After the success of 2013’s championship, won by the Austrian pair of Uli Weinhandl & Jürgen Maurer, Golfbreaks.com has given its backing to the event that will see up to 120 pairs battle it out in the successful better-ball event for the largest prize fund in the tournament’s history.

 “With the added support of Golfbreaks.com we are confident that the event will continue to grow in stature,” said Chief Executive of the Confederation of Professional Golf, Ian Randell. “The attraction of returning to the fabulous Lumine resort with its growing reputation alongside an enhanced prize fund is sure to prove extremely popular with PGA Professionals across our membership. Lumine are fantastic partners to the Confederation of Professional Golf and the Lakes and Hills courses provide the perfect setting for our Fourball Championship.”

 Golfbreaks.com’s support of the Fourball Championship is another avenue in the continued backing of PGA Professionals from the company as it furthers the provision of international opportunities for professional golf travel, alongside its support of the PGA of Great Britain & Ireland’s own PGA Fourball Championship.

 Golfbreaks.com Director of Golf Pro Relations, Jim Long, commented: “We are delighted to sponsor this very special tournament which attracts Golf Pros from all over Europe. Our business is rapidly expanding into many countries across the Continent and demonstrates our on-going commitment to the Confederation of Professional Golf and their many members.”

 “It is an honour for us to welcome back the leaders in European golf and further cement our strong relationship with the Confederation of Professional Golf,” said Calle Carlsson, General Manager, Lumine Golf & Beach Club. “Our year round immaculate Troon course conditioning, warm Mediterranean climate, and diversity of the Costa Daurada region only serve to enhance our reputation as the ideal venue for high-profile international events. We look forward to welcoming the competitors and dignitaries and can promise the most successful Fourball Championship to date.”

 Located on 170 acres, Lumine Golf Club’s two 18-hole courses, the Greg Norman designed Lakes Course, and the white-pine-lined Hills Course, will host the championship for the second year after rave reviews from last year’s competitors.

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 Entry details will be announced soon and for more information visit the Tournament Hub Page [http://eur.pe/1d1fiO5], www.Golfbreaks.com/pga-pro, and www.lumine.com.

 For more information about the Confederation of Professional Golf, visit cpg.golf, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter, or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

Notes to Editors:

 Confederation of Professional Golf

 The Confederation of Professional Golf is an Association of 38 National PGAs (31 European and 7 international) with a collective membership in excess of 21,000 golf professionals.

 Our core mission is to represent, promote and provide advice to develop professional golf and ensure that the administration of the professional game throughout the continent delivers excellence in the services provided to ensure highly qualified, highly skilled PGA Professionals who lead the advancement of the game. [cpg.golf]

 Golfbreaks.com

 Golfbreaks.com is an official Partner of The PGA and the Official Golf Travel Company to the Confederation of Professional Golf. It was formed in 1998 by Chief Executive, Andrew Stanley, and is Europe’s largest golf travel company, organising golf breaks, days and holidays for more than 400,000 golfers a year in the UK, Europe and Worldwide. With more than 15 years’ experience and an expert team that is passionate about golf and travel, we are known for delivering outstanding service, with the reassurance and security of booking with an ABTA and ATOL bonded travel company. Golfbreaks.com is also the only golf travel company to reward customers for their loyalty through our Breakpoints customer rewards programme, which earns money off all future bookings made with Golfbreaks.com and our sister companies, Teeofftimes.co.uk and BookaSpa.com.

 LUMINE Mediterránea Beach & Golf Club

 Located on 170 acres, Lumine Golf Club’s two 18-hole courses, the Greg Norman designed Lakes Course, and the white-pine-lined Hills Course, will host the championship for the second year after rave reviews from last year’s competitors. Winding its way around the picturesque Sèquia Major wetlands, the Lakes course bears all the hallmarks of the Great White Shark and is undoubtedly the most testing of the resorts three courses. A links-style championship layout, it features several water hazards and tests all aspects of the game. Located within 170 acres, LUMINE Golf Club also includes the more traditional Hills Course, a second 18-hole championship course that runs through pine and olive trees with spectacular views of the nearby coastline.

After the success of 2013’s championship, won by the Austrian pair of Uli Weinhandl & Jürgen Maurer, Golfbreaks.com has given its backing to the event that will see up to 120 pairs battle it out in the successful better-ball event for the largest prize fund in the tournament’s history.

“With the added support of Golfbreaks.com we are confident that the event will continue to grow in stature,” said Chief Executive of the Confederation of Professional Golf, Ian Randell. “The attraction of returning to the fabulous Lumine resort with its growing reputation alongside an enhanced prize fund is sure to prove extremely popular with PGA Professionals across our membership. Lumine are fantastic partners to the Confederation of Professional Golf and the Lakes and Hills courses provide the perfect setting for our Fourball Championship.”

Golfbreaks.com’s support of the Fourball Championship is another avenue in the continued backing of PGA Professionals from the company as it furthers the provision of international opportunities for professional golf travel, alongside its support of the PGA of Great Britain & Ireland’s own PGA Fourball Championship.

Golfbreaks.com Director of Golf Pro Relations, Jim Long, commented: “We are delighted to sponsor this very special tournament which attracts Golf Pros from all over Europe. Our business is rapidly expanding into many countries across the Continent and demonstrates our on-going commitment to the Confederation of Professional Golf and their many members.”

“It is an honour for us to welcome back the leaders in European golf and further cement our strong relationship with the Confederation of Professional Golf,” said Calle Carlsson, General Manager, Lumine Golf & Beach Club. “Our year round immaculate Troon course conditioning, warm Mediterranean climate, and diversity of the Costa Daurada region only serve to enhance our reputation as the ideal venue for high-profile international events. We look forward to welcoming the competitors and dignitaries and can promise the most successful Fourball Championship to date.”

Located on 170 acres, Lumine Golf Club’s two 18-hole courses, the Greg Norman designed Lakes Course, and the white-pine-lined Hills Course, will host the championship for the second year after rave reviews from last year’s competitors.

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For more information on the Confederation of Professional Golf Golfbreaks.com Fourball Championship visit the Tournament Hub Page, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter search the Hashtag ‘#FourballChamps’, or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

For more information on the event supporters visit www.Golfbreaks.com and www.Lumine.com.

McGinley has been a popular member of previous teams both as a player and vice captain, but the Irishman insists his affable nature does not mean he will be afraid to take the tough decisions which undoubtedly lie ahead.

“I understand that along the journey that all Captains take, some tough decisions have to be made,” McGinley said. “Some have been made already and some will be made going forward. I’m prepared for that and I’m prepared for the fact that not everybody is going to agree with my decisions.

“I’ve been very fortunate, I’ve been involved in five of the last six Ryder Cups, and we won all five that I was involved in (three as a player, two as vice-captain). I’ve seen the template, I’ve seen what works and I just want to make that template better and roll it out again.

“I’ll meet any challenges I have head on and I understand that not everybody is going to be in agreement with the decisions that I make.”

McGinley himself will hit the very first shot in the race to qualify for Gleneagles at the ISPS Handa Wales Open.

And he expects to see plenty of players push their case this week when he tees off at 7:20am alongside Qualifying School winner John Parry and Challenge Tour Number One Espen Kofstad.

“The quality of golf on The European Tour now is phenomenal and there’s a lot of young players who are ready to step up to Ryder Cup standard,” added McGinley.

“I’m not afraid of having rookies on the team, and if those guys step up to the plate and play really well, I’ll be delighted to welcome them to the team. Generally, all I’m concerned about at the end of the day is having the 12 strongest players to represent Europe at this time next year.

“we had a situation a couple years ago where Alvaro Quiros won the Dubai World Championship and ended up not making the Team. So even though you may have a big win, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re going to make The Ryder Cup Team.

“You still have to play extremely well. Alvaro had a pretty decent season the year after, but it just shows you it has to be a phenomenal season for 12 months in order to make the team, and that’s just one case in point.

“Ultimately I’m looking for the guys who have played the best over the 12-month period and I have absolutely no hesitation about having rookies on the team or picking a rookie. Generally what I want is players who are playing the best.”

Taking place at Glenmarie Golf and Country Club in Malaysia from March 28-30, 2014, the EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM will be sanctioned by The European Tour and the Asian Tour, pitting ten of Europe’s leading players against a ten man team from Asia in a format similar to The Ryder Cup.

Europe will select the leading four players available from the final Race to Dubai rankings at the conclusion of the 2013 season, the leading four players available from the Official World Golf Ranking on Monday, February 3, 2014 and two captain’s picks.

The make-up of the Asian team will include the leading four available Asian players from the final 2013 Asian Tour Order of Merit, the leading three available Asian players invited on the basis of their Official World Golf Ranking and three captain’s picks.

The two captains will be chosen by The European Tour and the Asian Tour respectively and will be announce at a later date.

The inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM will be held 15 years after the historic first event to be co-sanctioned between the two Tours, the Malaysian Open – a tournament that continues to go from strength to strength under the title sponsorship of Maybank.

It is one of two new events announced on the early part of the 2014 International Schedule, along with the Nedbank Golf Challenge, which takes place at the Gary Player Country Club in Sun City, South Africa, from December 5-8, 2013.

With a prize fund of US$6,500,000, the Nedbank Golf Challenge will be co-sanctioned with the Sunshine Tour and will feature a 30-player field boasting some of the world’s leading stars.

It is one of seven events in South Africa on the initial sector of The 2014 Race to Dubai, which is launched with the South African Open Championship at Glendower Golf Club, Johannesburg, from November 21-24, 2013.

The Alfred Dunhill Championship takes place the following week, from November 28 –December 1, at Leopard Creek Golf Club, Malelane, with the Nedbank Golf Challenge completing the initial South African swing, before the second edition of The Nelson Mandela Championship presented by ISPS Handa takes place at Mount Edgecombe CC, in Durban, from December 12-15, 2013.

The European Tour will then return to South Africa for the Joburg Open at Royal Johannesburg & Kensington Golf Club, from February 6-9; the Africa Open at East London Golf Club, from February 13-16; and the Tshwane Open, which returns to Copperleaf Golf and Country Club, from February 27-March 2.

After the Volvo Golf Champions heralds the start of the 2014 calendar year from January 9-12 (venue to be confirmed), the traditional ‘desert swing’ begins with the Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, from January 16-19, followed by the Commercialbank Qatar Masters, from January 22-25, and culminating with the 25th anniversary edition of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic at Emirates Golf Club, from January 30-February 2.

With the WGC-Accenture Match Play Championship at Ritz-Carlton Golf Club (February 19-23) and the WGC-Cadillac Championship (March 6-9) taking place in America, the global appeal of The European Tour’s initial sector is further highlighted with the return to The Race to Dubai of the Hong Kong Open, from December 5-8, 2013, and the fifth consecutive appearance of the Trophée Hassan II, in Morocco, from March 13-16, 2014.

Keith Waters, The European Tour’s Chief Operating Officer and Director of International Policy, said: “We are delighted to announce the inaugural EurAsia Cup presented by DRB-HICOM as part of our initial sector of The 2014 European Tour International Schedule, and we are all excited by the prospect of this match-play event between Europe and Asia.

“Our thanks go to DRB-HICOM, Glenmarie Golf and Country Club, Professional Golf of Malaysia (PGM) and the Malaysian government for supporting this event, which extends The European Tour’s already strong partnership with the Asian Tour that dates back to 1999, when Malaysia staged the first co-sanctioned event between the two Tours.

“With the addition of the Nedbank Golf Challenge – one of seven events in South Africa – and the continued strength of the ‘desert swing’, including the 25th anniversary of the Omega Dubai Desert Classic, we can look forward to an outstanding start to The 2014 Race to Dubai.”

For more information visit www.EuropeanTour.com.

The 15-strong Tournament Committee of The European Tour – led by Chairman Thomas Björn – decided upon the change at their last committee meeting, held during the Aberdeen Asset Management Scottish Open at Castle Stuart, a decision which has since been ratified by the Board of Ryder Cup Europe.

It means the change will come into effect for the identification of the successor to the current captain, Paul McGinley, for The 2016 Ryder Cup at Hazeltine National in Chaska, Minnesota.

The composition of the five man panel will be as follows; the three previous Ryder Cup Captains – for the 2016 selection that means McGinley himself, José María Olazábal and Colin Montgomerie – the Chief Executive of The European Tour, and one representative from the Tournament Committee, to be nominated beforehand by the committee itself.

It also means that the timing and venue of the announcement for the 2016 captain will be determined by Ryder Cup Europe and announced in the early part of 2015.

Europe’s Ryder Cup Director Richard Hills said: “This decision has come after a series of Tournament Committee meetings and after much reflection, it was felt that this change would see the most suitable candidate being invited to follow on from Paul McGinley at Hazeltine.

“The job of Ryder Cup captain is an ever expanding and ever demanding role and I think this decision perfectly focuses the three vital ingredients required in any selection process.

“These are; the immediate experience of the three past captains which brings six years of vital knowledge to the table, the office of the Chief Executive of The European Tour which outlines the wide ranging political and practical requirements; and the Tournament Committee representative who will, having canvassed his colleagues on Tour, bring the feelings and wishes of the players to the discussion.”

Sandy Jones, Chief Executive of the Professional Golfers’ Association, said: “With the expertise of three Ryder Cup Captains, as well as representation from The European Tour’s Tournament Committee and Chief Executive, we believe the new process to select Europe’s captain is the best way forward.

“The Ryder Cup continues to grow and evolve, and we hope this new process will enable the European Team to continue the success they have enjoyed in recent years.”

This will be the third process used to select The Ryder Cup captain since players from Continental Europe joined the fold for the 1979 contest, under the captaincy of John Jacobs, at The Greenbrier in West Viriginia.

From then until 1997, when the late Seve Ballesteros led Europe to a memorable 14 ½ – 13 ½ victory in his homeland at Club de Golf Valderrama, the European Ryder Cup Captain was chosen by the Ryder Cup Committee, who selected Jacobs again in 1981, Tony Jacklin in 1983, 1985, 1987 and 1989, and Bernard Gallacher in 1991, 1993 and 1995.

However, in 1999, Mark James was the first European captain to be nominated by the European Tour’s Tournament Committee and ratified by the Ryder Cup Board, a process which went on to select Sam Torrance (2002), Bernhard Langer (2004), Ian Woosnam (2006), Sir Nick Faldo (2008), Colin Montgomerie (2010), José María Olazábal (2012) and Paul McGinley (2014).

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For more information visit www.RyderCup.com.

As coaches, we all arrive at a stage in which we realize that the more we know about our job the more we have a huge mountain to climb. We have experienced an evolution of swing theories and technology to support us, from old video cameras to advanced computers and portable devices.

Everyday, we have pupils who challenge our coaching ability, each bringing their own experiences and individual challenges. As coaches, we realize the value that these bring to our coaching development. We start to reflect on whether these theories and tools can be used in a more supportive way. We see that they can be powerful, but also useless, without a better understanding of how learners react to the learning process. Quite often, pupils have difficulty translating theoretical information into practical expression. Equally, coaches struggle to measure the ‘real’ effect of instruction on a pupil’s ability, which drives us to discover new ways to improve the learning process.

Sport and science university research departments now enable us to go deeper into the learning process through the application of neurological and physiological science. Recently I had the privilege of taking an active part in this kind of research – Verona Sport and Science University in Italy conducted a study to test the efficiency of an alternative strategy called Method of Amplification of Errors (MAE) in which the pupil exaggerates their main errors as much as possible.

The amplification of the main error allows the pupil to become internally aware, thereby enhancing the correction of motor errors. The results of this method were then compared to the traditional method of direct instruction. The study was inspired by the work of Nobel prize winner Gerald Edelmann.

The research was conducted with three groups of pupils with a range of beginners to pros in each group. A number of sports were involved in the study, I personally took care of the golfing sector of the project. A series of sessions were conducted with each group focusing on a different learning strategy: Traditional Direct Instruction, Pupil Directed Learning and Amplification of Errors. The biomechanics laboratory at the university provided the tools/equipment to measure the effectiveness of each method. The outcome of the research showed that the MAE delivered the most significant improvements in club speed and swing sequence.

This scientific approach, in an environment in which cause and effect are measurable at any stage, affects the way the coaching routine is managed; how effective it is; and how it reflects the pupil’s learning attitude. It also increases awareness of the finer details and how the instruction is delivered from the coach’s perspective. The research process and findings encouraged us to approach coaching from a different perspective, one that focuses on the physiological, the biomechanical and the pupil’s attitude to the methodology delivered. We can consider these steps as the fundamental aspects of the MAE.

As a result, what we see is a series of notable changes in our relationship with the pupils. Psychologically they react positively, and they value the way they are managed during the coaching process in the respect to their own needs. As a coach, you notice even more of the differences from pupil to pupil, and you start to consider every pupil as an opportunity to develop/improve your coaching ability. You became more an educator than an instructor; you look after the pupil’s needs differently; and you open your eyes and your mind to different checkpoints. The pupil’s awareness of their errors increases, which results in an improvement of their motor skills and their golfing ability, whilst the exchange of feedback builds a more established relationship with the pupil.

What is clear is that we have a new frontier to explore further – the Learning process. We can now measure how our bodies react in response to information from coaches; we should respect the different ways of learning; value our interactions with pupils; and be ever more conscious regarding the way we work with pupils. Human beings are a never-ending story – we have much more to discover, but as always, we have to enjoy the journey.

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The outcomes of the research have been presented in June 2013 at 18th Annual Congress of the European College of Sport Science. To read the research abstract click here: http://eur.pe/13Tj96c, and to request access to the full research contact aw@CPG.com.

The presence of the leading companies and brands from the European golfing world make the trade fair an absolutely essential venue for the trade. In addition to this, a diverse supporting programme will be available at the trade fair.

Top class Further Training Programme

The PGA Learn & Earn Zone as well as the ETPI (European Tour Performance Institute) seminar will be available for visitors to GOLF EUROPE free of charge and they offer an outstanding opportunity to acquire valuable expertise from experts first hand. Participation in the PGA Learn & Earn Zone seminars will be acknowledged by most PGAs awarding you points in their graduation profile systems. The new ETPI seminar will be held at the trade fair on Tuesday 1 October. Bundled expertise garnered from working together with top players over a period of 20-years will be taught over a total of six sessions.

Online registration has begun

Trade visitors can register on www.golf-europe.com now and in doing so save up to 50% of the entrance price charged at the door. This also save visitors from having to waste time registering in person and by waiting at the till.

Comprehensive customer service packages available

There will be 250 hotel rooms within the Augsburg area reserved just for trade fair visitors up until 29 August 2013. Reservations can be made directly though this link: http://eur.pe/1bMt3Mt.

Organisers, Messe Augsburg ASMV GmbH, associate Private Greens & FiberGrass Int. GmbH is offering flights for travelling to GOLF EUROPE 2013 in Augsburg at special prices with Lufthansa through its hotel platform www.pro-golfhotels.de.

More information is available at: http://www.golf-europe.com/de/anreise-aufenthalt/anreise-hotel/lh-sondertarife.html#c2639

Free return shuttle services will be organised from Munich Airport to the main railway station in the centre of Augsburg.

GOLF EUROPE App

From mid-September onwards the GOLF EUROPE App can be used as a guide and it will provide you with information about all the important things you need to know concerning GOLF EUROPE: be it a list of exhibitors, or departure times of the shuttle busses, the GOLF EUROPE App has all the information you need ready for downloading.

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For more information on Golf Europe visit www.Golf-Europe.com.

For more information on the Confederation of Professional Golf visit the cpg.golf, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter, or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.