Case Study: Conway
Women's Golf Legacy Fund fuels Conwy's drive for female greenkeepers
The Welsh government made £1million available to support clubs in developing their facilities to enhance the offer provided to women, girls, families and the wider local community
Conwy Golf Club General Manager Matt Parsley hopes a £20,000 cash boost from the Women's Golf Legacy Fund will help the North Wales venue attract female greenkeepers.
The club was successful in its application to secure a share of the £1million pot made available by the Welsh government, through Wales Golf, to improve facilities and opportunities for women and girls in particular.
The initiative was launched in readiness for this year's AIG Women's Open, which will be held at Royal Porthcawl and will constitute the largest women's sporting event to be played in Wales.
Conwy is now pressing ahead with a two-fold plan to enhance its own offering, with Parsley looking to add a female member to an eight-strong course maintenance team already producing exceptional playing surfaces.
"We actively want to try to recruit female greenkeepers, but we've not had the facilities where we could cater for them," he explained. "Part of this funding is going towards an upgrade to our greenkeepers' welfare unit to include female showers and female toilets.
"The greenkeeping team is the only department in the club that that is all male, so it's something we're working on.
“ We actively want to try to recruit female greenkeepers ”
"I think when you can see something you can be it, and we want women and girls to see people like them working within our greenkeeping team and know that's a thing they can do too."
The £100,000 project will also see the club build a new halfway house with facilities for men and women, with all work scheduled for completion by September.
It will provide a boost to Conwy's inclusion efforts, an area Parsley believes the club has made great strides in.
"We're quite forward-thinking and we're trying to do as much as we can," he said. "We've got joint male and female club captains who are of equal standing, and we've got inclusive tee sheets on a Saturday.
"All of our competition days are inclusive, so if there's a men's event there's also a women's one and it's all on an open tee sheet. Ultimately, we want to encourage everyone to enjoy their golf here."
Although Conwy is located at the opposite end of the country to AIG Women's Open venue Royal Porthcawl, Parsley is confident the event being staged in Wales will have a beneficial impact across the country – including at his club.
"I think we all stand to gain from the awareness and the spotlight being on Wales," he said. "Golf in this country is on the up. We've got high visitor revenue, and we're seeing more overseas visitors who've done England, Ireland and Scotland, and now see Wales as a new market.
"Having a major championship here is huge. People will explore Wales, and even though we're four hours from the event, I'd like to think visitors will come to North Wales either during or after the tournament. It will definitely leave a legacy for golf in Wales."
Female representation at Conwy
Staff: 60%
Members: 16%
About Conwy Golf Club
Conwy Golf Club is a historic links course established in 1891, one of the oldest in Wales. It's a true championship links that has hosted numerous prestigious events, most recently the Curtis Cup in 2021. Located in the Conwy estuary and flanked by the Great Orme and Conwy mountains, the course offers spectacular views and provides a memorable playing experience.
About Matt Parsley
A PGA Senior Manager with almost two decades of management experience, Matt Parsley started out as an Assistant Pro at Royal Liverpool in 1995. After qualifying in 2000, he became Club Pro at Holywell, where he spent almost 18 years, eight of which saw him also serving as Manager. In 2016, he earned his PGA Director of Golf qualification, and in 2018, he took on the role of General Manager at Conwy.
