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- If life's at risk When there's immediate danger to life. Call 999
- Samaritans Free to call, any time, for anyone struggling. Call 116 123
- Prefer to text? Free and confidential, any time. Text SHOUT to 85258
- NHS 111 in England and Wales Choose option 2 for mental health. Free, 24 hours a day. Call 111
- NHS 24 in Scotland Choose the mental health option. Free, 24 hours a day. Call 111
The Florio Framework
The Florio Framework is our picture of what a mentally healthy golf club can look like. We've grouped it into five areas: Lead, Communicate, Support, Care and Connect.
We built it with our clinical team. It's evidence-informed, rather than a proven or validated intervention. It draws on workplace wellbeing charters, guidance from other sports and what we've learned from working with golf clubs. It works for clubs of any size, from a nine-holer run by volunteers to a resort with a hundred staff. You decide which parts fit your club, and how far you want to take them.
- 01
Lead
Clear ownership, senior backing, and a simple plan that's reviewed regularly.
- Committee backing
- A Mental Health Lead
- The Lead's role
- Planning and review
Lead is about who looks after mental health at your club, and the people who run the club being behind them.
Most clubs do this by naming a Mental Health Lead: someone who champions the work and is a friendly first point of contact. They listen and point people towards help. They're not a counsellor.
With a simple plan and a regular check on how it's going, mental health gets the same steady attention as the course or the finances.
What's in it
- Committee backing
- The people running the club are visibly behind it.
- A Mental Health Lead
- One named person who owns the work and champions it.
- The Lead's role
- What the role covers, and where it stops.
- Planning and review
- A simple plan, and a regular look at how it's going.
How it helps your club: The work carries on when people change roles. Everyone knows who's doing what. Your Lead feels backed. The club is better protected if something serious happens.
- 02
Communicate
Regular messages that make mental health visible, normal, and easy to find across everyday club life.
- Easy-to-find information
- Regular messages
- Tone and language
- New members
Communicate is about mental health being part of what your club already shares and talks about.
A mention in the newsletter, a post on social media, a poster in the locker room, a line on the website: whatever channels you usually use. Little and often works well, so it feels normal rather than a big deal.
And when someone wants to know where to find help, it's easy to find.
What's in it
- Easy-to-find information
- Where to get help, on site and online.
- Regular messages
- A mention every so often throughout the year.
- Tone and language
- Plain, friendly wording that sounds like your club.
- New members
- A mention in the welcome pack.
How it helps your club: Mental health becomes an everyday topic. People know where to find help. Members see a club that cares about more than their handicap. Members and visitors can see what your club stands for.
- 03
Support
Clear pathways and safe guidance for the moments when someone says they are struggling.
- Routes to help
- Lead training
- Safeguarding
- Frontline staff
- Privacy and records
- Serious incidents
Support is about being ready for that moment.
It covers knowing where to point someone, from a friendly chat to their GP to emergency services. It also covers giving your Lead and staff the confidence to respond calmly, and handling sensitive situations safely and in the same way each time.
The aim is to connect people with the right help, not to treat anyone.
What's in it
- Routes to help
- Up-to-date details of where to point people, matched to how serious things are.
- Lead training
- Listening, boundaries and knowing when to get urgent help.
- Safeguarding
- How the Lead works alongside your welfare or safeguarding officer.
- Frontline staff
- Simple guidance for bar, pro shop and office staff on what to say and who to tell.
- Privacy and records
- A consistent approach to confidentiality and what gets written down.
- Serious incidents
- Thinking ahead about how the club would respond after a serious incident or a death.
How it helps your club: People get to the right help sooner. Staff and volunteers feel more confident. Sensitive situations are handled the same way every time. The club is prepared for difficult days.
- 04
Care
Proactive activity that supports member wellbeing, staff wellbeing, and regular reasons to stay connected.
- Wellbeing activities
- Information for members
- Information for staff
- Working conditions
- Supporting staff
Care is about what your club does day to day to help people stay well, before anything goes wrong.
For members, that might be a wellbeing event, a walking group or a social that isn't about the competition.
For staff and volunteers, it means a look at what working life is like for the people who keep the club running.
What's in it
- Wellbeing activities
- Events and sessions that help people look after their mental health.
- Information for members
- Simple tips on looking after your head.
- Information for staff
- Wellbeing and support information for staff and volunteers.
- Working conditions
- A look at workload, hours and other pressures.
- Supporting staff
- Guidance for managers on how to support their team.
How it helps your club: Members have more reasons to come down. Staff and volunteers are more likely to stay. Worries can be picked up earlier. It helps with the club's duties as an employer.
- 05
Connect
Simple, everyday ways to help people feel welcome, included, and missed when they're not around.
- New members
- Ways to get involved
- Noticing absence
- Barriers to belonging
- Feedback
Connect is about belonging. Feeling part of something is good for your mental health, and golf clubs are great at it.
This area is about making sure everyone gets that chance: helping new members find a game, offering different ways to get involved, and dropping someone a friendly message if they haven't been around for a while.
What's in it
- New members
- Easy ways to meet people and find a game.
- Ways to get involved
- Options beyond the competition sheet.
- Noticing absence
- A friendly message when a regular stops coming.
- Barriers to belonging
- Making the club easier to join in with for everyone.
- Feedback
- Asking members and staff what they think.
How it helps your club: New members settle in quicker. Members are more likely to stick around. The club feels more welcoming. People look out for each other.
Using the framework
Think of it as a guide, not a checklist. Use as much or as little as suits your club. If you'd like somewhere to begin, we suggest starting with Lead and Support.
What it isn't
It isn't a clinical service, and it doesn't replace GPs, the NHS, crisis lines or professional support.
Find out more
The ten steps turn the framework into practical actions. Start by getting your club's leadership on board and making the Florio Club Commitment. It's free. The Club Check shows where your club stands.
Make the commitmentNeed help now?
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Need help now?
- If life's at risk When there's immediate danger to life. Call 999
- Samaritans Free to call, any time, for anyone struggling. Call 116 123
- Prefer to text? Free and confidential, any time. Text SHOUT to 85258
- NHS 111 in England and Wales Choose option 2 for mental health. Free, 24 hours a day. Call 111
- NHS 24 in Scotland Choose the mental health option. Free, 24 hours a day. Call 111