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PGAs of Europe
A view from the
PGAs of Europe
In our regular round up we bring you the latest news from the PGAs of Europe
Education partnerships open for top
warming is turning former glaciers
green, the number of players
teaching aids
grows by up to 12% a year, the
demand for lessons outstrips the
The introduction of a new number of PGA pros available to
category of ‘working provide them.
together’ partnerships has Against that background, a
encouraged market heart-warming message has been
leaders in the provision of received from him: “On June 17
the most modern and we are celebrating a new chapter
effective game improvement aids to discuss joining the PGAs of Europe’s collection of in our PGA of Iceland history. No
business associates. one thought it would be possible,
Part of the Association’s upgraded strategy to meet the changing demands of the except Leif Ohlsson (Chairman of
sport and the industry in the 21st century, has been to redefine the original Corporate the PGAs of Europe Education
Sponsor concept to include specialised sub-headings. Committee) and some very
As a result, under a new category of ‘Education’, Break 30 has set the ball rolling by optimistic Icelanders. But our
becoming the Official Putting Partners of the PGAs of Europe. So called because its hard work has paid off and we will
aim is for students to regard thirty-putts-per-round as an achievable target, Break 30 is have 11 new PGA teachers in Arnar Mar Olafsson
recognised and approved by the PGAs of Europe’s Education committee. PGA of Iceland. June 17 is our
Break 30 comprises a certified putting instruction course that enables the PGA Independence Day. The whole country is celebrating… and we will take two hours on
Professional to provide structured learning programmes for their clients using the that day to hand out the Diploma Certificates to our eleven new teachers.”
world’s leading analysis, neuroscience and training technologies.
David Whalley OBE, Break 30 Chairman, welcomed the partnership with the PGAs of
Europe. “The new strategy for Professional education development in Europe provides
the ideal platform to communicate the key benefits we provide to the membership,” he
Support needed for golfers who
said. “It’s the perfect win-win situation.”
Other teaching and coaching programmes and aids are similarly being considered for
‘play with broken clubs’
Education Partnerships. One of these has already been approved in principle and is A group of ten ‘under-privileged golfers with great potential’ in Bangladesh is the
likely to be unveiled in the July issue of this Working Together e-newsletter. subject of moves by The R&A and the PGAs of Europe to provide support under the Golf
For an on-screen demo of Break 30 in action click onto Development Programme.
http://www.break30.com/samvid.html. To sign-up for more details: www.break30.com. The group are described in an appeal to The R&A for help by the Bangladesh Golf
Federation (BGF), as: “… caddies and ball boys who have spent long years around the
golf course learning golf on their own by sheer determination and long hours of practice
Now Iceland is producing its own
with broken and discarded clubs”.
The appeal adds that they all come from very poor background with no access to
PGA Professionals
schooling. Currently the limiting factors for these boys are:
• No access to proper golf coaching and formal education
Amid the disturbing reports of downturns in global economies and the subsequent need • Difficulty to buy a decent set of clubs
for belt-tightening in industry, comes constant good news of potentially expanding • They must caddy every day to make a living for themselves and their families,
golfing markets… and not only in Eastern Europe. taking away time from practice and causing loss of focus.
The latest of these arrived in the PGAs of Europe office recently from the frozen “We have been imparting some training with the locally available professionals but
north. When Icelandic PGA pro Arnar Mar Olafsson visited the Belfry at the start of these professionals have no formal training and are considered to be professionals
2007 for some support in rejuvenating the education programme back home, across because of their low handicaps,” the appeal adds.
the Atlantic he had no idea of how quickly things would develop. As a result of the PGAs of Europe director John Little visited Bangladesh in mid-April
The enthusiastic Arnar had returned to his homeland in December 2006, from and found there a golf community clearly in need of support. During his stay with the
working in Sweden, to become President of the PGA of Iceland and with an BGF, located at Kurmitola GC, Dhaka, John held meetings and staged several coaching
overwhelming priority to speed up the existing process of creating qualified pros there. sessions for a range of students, including 24 of the ‘under-privileged caddies’. Now his
As he explained at the time, golf is booming in the ‘land of the midnight sun’, global report has gone to The R&A who will consider an appropriate programme of support.
14 JULY 2008 - SGB GOLF
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