traditional etiquette breaches and pace-of-play frustrations to much more serious incidents involving cheating and verbal and physical aggression.
There has also been a massive rise in inappropriate conduct playing out digitally on WhatsApp groups and social media.
How do social media and messaging groups figure into these disputes?
They have become incredibly significant. Our strong advice to any member participating in a club WhatsApp group is to act appropriately at all times, because everything is in writing and can easily be pulled into a disciplinary process.
What are the most significant miscalculations by clubs when handling complaints?
The biggest mistake clubs make is failing to operate with clear disciplinary procedures that conform to the principles of natural justice.
A member of Northumberland Golf Club, Alistair Smith trained at a sports law firm in Manchester and qualified as a solicitor in 2000 (Image: Supplied)
If you don’t follow a fair, documented process, you expose the club to unnecessary risk. Adhering to the correct internal procedures, backed by professional advice, is the only way a club can resolve these matters safely and fairly.
If clubs don’t get a disciplinary case right, they can face court proceedings from disaffected members where a court can potentially order compensation to be paid to the member, as well as ordering that they are allowed back into membership even after the club has expelled them.
What practical steps should club managers and committees be taking now?
Preparation is everything. We strongly urge club managers, secretaries and committees to review their articles of association, club rules and disciplinary policies immediately.
Having up-to-date, watertight documents ensures you have the right framework to manage and enforce these processes effectively when disputes inevitably arise. It is much better to review the documentation in the calm before the storm rather than seeking to fight a fire of a non-compliant procedure in the midst of a case.
Golf clubs who join the NGCAA can have their documents reviewed and amended for their peace of mind, and we also run regular seminars in England, Wales and Scotland so that managers and committee members can learn about the latest legal developments and best practice.
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(Image: Damian Shields)