The Congress, supported by Glenmuir and Associação Turismo do Algarve, was greatly honoured to welcome General Secretary of the European Golf Association (EGA), Richard Heath. Having presented on the future of the EGA, detailing their new strategic plan it seemed fitting that Confederation of Professional Golf Chief Executive, Ian Randell, and President, Jean-Etienne Lafitte, would present Mr Heath with a commemorative plaque to mark their distinguished past.

“During its own period of advancement, the EGA has been the catalyst for many developments in the game of golf throughout Europe, including the establishment of many professional events that comprise the PGA European Tour calendar today,” said Richard Heath.

“Continuing to foster the future of the amateur game in close cooperation with our member federations, we wish to create the best pathways for our future elite players into their professional careers. Therefore, we view our relationship with the professional bodies as a partnership to be maintained and progressed.

“We very much appreciate the formal recognition we have received from the Confederation of Professional Golf in celebration of our past 75 years and look forward to our seeking further opportunities for mutual support in our service to the game.”

The EGA was initiated in 1937 during a meeting held in Luxembourg and has since grown to comprise 43 of the continent’s amateur federations, associations and unions with the aims of developing the amateur game across Europe.

“We offer our full congratulations to the EGA on its 75th Anniversary and are delighted to have Richard with us to speak and represent the EGA here in Portugal,” Ian Randell said of the acknowledgement.

“It is important that our Associations work closely together to provide representation to both the amateur and professional elements of golf in Europe, and continue to foster relations and share good practice across our member countries, and we look forward to continuing our work together in the years ahead.”

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For more information on the European Golf Association visit www.ega-golf.ch.

For more information from the 2012 Annual Congress, visit the Annual Congress Hub Page, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter, or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

The 2012 Annual Congress was supported by Glenmuir, Associação Turismo do Algarve, Hotel Vila Galé Lagos, Onyria Palmares Beach and Golf Resort, the European Ryder Cup Development Trust, and Rolex – For more information on our partners, visit http://bit.ly/SkAMWD.

VJ Trolio, one of the most promising and talked-about young coaches in the United States, will take you back to one of the greatest players of all time, Ben Hogan. His legendary swing has been analysed and discussed for many years. Mr. Hogan spent many hours finding his answer to swing technique, which resulted in, amongst other things, his book “Five Lessons”.

VJ will have discussions about Mr. Hogan’s swing before and after his accident and explain what Ben said in these Five Lessons.

Mike Adams will return and will present a new concept called “Cracking the Golf Swing Code”, which has been widely spoken about already. Fredrik Tuxen from TrackMan will speak of the latest findings about what actually happens during the collision between club and ball, and Patrik Sjöberg and Maria Akraka communicates important information about topical, sensitive subjects related to coaches.

Delegates will also hear from Trend Analyst Göran Adlén, one of the “big” speakers in Sweden, which will give an insight into how professionals can prepare themselves for the future. There will also be information on the future of the golf consumer, and golf’s impact on the economy.

The Summit is open for any PGA member and many of the presentations are in English – for the PGA members attending the Summit they will also be invited to our annual dinner on the Saturday night.

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For more informartion on the Teaching and Coaching Conference download the Conference information booklet (Swedish language) or email AS@pgasweden.com.