A guide for the golf club board

When expertise leaves the club

A guide for the golf club’s board on responsibility, communication and continuity.

A golf club sees people come and go. The club's responsibilities remain.

Serving on the board of a golf club is a position of trust. The board does not have to do everything itself – but it needs to understand its responsibilities, know who does what, and be able to monitor that the club’s operations are running smoothly.

The board does not carry out the day-to-day work. Based on the members’ wishes, it ensures that staff are given the guidelines, mandate and resources required to carry out the members’ wishes. The board therefore delegates primarily to the operational organisation – although some boards, usually in smaller clubs, effectively become an executive board.

This is particularly important in an organisation where the board, club management, course manager, secretariat and other staff work on different aspects of the business.

At the same time, golf clubs are constantly changing. Board members are replaced. A new chairperson takes office. A club manager leaves. A course manager moves on. This is natural. What is not natural is for the club to have to start all over again at the same time.

The Swedish Golf Federation itself states that shorter tenures among elected representatives and employees can lead to frequent restarts and risk the club losing its sense of direction.

That is why good governance is not just about making the right decisions. It is also about building an organisation where knowledge, responsibility and decision-making remain in place even as people change.

1 · The board has a responsibility

You do not need to do everything. But you do need to know what is being done.

The board is the club’s executive body and is responsible for the club’s affairs. The Swedish Golf Federation states, amongst other things, that the board must ensure the club complies with applicable laws and binding regulations and, in its capacity as an employer, must plan, lead and allocate work within the club.

This does not mean that every board member must have detailed knowledge of health and safety legislation, course maintenance, chemical handling, property management or finance. That is why the club has different roles and areas of expertise.

However, the board needs to be able to answer the following questions:

Who is responsible for this matter?
What is that person's remit?
What powers does that person have?
What resources are available?
How is the work monitored?
Where is the documentation?
How does the board receive updates on the situation?
How does internal control work — and, most importantly, how is the members' funds handled?

There is a difference between delegating work and handing over responsibility.

The Swedish Work Environment Authority is clear: the employer always retains responsibility for the work environment, even when work environment tasks are delegated to managers, supervisors or other employees. Anyone assigned tasks must have sufficient knowledge, powers and resources.

Work environment — three things the board should know

1. The employer retains responsibility.

2. Health and safety duties can be delegated.

3. Anyone assigned a duty must have the knowledge, authority and resources to carry it out.

The allocation of duties must be in writing if the organisation has ten or more employees. Where there are fewer than ten, there is no such requirement, but putting it in writing is nevertheless strongly recommended to avoid misunderstandings. Risk assessments and action plans must always be documented in writing, regardless of the number of employees.

2 · The members' money

Internal control is not just about the working environment. It is just as much about how the club's money is managed.

A golf club manages its members’ money – membership fees, green fees, sponsorship income and, sometimes, loans. The board is responsible for ensuring that these are properly managed: a functioning accounting system, a clear authorisation procedure and internal controls that ensure errors are detected and that money cannot go missing without anyone noticing.

This is not about mistrust of individuals. It is about protecting both the club and those who handle the money. With a clear system in place, no one needs to be solely responsible for ordering, approving and paying for the same item.

The board should be able to answer ‘yes’ to the following:

Is the bookkeeping in order?
Can we account for our finances — to the members, the auditors and the bank?
Do we have a functioning authorisation procedure, and is it being followed?
Are different people responsible for ordering, authorising and paying?
Does the board regularly receive a financial report that it can understands?

A golf club is a non-profit organisation. However, it is better equipped if it is run with a business mindset — clear mandates, financial order and follow-up that does not depend on individual people.

Most golf clubs are required to keep accounts. A non-profit association is always required to keep accounts if it carries out commercial activities – and activities such as green fees, the pro shop and the restaurant can be counted as such – and also when its assets exceed 1.5 million kronor.

3 · “But isn't that the course manager's responsibility?”

This is a common assumption, and easy to understand. The course manager oversees the day-to-day running of the course and has knowledge of machinery, staff, chemicals, working methods and risks. Consequently, many health and safety tasks naturally fall within the remit of operational activities.

But there is an important distinction: the person working closest to the operational side does not necessarily have to be the one who bears the entire employer’s responsibility alone.

The Swedish Work Environment Authority requires employers to allocate health and safety responsibilities in a way that provides the person assigned with the right conditions. The responsibilities must be clear, and it must be evident what powers and resources accompany them.

Have we allocated the health and safety responsibilities – or have we simply assumed that someone else will take care of them? These are two completely different things.

4 · When everything is in one person’s head

The course manager has worked at the club for eight years and knows:

why certain work procedures are the way they are
what risks exist
which machines require special attention
what measures have been discussed
which problems recur
what agreements are in place
what was done last year
why a particular solution was chosen
what the board has previously decided

It works. As long as that person is still there.

Then the club manager leaves. Suddenly, the club has not only lost a member of staff – it has lost a large part of its organisational knowledge. The same thing can happen with a chairperson, club manager or other key figure.

That is why documentation is not just about having paperwork in place. Documentation is a way of making knowledge independent of individuals.

There is a term for this: structural capital.

Human capital is what people can do. Structural capital is what remains in the organisation once they have gone home – procedures, documentation, systems and decisions. A golf club with strong human capital but weak structural capital is vulnerable every time someone leaves.

5 · The new chair should not have to start from scratch

There are meeting minutes. There are emails. There are documents on various computers. There are files. There may be several digital systems. And, above all, there are people who say: “We’ve got that sorted.”

But what does “sorted” mean? Can the new chairperson easily get an overview of:

the club's most important areas of responsibility?
current risks?
ongoing measures?
who is responsible for what?
which documents are current?
which checks need to be carried out?
what has been decided previously, and why?

If the answer is no, the club quickly becomes dependent on individuals. And when those individuals are replaced, there is a need to start afresh.

6 · Communication is not just about information

In many golf clubs, people work hard and professionally – and yet information gaps still arise. The course manager has his hands full with the course. The club manager with the day-to-day running of the club. The board often meets only three or four times a year – and yet is expected to keep track of what happens in between.

The problem isn’t always that people aren’t communicating. The problem may be that the information lacks a common structure.

A course manager shouldn’t have to spend a large part of their time reconstructing the club’s history for every new board. A board shouldn’t have to ask the same questions every year. A new board member shouldn’t have to learn about the club’s organisation by sifting through old email threads.

7 · From silos to a shared vision

A golf club is, in fact, many different operations at once: the board, club management, the course, property, the secretariat, the restaurant. Each part can function well on its own. But if information remains confined to each individual part, silos arise.

Siloed organisation

The course management knows one thing. The club office knows another. The board has a third perspective. The information is there – but it isn’t linked together.

A cohesive organisation

Responsibility → activity → documentation → follow-up → decision

The course management knows one thing. The club office knows another. The board has a third perspective. The information is there – but it isn’t linked together.

8 · An example from the workplace

Suppose the club identifies a risk whilst working with a machine. In a person-dependent organisation: the workshop manager identifies the risk, tells the club manager, the issue is discussed, someone says action must be taken – and time passes. The following year, a new board takes office. No one really remembers what was decided.

In a systematic organisation, the process is instead as follows:

Risk identified

↓

Person responsible appointed

↓

Action documented

↓

Deadline set

↓

Action implemented

↓

Results followed up

↓

The board can view the status

This is not administration for administration’s sake. It is a way of ensuring that nothing important falls between the cracks.

The Swedish Work Environment Authority requires that health and safety work be carried out systematically. The annual review must be documented in writing where the organisation has ten or more employees. Where there are fewer than ten, the review must still be carried out, but the results do not need to be recorded in writing. Risk assessments and action plans, on the other hand, must always be documented in writing.

9 · The system should help people — not hinder them

A good working method should not mean that people have to remember everything. It should be clear:

What needs to be done?
Who is doing it?
When should it be done?
What was the outcome?
What needs to be followed up?

This is where a shared working method can make a big difference – not by replacing people’s expertise, but by retaining and structuring it.

A track manager should be able to focus on running a good and safe track. A club manager should be able to lead the organisation. The board should be able to govern and follow up. And when someone leaves, the next person should be able to take over without having to start from scratch.

10 · What happens when the board changes?

A change in the board is a natural part of club life. But it must not mean that the organisation’s knowledge is lost. A good handover should not just include the minutes from last year’s meetings. It should provide an overview of the club’s situation:

What are our responsibilities?
Who is responsible for what?
Which issues are still outstanding?
What risks do we need to be aware of?
What needs to be followed up?
What agreements and commitments are in place?
What legal requirements and checks are currently applicable?
What licences does the club hold — for example, for water extraction,— and do they stipulate?
What decisions have been made, and why?
What does the next board need to know on its first day?

That is how a club builds structural capital — what remains when people come and go.

11 · The board's ten questions

Before you conclude your next board meeting – ask these questions.

Do we know which laws and regulations are particularly important for our operations?
Do we know who is responsible for health and safety duties?
Are health and safety duties clearly allocated and, where required, set out in writing?
Does the person assigned these duties have the right knowledge, powers and resources?
Do we know what the major risks are and how they are managed?
Can we quickly see which measures are outstanding and when they are due for follow-up?
Do we know where the club’s key documentation is kept?
Can a new committee member understand the club’s most important responsibilities without having to start from scratch?
Is our organisation reliant on certain individuals remembering things?
If our chairperson or course manager were to leave tomorrow – how much knowledge would the club lose?

12 · The question that is perhaps most important

If the answer is yes, the club has built something greater than a collection of procedures. It has built continuity.

If the answer is no, it may be time to consider how knowledge can be transferred from people’s minds and various silos into a shared structure.

If three people were to leave the club tomorrow – would the club’s most important knowledge still remain?

13 · A modern golf club is not person-dependent

A well-run golf club needs people with experience, commitment and expertise. It always will. But it should not be dependent on a particular person remembering everything.

People should make the decisions. The organisation should retain the knowledge. The system should help to create structure and ensure follow-up.

The board's quick check

Responsibilities

☐ Do we know what employer responsibility the club has?
☐ Are responsibilities and health and safety duties clearly allocated?
☐ Is the allocation in writing where required?

Finance

☐ Do the accounts work, and can we account for ourselves?
☐ Do we have an authorisation procedure that works, and is it followed?
☐ Is the allocation of responsibilities set out in writing where required?

Organisation

☐ Does everyone know who is responsible for what?
☐ Are there clear powers and resources?
☐ Is there an effective line of communication between operational activities and the board?

Communication

☐ Does the board receive the right information at the right time?
☐ Do the course manager and club management know what the board needs to follow up on?
☐ Is there a standardised way of reporting on progress and actions?

Knowledge

☐ Is key knowledge documented?
☐ Is the club dependent on individual people?
☐ Can a new board quickly familiarise itself with the club’s operations?

Continuity

☐ Is there a structured handover process for new board members?
☐ Can the club retain its knowledge when people leave?
☐ Do we know what needs to be followed up next month, next year and next term of office?

Conclusion

A golf club sees people come and go. The knowledge must remain.

Board work is not just about making decisions for day-to-day operations. It is also about handing over a well-run club to the next board.

When responsibilities are clear. When information is collated. When tasks are followed up. When decisions are documented. When knowledge is shared. Then the club becomes less reliant on individuals and better equipped to cope with change.

That is how continuity is built.

More information on water abstraction, permits and the board’s role can be found in the guide about water, spray journals and chemicals.

Sources and further reading

The Accounting Act (1999:1078), Chapter 2, Section 2, on the accounting obligations of non-profit organisations, and the Swedish Accounting Standards Board’s information on non-profit organisations.
The Swedish Work Environment Authority’s regulations AFS 2023:1 on systematic work environment management, in force since 1 January 2025, which replaced AFS 2001:1. These regulate, amongst other things, work environment policy, procedures, allocation of responsibilities, risk assessment and annual follow-up.
The Swedish Golf Federation’s handbook Focus on the Working Environment, aimed at, amongst others, board members, club managers and course managers, as well as the SGF’s material on the club’s responsibilities, roles, organisation and governance.
The Swedish Golf Federation’s health and safety training for golf clubs, aimed at chairpersons, club managers and course managers.

From reliance on individuals to continuity

Reddibo helps golf clubs centralise responsibilities, tasks, documentation and follow-up in one place – so that knowledge remains within the club, even when staff change.

Reddibo · A guide for the golf club board

This guide is general information, not legal advice. Confirm what applies to your club with the relevant authority.