18 GOLF DEVELOPMENT FACTFILE Partner power!
GBD SEPTEMBER/OCTOBER 2010
country or adopting an established PGA with which to send their IPE graduates to continue their education. Ian said: “Add to this the fact that we now offer European Tutor and Assessor Training courses and the result should be that every European country has qualified people educated by qualified people.” He added: “For many years we have also adopted a philosophy
of Lifelong Learning and as such it doesn’t stop there. For those more developed golfing territories, extensive Continual Professional Development (CPD) is available, and often required, to ensure that PGA professionals remain at the forefront of the development of the game and can specialise in their chosen area.” Leading the way in much of this work is Tony Bennett, the association’s
first full-time director of education. Tis is surely a significant step as Tony, who is based in Portugal, has one of the most comprehensive CVs for a PGA professional anywhere in the world. Tony is one of a group of professionals in the Golf Development
In July, Golfbidder, and
Golfbreaks.com became the latest two companies to become Corporate Partners of the PGAsE. Other Partners include: Aegean Airlines, Algarve/Turismo de Portugal, Baxter Golf Art, Beko, Chervo, Eaton Golf Pride, European Golf, Glenmuir, Golf Europe, GolfBuddy, Golfsmith Europe, PING and Snake Eyes Custom. Last year, Chervò, the Italian golf fashion house, extended its long-standing Corporate Partnership with the PGAsE for a further three years. Chervò and the PGAsE have been partners in this specialised way for 14 years now and this is to continue until at least 2012.
Last Autumn, the PGAsE recognised PING’s work in the game over 50 years by presenting the Solheim family with one of its major honours, the Christer Lindberg Bowl. PING CEO John Solheim said: “Our family and the entire PING team are very appreciative of all the support given to PING by the European PGAs.”
Above: Chairman of PING John Solheim receives his award from PGAsE chairman Sandy Jones
team who travel to those emerging countries who seek PGAsE support (the association may be unique in sport as being able to export top quality education to those countries who need it, effectively free of charge). He is aided by strong links with the PGAsE Education Committee,
which is made up of some highly respected coaches and led with skill and enthusiasm by chairman Leif Ohlsson. PGA professionals are usually competitive by nature and enjoy tournament play. Terefore staging tournaments in emerging golf countries has the dual benefit of engaging with pros who want to develop their competitive edge whilst also helping the country’s PGA to develop golf within that country. 2011 will welcome the return after a six-year absence of the PGAsE’s
blue riband event, the 72-hole individual strokeplay PGA Professional Championship of Europe title. Pravets Golf & Spa Bulgaria is to stage the championship next October, in the start of a three-year agreement. Added to this, we will also see the return of the PGAsE popular
FACTFILE PGAsE Operating Principles:
Working Together with our member PGAs to: 1) Membership • Provide advice, information and support to National PGAs in the areas of development, education, communications and political recognition • Provide services and benefits to PGA Professionals in the areas of education, employment and commercial opportunities 2) Education • Unify and improve standards of education and qualification to increase quality and provide ability for PGA Professionals to work across the continent irrespective of their country of qualification 3) External Relations • Build mutually beneficial relationships with other pan-European organisations, international PGAs and the European Union 4) Communication • Promote the PGA brand and the work of member PGAs and their PGA Professionals • Operate as a voice for European Golf providing information and opportunities to both Professional and Amateur golfers across Europe
5) Commercial
• Seek and maintain commercial partnerships that will benefit the development of the Association 6) Events • Provide relevant playing opportunities and other events for PGA Professionals 7) Development • Provide funding, expertise, programmes and guidance for the development of golf
Fourball Championship at Antalya Golf Club, Belek, southern Turkey in January 2011 (staged for professionals over 54 holes for a prize fund of up to €50,000). Te PGAsE has also been endorsing a busy Pro-Am schedule around Europe. “Tese tournaments and Pro-Ams provide PGA members with
a welcome opportunity to compete with their compatriots from other countries and also showcase the game in those countries both domestically and internationally,” said Ian Randell. Certainly, in Bulgaria, the Pravets tournament was big news with
40 National and local press, radio and TV commentators turning out in force at the press conference to announce the tournament earlier in the summer. Such is the importance of the staging of this European professional championship to a country with a deep desire and intent to build both a strong golf culture and tourist industry that the launch was combined with meetings of Bulgaria’s leading political figures, including the Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, who has agreed to be the patron of the event, and other sporting dignitaries from the country’s highest reaches of Olympic sport. “It was crystal clear that golf, especially with the ‘Olympic’ label
that it now carries, has taken on a whole new importance there,” said Randell. “Te Ryder Cup European Development Trust has supported their
junior development programmes for the last three years and this along with a structured talent identification and structured pathway are being put into place designed to ensure that in the not-too-far-distant future they have a player or players on the European Tour and in the Olympics and that more and more of their population take up the sport.” He added: “Te fact that we can support them in their plans, that
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52 |
Page 53 |
Page 54 |
Page 55 |
Page 56 |
Page 57 |
Page 58 |
Page 59 |
Page 60