Gareth Bale is a passionate golfer and R&A wants to use his star power to get more young people to play. Photo: USA. Today/Ray Acvedo
It's been known to take 260 years for members to greet women, but this week the Royal and Ancient St. Andrews Golf Club is fast catching up to modern life.
Old Course traditionalists found themselves surrounded by screaming teenagers when it was revealed on Thursday that pop singer Harry Styles had turned up and performed.
Now R&A executives want to further move away from the club's intransigent past with the launch of a diversity-focused campaign to attract millions of people playing modern sports.
"Golf is open to all" Phil Anderton, director of R&A development, says of his coordinated plan based on the boom in post-Covid participation. The projects include the online pilot platform Golf.Golf, which includes searchable listings of driving ranges, simulators and municipal courses. There will also be videos of famous faces including Gareth Bale and Mo Farah. Styles does not participate, but his former One Direction bandmate Niall Horan hosts a TV program in which he invites his celebrity friends to join him for a round. Expect them all to begin lyrically speaking about the virtues of the sport to their tens of millions of social media followers in the coming weeks.
Explaining why the project was launched, Anderton expressed concern over research showing that 92 percent of the population does not consider golf to be a modern game. “The challenge is to attract and retain an older audience while remaining attractive to a younger audience.” he said.
Niall Horan is a golf nut and hosts a program where his famous friends join him for a round. Getty Images/Stuart Franklin 
Horan is friends with Rory McIlroy and caddyed for him at Masters Par 3 in 2015. Photo: Getty Images/Andrew Reddington. assistance in the practical development of this sport.
Anderton, former CEO of Scottish Rugby, Hearts FC and chairman of the ATP Tour World Finals, shamelessly talks about drawing inspiration from Coca-Cola, another former employer, for having a clear global message.
“If you want to keep your position, you have to be business-oriented.” he said after inviting Telegraph Sport to his office in St. Andrews. “Historically, at R&A, we took the money we get from Open and gave grants to our affiliates around the world. 'There is a check for £50,000'.
“But it is inefficient to force 200 countries to create their own activation programs. So what Coke and many large global companies do is create global assets that can then be used by individual countries and adapted to their local market. A good example of this would be Coca Cola and Christmas. They run all over the world when they celebrate Christmas. So we thought, “Well, why don't we do the same?”
In essence, Anderton's rebranding of the sport will be a presentation to a younger audience that golf promotes health and well-being. If he succeeds, this could be an important new chapter for R&A to oversee the game.
R&A became the sole rule authority in Britain in the late 1800s. and runs the Open Championship starting at Royal Liverpool next month.
However, with the club only accepting women since 2014, Anderton admits some traditionalists may be skeptical.
Harry Styles caused quite a stir when he hit a ball at the golf club last week. Photo: Alamy/Derek Allan to see the pop star playing at the Old Field, illustrating the effect of the “big name”; golfers can play sports. Photo: Alami/Derek Allan
"I think there is a little surprise here" He said. "But if you're going to make an omelet you have to crack some eggs and I would say I was very pleasantly surprised by the R&A that members of the Royal and Ancient St. Andrew Golf Club were very supportive of our steps because they they are passionate about golf, they are smart people and understand that such steps will ultimately help us achieve what we want, which is a sport that will flourish in 50 years."
R&A is believed to be spending somewhere around £400,000 on projects at the moment, with celebrities providing their services for free. Anderton cites research showing that some beginners are put off by the prospect of spending five hours playing 18 holes. Others are put off by the idea that they will have to pay £60 an hour for tuition, he added. As a result, his program will focus on the availability of nine-hole formats, driving ranges, as well as six-hole programs for children.
However, he adds: “You shouldn't get the impression that we're trying to tell every golf club around the world that 'you should move to this type of model.' No. 39;. I don't try to do that at all. Golf comes in many varieties and there are golf clubs and golfers all over the world who love nothing better than being part of a traditional golf club wearing a jacket and tie according to the rules. Good luck to them."
While traditions are kept alive in picturesque St. Andrews, where the club was first founded in 1754 by 22 “nobles and gentlemen”, R&A is innovating at its other site, “Golf It”. concept due to opening in Glasgow. The huge indoor and outdoor attraction includes a ball court, adventure golf and a floodlit two-story driving range. Anderton said the key demographic identified as the target participants were young people currently playing other sports.
But he added, “I don't think having an older audience is a major issue in and of itself. I think it's a fantastic thing. Now, if you were solely relying on the old market and not replenishing it by attracting a younger audience, guess what would happen? These people eventually leave."
Critics may cry that the sport does not currently require such innovation. In the next two weeks, R&A will publish a study showing that the sport has maintained growth despite warnings that it will fall again. But Anderton says the sport is best suited to develop from a position of strength, and he dismissed any suggestion that his new program is a response to the Saudi-funded LIV Golf, which makes a flamboyant game to appeal to younger fans.
"We don't compete with all these organizations" He said. "It's just us as the protectors of the game doing what we can, beyond the very important traditional roles of management, referees and technology. What can we do to support the activities of all federations and affiliates around the world? That's what drives them. It's simple."
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