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Fact File

Formed: 2002

Members: 36

Players: 1,222

Courses: 16

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“We literally built the first golf hole in Hungary during the early 1980s.” How many people can lay claim to such an achievement? Well PGA of Hungary Professional, László Tringer, can. Not only was László, his father and a few friends right at the sharp end of golf’s re-emergence in the former communist state around the time of independence, but he was also responsible for the creation of the PGA of Hungary at the turn of the century.

I caught up with László and Áron Makszin in a very cold and snow-covered Budapest in February. Why I agreed to go to Hungary at that time of the year is something that I have asked myself for the last few days. Even so, the cold exterior is more than made up for by the warm hospitality and of course the celebrated Goulash soup.

The reason for my visit was to deliver the Confederation of Professional Golf’s Tutor Training course to a group of Professionals who currently are or soon will be, delivering the PGA of Hungary professional education programme. Education is taken very seriously in this part of the world. The University of Sport and Physical Education, which emerged from the world famous Semmelweis University, is an education partner of the PGA of Hungary.

As is the case in many emerging golf markets, there are those who have lived each faltering step along the way. László and Áron are such people. I also caught up by Skype with PGA Professional, Damian MacPherson, who was out of the country during my visit.

Damian moved to Hungary 20 years ago and has since built a career and reputation that has resulted in an award from the government to recognise his services to the game. Thankfully all three were willing to share their experiences. Lived experience is often a subjective account of what actually has happened, but this potential weakness is more than made up for by the rich understanding that emerges from every ounce of their being.

For most of us, it is hard to imagine starting to play golf when there are no facilities, no equipment, and no access to knowledge. Imagine starting to play on an athletic field, or building your own hole. With no courses available, what would you do?

For László the answer was obvious – build one. Well, perhaps not a full course, but a least one hole and then another. Three holes later, these creations eventually became holes seven, eight & nine on the Kisoroszi Course, and once again golf was on its way.

Not content with his efforts, and after a period of training with the PGA of Germany, László returned to Hungary to form the PGA of Hungary. As the President, he has overseen every step of the development of the Association and now acts as Vice President.

Meanwhile, Áron was competing in the Decathlon and racking up two gold medals in the national athletics championships. Imagine his surprise when this seemingly simple game that involves swinging a club and hitting a ball proved too difficult to master. Áron says that the “challenge and the environment were the key drivers” for his involvement in golf. He found it hard to understand as an athlete who could easily control his body positions and copy from master teachers, that he was unable to do the same in golf. He was hooked. Áron is a lifelong learner and sees every situation as an opportunity to develop his knowledge or skill. Golf satisfied his thirst for continual exploration and learning.

Golf has been played in Hungary since the early 1900s, but it was football that was the major sport when under the Communist party rule. Golf was banned as it was thought to be a potential threat to the party and so the existing golf facilities were destroyed. The nation had success in other sports, swimming, water polo, athletics and handball, but surprisingly there has been success on the golf course too. Although the link to Julius Boros, the son of two Hungarian immigrants to the United States, is somewhat tenuous, ‘Boros’ as they simply call him here, won two US Opens and played on four USA Ryder Cup Teams.

Hungary is a very different nation today than it was just 30 years ago. In an economy that has zero unemployment, one might think that golf professionals might have an easy life. This is not the case for the 37 PGA of Hungary members who serve 1,300 officially registered players along with another estimated 500 nomad players. You can do the maths, but it clear that from a population of ten million people, golf is not likely to feature in the top ten sporting pastimes. Why so?

According to László, people like golf when they see it on TV. The Olympics he says has had a small positive effect – so why do more people not play? Many people try golf, but few are really grabbed by the shirt and bond to the game. Time? Expense? We have heard these reasons before and yet alpine skiing, sailing and tennis have all gone onto to enjoy a burgeoning appeal. Why then has golf not made this step?

Damian, who arrived in Hungary in 1998 with no intention to stay more than a year, is fully integrated into the Hungarian way of life with his family and friends. He has no intentions of going anywhere else. He has experienced the difficulties of getting golf to penetrate into the hearts of the Hungarian people. People try the game but rarely take the next step, “perhaps it is perception,” says Damian. “The government see it as an elite sport and when youngsters go home saying that they have tried and enjoyed golf, it is met with parental advice to forget golf and take up one of the more mainstream games.”

Áron, who is the Secretary-General of the Hungarian Golf Federation also makes the point, “perhaps the perception built up by the media is not helping”. Golf is no more expensive than alpine skiing and sailing, and it likely takes around the same or less time, so is there a misguided perception? The Hungarian people see the sport as elitist, for the rich, the powerful and the famous. Until now it is not a game for the people, or so they think, he says. The Federation together with the PGA and golf facilities, of which there are now 18, are all behind a project that will help newcomers have an experience that is inexpensive and entirely inclusive.

Even after more than 20 years, László, Áron and Damian still have the passion to help the Hungarian people get into golf. Typically Áron sees education as being an essential tool for the professionals and says that all professionals now, more than ever before, need to have great communication, personal relation and coaching skills.

All three agree that Hungary needs more players, to which László adds that they also need a good player, someone who can make it on the European Tour and perhaps win a tournament. A dream? Perhaps. But a dream that the professionals in Hungary will keep working for.

Click to Find Out More About the PGA of Hungary

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Bright, bold and bound to ruffle a few feathers, LG columnist Emma Ballard explains how the Get Into Golf campaign is using social media influencers to attract the millennial generation.

Millennials – it’s the word that makes most golf club committees break out into a cold sweat.

Either through fear of them taking over their beloved clubhouse, or simply at the thought of the seemingly impossible task of trying to recruit them.

The millennial is the the ultra-cool, 20/30 something, jegging wearing, hipster (or so we’re lead to believe).

A baffling generation to the majority of golf clubs, they are actually the very people that clubs need to engage with if they want to give golf the participation boost that it so desperately needs.

As social media is central to the millennial’s existence, it’s not surprising that this is the first place they turn to for guidance in most aspects of their lives.

With the rise of social media over the last 10 years, a new breed of public figure has emerged in the form of the influencer.

These are not famous figures like pop stars or Hollywood actors, but savvy social media users who have established credibility within a specific industry. They have a large following and the ability to persuade others due to their authority and potential reach.

These are modern-day role models who in some cases replace the traditional sport stars and celebrities that used to inspire us. These are people who are extremely important to millennials and future generations.

Social media influencers are a key part of the new Get Into Golf Campaign, launched today.

This campaign is like marmite – you’re either going to love it or hate it and I’m not sure that there’s any middle ground.

The new-look Get Into Golf is officially LIVE for 2018! A new look, with new faces and new clubs. A place where EVERYONE is welcome. #GetIntoGolf Check it out now: https://t.co/CFen8LCsk5 pic.twitter.com/U5zbAg81Ut

— Get Into Golf (@GetIntoGolf) April 3, 2018

I got an early preview of the campaign at an England Golf Women & Girls Advisory Group Meeting in February and quite frankly, it left the room speechless.

But it was speechless in a good way; it made such an impact that we weren’t really sure what to say about it.

It was like the launch of the This Girl Golfs campaign back in 2015. It was no holds barred, daring to be different, challenging the traditional golf stereotypes and dare I say it, actually making golf look fun.

What first strikes you is the colours. The campaign homepage is certainly bright and bold.

It’s attention grabbing, simple and fresh. All things that aren’t normally associated with golf.

Then you see the participants, all dressed in leggings, trainers, ripped jeans, leather jackets – I think one of the older club members fainted at the sight!

It’s definitely modern, maybe too modern for some?

Now comes the truly revolutionary part of this golf campaign – these participants aren’t just from an agency, they are social media influencers.

That’s right, a golf organisation is using social media as its core method of getting people playing golf.

These influencers have reasonable social media followings in their own rights, but not in the world of golf.

They are going to document their journey into golf and give their followers a true insight into what it is like to play this wonderful game.

Their influence and experience will hopefully be the catalyst to get more millennials playing golf.

However, while all this seems great, I can’t forget that speechless moment when we first glimpsed the campaign.

Although we would love to think that golf is ready for this, a lot of clubs won’t be able to teach people dressed in ripped jeans or jeggings.

There was an inner turmoil amongst the group who really wanted to love the campaign. We had to ask if it was trying to sell an ideal that isn’t really there?

Some will say that England Golf have taken this a step or two too far. But I think it’s about time that the industry has a bit of a shake up and at the very least tries a modern approach to recruiting millennials into golf.

Time will tell how successful it is and we’ll be able to see how many people come into the game through the Get Into Golf website.

Also, with this being such a social media based campaign, we’ll be able to see what this generation and potential saviours of golf think to their local golf facilities.

If they like it, they’ll post about it on Twitter, Snapchat and other social media platforms, creating an enormous buzz.  The potential knock-on effect, if managed properly by the participating golf club, could be huge.

Whether you love or hate the campaign, it’s what golf has needed for a long time.

We are finally reaching the heart of the millennial generation and using the power of social media to get more people into golf.

The activity aims to shine a light on the journey that female golfers can take to get into golf, looking at the various challenges, questions and benefits that can be experienced by women and girls.

Jenni’s experiences will act as a live case study detailing her progress as she learns more about playing golf and becoming a golfer, and as she builds up to her first big challenge – competing in the Pro-Am for the European Tour’s GolfSixes event at Centurion Club, less than 3 months after picking up a golf club for the first time.

“I’ve always wanted to play golf, and I decided that 2018 was the year I was going to learn…I’ve never played before so I want to know if it’s possible and if I can do it,” says Jenni.  “Luckily I’ve recruited some friends to help me try and achieve it, and the Confederation of Professional Golf have added the extra challenge of giving me just a few months to go from a complete novice to competitor in front of spectators!

“It baffles me as to why women in general aren’t playing as much golf – they’ll go and join a gym, they’ll go to a spin class but they wouldn’t think ‘I want to go and play golf in my free time’.  So my aim is to show that we should be going to play golf, it is possible and it is something that is just as enjoyable as all the other activities women do in their spare time. Golf can appear to be one of the least-accessible activities at the moment and it does seem to be a such a male-dominated sport so let’s change that!”

Backed by ground-breaking research, love.golf is a proven approach to women’s coaching, delivered by a community of coaches who engage, inspire and progress women in the sport. Joanne Taylor (PGA of GB&I), one of these coaches based at Tyrrells Wood Golf Club just outside of London, is leading Jenni on her journey alongside love.golf creator and Head Coach Alastair Spink (PGA of GB&I), who is also a member of the Confederation of Professional Golf Golf Development Team.

Jenni is developing her golf ability through the programme, which is distinct in the way it develops women through experiences and by playing on the golf course rather than a more traditional practice range-based approach. This is supported by academic studies conducted by Alastair Spink and ground-breaking female participation market research by Syngenta, which has received international acclaim.

Starting her golf journey as a complete beginner, Jenni will act as a great example to many female golfers coming to the sport for the first time, as well as becoming an ambassador for women’s golf in general with a wide-reaching and specifically non-golf social media and listener audience that will help communicate the great health, social, wellbeing and enjoyment benefits that golf has to offer.

“The Confederation of Professional Golf are totally committed to advancing golf, and there has been a great deal of recent publicity around the opportunity to make golf more appealing to women, girls and families, which we support wholeheartedly,” said Confederation of Professional Golf Chief Executive, Ian Randell.

“Jenni will no doubt inspire women and girls to try golf, and we hope to replicate this golf development activity model in multiple countries where local female ambassadors can be utilised to share these messages.

“She is a joy to work with – her motivation to continually better herself and learn more has meant that she has made huge progress in a short period of time. We are delighted that she has chosen to get into golf, and I am sure she will prove to be a fantastic ambassador for our sport.”

For more Information Visit http://eur.pe/FalconerForeGolf
Follow Jenni’s Progress on Social Media – #FalconerForeGolf

GolfSixes was launched in 2017 with the aim of attracting new and younger audiences to golf and engaging players in the game early in their sporting development is a key part of the long term strategy.

During the first GolfSixes tournament in 2017 the Golf Foundation launched a pilot project introducing six leagues of junior players to the fast and fun six-hole concept, which resulted in a 65% increase in affiliated membership among participants, while 80% of kids said they wanted to play more golf.

Thanks to new partnerships with the PGA of Belgium, PGA of Holland and Danish Golf Union, the GolfSixes League is now being rolled out across Europe, while the Golf Foundation is expanding the concept in the UK ahead of the European Tour’s second staging of GolfSixes at Centurion Club in St Albans, near London, on May 5-6, 2018.

Later this month the PGAs of Belgium and Holland will team up to rebrand their respective junior programmes as GolfSixes League PGA Belgium and GolfSixes League PGA Holland. In a major change to their junior programmes, golf is being presented to children and their parents as a team sport, with teams of six boys and girls competing against each other in match play contests.

Last year around 200 young golfers took part in junior programmes in the two countries, and the aim is to grow that to 600 participants by the end of 2018.

In Denmark – the country that triumphed in the inaugural GolfSixes last year when Lucas Bjerregaard and Thorbjørn Olesen lifted the trophy – the Danish Golf Union will host the GolfSixes Danish National Championship on May 19-20, 2018 at Odense Eventyr Golf Club where 32 mixed male and female teams – 16 junior teams and 16 seniors (aged over 19) – will compete.

Meanwhile in the UK, Official Delivery Partner the Golf Foundation is expanding its successful GolfSixes League programme, with more than 1500 boys and girls expected to be coached by club PGA professionals each week in their 12-player squads before displaying their new-found skills at weekends.

There will be 27 junior leagues in the UK – increased from six last year – including two in Wales and three in Scotland for the first time, welcoming teams of youngsters from 125 golf clubs.

With five of Europe’s best female players – Solheim Cup Captain Catriona Matthew, Georgia Hall, Charley Hull, Mel Reid and Suzann Pettersen – taking part in the GolfSixes tournament in May, it is appropriate that this new inter-club team format aims to foster a sense of belonging for new young players including encouraging more girls to get involved.

Keith Pelley, Chief Executive of the European Tour, said: “One of the main aims of GolfSixes is to bring golf to new and younger audiences, and what better way to engage young people than to get them involved in playing this exciting new short format of golf themselves?

“With the second GolfSixes event taking place in May this year, it’s fantastic to see that the concept is already beginning to leave a legacy. The event at Centurion Club is continuing to evolve, this year with the introduction of wildcard teams and female players. If we can further build on this innovation by getting young people excited about playing and watching golf, then that is a true test of the success of the concept.

“Our thanks go to all of our partners in the UK, Belgium, Denmark and the Netherlands for embracing GolfSixes and helping to engage young people across Europe in our wonderful game.”

Thomas Hartwich, Tournament Consultant at the Danish Golf Union, said: “The Danish Golf Union wants golfers to think differently from the traditional 18 holes of golf. The new GolfSixes format is proof that you can do that – you don’t always need to play 18 holes, it’s okay to play six or nine holes and still enjoy the game.

“GolfSixes is more action packed, it’s fun to play – for junior and senior players. We can also have focus on pace of play with a shot clock hole and it is great for spectators to watch.”

Frank Kirsten, Chief Executive of the PGA of Holland, said: “Junior golfers are the future, and by teaming up with the PGA of Belgium under the GolfSixes League we believe this will give the junior programmes in both countries a boost.

“This new format gives young players the chance to enjoy golf as a team experience, and this was received very enthusiastically by PGA golf professionals, youth golfers under the age of 13 and their parents. In this way, golf is presented as a team sport and something that is attractive to children and parents, like football and hockey.”

Bernard De Bruyckere, Chief Executive of the PGA of Belgium, said: “The GolfSixes League format allows children to have a lot of fun, share high fives and become enthusiastic about playing together and helping each other. The children can get used to playing in teams for their own club in a relaxed manner, and with a lot of success.

“Last year, 200 youth golfers were participating in the PGA of Belgium and Holland junior programs. The PGAs aim, together with their respective Federations, is to get to 600 participants in 2018.”

Brendon Pyle, Chief Executive of the Golf Foundation, said: “We are hugely excited by the expansion of the GolfSixes League in 2018 and our partnership with the European Tour. There will be 28 junior leagues in the UK, including two in Wales and three in Scotland for the first time, welcoming teams of youngsters from 125 golf clubs.

“Last year, the pilot project in six leagues showed that this fun and shorter team format encouraged young players to practice and play more often at golf clubs while attracting the interest and support of their parents. This follows the model of other successful team sports such as football, netball and rugby where families new to the sport are welcomed into the club.”

European Ryder Cup Captain Thomas Bjørn and Solheim Cup Captain Matthew will join forces in a world first for professional golf when GolfSixes returns to the European Tour in May. The Dane and the Scot will be the first male and female professionals to play together in a competitive match play format when they form the ‘Captains Team’ – one of four exciting wild card selections introduced to this year’s event, with two of the other three being; an ‘England Women’s Team’ comprising Hall and Hull; and a ‘European Women’s Team’ featuring England’s Reid and Pettersen of Norway. They will join defending champions Denmark, represented again by last year’s winners Bjerregaard and Olesen, with the final wildcard team to be announced soon.

Tickets for the event at Centurion Club on May 5-6, priced at £6 for children and £16 for adults, are available now at http://et.golf/GolfSixesTickets

Find Out More @ golfsixes.com