Latest news with #NGF
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘I thought it was a yuppie sport': Holland's new wave of golf clubs
Jan van de Minkeles has just asked his golf mate to order him a beer. This 25-year-old from the village of Andel in the Netherlands never imagined himself as a golfer, but here he is taking lessons. 'I thought it was a bit of a yuppie sport – but it's not,' he beams. Van de Minkeles is part of a new wave of Dutch golfers blowing the cobwebs from the sport in a country where it was once associated with members-only clubs and buttoned-up dress codes. Figures from the Royal Dutch Golf Federation (NGF) show the number of golfers has ticked up to almost 430,000 people. But the sport, faced with an ageing population, is on a drive to recruit even more new blood. Two years ago, it started a national 'welcome to the club' campaign to encourage more women and younger golfers aged between 25 and 50. 'We have a kind of beautiful green secret on the golf range, but we don't tell people enough about it,' says Niki Wijnen, an NGF spokesperson. 'The image of golf is that a lot of people think it's for [old] men in red trousers with a matching accent, that you need to be extremely rich, but this really isn't the case in the Netherlands. To keep the sport young, you want more young people, more talent.' This is the explicit aim at the Hollandsche Golfclub Almkreek, where the owner Hans Schaap and operational director Joris Slooten are two men 'in their golden days' with a mission to throw open the sport, because of the principle of the thing, and also because it makes commercial sense. Slooten explains that Dutch clubs developed with an association structure, run by their members, but that this now means that some people pay for unlimited play and do not use it, while games are more expensive for interested, occasional amateurs. 'We don't have a dress code, people walk around with normal clothes and the atmosphere is informal,' he said. 'Our motto is gewoon gezellig – just good fun.' Schaap bought this club in 2018 and manages another 23, with an impressive fleet of 380 mowing machines to keep the grass nicely trimmed. He called in Slooten to identify the 'intimidating' factors that were stopping young people replacing members who had died – and now they have a credit-based payment model, affordable lessons with free club hire and a restaurant where everyone is welcome. 'Everyone who gets the same and pays less thinks it's fantastic,' he said. 'There's a small group that has to pay more or leave, but that is 5% or 10%.' More importantly, he reckons, the atmosphere has changed, even if Donald Trump's elite clubs continue to do the game a disservice. 'Thirty years ago when I said I maintained golf courses, people would give me a strange look and say it was all check trousers and snobs,' he said. 'But it has got more accessible … Trump is precisely the opposite of what we want to express.' Aside from the danger of a golf ball on your head, the game has accessible health benefits according to Dr Andrew Murray, a sport and exercise researcher at the University of Edinburgh. 'It can appeal to everyone and all levels of fitness,' he said. 'The evidence is consistent and growing that golf provides healthy physical activity, access to green space and social connections, which provide longer length of life and a reduction in many physical and mental health conditions.' Particularly in a small country like the Netherlands, everyone can also benefit from access to nature, says John Ott, a friend of the Bleijenbeek golf course owner, who has combated their decline in membership by opening a golf museum and making the Limburg landscape accessible to walkers, holidaymakers and nature lovers. 'Pieter van Afferden, a Dutch Latin teacher, wrote a little book in 1545, Tyrocinium Linguae Latinae, which describes the golf rules as they are now played,' he said, arguing that the low countries first documented the sport of colven. 'Of course, the rules must be observed, so the game may not be altered. But if that's not done, we haven't encountered any real resistance.' Back at the sunny Golfclub Almkreek, a happy teenager is whizzing around mowing the grass, the ranges and restaurant are full, and the tattoos, baseball caps and short shorts on display have replaced the red trousers. 'I don't see the golf, but the nature, birds and rabbits,' said Carin Lankhaar, 65, from Eethen, who recently started playing. 'Everyone is welcome – it's not at all elitist.' She is looking forward to another 20 years of vigorous golf. 'Nou, hupsakee!' she said – up and at 'em!
Yahoo
26-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
‘I thought it was a yuppie sport': Holland's new wave of golf clubs
Jan van de Minkeles has just asked his golf mate to order him a beer. This 25-year-old from the village of Andel in the Netherlands never imagined himself as a golfer, but here he is taking lessons. 'I thought it was a bit of a yuppie sport – but it's not,' he beams. Van de Minkeles is part of a new wave of Dutch golfers blowing the cobwebs from the sport in a country where it was once associated with members-only clubs and buttoned-up dress codes. Advertisement Figures from the Royal Dutch Golf Federation (NGF) show the number of golfers has ticked up to almost 430,000 people. But the sport, faced with an ageing population, is on a drive to recruit even more new blood. Two years ago, it started a national 'welcome to the club' campaign to encourage more women and younger golfers aged between 25 and 50. 'We have a kind of beautiful green secret on the golf range, but we don't tell people enough about it,' says Niki Wijnen, an NGF spokesperson. 'The image of golf is that a lot of people think it's for [old] men in red trousers with a matching accent, that you need to be extremely rich, but this really isn't the case in the Netherlands. To keep the sport young, you want more young people, more talent.' This is the explicit aim at the Hollandsche Golfclub Almkreek, where the owner Hans Schaap and operational director Joris Slooten are two men 'in their golden days' with a mission to throw open the sport, because of the principle of the thing, and also because it makes commercial sense. Slooten explains that Dutch clubs developed with an association structure, run by their members, but that this now means that some people pay for unlimited play and do not use it, while games are more expensive for interested, occasional amateurs. 'We don't have a dress code, people walk around with normal clothes and the atmosphere is informal,' he said. 'Our motto is gewoon gezellig – just good fun.' Advertisement Schaap bought this club in 2018 and manages another 23, with an impressive fleet of 380 mowing machines to keep the grass nicely trimmed. He called in Slooten to identify the 'intimidating' factors that were stopping young people replacing members who had died – and now they have a credit-based payment model, affordable lessons with free club hire and a restaurant where everyone is welcome. 'Everyone who gets the same and pays less thinks it's fantastic,' he said. 'There's a small group that has to pay more or leave, but that is 5% or 10%.' More importantly, he reckons, the atmosphere has changed, even if Donald Trump's elite clubs continue to do the game a disservice. 'Thirty years ago when I said I maintained golf courses, people would give me a strange look and say it was all check trousers and snobs,' he said. 'But it has got more accessible … Trump is precisely the opposite of what we want to express.' Aside from the danger of a golf ball on your head, the game has accessible health benefits according to Dr Andrew Murray, a sport and exercise researcher at the University of Edinburgh. 'It can appeal to everyone and all levels of fitness,' he said. 'The evidence is consistent and growing that golf provides healthy physical activity, access to green space and social connections, which provide longer length of life and a reduction in many physical and mental health conditions.' Particularly in a small country like the Netherlands, everyone can also benefit from access to nature, says John Ott, a friend of the Bleijenbeek golf course owner, who has combated their decline in membership by opening a golf museum and making the Limburg landscape accessible to walkers, holidaymakers and nature lovers. Advertisement 'Pieter van Afferden, a Dutch Latin teacher, wrote a little book in 1545, Tyrocinium Linguae Latinae, which describes the golf rules as they are now played,' he said, arguing that the low countries first documented the sport of colven. 'Of course, the rules must be observed, so the game may not be altered. But if that's not done, we haven't encountered any real resistance.' Back at the sunny Golfclub Almkreek, a happy teenager is whizzing around mowing the grass, the ranges and restaurant are full, and the tattoos, baseball caps and short shorts on display have replaced the red trousers. 'I don't see the golf, but the nature, birds and rabbits,' said Carin Lankhaar, 65, from Eethen, who recently started playing. 'Everyone is welcome – it's not at all elitist.' She is looking forward to another 20 years of vigorous golf. 'Nou, hupsakee!' she said – up and at 'em!
The Guardian
26-05-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
‘I thought it was a yuppie sport': Holland's new wave of golf clubs
Jan van de Minkeles has just asked his golf mate to order him a beer. This 25-year-old from the village of Andel in the Netherlands never imagined himself as a golfer, but here he is taking lessons. 'I thought it was a bit of a yuppie sport – but it's not,' he beams. Van de Minkeles is part of a new wave of Dutch golfers blowing the cobwebs from the sport in a country where it was once associated with members-only clubs and buttoned-up dress codes. Figures from the Royal Dutch Golf Federation (NGF) show the number of golfers has ticked up to almost 430,000 people. But the sport, faced with an ageing population, is on a drive to recruit even more new blood. Two years ago, it started a national 'welcome to the club' campaign to encourage more women and younger golfers aged between 25 and 50. 'We have a kind of beautiful green secret on the golf range, but we don't tell people enough about it,' says Niki Wijnen, an NGF spokesperson. 'The image of golf is that a lot of people think it's for [old] men in red trousers with a matching accent, that you need to be extremely rich, but this really isn't the case in the Netherlands. To keep the sport young, you want more young people, more talent.' This is the explicit aim at the Hollandsche Golfclub Almkreek, where the owner Hans Schaap and operational director Joris Slooten are two men 'in their golden days' with a mission to throw open the sport, because of the principle of the thing, and also because it makes commercial sense. Slooten explains that Dutch clubs developed with an association structure, run by their members, but that this now means that some people pay for unlimited play and do not use it, while games are more expensive for interested, occasional amateurs. 'We don't have a dress code, people walk around with normal clothes and the atmosphere is informal,' he said. 'Our motto is gewoon gezellig – just good fun.' Schaap bought this club in 2018 and manages another 23, with an impressive fleet of 380 mowing machines to keep the grass nicely trimmed. He called in Slooten to identify the 'intimidating' factors that were stopping young people replacing members who had died – and now they have a credit-based payment model, affordable lessons with free club hire and a restaurant where everyone is welcome. 'Everyone who gets the same and pays less thinks it's fantastic,' he said. 'There's a small group that has to pay more or leave, but that is 5% or 10%.' More importantly, he reckons, the atmosphere has changed, even if Donald Trump's elite clubs continue to do the game a disservice. 'Thirty years ago when I said I maintained golf courses, people would give me a strange look and say it was all check trousers and snobs,' he said. 'But it has got more accessible … Trump is precisely the opposite of what we want to express.' Aside from the danger of a golf ball on your head, the game has accessible health benefits according to Dr Andrew Murray, a sport and exercise researcher at the University of Edinburgh. 'It can appeal to everyone and all levels of fitness,' he said. 'The evidence is consistent and growing that golf provides healthy physical activity, access to green space and social connections, which provide longer length of life and a reduction in many physical and mental health conditions.' Particularly in a small country like the Netherlands, everyone can also benefit from access to nature, says John Ott, a friend of the Bleijenbeek golf course owner, who has combated their decline in membership by opening a golf museum and making the Limburg landscape accessible to walkers, holidaymakers and nature lovers. 'Pieter van Afferden, a Dutch Latin teacher, wrote a little book in 1545, Tyrocinium Linguae Latinae, which describes the golf rules as they are now played,' he said, arguing that the low countries first documented the sport of colven. 'Of course, the rules must be observed, so the game may not be altered. But if that's not done, we haven't encountered any real resistance.' Back at the sunny Golfclub Almkreek, a happy teenager is whizzing around mowing the grass, the ranges and restaurant are full, and the tattoos, baseball caps and short shorts on display have replaced the red trousers. 'I don't see the golf, but the nature, birds and rabbits,' said Carin Lankhaar, 65, from Eethen, who recently started playing. 'Everyone is welcome – it's not at all elitist.' She is looking forward to another 20 years of vigorous golf. 'Nou, hupsakee!' she said – up and at 'em!
The Star
13-05-2025
- Business
- The Star
Nextgreen appoints associate as exclusive distributor in Libya
KUALA LUMPUR: Nextgreen Global Bhd via its wholly-owned subsidiary Nextgreen Fertilizer Sdn Bhd (NGF) has appointed the group's 49%-owned associate P Teguh Nextgreen Sdn Bhd to be the exclusive distributor of NGF's organic fertiliser products in Libya. In a filing with Bursa Malaysia, the group said P Teguh Nextgreen has also inked a contract for the fertiliser products NexBooster and NexCompost to be purchased by Inbat Global for Importing Agricultural Machinery and Supplies and Fazzan Cooperative Association for Organic Agriculture. P Teguh Nextgreen has committed to purchase up to 25,000 tonnes per annum, consisting of 5,000 metric tons of NexBooster and 20,000 metric tons of NexCompost. According to Nextgreen, the agreements enable NGF to tap into the Libyan market through a dedicated and structured distribution channel. "This initiative is in line with the company's broader strategy to expand its international footprint in sustainable agricultural solutions, particularly in high-potential emerging markets," it said.
Business Journals
28-04-2025
- Business
- Business Journals
Jacksonville golf scene evolves amid national industry resurgence
THE REMAINDER OF THIS ARTICLE IS FOR PREMIUM MEMBERS Jacksonville's golf landscape is changing as the sport enjoys renewed popularity across the nation, with more people hitting the links than in recent memory In the years following the Great Recession, the golf industry fell off its game in a big way. More than 2,000 golf facilities closed. Participation slipped from its previously lofty heights. Country clubs also felt the heat, with many closing as they struggled to keep pace with rising expenses. Then, the pandemic hit. While Covid-19 caused financial challenges for many sectors, it sparked a turnaround for the golf industry. GET TO KNOW YOUR CITY Find Local Events Near You Connect with a community of local professionals. Explore All Events The National Golf Foundation found that, after decades of shrinking, the number of courses in the United States actually grew overall since 2022 — albeit by only six facilities and 17 courses. The biggest gains have been on the participation side, with NGF data showing 28.1 million Americans playing on a golf course in 2024 — the most since 2008. Now, instead of cutting costs and gradually being swamped by growing capital costs and rising expenses, many country clubs and golf courses are seeing surpluses, which are being used to help course-correct after lean years, according to industry watchers. Here's a look at how the golf industry has evolved in Jacksonville. Florida's counties are on divergent paths. St. Johns leads in income and home values, while Nassau shows explosive payroll growth. Duval and Pinellas saw wage gains despite business declines. Flagler and Clay lost major ground in employers and jobs. Meanwhile, Miami-Dade and Orange show steady, broad-based growth. The graphic captures a decade of shifting economic momentum across the state. Toughest Golf Courses - Men's Back Tee Slope rating Rank Prior Rank Property 1 1 110 TPC Blvd., Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 2 2 30 Ave. Royale, Palm Coast, Florida 3 3 10034 Golf Club Dr., Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida View this list Toughest Golf Courses - Women's Back Tee Slope rating Rank Prior Rank Property 1 1 30 Ave. Royale, Palm Coast, Florida 2 2 110 TPC Blvd., Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida 3 3 10034 Golf Club Dr., Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida View this list Sign up here for the Business Journal's free morning and afternoon daily newsletters to receive the latest business news impacting the First Coast, and download our free app to get breaking news alerts on your phone.
