Golf Club Management Association (GCMA)

If you run a golf club or are working toward a management role, the Golf Club Management Association (GCMA) gives you legal and management helplines, wellbeing support and certificate courses. GCMA is the UK professional body for golf club managers, based near Bristol in England.

Legal, management and wellbeing support you get as a member

As a member you get a management helpdesk, an online information library, an employment law helpline, wellbeing support and a benevolent fund. Full members also get free legal advice, through the National Golf Clubs’ Advisory Association (NGCAA), covering any area of law a golf club is likely to face. Full and Affiliate members receive personal legal expenses cover arranged with Howden and ARAG, with £50,000 of indemnity per claim, helplines, online legal documents including a free will, and a family counselling helpline.

GCMA offers four membership grades, Full, Affiliate, Retired and Associate. Affiliate membership now includes the ASPIRE Career Development Series, which gives you an annual webinar program, in-person development events, one-to-one career pathway sessions and member rates on GCMA courses.

Management certificates you can take at a golf club

The Advanced Management Programme (AMP) gives you ten certificates, each taught as a two or three day residential course at a golf club. Subjects are food and beverage, golf operations, golf course management for club managers, marketing strategy, governance, strategic planning, health and safety, employment law, finance and accounts, and leading and managing people. The association says the courses are open to anyone working in golf club management or hoping to move into it. A separate Principles of Golf Club Management course is run online.

GCMA Accreditation gives you a record of your skills and experience as a manager. You can make a first application at any time, and renewals open each year from May 1 to June 30.

Course dates you can book in late 2026

The GCMA calendar for late 2026 lists these dates:

• November 10 to 12, Health and Safety Management certificate, Hillside Golf Club, Southport
• November 24 to 25, Golf Club Governance certificate, The Kendleshire Golf Club
• November 26 to 27, Food and Beverage Management certificate, The Kendleshire Golf Club
• December 8 to 9, Finance and Accounts Management certificate, Basingstoke (listed as sold out)
• December 14 to 17, Principles of Golf Club Management, online

Regional business meetings and education days are also listed, and AMP dates run through 2027 at clubs including Celtic Manor and Hankley Common. For supplier exhibitions such as BTME in Harrogate, see this guide to golf trade shows in 2026 and 2027.

Suppliers that partner with GCMA

GCMA lists 28 partners in three tiers. Its five premium partners are Fairway Credit, iwGROUP, The R&A, Rain Bird and Under Armour, and its five education partners include 59Club and Club Benchmarking EMEA. The 18 business partners include Golf Genius, Husqvarna, Reesink Turfcare UK and the clubhouse and operations software firms intelligentgolf and BRS Golf (listed by GCMA as BRS Golf Now), both based in the United Kingdom.

About the association

GCMA was formed in 1933 by golf club managers for golf club managers. A banner on its website puts its membership at 1,400, and the association describes its role as technical guidance, education and support for the professional and personal wellbeing of its members.

Source: gcma.org.uk/about, gcma.org.uk/gcma-amp-certificates, gcma.org.uk/events, gcma.org.uk/partners

Photos

Image: Golf Club Management Association (GCMA).

Location

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Long Ashton Golf Club, Clevedon Road, Bristol BS41 9DW, United Kingdom

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