If you are an affiliated golfer in South Africa, you are already helping us!

In September 2008, the SA Golf Association (SAGA) agreed at its AGM to increase its annual affiliation fees to create a fund for golf development.

This increased amount will be used exclusively to fund the operations of the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB), which is the only official body tasked with golf development in SA on behalf of all golfing bodies and the golfing public.

The annual levy, which will be implemented from 2010, is currently set at R39.90 (R35 + VAT). It will form part of every golfer's annual SAGA affiliation fees paid to their clubs.

The full amount will be used by the SAGDB to fund its operational costs. The funds will be channelled to pay for coaches, transport expenses and expenses related to players participating in SA Junior Golf Foundation events. None of it will go towards administrative expenses or salaries.

The SAGDB would like to take this opportunity to thank the golfing public in advance for its support. It is greatly appreciated, and your money will be used to grow the game of golf across South Africa.

Please read through the Frequently Asked Questions below for more information, or contact us if you have specific questions about this levy.

SAGA Levy Questions:

What is this levy and explain it to me?
In September 2008, the SA Golf Association (SAGA) agreed at its annual AGM to increase its annual affiliation fees to create a fund for golf development and the growth of the game. This decision was the culmination of two years of consultation with golf clubs and unions and was taken with overwhelming support from representatives at the meeting.

These funds will be used to cover the operational expenses of the South African Golf Development Board (SAGDB), which is the only official body tasked with golf development in SA.

How much is this increase?
R39.90 (R35 +VAT) annually

When will the levy be implemented?
From January 2010 onwards

Will it be raised every year, or is it a once off contribution?
This levy will be collected every year from 2010 onwards.

Is it only for SAGA affiliated members?
Yes

What about non-affiliated members/players?
The SAGA is looking at ways to ensure that the onus for providing funds for development does not rest solely on loyal club members. Any queries in this regard should be directed to them.

How will I pay the R39.90?
The levy will form part of your annual SAGA affiliation fees you pay to your club. Your club will pay this fee over to your respective union, which will in turn pay it over to the SAGA. The SAGA is responsible for handing funds on to the SAGDB. This is a complicated and lengthy process, but it ensures that checks and balances are in place, and that true transparency is achieved.

Where is my money going?
Funds will be used to cover the operational costs of the SAGDB. This means that your money will be channelled to pay for coaches, transport expenses (getting players to and from practice and playing facilities) and expenses related to players participating in SA Junior Golf Foundation events.

Why should we have to pay the SAGDB management's salaries?
You will not be. Your contribution will be used exclusively for operational (coaching and playing) expenses. Our primary benefactor and honorary president, Mr. Johann Rupert and his associates, covers all the SAGDB's salaries and other administrative expenses through contributions from his companies and other fundraising initiatives. He has done so since the board's inception.

What about the R5 and Rand-a-Round initiatives, will they continue?
The R5.00 per non-affiliated round and Rand-a-Round are initiatives instituted and administered by the SAGA independently from the SAGDB. The SAGA is discussing these projects with its affiliate unions and the clubs and any queries should be directed to them.

How is the money from SAGA (each union) being spent or allocated to development?
The exact details of the relationship between the SAGA and SAGDB are still being worked out. Whatever is decided though, all golfers can be sure that the process will be transparent and properly audited.

Why is an organisation like the SAGDB necessary?
The SAGDB was formed in 1999 by all of South Africa's official golfing bodies and tasked with taking responsibility for developing and growing the game. By having all development activities managed by and conducted within one organisation, the sport as a whole benefits.

Development activities are necessary for two main reasons: firstly, to grow the sport and ensure its sustainability by creating a stream of new players (specifically from communities that would not otherwise be exposed to the sport). Secondly, because of our country's sad history, it is both a requirement and a moral imperative to address and correct the imbalances of the past.

Government has stipulated that each sporting code must actively develop their sport's exposure within previously disadvantaged communities. Our approach, which targets children at a young age, ensures that the sport benefits in the end. Once these children grow up, they become active club members and golfers.

What is development/ what are your objectives?
Development is an investment into growing the sport by introducing it into new areas and new communities. Our objectives are to introduce the sport to as many children from all communities as possible, make golf more accessible to more people, nurture talented players with the potential to become provincial, national and professional players, and to make golf in South Africa a sport for everyone, regardless of their background, race or gender. We undertake this task on behalf of the golfing public of South Africa to ensure that the game continues to grow.

What exactly do you do?
We introduce the game to interested children and offer coaching to those that show potential. We do this by approaching schools and conducting talent identification sessions with their pupils. We then invite those with the greatest aptitude to join our coaching programmes, which offer hands-on coaching once a week.

The players that show the necessary dedication and interest are then given opportunities to participate at official Junior Golf Foundation tournaments to compete against their peers. By playing in these events, these youngsters also earn the order of merit points that they need to earn selection to junior provincial teams.

Our PGA-approved coaching structure also incorporates life skills training. This means that we are not only teaching youngsters to swing a golf club, but also using the sport to instil values such as honesty, self-discipline, patience and respect for others.

Is my contribution enough?
Due to our extensive reach and the costly nature of the sport, the SAGDB's operational expenses are over R7 million per year. While the SAGA levy will assist us enormously and allow us to expand into regions where we have thus far been unable to reach (North West, Mpumalanga and Limpopo), it will not be enough to carry our full operational costs.

Why do I not see development at my club?
Although the SAGDB is a non-profit organisation that delivers a service to the community, we also have to make tough business decisions. We can unfortunately not operate everywhere. We have to operate in areas in which we can make the biggest impact on the community and the sport at the lowest cost.

We do however have various activities at over 70 clubs in South Africa. For a comprehensive list of these clubs, please visit our website www.sagoflbaord.org.

Nevertheless, my club already does development, so why do we need to pay a national levy?
Some clubs and golfing bodies run their own development programmes independently. That will always be encouraged, as together we all contribute to the betterment and growth of the game, and one programme will never be able to replace another.

The SAGDB is however the official national body for overseeing golf development, and is endorsed by all of South Africa's golfing structures. Our focus is on the national well-being of the game for the sake of all clubs.

Where do you coach these children?
We currently operate in ten regions across South Africa, and in various locations. The bulk of our coaching sessions take place at driving ranges, on the sports grounds of schools or municipalities, and in some cases at mashie courses and clubs.

For specific details on where we are active in your region, we encourage you to contact the respective development manager. Their contact details are all on our website.

What benefit is my club going to get from handing over this levy?
By collecting these funds and handing them over to the SAGA, golf clubs are serving their own long-term interests. Getting more players into the sport means there will be more people from which golf clubs can draw their members.

Clubs will also be contributing to the sport's good relationship with government by making sure that golf meets the requirements of the White Paper on sport.

This is especially important considering that the vast majority of clubs in South Africa are housed on municipal land. Ultimately, clubs will be benefiting by ensuring the long-term future of the sport.

How can I get my child involved?
For information on where coaching takes place and how to join the programme, please contact the development manager for your region. Their details are available on our website.

How can I get involved? How can I support or contribute towards what you do?
The annual levy is already a significant contribution and we are truly grateful for it. We are however always in need of additional funds through donations or grants, junior equipment (new and second hand), product sponsorships and the use of additional practice facilities. This support can be national or local. Contact our offices to discuss specific ideas with us. Our details are available on our website.

Do you only coach children from previously disadvantaged backgrounds?
Originally, the SAGDB only targeted children from previously disadvantaged areas, but we have since expanded our coaching initiatives to children from all lifestyles. Where the parents of these children have the means to meet the costs involved, we do however request that they make a financial contribution.

Is your programme sustainable?
We consider our development programme to be one of the most sustainable of any sport in the country. The children in our programmes receive individual attention from a coach for an average of five years.

This means that we are able to take players from complete novices to seeing them consistently selected for provincial teams. Since our coaching programme also includes life skills training, we also ensure that these children develop socially while learning the game.

What makes the SAGDB a success?
Various factors make our work successful. We are able to offer long-term, PGA-approved individual coaching to all of the children in our programme. This intensive coaching has produced a large number of junior provincial players and has contributed enormously to the number of players from underprivileged communities competing in official SA Junior Golf Foundation events.

Our coaches are also all from local communities, which means that not only are we creating jobs, but also that we employ coaches who appreciate the social circumstances of the learners and speak their language.

Who are your coaches?
We employ coaches from the communities in which they teach. They are all skilled golfers who have earned level 1 or level 2 coaching certification from the PGA. Many of our top coaches are PGA professionals.

On what do you send most of your money?
The bulk of our operational expenses are spent on coaching fees. We currently contract 60 coaches nationwide, and this number will increase in 2010 when we expand to new regions. Each coach conducts between two and four coaching sessions a week.

Transporting learners to and from practice and playing facilities is also a major expense. This is because, due to the socio-economic realities of the country, few of the communities from which we draw learners are situated near to proper golfing facilities.

Who regulates/checks your activities and expenses?
The SAGDB is guided by a 16-member board, on which all of South Africa's official golfing bodies are represented. The finance sub-committee, which oversees budgeting and cash flow, consists of prominent golfing administrators and business people in South Africa.

All activities and expenses are reported to this committee on a monthly basis. The SAGDB is also audited every year by PricewaterhouseCoopers and annual results are made publicly available.

Why is development not run on a volunteer basis like the rest of the amateur structures?
The imperatives of development make this impossible. The sheer scale of what needs to be achieved means that a purely amateur structure would not suffice. This is why all of South Africa's golfing bodies agreed that the SAGDB needs a permanent administrative staff.

The daily coordination and management of the board's activities demands this level of oversight. It is also imperative that golf development be administered by an organisation that can be properly audited and that adheres to strict rules of corporate governance.

This is essential for securing sponsorships and donations, as there must be complete transparency in how these contributions are utilised.

Why is the responsibility falling on amateur golfers? What are the pros doing?
The PGA of South Africa contributes enormously to the SAGDB. Not only are some professionals actively involved in coaching our learners, but also the PGA has implemented a mentorship programme for all the board's development coaches.

This structured training for our coaches has improved the standards across our programmes by giving coaches not only greater technical expertise, but also more confidence in their work.

The PGA also monitors the standard of coaching being provided and has taken the initiative to ensure that all the SAGDB's development coaches have an approved coaching qualification.

Currently, the PGA has begun with its GAP programme, which provides individuals from underprivileged areas the opportunity to gain experience in club management, green keeping and coaching.

How is giving handouts really making a sustainable difference?
The majority of children in the SAGDB's programmes are drawn from areas where extreme poverty and crime are commonplace. Without the intervention of the SAGDB, none of them would ever be exposed to golf and receive the opportunity to experience this wonderful game. In most cases, many of them would not have the chance to participate in any sort of positive activity, simply because they cannot afford it.

Sport is recognised internationally as a force for social good. By providing these children with the opportunity to become part of the greater golfing community, we are giving them reason to look beyond their circumstances and to encounter a world that would otherwise be beyond their reach. The impact this makes on their lives is lasting, whether they become golfers or not.

Why is the government not funding golf development?
The government does provide assistance through various grants at national, provincial and local level. These contributions, although of great assistance, are however not enough to cover all our expenses. The only way for any development initiative to be sustainable is for the sport itself to fund these programmes.

How many children have been coached by the SAGDB since its inception?
Over the last ten years, we have introduced the game to over 17,000 youngsters.

How many are currently in the programme?
We have the capacity to coach roughly 3,500 children nationwide. Actual attendance numbers vary. For accurate information in your region, please visit our website.

What happens to the children in your program after the age of 18?
The SAGDB is mandated to ensure development takes place at junior level. Our programmes are only capable of assisting learners while they are still eligible for junior events - that is until they turn 19. Our hope is that, by that stage, we would have instilled a love of the game that will lead them to become involved in the sport in some way, whether as players, administrators, coaches or through the many other golf-related occupations.

Some of our learners have gone on to become coaches in our programme themselves. Part of the reason for the SAGA implementing the R5 per non-affiliated round and Rand-a-Round levies is to create a sustainable source of funds for talented players who leave the SAGDB. These funds will allow unions to support senior development initiatives of their own.

How many SAGDB players are playing in SAJGF tournaments?
In 2009, we have had 120 children playing in SAJFG tournaments across the country. Each region has an elite regional squad of 12 players that competes in as many Junior Foundation events as possible.
For the past three years, we have also always had at least one of our players, and usually more than that, competing in every under eighteen junior inter-provincial event run by the SAJGF.

How many of their families have also 'bought-in' to the game of golf and are committed to seeing their children's success through golf?
We see a mixed reaction from parents. A few parents get involved in their children's development and the impact this has is noticeable. However, many children come from single parent households or are orphans.

While their families are usually very excited about their participation, they are not in a position to offer any practical support. That is why our assistance plays such a big role in providing for these children so that they can compete against their peers on an equal footing and without any shame. Those families that are better off financially and are in a better position to support their child's involvement often do so.