Seize the Opportunities In Front of Us…3 min read

Last month we focused on Golf Development and since then it has been a pleasure to be a part of initiatives and events that will undoubtedly aid our quest for development of the game, supporting everything that we discussed in Issue 20 of IGPN.

I was invited along with representatives of a variety of golfing bodies to participate in the European Golf Federations’ Conference hosted by the European Tour at Wentworth where amongst other things we heard from the Czech Republic, Danish, French, and German Federations on some of the initiatives they were working on and that had been successful in their countries.

We also received an update on the progress of Golf in the Olympics and the role that it can play in the development of the sport in the coming years, along with a “Challenges Facing Europe” session.

Something we at the Confederation of Professional Golf are particularly focused on is the development of ‘Golf Europe’ – a group of European golf stakeholders collaborating to grow golf and enhance the sport’s contribution to European society.

I joined representatives of the EGA, European Tour, LET and The R&A on a panel that introduced ‘Golf Europe’ and in particular ‘GoGolf’, an Erasmus+ funded initiative designed to engage young people in golf at a pan-European level and enhance the evidence base of the health benefits of golf.

The opportunities to grow the sport that lay in front of us, and future ‘Golf Europe’ initiatives that will be announced soon, must be seized and will surely prove to be hugely beneficial for our sport.

Also this month I was pleased to facilitate a more internal initiative between the CEOs of some of our larger Member Countries.  The first call of what will hopefully be a regular activity provided a platform for them to discuss current topics of interest and share successes and challenges that they face.  I am sure these calls will develop a lot to report in the future and I would encourage people to replicate the idea.

Meanwhile, the first Major of the year was full of excitement as professional golf welcomes a new era of emerging talent and sporting rivalries.

Whilst we all enjoyed seeing Tiger and Rory match up during the final round of The Masters, I must say the thought of a Rory McIlroy/Jordan Spieth rivalry in the future is an exciting prospect and certainly good for the sport as a whole as they each exude excellent qualities both as golfers and as people.  What a great advertisement for our sport!

And so to this month’s IGPN.  Themed around fitting and equipment, the issue explores a variety of aspects that fall within those categories, one such example being custom fitting.

As you will see in the piece later in this Issue from our Corporate Partners, PING, renowned as being at the forefront of custom fitting, there are many benefits for PGA Professionals.

But I think sometimes we sell ourselves short in terms of how important custom fitting is in helping golfers perform and also how useful it can be to a PGA Professional.  There are not many other sports where an almost infinite amount of specification can be made to one’s equipment – and perhaps no other sport where this type of customisation can have such a big impact on a person’s game.

PGA Professionals should always stress the importance of getting appropriately fitted equipment to their students and customers and really make the most of an opportunity to not only help make players better and enjoy themselves more, but also generate revenue.

IGPN is filled with ways to improve your understanding of fitting [in many senses of the word], along with how to capitalise on this knowledge to better aid your clients and customers, as well as your business.  Enjoy the read!

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