Celebrating Golf as the ‘True Sport of Business’ at Centurion Club4 min read

Centurion Club is a CPG Business Partner and member of the Business Club by CPG – Find out more here

The CPG were delighted to host the inaugural CPG Centurion Club Invitational at its international headquarters, Centurion Club, on Tuesday 5^th October. Aimed at providing an exclusive opportunity for CPG Commercial Partners, PGA Professionals and invited guests to enjoy an outstanding golfing experience with first class hospitality and entertainment, staged just after the 2021 Ryder Cup at Whistling Straits, the event stayed true to its promise throughout.

Attending teams were as diverse as they were significant – from global golf and technology brands such as Trackman and Pitchfix; to cybersecurity and malware protection provider ESET; to club, apparel and accessory manufacturer PING Europe. It was a golf event where CPG Partners, Supporters and those with close ties to the organisation could finally come together for the first time in over 18 months to share in a unique golf and networking experience.

The event started off with a range of product and service demonstrations for guests including from the golf swing biomechanics company, Dragonfly 3D, as well as from youth education programmes and golf clubs provider, GolPhin, followed by practice and business networking – the latter being made possible by a dedicated Business Club Lounge Sponsored by ESET. Before a golf shot had even been hit, the opportunities for developing meaningful relationships, creating business and brand exposure and experiencing the exquisite facilities at Centurion Club were aplenty.

Situated to the west of St. Albans, Centurion Club is the international headquarters of the CPG, whose name reflects the historical associations the area has with the Roman era. As a host venue for one of the recently staged Aramco Team Series events on the Ladies European Tour, the course explores a mix of pine tree-lined and dramatically shaped holes to offer an aesthetically beautiful golf course. The venue was befitting of such an event and delivered above and beyond guest’s expectations.

The golf event provided the perfect opportunity to pilot European Doubles Golf, which will see its international rollout in 2021 and 2022. Co-founded by Jack Nicklaus and 2PG and already proving to be a massive success in the USA, Doubles Golf was launched as an innovative form of recreational and competitive golf, played as a series of two-person team, ‘scramble format’ events. For the CPG Centurion Club Invitational, this format provided the perfect opportunity for teams to interact with one another more closely, discuss strategies (about their golf games, but also about business!) and work together to produce an accumulated team points total across two sets of 9-hole tournaments.

In the end, 85 points was enough to claim first place for Centurion Club’s Andy Stubbs, PGA Professional Lee Scarbrow, PING Europe’s former Managing Director, John Clark, and CPG Chief Executive, Ian Randell. Ian placed most of the praise on Stubbs: “Andy made that front nine look easy – he must have contributed 7 birdies to the overall team total, it was incredible to watch.”

The CPG Centurion Club Invitational was not just about the golf and demonstrations in the morning however. For Old Tom Gin 1821, who recently announced their partnership as the Official Gin of the CPG, the day provided the platform to officially launch their brand-new gin products. Attended by Founder and CEO, Giorgio Cozzolino, guests were treated to gin tasting at an Old Tom Gin-hosted drinks reception. Giorgio was delighted with the response: “Following many years of hard work in perfecting the taste, the quality and even the packaging, it was incredible to see my vision come to life at our own launch event, in partnership with the CPG.”

Centurion Club prides itself on quality. The golf course, service and experience that it provides its members has created a unique and reputable experience that very few venues can rival. This premise held true right the way through to the very end of the day, as guests were rewarded for their tremendous golfing efforts with a fine dining experience; a panel session with Old Tom Gin Brand Champions, Carly Booth and Gary Evans, around their playing careers and PGA Professional influences; and a short Q&A between Ian Randell and John Clark, who both focused on the recent staging’s of the Ryder Cup and Solheim Cup and their own involvements with the two biennial events.

Throughout the pandemic, events such as this have been few and far between – safety restrictions and regulations have reduced the ability to mix and interact through golf. These principles of social interaction across a level-playing field for a full day of golf are the very cornerstones of why golf is termed ‘The Sport of Business’. Having the opportunity to finally bring a range of partners, guests and golfers together for a one-day experience like no other was valuable for all involved. In fact, the day was nicely summarised by Pitchfix Marketing Director, Russell Coulston: “Yesterday was immensely enjoyable, even for a novice golfer like me. The event was extremely well-coordinated, held at a wonderful venue and had great company and connections for me to talk to about our respective businesses. Well done and massive thanks to the teams from both the CPG and Centurion Club.”