The Potential Use of Peer Mentoring by the PGA Professional

Successful coaching in golf requires the PGA Professional to have a wide range of practical knowledge and competencies, as well as possessing high level general communication skills because of the variety of people they meet.

To be able to meet the changing needs of players, a coach must continue to strive for new knowledge and innovative skills that will impact on the delivery of their coaching programmes and lessons. Whilst golf, through the PGA, now has a more established coach education/development programme, the use of peer mentoring is relatively rare.

Peer mentoring, at its simplest, is a process whereby two coaches meet together on a regular basis (usually monthly) for 1-2 hours to mutually discuss their coaching practice and exchange views and ideas, and in particular the current challenges/issues they face with specific players/situations. In psychology professions, this type of mentoring is suggested to promote good practice, and is mandatory to maintain professional registration.

Within other sports, the use of individual mentoring has been widely adopted as a sound approach to promoting excellence within coaches through increasing positive change, engaging energy, imagination and commitment, and by instilling resourcefulness. For the PGA Professional, it may also offer another viable form of activity for continued professional development (CPD).

Why does regular peer mentoring work?

• Helps the coach to assess strengths and weaknesses before forming ongoing plans for personal development
• Identifies the most relevant challenges and opportunities facing the coach
• Provides guidance on how to influence and manage different pupils and players at different times
• Gives impetus to the coach to explore and exchange new ideas
• Enables coaches to use self-reflection to inform their coaching practice
• Provides an ongoing relationship to discuss individual coaching issues

How could I start this process?

• Perhaps talk to a like-minded coach locally/regionally
• Choose somebody who you feel is a good match to you in age/experience; someone you respect as a coach
• Timetable a regular 1-2 hour slot on a monthly basis to have a sit down discussion/phone call/practical session at a convenient venue (perhaps away from your club to avoid interruptions/distractions)
• Avoid playing together  initially as this is time-intensive and might not be conducive to in-depth discussions/demonstrations

Why don’t you give peer mentoring a go, it could transform your coaching practice!

Dr. Brian Hemmings has been lead psychologist to England golf for over a decade. During this time he has helped develop the mental skills of the best emerging English golfers including the likes of Ross Fisher, Richard Finch, Danny Willett, Tom Lewis, David Horsey and Chris Wood.  Brian is author of the book ‘Mental Toughness for Golf: The Minds of Winners’ and is also a regular presenter on the PGA CPD programme.

Brian has released a fully online Golf Psychology Coaching Certificate course that carries 100 PGA (of GB&I) CPD points and has been completed with great reviews by PGA professionals.  Go to www.golfpsychologycoaching.co.uk  for full details.  The course is full of practical activities for the PGA professional to guide players through improving their mental game, and is endorsed by some of England’s best coaches.  You can complete the course at home so you will have no travel costs or time away from your work.  All you need is a player to work with and the time to complete the course activities.   For a price reduction type in the promotional code 2012 to reduce the price from £295 to £219.

The Confederation of Professional Golf’s partnership with GOLF EUROPE that began in Munich in 1993 is to continue in Germany at the long-established No.1 Trade Fair’s attractive new venue of Augsburg to be staged on September 16-18, 2012.

The news is a great boost for the golf industry across Europe and beyond as exhibitors and potential buyers welcome back the opportunity to plan their merchandising and servicing operation for the year ahead while networking with PGA professionals, high street retailers and the media.

As always the genuinely international show for golf and golfers will feature equip­ment, cloth­ing and ac­ces­sories, product innovations, shop fit­tings, a golf dri­ving range, an in­door putting green, golf-re­lated tourism, golf lit­er­a­ture as well as golf news­pa­pers and pub­lish­ers.

And as a bonus for the domestic and international parade of PGA professionals in attendance there will be the usual wide-ranging GOLF EUROPE educational programme of seminars and workshops presented by specialists in their particular field coordinated jointly by the Confederation of Professional Golf and PGA of Germany.

Like Munich before it, Augsburg offers travel convenience in terms of a shuttle-bus service either from Munich airport, Allgäu Airport Memmingen or the Augsburg mainline station. Augsburg is an attractive, historic city, which visitors will enjoy and find good value in accommodation and restaurants.

Ger­hard Re­iter, head of Messe Augs­burg, was pleased to announce that the Confederation of Professional Golf and the PGA of Germany, with their collective pro­fes­sional ex­pe­ri­ence and ex­per­tise in pro­viding strate­gic organisational as­sis­tance, had joined forces as Partners.  “We are very pleased that GOLF EU­ROPE has found a new home in Augs­burg and that it has found  sound part­ners to take the suc­cess­ful concept for­ward into the fu­ture,” he said.

“At the Messe Augsburg exhibition grounds, we believe we have put the word “show” back into Golf Europe. There will be a stage for speakers and a catwalk, both of which will give manufacturers, buyers and pros additional promotional opportunities. The demonstration area with nets at the end of Hall 3 will create the opportunity to try out the latest equipment and supplement the demo day at the start of the event. Furthermore, we plan on holding “Get into Golf” events across the city basically ensuring that golf takes over Augsburg for this weekend in September” he added.

Confederation of Professional Golf chief executive Ian Randell who has visited the Augsburg site to assess its location and surrounding infrastructure is well satisfied the Augsburg will be a worthy successor to Munich for a golf show that has been endorsed by the association since its inauguration.

“While it was unfortunate that the situation at that time did not allow for GOLF EUROPE to continue in Munich in 2011 we are so pleased that Messe Augsburg has taken on the baton and we firmly believe that the sport and the industry benefits greatly from a trade fair of this nature in mainland, central Europe,” he said.

“We welcome with enthusiasm the opportunity to continue to play our part in GOLF EUROPE and are excited by the additions to increase the “show” and “fun” elements of Golf Europe as well as the prospect of using it to expose and develop the game around the city of Augsburg.”

Stefan Quirm­bach, Pres­i­dent of PGA in Ger­many, commented: “We are sure that Golf Europe will con­tinue to take shape to meet current and fu­ture re­quire­ments of the PGA of Germany and our members. We are very pleased to be in­volved as a part­ner in GOLF EU­ROPE and we shall be con­tribut­ing our ex­per­tise at the new venue.”

GOLF EU­ROPE was last staged in Sep­tem­ber 2010 when just under 4,000 in­ter­na­tional trade vis­i­tors from 45 countries were in attendance and now, after its one year break, optimism is running high as it restarts with a renewed lease of life in its desirable new surroundings.

10 reasons to sign up:

• Meet your continental customers in one place, saving travel and time over months
• Find new customers. An international show for new export opportunities
• Great venue
• Historic city, Germany’s third oldest
• Great Hospitality!
• Hotel and food prices lower than Munich
• A revamped show, new format, building on Munich’s appeal
• Brand new sector for Golf Tourism
• Demo Day for trade exhibitors
• The Unexpected. With visitors expected from Russia and Eastern Europe, new customers could be at the next table
  Hosted buyer scheme to bring key players together with exhibitors

With several high profile speakers present, it was an ideal opportunity for the golf industry to look collectively at ways to raise the popularity of golf in both new and established markets. Representatives from the French Golf Federation, the European Tour, the Confederation of Professional Golf, the European Golf Course Owners Association and the Federation of European Golf Greenkeepers Associations all contributed to the discussions, supported by the views from EIGCA Industry Partners such as TORO, Rainbird and John Deere. Members also profiled a number of projects that are helping to bring new golfers into the game.

After the conference Rainer Preissmann, EIGCA President, commented; “It is vital, especially in these difficult financial times, that the whole industry comes together to develop programmes that will encourage new golfers to take up the game. There are large numbers of people, both within new and established golf markets, who have had no exposure to golf, and we need to give them the opportunity to learn how to play and participate in this great sport. The EIGCA Conference gave us the opportunity to discuss many interesting topics and to review various ideas for “Growing the Game” with other golf bodies and industry representatives. We look forward to playing our part in helping golf’s future development.”

The license agreement includes the PGA Centenary Course, host to the 2014 Ryder Cup along with the PGA National Golf Academy and PGA National Golf Academy Course.

The move strengthens one of golf’s enduring relationships, which will also see the Perthshire hotel continue to house the Scottish office of the PGA, and sees the PGA brand right at the heart of Scottish golf.

PGA of GB&I chief executive Sandy Jones commented: “The PGA brand is one of the most respected and recognised in golf and to be closely associated with a world class facility like Gleneagles reaffirms that standing.

“The PGA (of GB&I) has been fortunate to enjoy a long and successful relationship with Gleneagles stretching back many years and we look forward to working closely with Bernard Murphy and his team and seeing the PGA branded course, academy and academy course being synonymous with the excellence that Gleneagles is renowned for.”

With the Ryder Cup in Scotland just over two years away a number of changes are being implemented to the Jack Nicklaus-designed PGA Centenary Course in preparation for the 2014 contest.

Gleneagles general manager Bernard Murphy said: “It’s an exciting time for everyone at Gleneagles as we countdown to the 2014 Ryder Cup.

“Now, more than ever, it’s important for us to strengthen relationships with industry bodies, so we’re delighted to have renewed our agreement with the PGA (of GB&I) this month.

“We’re proud to be home to Scotland’s only PGA Academy and to be recognised as one of the pre-eminent facilities in the country for golf coaching and education.

“The timing is significant as it coincides with the reopening of the PGA Centenary Course after seven months’ extensive remodelling, revealing the final Ryder Cup course two years ahead of the tournament.

“This, along with an ongoing programme of investment in our facilities – including the recent £3 million refurbishment of the Dormy Clubhouse – will ensure our guests enjoy an unparalleled golfing experience for many years to come.”

It is not just its on-course playing experiences that Gleneagles is renowned for with golf instruction pivotal to its reputation. Having created a purpose-built Golfing Academy in 1994, the facility has gone from strength to strength, evidenced in 2010 when it was selected by the PGA (of GB&I) to be the venue for the PGA National Golf Academy for Scotland.

The academy has become a focal point for the game in Scotland with a team of expert PGA professionals and advanced facilities including a 320 yard double-ended driving range with capacity for 40 golfers, designated long-game and short-game practice areas, on-course learning environments, technical analysis, including video capture and high performance custom-fitting.

The practice facilities are complemented by a PGA National Academy course for golfers to hone their skills.

In addition Gleneagles is home to the superb Queen’s and King’s courses – the latter host to this year’s Scottish PGA Championship.

The PGA of GB&I, the world’s oldest professional golfers’ association having been formed in 1901, has a worldwide portfolio of branded facilities with courses and academies in China, England, Russia, Slovakia and Turkey.