A Festive Message from GCMA CEO Tom Brooke

18 December 2025

Any time I ask anyone in our industry how they are doing, the answer always seems to be ‘busy’! It has indeed been another busy year for us at the GCMA, for you as Golf Club Managers and for the golf industry. For us at the GCMA, we’ve seen the first 12 months of delivering our all new Advanced Management Programme, with delegate satisfaction ratings of over 95%.

GCMA Accreditation continues to grow and we’re very close to announcing our 100th GCMA Accredited Member.

We’re also incredibly proud to have delivered over 250 career pathway 121’s in the past 12 months, supporting our members to build the next steps of their careers.

Overall, it’s been another successful year for Golf Clubs throughout the country. Whilst we face a number of pressures including rising costs, staff retention and environmental sustainability, overall our sport is in a great place. Much of this continued success is down to the fantastic work that you, as Golf Club Managers and Leaders, are delivering at your clubs. Please take some time to reflect on your success this year!

Our theme at this years Conference was ‘Future Ready’, designed to inspire and equip us as leaders to build towards the future and deliver long term, meaningful success for our industry. However, as we reach the festive season, I think it’s a better time than any other to put those things to one side for a little while! I do hope you take some time to pause, relax and enjoy some well-earned time with friends and family.

From all of us at GCMA HQ and our Board of Directors, wishing you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year and we look forward to seeing you in 2026.

Cheers!

By Tom Brooke

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John moved into the corporate world, before he enjoyed an outstanding career as a professional rugby player achieving international honours. After his playing career, he turned his hand to coaching and achieved the highest accolade for a British club coach by winning the European Cup with Northampton Saints. He then became Executive Director on the Saints Board during a period of unprecedented growth, and served on the England Rugby Board during the successful world cup campaign of 2003. It was no surprise that John’s talents were called upon to drive through a change and modernisation programme as CEO of the Rugby Football Union – a challenge that became controversial and ended in his departure from the post after only a year, but with his dignity and professional pride intact.

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Dr Jo Salter MBE

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