The Golf Foundation has announced the appointment of Nick Dougherty as its new President.
The Golf Foundation is a national charity which works in partnership with The R&A, DP World Tour and other leading golf organisations to help introduce golf to children from all backgrounds and create golfers for life.
The three-time DP World Tour winner and now Sky Sports Golf presenter and analyst was supported by the Foundation through coaching programmes in the late 1990s, when he met the charity’s former President Bernard Gallacher, and he has been a strong supporter in recent years.
Dougherty aligns himself with the Golf Foundation’s core values, that golf should be fun, inclusive, innovative, inspiring and enriching, and has recently appeared at both The Open and the BMW PGA Championship as an unofficial ambassador of the Golf Foundation.
“I am so grateful for the role that golf has played in my life,” said Dougherty. “From the joy that the game brings to the life lessons that it teaches, I have seen through the experiences of both myself and so many others, the positive impact it can play in people’s lives.
“Introducing it to children when they are young, impressionable and ‘learning the ropes’ of life with its ups and downs, just like the game itself, usually has a profoundly positive effect for them and their futures. Because of this, it is an incredible honour to accept the role of President of the Golf Foundation, an organisation that has been sharing these wonderful golfing gifts for 70 years.
“The Golf Foundation played a hugely important role in my development as a youngster, and the chance to work with them to support today’s children is immensely rewarding and important to me. I am extremely excited to play my part in helping to reach more children with our sport, to make it more inclusive and, with this shared passion of the Golf Foundation, push to make golf a part of the curriculum in schools so that the benefits of this amazing game are available to all.”
Dougherty will follow recently outgoing President of seven years Sandy Jones, the former Chief Executive of the Professional Golfers’ Association.
