It became quickly clear that two men were the driving force
behind my visit and it is they who run golf in Kazakhstan. In the unlikely event that anyone reading this article happens to know them it is only fair I mention them by name: Alexy Polozhentsev and Konstantin Lifanov . For the next week my brief involved helping the coaches
who ranged from caddies to course rangers improve their technical understanding of how to coach. Tuition was based both on the golf course and inside a marquee. As the old joke goes, the excitement was in tents. I must say that the passion and enthusiasm shown by the group was surpassed only by the wonderful interpretation skills of the English speaking Russian golf professional who translated every piece of instruction I gave for seven days. Not surprisingly both of us were linguistically exhausted at the end. The week ended with an exam for the students and I was
delighted that the two coaches who had travelled for three days - covering over one thousand miles by train - achieved the best results. It was made more pleasing as one of them was only fifteen years of age. Thanks to a blockbusting film many people think of
disastrous reporter Borat as Kazakhstan’s most famous son. So during my visit it was a great privilege to experience at first hand a hugely diverse and beautiful country. The people are very generous and proactive, and even though they built their first golf course as recently as 1996 I believe the game will develop quickly in Kazakhstan. At present, however, it is very much a game for the wealthy. During my visit I gave a clinic at a newly built golf course called Zhailjau were the joining fee is $25,000. When you consider that the monthly salary of, say, a teacher is just $300 to $400 the game remains out of many people’s reach. This is clearly an important issue and one I am sure will be addressed in years to come. So back to the original question, What is the link between
The Open at Hoylake and golf in Kazakhstan? For a number of years The R&A and The PGA’S of Europe have
worked closely together on a programme to spread knowledge and expertise along with good practice to developing countries. Funded by The R&A a group of Professionals has
John talks golf with his students
assisted these countries with many practical on the ground solutions that enhance and develop their national golf programmes. Following the visit reports are prepared and The R&A will consider further funding requests to assist with the implementation of ideas and recommendations therein. The Open Championship as demonstrated when it came
to Royal Liverpool can provide The R&A with a sizeable income. Initiatives such as my visit to Kazakhstan go largely unnoticed by the golfing public, but they are shining examples of how widely The R&A spreads its support of golf. Although it may appear to be a tenuous link, each and every one of the 235,000 spectators who contributed to the success of The Open at Hoylake, and indeed all other Open venues, have, in a small but important way, contributed to the development of this great game in corners of the world from Honduras to Bahrain and from Uganda to Peru. During 2009 the PGA’s of Europe and The R&A were
involved in eighteen different projects. As one of the 30 European Professionals in the Golf Development Pool I am proud to be involved in this initiative, and look forward to my next venture. And who knows, perhaps one day we will welcome
a competitor from Kazakhstan to take part in an Open championship at Hoylake that would be something very gratifying.
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