Association of club-free golfers
The Association of Club-Free Golfers (VcG) is a German sports club for golfers under the umbrella of the German Golf Association . It is an advocacy group recognized by the DGV for all club-free golfers in Germany.
Starting position
Anyone wishing to play golf courses in Germany must either be a member there or be a member of another club. Unlike in the USA, there are hardly any places that are open to everyone. Another prerequisite for playing is a so-called place permit , for which you have taken a course and have to pass a handicap in an exam .
aims
The task of the VcG is to contribute to the spread of golf in Germany. It was founded in 1993 for this purpose. On the one hand, interested parties are given a more cost-effective and flexible entry into the game of golf, and entry barriers are to be removed in order to attract many people to the sport of golf. At the same time, the VcG sees itself as a home for green fee players and occasional golfers - i.e. as a club for those golfers who are not tied to a club and instead want to play on different courses for a game fee, the green fee.
Principle of the VcG
For the amount of currently 195 euros per year you are a member of the VcG. You have the option of playing the so-called green fee at over 700 golf clubs in Germany for a fee . (As of 12/2018). The financial outlay for beginners or green fee players is therefore comparatively low.
Membership numbers
More than 22,000 golfers are currently members of the VcG (as of December 2018). This makes it one of the largest sports clubs in Germany. Since it was founded in 1993, more than 62,000 athletes (as of December 2018) have found their way into the game of golf with the help of the VcG. Some golfers switch from VcG to a traditional golf club after a while, because club membership is cheaper for 'frequent players' because the green fee does not have to be paid for every round. This move to the clubs is quite deliberate. At the same time, however, it means that the growth in the number of members of the VcG is lower.
Promotion of golf
Profits generated from membership fees are z. Partly invested in funding projects. To date, this is a total of around 29.5 million euros (as of 12/2018). This money is mainly used to implement large-scale campaigns to promote image and growth as well as to finance young talent and infrastructure projects.
These are e.g. B. Since 1999 school tee, "pay & play - public short course for everyone" (2002-2006), "play golf, start living" (2001-2003). But also large-scale image campaigns to promote growth such as the "Golf Together" initiative or projects to promote international golf events such as the Solheim Cup 2015 or the Ryder Cup 2018 and 2022.
Tee school
The "Teeing School" funding project aims to establish golf as a school sport. In this way, children and young people should come into contact with golf. At the same time, the aim is to attract young people to club sports and to increase the acceptance of golf. In 1999, Abschlag Schule started exclusively in the new federal states. In 2001 it was expanded to cover the entire federal territory. Since the start, more than 160,000 students (as of 12/2018) have taken part. In principle, there are several funding opportunities within the project: Trial days or a project week, a work group at school or a work group on the golf course. Funding measures include financial grants for transport between school and golf course, golf lessons and material, especially clubs for hire. Students who have come into contact with golf through teeing off at school have the opportunity to gain their first experience in their own tournaments. 9,500 children and young people in 510 schools took part in 2008. The participating schools are located throughout Germany. Every fourth young person is won over to the clubs for the long-term.
Golf - thanks to the school discount - included in youth training for the Olympics: At the end of March 2007, the board of trustees of the German School Sports Foundation decided, on the recommendation of the sports commission of the Conference of Ministers of Education, to include the sport of golf in the standard program of youth training for the Olympics with immediate effect. JTFO is the largest school sport competition in the world, in which more than 900,000 students from all over Germany take part every year. Only through the funding project has a competition system, including state finals, been established in almost all federal states - and thus created the structural requirements (Magdeburg criteria) for admission.
swell
- ↑ http://www.vcg.de
- ↑ https://www.vcg.de/magazin-detailseite/?tx_news_pi1%5Bnews%5D=3&tx_news_pi1%5Bcontroller%5D=News&tx_news_pi1%5Baction%5D=detail&cHash=f06eba94b19fecea690552b8
- ↑ https://www.vcg.de/vcg/foerderer-des-golfsports
- ↑ https://www.jugendtrainiert.com/