Incoming R&A chief executive Martin Slumbers says one of his goals is to help increase participation in golf.

Slumbers doesn’t start with the R&A until March 2 but was introduced to the media at a wide-ranging roundtable discussion in outgoing chief Peter Dawson’s office overlooking the Old Course at St. Andrews. Slumbers, a former Deutsche Bank executive, put participation high on his list of priorities.

“I will do all I can to really look at, firstly, this club and its members, secondly, to focus on maintaining and developing the Open (Championship) as a pre-eminent sporting event, developing excellence in the amateur game and focus on developing participation,” Slumbers said.

“I think when it gets to participation, there’s a lot of people involved in driving it,” Slumbers said. “A lot of people give up their time for free working in the (golf) unions. The PGA to me has an enormous influence in this, as well.

“I think we have to get back to grassroots. We have to find something that appeals to different generations. I think the answer for under 15- to 20-year-olds is going to be different than the answer for 30- to 40-year-olds is going to be different than the answer for 50- to 60-year-olds.

“Absolutely I think the R&A can help. What we want to make sure is we help the unions, help the PGA, do everything we can, use the benefits of the commercial success of the Open and really work to go, over a number of years, find a series of solutions that get people wanting to play this game.”

Slumbers added that increasing participation isn’t solely the responsibility of the R&A.

“The R&A has very much a role to play,” Slumbers said. “I think it has a role to play in supporting, in sharing different unions’ ideas, in coming up with some of its own, but I don’t see it being the only body to be responsible and take control of it. There’s so many people doing so much great work in this space at the moment, and I just think we need to share some more ideas and really then start to focus on the one, two, three, four, whatever it’s going to be, initiatives.”

However, he did sound a note of caution: “There’s going to be no single magic bullet.”

Slumbers will shadow Dawson for six months before taking over in September.

Incoming R&A chief executive aims to increase participation