Richard Hudson will leave his Golf Operations role at Russley Golf Club to take up the NZ Golf position of Mainland Club Capability Manager starting 27 June.
His appointment is part of New Zealand Golf’s ongoing focus to grow participation and support clubs at the grass roots level. Sticking close to his roots, his new role will still be based in the Garden City which gives him a head start with all his current relationships in the Mainland area as he will work closely with other staff members and club managers in the region.
Richard will bring a distinct skill set to the Community Golf outfit, in particular he brings strong financial, operational and administrative knowledge of golf to the team. This balance of capability building and front line golf development will see him be a real asset to the clubs in his region. A very passionate golfer, Richard is still knocking it around the Russley fairways on a handicap of nine.
The appointment of Canterbury based Mainland CCM Richard Hudson is a further commitment from New Zealand Golf to deliver support to its golfing community and to add depth to our Community Golf Plan, published in late 2014. Developed by and for the golfing community, the Community Golf Plan is the document that drives the growth and support of the game at grass roots level. 2015 was an extremely valuable year for the progression of this plan and saw a concentrated shift from strategy development to direct delivery of support to a wider portion of the golfing community. In 2015 Club Capability Managers worked with 64 clubs on over 70 projects across five regions and the feedback from engaged Partner Clubs has been remarkably positive. Support through the CCM network has not only been of benefit to clubs but has provided a platform for better communication and understanding of the situation faced at the grass roots level.
Richard will be part of a development team that will work across the Mainland Region encompassing the Canterbury, Aorangi and Tasman Districts. He will join Chris Pugh (Tasman Community Golf Manager), Rachel Thow (Canterbury Golf Development Manager), and a soon to be announced Aorangi Community Golf Manager. Richard will provide the specialist club capability services across the region, while the other positions will provide golf development and club capability services that will complement what Richard is doing.
All of us at Canterbury Golf give Richard a warm welcome and know he will be a tremendous asset to clubs in his new role.
