The R&A appointed Modest! Golf - founded by Niall Horan in 2016 - to support a fresh drive to get more young people into golf and increase participation within the sport - full interview now available on the Sky Sports Golf YouTube channel.
Monday 1 February 2021 07:13, UK
Niall Horan is relishing the prospect of his Modest! Golf working closely with the R&A and is hoping the partnership will help encourage more youngsters to take up the sport.
The R&A recently announced they had appointed the golf management company, founded by the music superstar in 2016, to help with designing and developing a series of grassroots programmes to inspire the next generation of young golfers.
Horan was the special guest on the latest Sky Sports Golf podcast, where he discussed the benefits of the new arrangements and how it can challenge some of the perceptions about the sport.
"I've been thinking about some ideas to grow the game for a long time," Horan told the Sky Sports Golf podcast. "Thinking about how we come up with different initiatives to get younger people into the game and make it more accessible, but wondering where that help was going to come from.
"You need a governing body to help you do so, but fast forward a couple of years we got a call from the R&A and it was the most incredible call, because it was the call we'd been waiting for.
"The R&A wanted to know if we would come on board and help them in the growth of the game, get involved in some initiatives and come up ideas alongside them to grow the game and make it accessible for everyone.
"When you've got one of golf's biggest governing bodies and a young, fresh management company trying to move the needle at the same time, then hopefully it can only create good things.
"When you start playing golf it can become addictive, so it's trying to get people over the line and offering them new initiatives that help them stay in the game. Some of the ideas we've got in mind will hopefully bring a lot of new people into the game and hopefully keep them there."
Horan reveals the best celebrity golfer he has ever played with and which of his former One Direction bandmates offered him the toughest test out on the course, plus shares a story of the time he was left star-struck when meeting Tiger Woods.
As well as discussing the new venture, Horan explains how Modest! Golf has quickly enjoyed so much success in the global game and some of the ways they are already trying to support young golfers.
The full interview will be available on the latest Sky Sports Golf podcast when it is released on Tuesday, while the video edition is out now - in full - on the Sky Sports Golf YouTube channel!
Download and listen to the latest Sky Sports Golf podcast and don't forget to subscribe via Spotify or Apple Podcasts!
