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David Orr is definitely now known as a world-class putting expert, but that wasn’t always the case. He found his specialty and his niche along the path of his career.

David talks about his story and how he became the “expert”. So many fundamental concepts to learn from this that should give you some amazing ideas on how to find your area to specialize in. As a bonus you’ll learn a few things about putting while listening to this

“Everyone is looking for the answers on the outside, they’re looking in the wrong direction.” Garrett Kramer

These are invaluable questions to help you in your career and find your niche

What do I love?

There are so many different options and directions you have to be doing what you love.

Why do I do it?

How are you going to go about doing it?

How are you going to make money? How much do you need to make? Where are you going to do it?

David Orr also gives some massive shout outs to David Leadbetter, Butch Harmon, and Mike Adams for pushing golf instruction forward and creating the industry that it is today.

“Golf instructors need to stop acting like GOLLUM!”

Make sure to check out David’s Flatstick Academy.

About David Orr

David Orr is a PGA Professional, who specializes in putting for over the past decade. Serving as the 2011 Carolinas PGA Teacher of the Year and Director of Instruction at Campbell University’s PGA Golf Management Program, Orr has been coaching golf for nearly 25 years.

David has worked with more than 50 touring pros worldwide, amongst his most notable clients: Justin Rose, Hunter Mahan, Jason Gore, DA Points, Scott Stallings, Cameron Percy, and Cheyenne Woods, plus dozens more from the PGA, Web.com, LPGA, Canadian, and other professional tours world- wide.

David is highly regarded amongst his colleagues and peers, as a “world-renowned” putting coach, a public speaker, and 3D putting researcher. As a result, Orr is often invited to present his Tour- Tested Putting Instruction/3D research at Coaching Summits, Conferences, Open Forums, PGA Sections, and Golf Venues throughout the Domestic US and abroad.

Furthermore, he loves to share his experiences, information, and insight, with the other golf instructors through his “Flatstick Academy Certified Instructor Program” that has been developed over the past couple years. His new website flatstickacademy.com was launched in July of 2015 and is considered a “Super Value” amongst avid golfers and instructors alike.

This Show’s Sponsor

K-VEST is the industry’s only human motion learning system. The all-in-one wireless system that instantaneously measures players’ power signatures and 3D data. The system that assesses player characteristics and generates insightful reports. The system that automatically flows those reports into a powerful coaching and training program builder.

But that’s just the beginning. K-VEST doesn’t only provide you with an extensive library of pre-built training programs and drills, but also with the tools to customize them. And these pre-loaded resources always put real-time auditory and visual feedback front and center—making it possible for clients to feel new movement patterns. Supporting this state-of-the-art wearable technology are turnkey marketing programs that empower professionals to grow their businesses. In fact, it’s everything today’s pro needs to achieve greater success… a human motion learning system.

Learn about what every golf instructor needs to know about K-VEST

A Perfect Day for Jason

Jason Day climbed to the head of the Olympic Rankings on the strength of a another towering week of world class golf. The Australian supplanted long-time leader Jordan Spieth as No.1 after defeating Louis Oosthuizen in the final of the WGC-Dell Match Play in Austin, Texas.

Day, now also the world No.1, was not the only beneficiary in the quest for Olympic qualification. Oosthuizen moved into the top ten at No.10, demoting England’s Danny Willett to 11th and Oosthuizen’s fellow countryman, Brendan Grace, to 12th. Korea’s Byeong-Hun An is now 15th from 16th.

However, the man who made most ground was dashing Spaniard Rafa Cabrera-Bello, whose victory over Rory McIlroy in Austin earned him third place in the Match Play and a jump of nine places on the Road to Rio from 27th to 18th.

A Mexican wave from Rodolfo

Rodolfo Cazaubon, the 26 year old from Mexico, is a new entry on the Olympic Rankings after finishing in a tie for third place alongside English Ryder Cup player, Ian Poulter, in the Puerto Rico Open at Coco Beach Golf and Country Club.

Cazaubon, who competes on the Web.com Tour, came up just one shot away from joining the play-off which saw Tony Finau beat his fellow American Steve Marino at the second extra hole.

The reward, for Cazaubon was to bring his Olympic dream closer to reality by joining the elite list for Rio de Janeiro in 54th place, with Siddikur Rahman of Bangladesh dropping out of the top 60.

Quote…Unquote

“It’s not so much the No. 1 rank that really gets me excited. It’s more so the journey and the process that it’s taken. To get to the top of your sport takes a long time and so for me it’s that delayed gratification. To be No. 1 in the world is fantastic.”….Jason Day.

The Women

Lydia Ko provided another example of how she can light up Rio by winning the 11th LPGA Tour title of her fledgling career at Carlsbad, California.

The New Zealand teenager displayed the full range of her skills ahead of the first major championship of the year by winning the Kia Classic. Ko’s opening score of 68 turned out to be her worst round of the week as she strung together three successive 67s to beat Korea’s Inbee Park by four strokes.

It’s a case of ‘as you were’ at the top of the Olympic Rankings with Ko occupying the No.1 position and Park tucked in behind in second place.

Korea currently have four eligible players within the top 15 in the Olympic Rankings with the United States on three.

Quote…Unquote

“I think there’s always something I can get better at. My trainer, says: ‘Better every day’. We are just trying to get a little better every single day. That’s kind of my goal and the quote that motivates me”…Lydia Ko.

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For up-to-the-minute information on #OlympicGolf and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter (@OlympicGolf), Facebook.

Morne has spent many years establishing himself as an innovator that, through All Square Media, services various the golf market through the publication ‘Corporate Golf Magazine’, together with the agency’s work with IGPN itself.

Q. Explain a bit of background about your business ventures and your involvement with them…

A.  I qualified as a class A PGA professional in 2001 and instantly fell in love with the business side of the game.  The PGA of South Africa was the perfect platform and partner for all my ideas I had at the time.  As an entrepreneur and golfer it made perfect sense to focus on golf and the industry; I started with my own golf school for kids with a very strong business case, communications channel and brand.  Later on this turned into a franchise business, which I sold on to focus more on technology alone.

My next venture was a communications application for clubs; more schools than clubs adopted this, so I also sold this business once I saw that I was drifting away from golf and my passion – the golf industry!

I then met with my current business partner, Marnus Visagie, an expert in the publishing industry, and started an online golf magazine for corporate individuals, which covers top corporate events in a personalised magazine.  This was an instant hit in South Africa.

My focus with all ventures is on core business development and new business – with all the networking and experience I have gained over the years it has made this key to our company.

Q. What were the main business opportunities you saw within the ventures?

A.  I looked at the game and saw a big gap in the business sector and also with how golf operators in general miss out on a big opportunity to communicate with corporates, the way they engage and also not being able to close business.

Our product is just one vehicle to communicate better to corporates, get them engaged in your golf business and then sell!  It grows big databases or contact lists over time which are massively valuable.

Q. What strategy did you adopt in order to assess these business opportunities?

A.  With today’s technology it is very easy to see who is really looking at your product or using it.  Our product evolved over time and as we saw people using it.  The most important factor with digital media is that people need to use it, read it and spend time on it; otherwise there is no value!  Which all means you need to pay attention to what the stats are saying!

Q. What were the main challenges you faced with the strategy/ventures and what did you do to overcome them?

A.  Our biggest challenge is to get people (especially in the golf industry) to change their ways and thinking about the industry itself.  It took some time to get people believing in technology and good communication systems and products.

Q. How did you go about achieving the goals you set out for your ventures?

A.  Like golf, you have to work really hard.  My first step was to get a team together – a smart team to “out smart” our competition.  I have a great business partner and we have the same vision.  The second step was to make sure they understand our vision and also work hard!  And then perseverance – sometimes it gets really hard but you have to keep grinding away and put more hours in and it all comes together, but at the same time we’re also having fun at what we do!

Q. What results have you had so far and how have you achieved the goals that were set?

A.  We achieved most of our goals – the ones we missed out on were great learning curves and keeps us humble and make us work harder.  We see all of our partnerships in business as huge successes; we are a Media Partner to Confederation of Professional Golf, Affiliate of The PGA of South Africa, Communications partner to SA Israel Chamber of Commerce and Forbes Africa Media partner.

Q. What is next for the business – where do you now aim to be?

A.  Our next step will be a big leap into what I believe is the future for Digital Publishing/Media.  We are aiming to launch a franchise model before the end of this year.  This will allow franchisors to own a piece of a fully fledge design studio.  What this means is that you don’t have to set up your own studio anymore with all the resources and overheads, we will do all the in-house production for you at literally a fraction of the cost. This allows people to produce magazines, newsletters etc. and is an ideal business opportunity for any individual in the golf industry!

For more information on All Square Media visit www.allsquaremedia.co.za.

This article originally featured in International Golf Pro News. Visit the IGPN Page to find out more and subscribe for free.

As I promised you yesterday, today, Aimee Burke (Sales & Marketing Director Kemper Sports, The Ridge Club) will show us the challenges of expanding golf club membership. Aimee Burke will give some advice and tricks. Her article/post will continue soon. Here is the first part.

Here are her thoughts:

“If you’re lucky to have a dedicated sales person inside the club driving membership, one could assume you have a systematic sales process, dedicated sales CRM, strategic annual marketing plan, analytics on ROI, and tracking of lead sources from advertising efforts.

“Many small golf clubs may have to shuffle the responsibly of sales to the general manager or additional full time staff. This can be a challenge considering the volume a typical golf department and club restaurant will see during their peak seasons.

“Add in the fact that we as an industry have a shrinking population of golfers to pull from combined with some basic sales stats and it can be a real challenge to drive memberships in a season. Regardless of your current structure, knowing where your leads are coming from and being able to measure your ROI on the ones that deliver are keys to reinvesting into the appropriate marketing channels.

“One could hardly argue that the best source of membership prospects come from current, happy members. Let’s assume for arguments sake that your sales person is asking for referrals. But how do we compound and capture this information?

“I have seen members hang onto valuable prospect information, many times stating to me, “Let me work on him first and then I’ll have him call you.” We’ve all been in this scenario. And to the seasoned sales professional, we shake our heads as we see the member trying to start and end the sales cycle on their own. Many times they come back and say “he’s not interested”… and you never even had a chance.

“So how do you get the prospect information from the member without seeming too pushy?

“Another lost opportunity for prospect leads and member referrals are golf guests. Very often I am in conversation with a prospect and they tell me that they’ve golfed at the course a few times. How frustrating is it to know that there have been multiple opportunities to engage the prospect as a guest yet no process to capture their information for a systematic follow up!”

To be continued….

@salubriousdish

You’re not going to succeed at business without doing market research. How else are you going to find out if there will be any kind of demand for your idea, who will want to buy it, the size of the market not to mention how you’re positioned relative to competitors?

The good news is that gauging customer sentiment doesn’t need to be expensive. That’s according to Adam Rossow, partner with iModerate, a Denver-based qualitative research firm which has conducted more than 250,000 one-on-one conversations with client customers in the 11 years the company has been around.

1. Turn industry events into a research venue.

The trade shows and conferences your company attends every year are an opportunity to talk with your target audience. Find out who will be attending and schedule times to get face-to-face with these people, if even for a few minutes.

2. Use a text analytics tool to study the wealth of information you’re already getting from customers.

This software can be rudimentary or complex–anything from a word cloud generator to an enterprise solution. It works by uploading customer feedback from various sources–social media mentions, call center feedback or survey data, for example–and looking for themes. “A lot of companies are drowning in consumer commentary, but are not taking advantage of it,” he says. “So if you don’t have anyone looking at all the commentary already in your feeds, put someone on it and give them a text analytics tool.”

3. Collaborate with other companies to glean insights about consumer sentiment.

It can even be competitors, as long as you’re comfortable with the fact that everyone involved will be getting the same insights. For example, a company in the media entertainment industry that wants to know how audiences are consuming TV could team with one or more of the television networks. “If you really need that research and can’t afford it you can team up with other like-minded companies in the field to try and get at it,” he says.

4. Use social media to crowdsource your research.

Use Facebook, Instagram, Twitter or LinkedIn to ask simple questions of your fan base. “NPR puts questions on its Facebook page or tweets them out and gets answers that way,” he says. “It’s not going to be the most robust research, but depending on your objectives, the level of bias that you’re OK with, and if it’s the right audience, it’s a good way to get simple questions answered.”

5. A/B test your messages.

Whether it’s an email, digital ad or tagline, test the waters with a couple of versions to see which ones are getting the most engagement and click-throughs. “The downside is you might not really know the motivations and the reasoning behind why one message is doing better than the others, but at least you can [understand] which is the best performing,” he says.

6. Become involved in an industry association.

These kinds of memberships often offer access to copious amounts of research. “There is often a ton of stuff there you can get your hands on that can answer some pretty general questions about the marketplace and where the industry is going,” he says.

7. Use DIY tools.

SurveyMonkey and GutCheck are a couple to check out. “The one thing that I’d caution against is launching those things without having any idea how to ask the proper question and what kind of methodology that’s called for,” he says.

8. Log all your customer input.

Any kind of feedback you’re getting from customers–whether in person, through your call center or via social networks–should be captured. You can’t study customer problems, habits and lifestyles if you don’t harvest and store that information.

9. Start small.

You don’t need to talk to thousands of people if 20 or 30 will give you a good idea what direction to head.

10. Find what’s already out there.

You may be surprised what you can learn by searching the internet for studies that have already been conducted. For example, a wealth of data exists on Millennials regarding how they like to be engaged, what social networks they use and more. While the research you find may not be specific to your industry, you’re wasting money if you’re asking questions that have already been answered.

“You want to use research to either confirm a hypothesis or to get to a new place, where it’s true insight and your company takes away something new that you didn’t know before,” he says.

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This article originally appeared on Inc.com – to view the original article visit http://eur.pe/21keCca.

@jaredhecht

Inaccurate bookkeeping–whether your books are simply out of date or in total disarray–will cost you plenty in the long run. Here are some of the expensive dangers of bad bookkeeping.

You’re a busy business owner. There are so many tasks and clients clamoring for your attention all day long that bookkeeping is probably the last thing on your mind. And as stacks of invoices, expense receipts, and other paperwork pile up, it gets ever more tempting to tell yourself you’ll deal with them tomorrow…or next week…or next month.

Small business owners frequently hope to save on costs by going the DIY route for bookkeeping rather than hiring a professional bookkeeper. That’s all well and good provided you have the time and the know-how to keep accurate records. But inaccurate bookkeeping–whether your books are simply out of date or in total disarray–will cost you plenty in the long run. Here are some of the expensive dangers of bad bookkeeping.

Obscures the Big Picture

Your books provide a snapshot of your company’s financial viability. Without good records, that snapshot will be out of focus. Inaccurate bookkeeping results in inaccurate reports about your cash flow.

Your business may be struggling financially, but without a paper trail, you won’t be able to clearly see what’s causing the problem. Worse, you may not be able to tell that there is a problem.

Causes Costly Mistakes

Miscalculating profits or costs due to bad bookkeeping can be disastrous. Overestimating your profits when filing taxes needlessly increases your taxes owed, while underestimating them can lead to an audit and fines. Miscategorizing assets (for instance, long-term assets that depreciate over time) and expenses can lead to your paying more in taxes than you need to.

Even a small error can snowball over time if it’s not caught early. If you’re not regularly reconciling your books with your bank statement, this type of innocent mistake may go unnoticed until it causes significant damage to your finances.

Increases Your Chances of Being Audited (and Tax Penalties)

Filing taxes late or having exemptions, expenses, or deductions that don’t add up raises red flags with the IRS [tax authorities]–leaving you vulnerable to an audit. “Even if you have all your ducks in order and can defend your deductions and support your income, the process is still time-consuming, costly, and nerve-wracking,” says Bonnie Lee. How much more unpleasant will an audit be if your ducks are not in a row? And then there’s the matter of any irregularities an audit may turn up, and the penalties that go with them.

Minimizes Your Tax Deductions

You have to document expenses to claim them when you file your taxes, right? Misplaced or overlooked receipts prevent you from being able to claim expenses as write-offs. And without accurate books, your accountant won’t be able to spot every deduction you are eligible for. Make sure you are getting every tax advantage you deserve.

Leads to Payroll Problems

Just as with any other aspect of your finances, payroll is affected by inaccurate records. You may be over- or under-compensating employees on their paychecks or with benefits, and not even know it. And an error that carries over to an employee’s W-2 [wage/remuneration records] from your own records causes tax problems for them as well.

Increases Your Invoicing Cycle

Without accurate records, you won’t be able to keep straight who owes you what–which means it will take you longer to organize and send invoices. And the longer it takes you to invoice outstanding accounts and get paid, the longer you’ll go without those funds. Or you may overlook sending an invoice at all, and never receive payment. Cleaning up your books will help you speed up and streamline your invoicing so that you can get paid in a timely fashion.

Racks Up Late and Overdraft Fees

Falling behind on your bookkeeping makes it easy to fall behind on bills as well. The Fresh Diet CEO Zalmi Duchman estimates that hiring a bookkeeper to keep his records in order saves his company “$500 to $1,000 in late fees per quarter.” Likewise, inaccurate books may result in overdrafting accounts and all the related fees.

How much could your business be saving on fees? (That’s a trick question–how would you know how much you’re currently losing in late fees without accurate books?)

Limits Your Financing Options

Messy books can seriously limit your options for getting loans. Ami Kassar tells the story of a client in a bind who needed money fast. But due to his six-months-out-of-date books, the best he was eligible for was a cash advance.

Small business owners who need a loan–particularly in an emergency–may find themselves in a similar situation without accurate, up-to-date financial records. Don’t let bad bookkeeping stand in the way of loan opportunities.

Is Expensive and Time-Consuming to Fix

Once your books are a mess, they will take money and time (lots of each) to get in order. It’s a hole that’s difficult to dig out of–but absolutely necessary. You’ll need to hire a bookkeeper just to make sense of your current records and to set you up with a system for the future, regardless of whether they take over your bookkeeping long-term.

If your books are chaotic, or if you see that you’re consistently falling behind on your record-keeping, it’s time to bring in a professional bookkeeper to help safeguard your business from these pitfalls.

Your financial records should guide all of your business decisions, such as when to hire more staff, seek a loan, or invest in equipment or inventory. But your decisions will only be as good as the information you have.

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This article originally appeared on Inc.com – to view the original article visit http://eur.pe/217p1eK.

One of the first things I did when I was looking at ways to make my teaching business more profitable, was to put some hours aside each week to help me ‘nurture’ my database.  I spoke to many prominent instructors as to how much time should be put aside for such an endeavour, and the most consistent answer that came back to me was that you must put aside 10% of the time you actually spend teaching to running your teaching business.

This was easy for me, across the year – on average I teach for forty hours per week, so I now put aside in two blocks of two hours, four hours a week for me to run my business.

When you first do this you will be tempted to book an additional lesson in, or find something else to do – try to fight this. Of all the things I have implemented over the past number of years, these four hours a week have been so good for my business, because, as I am going to show you, this has allowed me to follow up and reach out to my students like I have never been able to before.

Keep It Regular

In my last piece, I spoke about the importance of being in regular contact with your database. For myself I do this in a number of ways, and the best way for me has been me sending out a monthly newsletter to all emails I have collated on my database.

If you are not doing this at the moment, then please start doing so straight away, you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.  We all get email newsletters from companies we follow, some call us to action, and some call us to hit the unsubscribe button. So with that in mind I have put below some points I follow when sending out newsletters to your database list.

• Be consistent, send your newsletter out on a regular basis. If you are going to send your newsletter out monthly, be sure to send it out monthly, do not miss a month, also try to send it out at the same time, for example the first Monday of every month.
• Write about things that are happening in the world of golf in general, find one or two topics or articles that your readers will find interesting and will be of benefit to themselves.
• Do include an instruction piece in the newsletter, either in written word or in video format.
• Personally I do not put any special offers or the such like in my newsletters, as I do not want people to think I am simply trying to sell them something. I want to give the impression to my students that I am giving something back to them, a no strings attached if you like!
• I cannot stress enough the importance of sending out a regular newsletter to your database, if nothing else it will keep your name and brand at the forefront of your students minds, so that when they think of golf instruction, and improving their golf game, you are the first person they think of.

Catch Up With Past Clients

After having a conversation with Andrew Wood – he of legendary marketing fame – I decided to implement one of his many suggestions into my daily routine, and that is to make contact on a daily basis with a minimum of two students that I have not seen for over six months.

This simple act alone has contributed so much to me being able to keep students coming back to me, and returning for golf instruction. As long as your students’ records are up to date, you should be able to see which of them have not been back to see you for a while. I only use six months as a number, you can use whatever timeframe fits your needs.

I will send an email to the student saying something along the lines of finding out how they are and how their golf game has been, and how it has been a while since we last met (this one line is the killer, as it shows that you know they have not been in to see you for a lesson for a while, it shows you are taking an interest in them). I finish by asking them to let me know how they have been progressing and that I look forward to hearing from them.

I am still amazed by the number of replies I get, with the student saying that they were just about to contact me to arrange a lesson, and would I mind doing that for them. This is very personable, and as far as I know not every instructor is doing this, so this will make you stand out from the rest.  I will religiously do this five times a week, so by my poor maths that is ten of my old students per week I am reconnecting with, and the reward is well worth the effort that I am putting in.

Always Follow Up

Another way of making yourself separate from the crowd, is to make sure that when a new student comes to see you for a lesson, you follow up with them within 24 hours of them having their lesson.

Now by this I do not mean sending them a video clip of their lesson as this should be done as a matter of course, I am talking about sending the student a personal email, with you telling your student how nice it was to meet them, a brief overview covering the points from the lesson if you wish, and to thank them for coming out to see you for a lesson.

If you are fortunate as indeed I am, and you have other people taking care of your lesson bookings for you, ask the student that they managed to get their next lesson booked in with no problem, and that if they ever need to ask you a question please feel free to email you at any time. This again shows you are approachable and personable.

Follow Some Simple Social Media Rules

I am very much a rookie in the world of social media, and am still testing the water as to how I can make this work for my business. I have spoken to a number of people who are perceived experts in this field, and as such I put the following list together that will help when it comes to using social media.

• Rather like a newsletter you need to be posting stuff regularly. People love to learn and be entertained. Posting content on almost a daily basis gets people to see your website regularly.
• Content doesn’t need to always stem from you – you can repost stuff from other people’s websites, a magazine, or recommend a book or a video, and many other things that keep people coming to your site.
• Never post personal stuff, post often, but do so with the thought that you are trying to improve your personal brand, not kill it.
• Never re-post something without giving credit, try to post something fresh at least five days a week, and remember that every post either enhances your brand or hurts your brand.
• Use social media to alert people that you have a space in your diary for a lesson on that day, remember white space in your diary is the devil!

Utilise All Your Diary Space

I still find that text messages are a very good call to arms for me, and this is an avenue that coaches should be using. As soon as I get a cancellation, I will go through my list and send out a blanket text to all students who I know would be interested in a lesson at that particular time, no point sending a text to a student who can only make Monday mornings if your cancellation is for a Saturday afternoon!

Most times the slot gets filled, and it also makes contact with a student. Many times a student will reply to say that they cannot make that particular slot, but they are looking for a lesson that week and can I book them in? I will also text a student that is playing in a tournament to see how they got on – this is an easy way to keep in contact with your students.

However you decide to keep in contact with your list, keep it simple and be consistent. Put yourself in your students’ shoes at times, and think about what they would like to read about in your newsletter, your blog post or on your twitter feed.

There are so many ways for coaches to keep in touch with their client base, explore different avenues, and find out what works best for you, and get to it.

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Ian Clark is an Advanced Fellow PGA Professional, a Trackman certified instructor, the Golfing Machine Authorised Instructor GSEM and one of GolfWorld’s Top 100 coaches in the UK. You can email Ian at ian@ianclarkgolf.co.uk.

For more details visit www.ianclarkgolf.co.uk.

In the Professional Individual, Bragg had a four-shot lead going into the final round courtesy of his sublime eight-under par 64 yesterday on Pinehurst’s No. 4 Course.

With matching bogeys on the 1st and 5th holes, Bragg and overnight tied-second place, Sam Cutting, maintained their starting positions, however a bogey by Cutting on the 7th saw Bragg’s lead extend to five shots after an outward 35 (-1) to Cutting’s 36 (E).

Four dropped shots by Bragg in the next six holes suddenly saw his cushion disappear to just two shots.  But back-to-back birdies at 16 & 17, and a bogey on 18, saw him sign for a 74 total (+2) and a tournament total of 282 (-6).

Whilst Cutting carded the best score of the day, a super level par 72, Bragg had enough ground to secure the title and a memorable double after a super week of golf at the Pinehurst Resort in the USA.

“I am over the moon to be honest…everyone has just had the best week ever,” said Bragg.  “From my side I’ve got three fantastic friends of mine, we have had an absolute treat to play the golf courses that we have. I think the obvious highlight would be the 64 yesterday but it was one of those days where everything went right and the ball just went in the hole. It was nice to get it done today and finish it off and we look forward to next year.

“I was a little bit nervous I think understandably in the position I was, I’ve tried to work out in my head that I need to get the job done.  I’m going to look forward to the challenge of Pravets and the PGA Professional Championship of Europe later in the year and delighted there is an invitation there.”

Cutting took sole second place after a superbly consistent week that saw him shoot level or better on each day:

“Very consistent, I had a good start with a 70, followed it with a couple of 71s, [but] left a few shots out there today with my 72 – but all in all happy.  It’s nice to find some form early on, to be able to put four rounds together on four totally different golf courses as well.  Not quite enough to get Darren [though], he’s a good player…always has been and always will be, so he deserves the win.”

In the Team Pro-Am the lead has been changing on a daily basis with Team Cutting holding the lead after the midway point, however, it was the team of Bragg, and amateurs Ian Dawes, Tony Reitano & Nick Avery, who went into the final round with the two-shot lead and that proved to be a lead that was never relinquished.

A slow start, by the team’s standards, saw them play steadily until the 14th hole. From then on in the team were on a mission and an incredible closing run that consisted of various birdies and nett birdies saw them sign for an unbeatable 81 points (-9) and a superb four round total of 325 points (-37).

“We have had loads of fun as team…going out there today leading in both events – it’s been absolutely awesome,” said Bragg.  “I think the key thing for us is coming to a resort that has so much history…it has just been an absolute pleasure and privilege to have these guys here with me this week.”

“Fabulous, absolutely fabulous, a golfers dream, a paradise, it has been really top,” added Ian Dawes.

The team runners-up were Team Cutting who played steadily for 73 points (-1) to take their four round total to a very respectable 315 Points (-27).

For Full Round Final Scores Visit: http://eur.pe/2016Pinehurst

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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#GolfbreaksPinehurstProAm’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

To find out more about Golfbreaks.com visit http://www.golfbreaks.com/pga-pro.

While some people might feel more at ease in one environment than the other, the important thing is that the two are kept separate and that we abide by the rules we have been set.

When it comes to the world of work, emotions should be left at the door with your professional persona set to kick in automatically on passing reception.

As we know, life is rarely this black and white; emotions, both positive and negative, will inevitably find their way into the workplace from time to time.

The key is not to deny the existence of emotions and sensitivities altogether but rather to understand how to manage them so as to limit their impact on your professional relationships. Here are some dos and don’ts to set you on your way:

DO:

Know your emotions

Understanding what triggers your emotions and the effect that these can have on your work and professional relationships is the first step towards gaining better control. Start by taking the time to analyse how you respond to certain workplace stressors and triggers.

Take time out

The cut and thrust of the office can make for an emotionally charged environment. Seek to balance this by taking time out each day to disconnect from work and reconnect with your non-work persona. Meditation and exercise are great ways to keep your emotions on an even keel.

Communicate

Making others aware of your sensitivities around a particular issue can prevent an emotional trigger from sparking a reaction altogether. Let colleagues know discreetly if something is troubling you before the situation has a chance to escalate.

DON’T:

Ignore it

The instinctive response to an emotional outburst at work is to try act like nothing has happened. However, doing so is only likely to place further strain on your professional relationships.

Wait for things to blow over

Seek to address any incidents or outbursts as soon as you feel calm enough to do so. Facing things head on can limit their impact and stop tensions from setting in between you and those involved.

Over apologise

An emotional response doesn’t automatically make you more at fault for an argument or challenging situation. Take responsibility for your side, but make sure your colleague understands his or her part in the proceedings.

At the end of the day each person is different; having more of an emotional side doesn’t make you a bad person or a worse employee.

That said, having greater control or at least being aware of your own responses and triggers can make the gap between your personal and professional life far easier to manage.

This content appears courtesy of Abintegro, experts in career management, transition technology & e-learning for today’s modern, mobile and technology-savvy workforce – Find out more at www.abintegro.com

Credit: Forbes; Expert Beacon; The Coaching Academy

As one of the most significant and emblematic events in the BlackSeaRama Golf & Villas’ event calendar, the Pro-Am will see four-person teams of three amateurs and a PGA Professional compete over 54 holes on some of Europe’s best golf courses. Professionals will battle it out for a prize fund of €25,000*.

The host venue’s own Gary Player design, par 72, cliff-top links course will play host to the final round of the Pro-Am, whilst the nearby Thracian Cliffs Golf & Beach Resort, also designed by Gary Player, and the Ian Woosnam-designed Lighthouse Golf & Spa Resort, will host the other two rounds.

The tournament week also sees BlackSeaRama host a variety of off-course events for competitors to sample the local cultural delights of the Cape Kaliakra bay of Bulgaria.

In 2015, almost 12 months to the day since winning his first BlackSeaRama Pro-Am, the PGA of Germany’s Jonathan Grogan successfully defended his title after a closing one-under 71 at BlackSeaRama Golf & Villas gave him a six-under total for the week.

There is no fee for a PGA Professional bringing a team of three amateurs, and amateur packages begin at €969 per person:

• 5 night accommodation
• Airport transfers Varna -BlackSeaRama-Varna
• Every day lavish Buffet Breakfast
• Coffee, tea and limited Mini-bar in the villa
• 1 practice green fee @ BlackSeaRama
• 3 tournament green fees @ BlackSeaRama, Lighthouse and Thracian Cliffs (transfers included)
• 3 Halfways
• Opening Cocktail
• 2 Buffet Dinners
• Gala Dinner
• Free use of Fitness Center, Infrared and Finnish Sauna, Jacuzzi, Billiard, Table Tennis, Pools, Steam Bath and Relax zone, Wi-Fi Internet
• Access to all functions and activities during the Pro-Am week
• Individual Professional Prize Fund of 25,000 EUR (*based on 25 teams competing)

Flights are not included but those entrants booking with Turkish Airlines can access preferential flight ticket prices.

Full package information can be found at www.proam.blacksearama.com and by downloading the entry form: http://eur.pe/1ROPXYJ.

For more information and to enter visit http://eur.pe/2016BlackSeaRama

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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page (http://eur.pe/2016BlackSeaRama) or proam.blacksearama.com, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#BlackSeaRama’, or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

For more information on BlackSeaRama Golf & Villas visit www.BlackSeaRama.com.

A dazzling 64 (-8) by Bragg was simply superb in sunny but blustery conditions and it blew the tournament wide open. With a four-shot deficit on overnight leader Simon Edwards (PGA of GB&I) heading into Round 03, Bragg had some ground to make up on moving day and he did so in some style.

Opening with birdies on the 1st and 2nd, Bragg was showing signs of what was to come.  Further birdies on holes five, six & nine saw him play the outward nine in just 31 (five-under Par), and were followed by birdies on 10, 12 & 13, moving him to eight-under for the round through just 13 holes. A solitary blemish on the card at 16 was quickly rectified with another birdie on the par-five 17th hole seeing him restore his lead to four shots over his closest competitors.

“What a day, Pinehurst No. 4 in the sunshine I don’t think it gets a lot better than that,” said Bragg.  “I had one of those days where I just hit everything out of the middle of the club, rolled in some lovely putts, made birdies on all of the par fives…a couple of really close iron shots and it is one of those days that I will remember for the rest of my life. I am absolutely delighted.”

“Every course has been unbelievable in its own right…today was my day, I can’t wait to get to play Pinehurst No. 2 tomorrow for the iconic final round.  I am going to go and have some fun first and foremost and if a good score gets put together then I am more then happy, I have made my week already”.

Sitting just behind Bragg in tied second position are overnight leader, Simon Edwards (PGA of GB&I) and Sam Cutting, who is also coached by the current leader Bragg.  Rounds of 72 (even par) and 71 (-1) respectively leave them in a good position heading into the final round on the notoriously challenging and iconic No. 2 Course.

In the Team Pro-Am event, Bragg, supported by his amateurs Tony Reitano, Ian Dawes and Nick Avery, climbed into the lead after an excellent score of 84 points (-12) that gives them a two-point lead heading into the final round over Team Cutting.  With both teams’ scores improving day-by-day, it will be an interesting challenge between them as the third place team lie seemingly out of the race 19 points back.

For Full Round 03 Scores Visit: http://eur.pe/2016Pinehurst

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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#GolfbreaksPinehurstProAm’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

To find out more about Golfbreaks.com visit http://www.golfbreaks.com/pga-pro.

Playing Pinehurst Resort’s Jack Nicklaus-designed No. 9 Course, the competitors were greeted with bitterly cold conditions but that certainly didn’t affect the hot putting of the of the PGA of Great Britain & Ireland’s Simon Edwards.

With the first five holes played in regulation, Edwards dropped a shot on the 6th hole.  However this was quickly matched by a birdie on the following hole, and a snaking 15ft putt on the tricky 9th that saw Edwards play the outward nine in 35 – one-under par.

Coming back to the clubhouse Edwards really found his stride and two further birdies on holes 12 and 15 saw him sign for a joint best score of the day 69 (-3) and the outride lead at four-under par (140).

Round 01 leader Sam Cutting is close in pursuit however, and it was a day of close shaves for the young Professional.  An early birdie on the first showed great promise of what was to come but sadly the putts just wouldn’t drop with many shaving the hole or lipping out for the duration of the round.

A bogey on four saw Cutting go out in level par, and two birdies and one bogey in his closing four holes saw Cutting remain well in contention heading into the second half of the tournament, just one shot off the lead at three-under (141).

In third place is PGA of GB&I Professional, Darren Bragg, who matched Edwards’ score of 69 for tied best round of the day and moved back to level par for the tournament (144).

In the Team Pro-Am competition it is equally as close – Cutting and his amateurs, Vincenzo Liannone, Martin Brown & Keith Nethercott [pictured above], have maintained their lead moving to 162 Points (-18), but hot on their heels are Team Bragg who had the best round of the day with 81 points (-9), which saw them jump up the leaderboard and into second place, just two points off the pace.

Looking ahead, Courses No. 4 and No. 2 await, which look set to be a stern test for all the golfers, however the excitement of following in the footsteps of Major Winners and Ryder Cup legends is there for all to see and it’s going to be an excellent couple of days and an amazing experience for all.

For Full Round 02 Scores Visit: http://eur.pe/2016Pinehurst

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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#GolfbreaksPinehurstProAm’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

To find out more about Golfbreaks.com visit http://www.golfbreaks.com/pga-pro.

“Why is it important to have correctly fitted golf shoes?” You may ask yourself.

Given the fact that 70% of golfers are wearing shoes that are not best fit for them, it would appear that many individuals are not sure of the answer or misinformed in the process, giving a potential opportunity for PGA Pros to leverage.

The simple yet key answer to the above question is that it can lead to a loss of power in your clients’ golf swings of up to 26% and can cause discomfort during the round impeding the performance of the golf shoes. The life of the golf shoes may also be compromised, all of which could result in negative feedback from clients.

FootJoy offers the most size, width and last options to ensure golfers can find the best fitting golf shoes and with the custom MYJOYS programme (www.myjoys.co.uk) individuals can currently choose from a vast variety of sizes – never mind the styling possibilities!

With this many options to choose from the guidelines below and shown in the video alongside this article can ensure that your clients have the best possible fit during their shoe fitting and come away with shoes that will benefit them and their games:

https://youtu.be/tGudvdVPnNs

1. Use a Brannock

The Brannock Device has been the shoe fitting standard for over 70 years. This device measures heel to toe length, arch length, and width providing a comprehensive starting point to the fitting process. It is vitally important that you take a seat whilst being measured otherwise you may end up with shoes that are too big. This measurement is just the starting point of the fitting and should be treated simply as a guide.

2. Wear proper socks

Make sure your customers wear socks that are of a similar thickness and quality that they normally play golf in.

3. Measure both feet

And fit to the largest. Most people have slight differences between the left and right feet. If the difference is greater than 1 whole size or 2 sizes in width then different size left and right shoes may be needed (they can be ordered through the MYJOYS programme).

4. Check the width

Most people believe they are medium width, but in reality 40% are not. Use the Brannock Device to measure this and fitting clues may show for shoes that are too wide/big – the eyelets of the shoe are almost touching, whereas, shoes that are too narrow/small – the eyelets are too wide apart. The eyelets should be approximately 5/8” – about the width of your thumb. This is known as the “rule of thumb”.

5. Ensure a snug fit

Golf shoes should have a snug feel but not tight. Excess movement of your foot inside the golf shoe can lead to a loss of power in the golf swing, can cause blistered feet due to frictional movement and excess wear to the golf shoe itself.

6. ‘Last’ but not least

The shape of a golf shoe depends on the characteristics of the Last. The LAST, originally made of wood and now made of composite plastics, is the form of the foot around which the shoe is shaped. Last characteristics vary based on the goals of the shoe’s fit and appearance. FootJoy offers a variety of lasts for men and women. When considering a shoe’s fit, consider the characteristics of the Last to further aid the fitting process.

The new Olympic Golf Course that will be used for the Rio 2016 Games received the praise of the first golfers to play on it and the International Golf Federation (IGF) on Tuesday (8 March). Not even the scorching southern hemisphere summer sun could wear down the enthusiasm as the test event – the Aquece Rio Golf Challenge – came to an end. “This course will leave an extraordinary legacy for Brazilian sport,” said Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman.

“Some things will be worked on to ensure we have fantastic Games in August, but the level that we hoped to achieve today was reached,” said IGF executive director Antony Scanlon. “We just need to attend to the details that will make the difference between a good tournament and great tournament.”

“It was a great test event, and the Brazilians played some great golf”
Antony Scanlon, IGF executive director

Former PGA Tour player Alexandre Rocha said the new Olympic course, which was unveiled in November, would be equal to the top international courses. He was particularly pleased to be the first player to take a shot on the course. “I never had the chance before to inaugurate a course before and it’s something that no one can take away from me, a really cool thing that I will always be with me”, he said.

“Before we only had old courses in Brazil. This is a modern golf course”
Alexandre Rocha, top-ranked male Brazilian golfer

“My expectations were surpassed, it’s a fantastic course,” said fellow Brazilian player Victoria Lovelady, who also highlighted the economic benefits for Brazil. “It will attract golf tourism, people will come here to get to know a nice place and play some golf.”

“I played 18 holes and, if I could, I would play another 18 right now”
Victoria Lovelady, second-best ranked female Brazilian golfer

Extra motivation

Although it was an exhibition match, there was a winner: Brazil’s top-ranked woman player Miriam Nagl, who is currently in the final Olympic qualifiying slot. She finished ahead of Rocha and Rodrigo Lee in the stroke play event, and also showed her enthusiasm for the course: “The conditions are very good, the greens are perfect,” said Nagl, who gave birth to her daughter Laura in January. “To be able to tell my daughter that I played in the Olympic Games is an extra motivation.”

The Games organisers were also pleased with the outcome. “We discussed everything with the International Federation and we met our objectives together: to test the competition area, results systems and time keeping,” said Rio 2016 venues director Gustavo Nascimento.

Jordan Spieth says it would be ‘incredible’ to compete at Rio 2016

For Claudia Guedes, Rio 2016’s golf manager, “everything went very well” although work remains to be done, such as adjusting plans for the circulation of the public during the tournament. “We marked all the areas to understand the how flow of spectators will be,” she said. “It was good because we identiified a few small issues, which will be addressed.”

After an expert report said the construction of the golf course had increased local biodiversity, guests and media at Tuesday’s test event were advised on how to minimise the affect of their presence on wildlife. “The environment is very sensitive and we were very careful with the impact we had here,” said course designer Gil Hanse.

This article originally appeared at Rio2016.com – view it here: http://eur.pe/1MDGapF.

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For up-to-the-minute information on #OlympicGolf and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter (@OlympicGolf), Facebook.

Following a practice round on the beautiful setting of Course No. 6, the competitors were faced with the challenging No. 8 Course for their first round.

A level par front nine that saw two bogeys cancelled out by two birdies set the tone for Cutting’s inward nine.  Bogeys on 10 & 13 were cancelled out by birdies on 12 & 14 and two further birdies in the closing four holes saw him sign for the lead.

 “It’s fantastic here – today was a very good golf course, and very tricky in spots,” explained Cutting. “We’re all looking forward to playing different golf courses each day…and the challenges that will bring.”

A single shot back is the 2015 Champion, Simon Edwards (PGA of Great Britain & Ireland), who also got off to a fast start with a birdie at the first.  A further birdie at seven was followed immediately by a bogey on eight, however, a steady one-under 35 on the second nine in which two birdies were canceled out with two bogeys set him up for a 71 (-1) total.

“It is really nice to come back and play Pinehurst again after last year…and being injured earlier this year,” said Edwards. “But it was great just a pleasure to be here.

“They are all world-class golf courses and if you hit it good you are going to score well, the greens are phenomenal there’s not really anywhere you would rather be in the middle of March.  To play the No. 2 Course will be a joy – to play where US Opens and Championships have been held will be fantastic.”

In the Team Pro-Am competition it was the Cutting-led team who took the early initiative after a super 84-point total (-12). Similar to the Professional Individual, it is only a slight lead with the team led by PGA of GB&I Professional, Steve Furlonger, just one point behind, and with three rounds to go it is very much all to play for.

For Full Round 01 Scores Visit: http://eur.pe/2016Pinehurst

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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#GolfbreaksPinehurstProAm’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

To find out more about Golfbreaks.com visit http://www.golfbreaks.com/pga-pro.

For More Information on SNAG Golf Visit www.SNAG.golf

All nine participants were awarded a special medal by Peter Dawson, head of the International Golf Federation (IGF).

Rio 2016 President Carlos Nuzman and Brazilian Sports Minister George Hilton were also among those in attendance.

“This is the future for us,” Rocha said. “Our existing courses are old and this is modern golf. We have plenty of land in this country to be able to make more courses like this.”

Meanwhile, the IGF President compared the course’s wide fairways with the iconic St Andrews Old Course in Scotland, though he predicted that competitors would be in for a challenging time once the greens firm up and the wind levels increase.

“It’s been a long haul to get here,” said Peter Dawson. “But at long last we’ve got a terrific golf course that’s going to ensure golf will have a successful turn in the Olympic Games.”

He added that “very little needs to be done” to get the course itself ready for the Games.

IGF Executive Director Antony Scanlon added: “We just need to attend to the details that will make the difference between a good tournament and a great tournament.”
Located 9km from the Olympic Village, the par 71 course, designed especially for Rio 2016 by Gil Hanse, will host two fields of 60 men and women in six months’ time.

The course is also helping to rejuvenate the area. A new report commissioned by the State of Rio de Janeiro Department of Justice and published in late February concluded that the course in Barra da Tijuca had “contributed to the growth of local vegetation” in the Marapendi area, and that various species of animal have in fact been returning to a “once degraded area”.

Among the environmental benefits in the report are the 167% increase in vegetation, which led to a “positive cycle for fauna deveolopment”, and the fact that 263 species are now found in the area – before the construction there were only 118 species.

The course for the men’s event extends over 6,522m and the women’s over 5,944m.

The top 15 ranked players in the world will qualify for the Games, with a maximum of four from any one country.

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For up-to-the-minute information on #OlympicGolf and regular updates, please follow us on Twitter (@OlympicGolf), Facebook.

Golfers who stand up best to the pressures of the game face the same fear and doubt as you and me; the difference is they have learned mechanisms to deal with it.  Here are seven ways to help coach your players in anticipation of when the pressure starts to mount.

 1. COMFORTABLE BEING UNCOMFORTABLE

There is a phrase in psychology called the ‘ironic’ process: it means we think about the things we fear most at the times when we least want to think about them.  It is important to realise this process is a natural one.

Golfers often think thoughts and feelings of doubt represent frailty in them in pressure moments; that they are not mentally tough enough.  That is not the case.  These processes are natural.  Accepting this is the first step to dealing with being out of a comfort zone.  Start to feel comfortable being uncomfortable.

2. EMBRACE THE CHALLENGE

Courses are often demanding in length and setup.  Accordingly, with sometimes adverse weather to deal with too, courses are mentally challenging and pressure is an integral part of the game.

In fact, these so-called ‘pressure’ shots and moments are what draws players to the game and are the focus of the post-round debrief.   Golf would be very dull if it were played across flat, open fields.  So instead of trying to play without fear, embrace it as an aspect of golf’s challenge, and one they can have enjoyment trying to meet.

3. REFOCUS ON THE PROCESS

Players who deal well with pressure experience the same doubts as those who do not; the difference is their focus then shifts to what the shot demands.  Even a Tour professional may think about how poor they would look if they missed a short putt – but they will then go through the process of what they need to do to hole it.

Refocusing on the process can lead you from feelings of discomfort.  So to cope with fear, stay with the shot at hand and not the consequences of what may go wrong.

4. CHOOSE REALISTIC SHOTS

Pressure builds when players’ develop unrealistic expectations about what they might be able to achieve.  Get players to make shots as simple as they can when in ‘pressure’ situations by choosing a realistic shot they know is within their grasp.  If Annika Sörenstam could not play a shot sixty percent of the time in practice, she would not even consider it on the course when under pressure.  Get your players to not try to play perfect golf.

5. SHORT SHOTS: KEEP EYES STILL

On tough shots where the target is near, anxiety can cause golfers to ‘peek’ early at the target.  But early shifting of vision toward the target generally causes head movement, which contributes to shoulder movement, which generally causes technical problems and a poor strike/inaccuracy.

In pressure situations where players may be anxious about the shot outcome, get them to keep their eyes still, and the head will take care of itself and also stay still.  Focusing on one point on the ball – a dimple or part of the logo – is a great way to practise steadying the eyes.  Steady eyes mean a calm mind.

6. TAKE THE GUN FROM THEIR HEAD

Many golfers think the 1st tee shot sets the tone for the round.  This cranks up the pressure on them.  Others do it by saying such things as “I need to be no worse than four over after six” to themselves.

This is very rigid thinking and is counterproductive.  Players need to be more flexible in their thinking and shift from “this must happen” to “I’d prefer it to happen”.  Tell them they can deal with a range of outcomes and situations. This thinking will improve their performance, their emotional state and also helps them recognise situations where they are getting on top of themselves and to take the gun away from their head.

7. SLOW DOWN

Most people who do not handle pressure have an image of failure.  Because of this they rush to get the shot over with to get out of the situation as soon as they can.

The rushing is what typically causes problems.  Get them to think in advance of pressure shots and situations, and help them come to terms with these situations by staying with those images.

Get them to imagine looking around, developing a sense of the situation they are in, and gradually seeing themselves as more calm.  Tell them to see that even though they might feel uncomfortable, they are okay with it and they can slow down their thoughts and actions.

Whether you are a PGA Professional working at a golf facility or an individual working within a PGA, we are all very lucky to say we work in the ‘golf business’. But with such a broad term it is easy to forget some of the key fundamentals that we are all involved with in some way – it might not be directly, but an understanding of how a business functions, grows and prospers is essential to maximise your value.

It is also possible to forget these basics after being involved with something for a long time or in one specific area of the business – time to reflect on all areas of your business and as always applying steps to improve them all through passion and hard work is the key to success. As the quote above from Basketball legend (and avid golfer) Michael Jordan says “Everybody has talent, but ability takes hard work”.

This issue of IGPN aims to provide a snapshot of articles across a variety of subjects that are important for people working in and/or running a business. You could even use it as a type of checklist to see how much you know about areas such as finance, human resources, commerciality, and marketing in your business.

None of us can offer the ultimate piece of advice for a business to make it succeed, but there are key things that you can get in place to give it the best chance of succeeding, all of which can be taken and moulded to fit your business.

It is especially important in our context of PGAs and businesses that their PGA Professionals operate in, when very often people wear many hats in an organisation. General Secretary, Membership Coordinator, and Head of Training – or Coach, General Manager, and Operations Manager.

Our hope is that this IGPN, along with a huge repository of information on the A.S.K. section of our website, can help you to create the most productive or profitable business possible. Managing your business effectively, keeping a track of its progress both financially and operationally, boosting productivity and efficiency, making it more attractive to sponsors/investors, and – something that I definitely feel is central to success – knowing how to build a great team of people around you to operate the business are all massively important.

Enjoy the issue and as always feel free to get in touch with Editor Aston Ward (aw@CPG.com) if you have feedback, ideas or would like to contribute to IGPN and A.S.K.

This article originally featured in International Golf Pro News. Visit the IGPN Page to find out more and subscribe for free.

As Communications Manager for the Confederation of Professional Golf I am always looking to ensure our messaging is as effective as possible and to do so we often take a step back and ask ourselves some questions.  Here are 6 questions that you can ask to help establish if you are on the right track…

1. What is your brand and what does it stand for?

Have you ever really looked at your brand in detail?  Having a grasp on this is a real key to knowing how to communicate a message to your various stakeholders.  It provides things like context, tone of voice, direction and clarity.

Take the time to assess what your brand is from an overall ‘visionary’ and strategic outlook, all the way down to the nuts and bolts of what it looks and feels like.  This will help frame your comms and keep things consistent no matter the business’ size.

2. Who are you targeting?

Looking at your target audience broadly is sometimes overlooked, as it is often obvious to you who you are targeting.  But is this true throughout the business and with each and every piece of messaging that is sent out?

Messages that seem clear to you may not actually be clear to the desired recipient so be sure to assess the clear reasons that a message is going to someone, whilst also making sure it can be understood from their end.  This is where your research should come into play to help tailor information appropriately and fit in with your overall comms strategy.

3. Are you acting responsibly?

Corporate Responsibility has become more and more of a buzzword in recent years – it could be argued that in the past a business’ focus was quite often on the bottom line and very little else.  Making money was seen to be the ultimate goal above all else.

But in a world of complete connectivity and increasing transparency, businesses have been forced [and rightly so] to look at the social impacts to their operations and work.  Rather than pleasing the shareholders and few others, businesses now need to look at how what they do affects their customers, the environment, the community and employees.

Think about how each of your messages affects these groups not only financially but also socially.

4. How do you communicate internally?

Communicating to your internal stakeholders is just as important as communicating to the external ones.  Your employees are the action and mouthpiece of a business and they should all be on board.

How do you pass your key messages to employees, your board, or your managers?  Are they in the loop as much as they need to be and aware of what the overall organisational goals and strategy are?

Creating a corporate culture where sharing of information is central can lead to greater efficiency, shared understanding and ownership, and overall satisfaction.

5. How are you managing your Public Relations?

Are your messages getting to the right people?  Do you have someone who is getting those messages to the right people at the right time?

The delivery of your message to the outside world in the most effective way is key to serving your business’ interests so you must ensure that whomever looks after your PR is getting the right message across to the right people, whilst also reflecting a broader corporate message about the business’ overall strategy and positioning, along with its value to its stakeholders.

6. What happens if there is a problem?

Your business should have guidelines in place for your brand – how it can and can’t be used by various stakeholders in various forms – but are there guidelines for how the business and its stakeholders should something happen involving your business?

Again with information being more readily available and transparent, corporate communications has become more frequently associated with dealing with issues that affect the business and its stakeholders.  Make sure you have a plan (even if it is simply a checklist of actions to complete if something happens) should something happen that involves your business.

This article originally featured in International Golf Pro News. Visit the IGPN Page to find out more and subscribe for free.

A week of golf celebration at every level was celebrated in KwaZulu-Natal as PGA Professionals and their amateurs battled it out for the prestigious title and trophy in the 3rd annual PGA of South Africa World Club Pro-Am.

Chief Executive of the PGA of SA, Ivano Ficalbi, addressed the golfers at the Closing Awards Ceremony saying that the World Club Pro-Am is a ‘bucket-list’ opportunity for networking and global friendships and thanked the teams for their endorsement and participation in 2016.

Keynote speaker, the HOD at the KZN Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Mr Desmond Golding, said, “Golf has a fundamental economic benefit for KwaZulu-Natal, that ticks our box of indicators for growth, and we will continue to support this sporting category through this incredible event. We have seen the economic impact on our community when an event of this international stature takes place.”

“The tournament has grown in reputation and stature with a host of new countries competing this year. Our relationship with key partners and being the first African-based Confederation of Professional Golf Sanctioned Event has formed a solid foundation to continue developing the tournament into the premier club championship on the PGA international golf calendar. After three years of incubation we now have the traction needed to take this championship to the participation we have always planned,” said Craig Clay-Smith, tournament spokesperson.

The PGA Professionals battled it out over 90-holes across four championship courses – Zimbali Country Club, Cotswold Downs Golf Estate, Prince’s Grant Golf Estate and the final two rounds at Durban Country Club.

After taking the lead at the end of Round 3, French PGA Professional, Julien Gressier (Chateau de Raray) converted his lead into a victorious win on a 190-point total and bagged the winner’s cheque of US$ 33,285. The World Club Pro-Am marks Gressier’s first Confederation of Professional Golf tournament as well as his first tournament played in South Africa.

“It has been a great pleasure competing in this tournament and I have loved playing each course. The final round was a big struggle against a very worthy component Christoph Günther. I look forward to returning next year to compete again,” said Gressier.

Sharing the podium in a well earned 2nd place was German PGA Professional Christoph Günther, who finished on 187 points, three shots behind the winner Gressier and 14 shots ahead of last year’s title defender, Henrik Engdahl (Crete Golf Club, Greece) who finished 3rd on 173 total.

The final round of the World Club Pro-Am team event saw a surprise victory when the team from Project Golf Club (Germany) charged up the field in the final two rounds and clinched the trophy on a combined total of 331 points.

A consistent game throughout the tournament culminated in a well-deserved 2nd place finish from the team from Durban Country Club (South Africa). PGA Professional, Jason Bird, teamed up with the three amateurs, employed as Club’s caddies, who played their hearts out and savored every moment of their first ever international golf tournament.

This year a third event, the Amateur Individual Stableford Cup, was introduced for amateurs still seeking to challenge another 18 holes to fill their tournament quota on the last day.  They teed-off at Durban Country Club alongside the tournament sponsors and VIP guests, but at the end of 18-holes it was amateur Andries Claasens (River Club, South Africa) who clinched the inaugural cup on a 38 point count back with Daniel Gavagnin (Project Golf, Germany).

“We would like to thank our partners, sponsors and every player for their valued support in making the 3rd Annual World Club Pro-Am a huge success,” concluded Event Management Director, Beverley Theron of Flagship Events.

LEADERBOARD FINAL ROUND

Professional Individual Stableford Championship

Pro-Am 4-Ball Alliance

Amateur Individual Stableford

For Full Final Scores Visit http://eur.pe/2016WCPA

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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page or visit www.worldclubproam.com, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#WorldClubProAm’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

A lot of kids and adults participated in the SNAG programme and had a lot of fun at the show.

For More Information on SNAG Golf Visit www.SNAG.golf

“I found the course challenging and the hot conditions also made for difficult play, but I am looking forward to returning to Durban Country Club for the final round. My plan is to stay focused and concentrate on my putting,” said Julien who has a one shot lead on a total of 150 points.

It was all smiles for German Christoph Günther (Project Golf Club) who carded another winning score for the round with a 38-point finish and two-under par for the second consecutive day. He now lies just one shot behind Gressier on a total of 149 points and has an eight-shot lead on title defender Henrik Engdahl who is tied 3rd with South African Ben Fouchee.

“It’s not a course that you can put the power on and force the score, so I will be patient and do the best that I can do,” said Günther.

Engdahl (Crete Golf Club, Greece) said he had a good round as this is one of his favourite courses to play in the world. He finished on 37 points, but added that there was still a lot of work to be done in the final round. Last year Engdahl carded his ‘career best score’ at Durban Country Club in the final round of the tournament.

South African, Ben Fouchee (Paarl Golf Club) tied 7th with Engdahl at the end of the last round and will go into the final round tied with him again in 3rd spot on 141 points.

Most of South Africa’s golf history has been enacted at Durban Country Club where great players have boasted some of their finest golfing moments. With 72 holes already played and the final 18 ahead, it will be the PGA Professionals’ turn to make their mark on the famed fairways and greens of one of KwaZulu-Natal’s oldest and most established courses.

LEADERBOARD ROUND 04

Professional Individual Stableford Championship

Full Round 03 Professional Scores http://eur.pe/1OKXzHj

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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page or visit www.worldclubproam.com, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#WorldClubProAm’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

The Newport venue was awarded the title of the ‘Ultimate Golf Resort’ at a ceremony – compered by talkSPORT presenter Georgie Bingham and held at the Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club – following a series of outstanding assessments in 59club’s regular mystery shopper visits and its status as the top-performing club of all the Gold Flag winners.

The awards are designed to reward the top golf venues across all business elements – sales, service, operations, retail, food and beverage, and management – while 59club’s industry benchmark, the Gold and Silver Flags, recognise the finest membership clubs and commercial venues. The awards’ evening was also the culmination of a day of membership sales and retention seminars open to all golf/leisure staff and club managers, which attracted more than 150 delegates.

Ten other venues received their Gold Flag awards – the Grove; Gleneagles Hotel; Monte Rei Golf & Country Club; Belfry Hotel & Resort; and Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, in the resort category, while Dubai Creek; Emirates; Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel; Wentworth Club; and Al Badia took the members’ club awards.

Nine venues secured the Silver Flag: Duke’s, St Andrews; Rockliffe Hall; Club de Golf Alcanada; Son Muntaner; St Pierre Marriott Hotel & Country Club; and Foxhills took the resort honours, while Close House; Broadstone; and Manor House (Castle Combe) were the honoured members’ clubs.

Collecting the award on behalf of Celtic Manor, Will Hewitt, director of golf, spa and leisure, said: “Seeing the name of the resort up there, among the calibre of competitors you’re up against, the guys back at the resort are going to be chuffed to bits. We’ve got massive respect for the other resorts; I know them well, I know what they offer, which is a great experience, so we’re very happy.

“It’s the start of the golfing season, we’re already thinking about the ways we can do things differently. A number of our visitors are repeat business and se we’re looking to tinker a little bit to improve their ‘journey’ with us.

“Improvement is key. We were the ultimate golf resort but there are a number of other awards I’d like to see us in the frame for – food and beverage; membership; dealing with sales calls, and so on – that we can work towards to make it a more rounded offering.”

The award for the ‘Ultimate Members Club’ went overseas, to Dubai Creek Golf & Yacht Club, whose parent company Dubai Golf won ‘Golf Group of the Year’, for the second year running, while Craig Haldane, from the Majlis course at Emirates GC, was ‘Greenkeeper of the Year’.

Three other awards went to overseas winners: Monte Rei Golf & Country Club won ‘Golf Operation Team of the Year’, while the club’s director of golf, David Shepherd, was awarded the title of ‘Golf Manager of the Year’, and the award for ‘Most-Improved Golf Operation Team of the Year’ went to Son Muntaner, in Mallorca.

Four Marriott Hotels won five awards: Billie McKenna, from Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club, was recognised for ‘Leading Individual Golf Sales Performance’; Simon Howell, from host venue Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, won ‘Golf Retail Manager of the Year’; and Breadsall Priory Marriott Hotel & Country Club took the title of ‘Golf Membership Sales Team of the Year’. For venues with a green fee less than £75, Marriott Worsley Park’s Ian Brawn and Adam Moule took the awards for ‘Greenkeeper of the Year’ and ‘Golf Manager of the Year’ respectively.

Also in the <£75 category, Mytime Active’s Dibden Golf Centre, on the edge of the New Forest, in Hampshire, also saw two members of staff take individual titles, with Paul Smith named ‘Golf Retail Manager of the Year’ and his colleague Ellie Gray scooping the award for ‘Food And Beverage Manager of the Year’.

Other awards went to Macdonald Hill Valley Hotel, Golf & Spa (Most-Improved Golf Sales Team); Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel (Golf Sales Team); the Vale Resort (Leisure Membership Sales Team); and Margaux Park, of the Duke’s, St Andrews (Food and Beverage Manager).

Simon Wordsworth, chief executive at 59club and a fellow of the PGA, said: “Congratulations to all of the winners who have, during 2015, displayed an unerring desire to provide only the very best in service and professionalism across all spectra. These outstanding performances highlight just how lucky we are in the golf industry to possess consummate professionals across all different size and manner of venues.”

59club is fast becoming the industry standard for measuring and comparing customer-service levels and analysing all key revenue streams for golf venues, and is committed to the on-going development of club managers and PGA professionals.

This year, the company will launch a new benchmarking software system, my59, which will enable clubs to arrange their own member surveys and mystery tests, generating detailed feedback to analyse and improve their sales and service offerings on an unlimited basis.

This follows the launch last year of Golftell, a validated feedback site which publishes a golfer’s review of the golf course condition, food quality, general facilities and standard of service offered by club staff. Golftell strives to provide ‘genuine’ feedback and offers club managers the ability to validate reviews before they go live, interact with their clients, share positive ratings to enhance their brand reputation, and advertise their business to potential clients.

All of this is available alongside 59club’s proprietary training services which help get a change of focus and behaviour from staff in order to improve customer service levels and maximise sales opportunities.

Award winners:

• Leading individual golf sales performance – Billie McKenna (Tudor Park Marriott Hotel & Country Club)
• Most-improved golf operation team of the year – Son Muntaner
• Most-improved golf sales team of the year – Macdonald Hill Valley Hotel, Golf & Spa
• Golf operation team of the year – Monte Rei Golf & Country Club
• Golf sales team of the year – Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel
• Golf membership sales team of the year – Breadsall Priory Marriott Hotel & Country Club
• Leisure membership sales team of the year – the Vale Resort
• Golf retail manager of the year – Simon Howell (Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club)
• Golf retail manager of the year (average green fee below £75) – Paul Smith (Dibden GC)
• Food and beverage manager of the year – Margaux Park (Duke’s, St Andrews)
• Food and beverage manager of the year (average green fee below £75) – Ellie Gray (Dibden GC)
• Greenkeeper of the year – Craig Haldane (Emirates GC, Majlis course)
• Greenkeeper of the year (average green fee below £75) – Ian Brawn (Marriott Worsley Park)
• Golf manager of the year – David Shepherd (Monte Rei Golf & Country Club)
• Golf manager of the year (average green fee below £75) – Adam Moule (Marriott Worsley Park)
• Golf group of the year – Dubai Golf; Ultimate members club – Dubai Creek
• Ultimate golf resort – Celtic Manor Resort. Gold flag (resorts) – Celtic Manor Resort, the Grove, Gleneagles Hotel, Monte Rei Golf & Country Club, Forest of Arden Marriott Hotel & Country Club, the Belfry Hotel & Resort
• Silver flag (resorts) – Duke’s, St Andrews, Rockliffe Hall, Club de Golf Alcanada; Son Muntaner, St Pierre Marriott Hotel & Country Club, Foxhills GC
• Gold flag (members clubs) – Dubai Creek, Emirates, Stoke Park Country Club, Spa & Hotel, Al Badia, Wentworth Club
• Silver flag (members clubs) – Close House, Broadstone, Manor House

For more information visit www.59club.com.

The absence of the notorious wind on this course did its bit to help ease the nerves of the teams as they teed-off to favourable weather conditions and world-renowned coastal scenery.

While French PGA Professional Julien Gressier from Chateau de Raray held onto the lead in the Professional Stableford by three shots on 114 points, German Christoph Günther [pictured] from Project Golf Club made his charge up the field in the third round with a two-under par 38 points.

Günther now holds 2nd place on the leaderboard with a total of 111 points, four shots ahead of South African Paul Marks of Woodhill Country Club and Kenneth Dube from Mananga Swaziland in tied 3rd on 107 points. Title defender, Henrik Engdahl from Greece’s Crete Golf Club shot 29 for the round and finished tied 7th with South African Ben Fouchee from Paarl Golf Club on 104 points.

In the ProAm 4-ball alliance, the South African team from River Club finished on a notable 86 points that has placed them top of the leaderboard on a total of 249 points and leaders going into the final round.

Fellow South African team, Durban Country Club, are close behind just one shot back in 2nd place on 248 points. The German team from Project Golf Club have moved up the field and will be chasing the South Africans for a shot at victory after finishing 4th on 243 total points.

Round 4 moves to Durban Country Club, where the final rounds of the tournament will be played out over the next two days.

LEADERBOARD ROUND 03

Professional Individual Stableford Championship

Pro-Am 4-Ball Alliance

Full Round 03 Professional Scores http://eur.pe/1OKXzHj

Full Round 03 Pro-Am 4-Ball Alliance http://eur.pe/1TO58od

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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page or visit www.worldclubproam.com, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#WorldClubProAm’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

While it may be one of KwaZulu-Natal’s younger courses, Cotswold’s renown Peter Matkovich design showcased its world-class layout that has made it one of the top 5 emerging courses in Southern Africa. And whilst the field faced extreme heat and humid conditions, it failed to hamper the fierce competition among the players for this year’s title and team trophy.

The PGA Professionals went head-to-head as they battled it out for top spot at the end of 36 holes. Julien Gressier from Chateau de Raray Golf Club in France pushed his way up the field with an impressive round of 40 points, finishing top of the leaderboard on a total of 77 points.

Title defender, Henrik Engdahl from Crete Golf Club in Greece, dropped down two shots finishing this round on 37 points and 2nd place on the board with a total of 75 points.

Kenneth Dube from Mananga Swaziland Golf Club made his move up the field from tied 7th to a solid 3rd place on 40 points and a total of 74 points, whilst German Christoph Gunther from Project Golf Club and South African Michael du Toit are tied at 4th place on a total of 73 points.

Gressier commented on his game going into the next round: “I plan to stay with the same strategy, which is to take pleasure on every hole and to stay focused on my putting.”

The South African teams continue to lead the field in the Pro-Am 4-ball Alliance with Woodhill Golf Club pushing ahead to claim 1st place on a total of 169 points.

Hot on their heels and just two shots behind is the team trophy defenders from Krugersdorp Golf Club, who finished on a total of 167 points. With just a shot between them, the teams from Royal Johannesburg & Kensington GC, Durban Country Club (who have entered a team of three caddies to play with their PGA Professional) and River Club will be looking to chase the lead going into the next round.

Round 03 will present a new set of challenges as the tournament heads north up the KwaZulu-Natal coast to Prince’s Grant Golf Estate where the teams will tackle their next 18-holes.

LEADERBOARD ROUND 02

Professional Individual Stableford Championship

Pro-Am 4-Ball Alliance

Full Round 02 Professional Scores http://eur.pe/1OKXzHj

Full Round 02 Pro-Am 4-Ball Alliance http://eur.pe/1TO58od

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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page or visit www.worldclubproam.com, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#WorldClubProAm’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.

Despite the challenges faced, Zimbali’s premier Tom Weiskopf designed 18-hole signature course delivered on its promise to provide a true test of golf and proved why it is rated among the top-10 ultimate golf experiences in South Africa.

The Professional Stableford finished tied 1st on 38 points by title defender, Henrik Engdahl, from the Crete Golf Club in Greece and South African, Michael du Toit, from Royal Johannesburg Golf Club.

3rd place is also tied on 37 points by Paul Marks, Chairman of the PGA of South Africa and representing Woodhill Golf Club, Christoph Gunther from Project Golf Club in Germany, South African, Steven Shearer, from Zimbali Country Club and Julien Gressier from Chateau de Raray Golf Club in France.

Michael du Toit had this to say about his game in the first round, “The windy conditions definitely called for a more conservative game, but aggressive play where needed. I am looking forward to taking on the challenges at Cotswold in Round 2.”

Julien Gressier added, “Despite the tough conditions I enjoyed playing the Zimbali course and I’m looking forward to just having fun playing each of the courses this week.”

The South African teams are dominating the 4-ball alliance with last year’s winners, Krugersdorp Golf Club tied 1st on 88 points with the team from Woodhill Golf Club. Trailing just two shots behind is the team from Royal Johannesburg on 86 points followed in tied 4th on 84 points by the teams from State Mines Golf Club and Reading Country Club.

Round 2 will tee-off at Cotswold Downs Golf Club with more favorable weather conditions predicted, adding some relief after a tough start.

LEADERBOARD ROUND 01

Professional Individual Stableford Championship

Pro-Am 4-Ball Alliance

Full Round 01 Professional Scores http://eur.pe/1OKXzHj
Full Round 01 Pro-Am 4-Ball Alliance http://eur.pe/1TO58od

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For more information visit the Tournament Hub Page or visit www.worldclubproam.com, follow @PGAsofEurope on Twitter and search the hashtag ‘#WorldClubProAm’ or like the Confederation of Professional Golf Facebook Page.