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- 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
Make the club a healthy place to work and volunteer
Look after the wellbeing of the people who keep your club running.
Golf club work has its own pressures, from seasonal peaks and early starts to small teams and the expectations of members. Volunteers often give a lot of their own time, sometimes more than they planned to. This step is about understanding those pressures, reducing them where you can, and supporting people when they need it. It means the people who look after your club are looked after too.
Jump to the game planWhy it matters
Work-related stress is common.
In 2024/25, an estimated 964,000 workers in Great Britain had work-related stress, depression or anxiety. That's more than half of all work-related ill health, and 22.1 million working days lost.
Employers have legal duties.
Employers must assess the risk of work-related stress and take steps to reduce it. Under the Equality Act 2010, they must also make reasonable adjustments for employees whose mental health condition counts as a disability. Equivalent duties apply in Northern Ireland under separate legislation.
Reducing pressure at its source works best.
Changing how work is organised tends to do more than supporting people only once they're already struggling.
Volunteers keep clubs running.
Looking after them makes it more likely they'll stay, and that others will step forward.
What good looks like
The club understands the main pressures on its staff and volunteers, and acts to reduce them where it can.
Staff and volunteers have regular conversations with their manager or coordinator about how they're doing.
People know what support is available to them.
Adjustments are made when someone needs them.
Members and visitors treat staff and volunteers with respect, and the club acts if they don't.
Volunteer roles are manageable, and no one is left carrying too much.
People have opportunities to learn and develop.
Pressures at golf clubs
Every club is different, but pressures often include:
Greenkeeping
Early starts, weather, seasonal workload, working alone and criticism of the course.
Bar, catering and events
Late finishes, busy periods and difficult customers.
Club management and office staff
Competing demands from members, committee and owners, and contact outside working hours.
Pro shop and coaching
Running a business alongside the job, often as a self-employed professional.
Committee and volunteers
A few people doing a lot, disagreements between members, criticism, and finding it hard to step down.
What good work looks like
The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) identifies six areas that affect how people feel at work. They're a useful way to think about any role at your club.
Demands
Is the workload manageable, including at the busiest times of year?
Control
Do people have a say in how they do their work?
Support
Do people get the help, information and resources they need?
Relationships
Is there respect, and are conflict and poor behaviour dealt with?
Role
Do people understand what's expected of them?
Change
Are people told about changes, and involved where possible?
What your club can do
You don't need to do all of these. Start with what fits your club, whatever its size.
Talk to staff and volunteers about pressures
Ask people what makes their work harder, and what would help. This can be as simple as a conversation over a cup of tea. HSE's free Talking Toolkit gives you a structure if you want one. Act on what you hear, even if it's one change at a time.
If your club employs staff, this also forms part of your stress risk assessment. Employers with fewer than five employees don't have to write their risk assessment down, but they still need to do it.
Check in regularly
A simple "how are you doing?" in regular catch-ups, whether that's a formal one-to-one or a chat at the end of a shift, for volunteers as well as staff.
Some people find a Wellness Action Plan helpful. Mind offers a free template, where someone can note what helps them stay well and what support they'd like if they're finding things hard. Using one is always the person's choice.
Support people when they need it
When someone is finding things hard, small changes can make a big difference. Depending on your club, that might be:
- Changes to hours or rotas
- Time off for appointments
- Easing someone back in after time off
- Temporarily adjusting someone's duties
Keep in touch, in a way that suits them, if someone is off, and plan their return together.
Make sure people know where to find support
Share your support list from step 5 with staff and volunteers, not just members. Some clubs also have access to an Employee Assistance Programme, which offers free, confidential support such as counselling, often through an insurer. If yours does, make sure people know about it and how to use it.
Set expectations for how members treat people
Staff and volunteers sometimes bear the brunt of members' frustrations. Make it clear that abuse isn't acceptable, including in your code of conduct. Have a clear route for complaints, so they go to the right person rather than whoever happens to be on shift. Check in with anyone after a difficult incident.
Look after your volunteers
- Be clear about what each volunteer role involves, and for how long.
- Share the load where you can, so it doesn't always fall on the same few people.
- Make it easy for people to step back without feeling they're letting the club down.
- Thank people, often.
Help people learn and develop
Training, new responsibilities and recognition help people feel valued. That applies to volunteers as well as staff.
Start with
Ask your staff and volunteers what makes their work harder, using HSE's Talking Toolkit, and agree one change you can make.
Going further
Stress risk assessment
Complete or review it, if you employ staff.
Wellbeing check-ins
Include them in regular catch-ups.
Wellness Action Plans
Offer them to staff and volunteers.
Share your support list
With staff and volunteers, and check whether you have access to an Employee Assistance Programme.
Your code of conduct
Make sure it is clear about how staff and volunteers are treated.
Review volunteer roles
So expectations are clear and the load is shared.
Thank and recognise people
Find regular ways to do it.
Resources for this step
Sources HSE: Work-related stress, depression or anxiety statistics in Great Britain, 2025 · HSE: Work-related stress and how to manage it
These ten steps are what clubs commit to when they make the free Florio Club Commitment.
Commit to working through them at your own pace, and join a growing movement across the golf community to improve mental health in the game.
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